Living with an ongoing health condition or chronic illness is far from easy.
It tends to upend everything in life. From dreams to relationships to freely enjoying the simple things —
And it often feels like in the blink of an eye, your life has turned into daily symptom management, doctor’s appointments, and fighting for yourself — Not to mention, trying to balance everything in your day-to-day.
It’s a lot to juggle on your own. Even when you have people in your corner that love you and want the best for you. Even with care providers that have good intentions.
But here’s the very good news. You *don’t* need to settle for mere survival anymore.
While you may be skeptical, there IS a way to find what you uniquely need to thrive — one that doesn’t involve snake oil or the promise of an overnight cure.
And it comes down to two things:
Knowing allll of your options
Becoming your own health advocate
Meaning, you are in the driver’s seat making empowered, informed decisions about your treatment plan, your lifestyle choices, and your self-care.
All of which will lead to what you really want: to FEEL BETTER.
Yes, it requires effort, commitment, and a growth mindset. But most importantly? It WORKS. How do I know? Because I’ve done it. (Read about my story below.)
You don’t have to do this alone. With my support, I’ll be your integrative health partner to help you create a framework for thriving, a roadmap to guide you to achieving a vibrant life.
All you need to do is bring your story and willingness to take action to the table!
Hi there! I’m Leslie.
I was inspired to become an Integrative Health Coach because I’m passionate about helping others make the same transformation that I made myself: I stopped merely surviving my chronic illness, took more control of my health, and eventually worked my way to thriving.
It took me years of learning and experimenting, and I want to shorten the learning curve for others so that they can benefit from my experience.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH CHRONIC ILLNESSES
I’ve spent my adult life living with recurrent lymphoma and autoimmune issues:
I was first diagnosed the summer after I graduated from college (when I was 22 years old) and I went through surgery and radiation therapy.
After treatment, my life got back to normal. I went to law school, started practicing law, and then gave birth to my amazing daughter.
When she was only a few months old, I was diagnosed with a recurrence. I went through 6 months of chemo before my daughter turned one. The side effects trashed me, especially my lungs. It was a tough recovery.
And two years later, I was diagnosed for the third time. This was devastating. Luckily, I have not needed treatment for approx. 20 years and have been “watchful waiting” for 16+ years…
AND WHILE I HAVE BEEN WELL ENOUGH TO AVOID A THIRD ROUND OF CANCER TREATMENT, I SPENT YEARS FEELING AWFUL.
I was exhausted and overwhelmed.
I was having a hard time keeping up with my day-to-day responsibilities.
I felt like I wasn’t able to live the life I had imagined for myself because of my illness.
I was trying to be the best mom, wife — you know the drill.
BUT I STILL JUST KEPT GETTING SICK.
In 2015, I was getting repeated lung infections and was worried about how this might be a sign that my immune system was overwhelmed. After many cycles of antibiotics and steroids, I ended up in the ER with pneumonia, and eventually, my internist told me there was nothing more she could offer me beyond what we were already doing.
While this was far from the most harrowing of my medical woes, I had reached my tipping point. I was done.
I realized that the traditional approach just wasn’t working anymore… And I was SO exhausted and frustrated.
I mean, what was the point of surviving so many life-preserving cancer treatments if it only left me feeling too tired to fully enjoy my life and family?
So, I got serious about researching what I could do for myself, started trying new things, and sought out integrative health professionals to supplement my traditional medical doctors.
Things slowly started to change. I began to realize how much I could control my health. I stopped waiting for the cancer hammer to drop and started to take action.
I had always thought that if I just followed my doctor’s orders, that would be enough — but clearly, nothing would change unless I took initiative.
The first and most important change involved changing my mindset: I realized I needed to actually put my own oxygen mask on before putting one on those around me and needed to start putting my well-being first.
Then, I became more open to examining my life and what might be worthy of some adjustment.
And, finally, I stopped thinking about wellness in terms of traditional vs. alternative and started to look at what was best serving me.
I pursued whatever worked for ME, regardless of the label.
After years of peeling back layers of illness, I realize that I had slowly coached myself to my version of living Chronically Well. And, I feel awesome!
Granted, I put a lot of time and effort into maintaining my health and, my life and priorities look a lot different than they did prior to 2015 — but, it is all for the better.
Finally, I am living a life that is more aligned with what sustains me — mentally and physically — and I’m thrilled that I found a way to thrive, despite the lymphoma and the autoimmune issues.
Once I hit my stride with improved wellness, I knew I could not keep my experience to myself because so many people are suffering!
That’s when I became an Integrative Health Coach so that I could share my experience with others in similar situations in a way that would empower them to find their own unique way to thrive.
Today, I help people just like YOU shorten the learning curve on chronic wellness — because it shouldn’t have to take years of research, doctor’s appointments, and fighting for yourself to get close to the care you deserve.
It would be an honor to guide you towards a personal, integrative approach to chronic wellness that sees, hears, and supports you.
Professional Bio
Leslie Thorpe is an Integrative Health Coach certified by Duke Integrative Medicine and the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches. Before beginning her wellness journey, she was a health care and employee benefits attorney and a stay-at-home mom. Leslie has lived her adult life with recurrent lymphoma and autoimmune issues. She found her path to wellness by taking an integrative approach to finding her Chronically Well balance. She draws on these backgrounds to empower others living with chronic illness to play an active role in their chronic illness journey and thrive by leveraging powerful lifestyle changes and personal growth techniques. In her practice, she bridges the gap between what health care providers can offer and what people living with chronic illness can do for themselves to prevent, manage and potentially reverse chronic illness while becoming their own health advocate along the way.