HI, I'M PRESLEY

Fast forward to 2021, I found myself living the typical college lifestyle. While outwardly it seemed like I was thriving, internally I was unknowingly neglecting my health in ways that wouldn't manifest until much later. My sleep was suffering, my gut microbiome was nearly being destroyed with excessive alcohol consumption, processed foods, stress, and antibiotic use when I had an infection. This way of life wasn’t viable for my health, and the consequences of the way I was treating and speaking to my body finally caught up to me.

In the summer of 2021, I began experiencing agonizing stomach pain that would land me in the hospital for weeks at a time. In addition to the gastrointestinal pain I was feeling, I began to experience near-fainting episodes that left me disabled and calling for medical attention. Following numerous tests and procedures, I received my second and third autoimmune disease diagnosis - Crohn's Disease (IBD), and Dysautonomia (POTS). Though I was initially relieved to have an explanation for my suffering and years-long tummy issues, I would come to find out that the relief would become a fleeting feeling.

In the months that followed, I realized that the conventional treatment plans offered to me would not be sustainable. Through searching for multiple doctors to properly treat my diagnosis, being dismissed, and prescriptions that came with an illness of their own, I began to consider alternative approaches to my healing. I felt exhausted with battling multiple chronic illnesses, making the hospital and ER a second home, and I refused to accept that this was simply my fate, as told by my doctors. 

In 2022, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery unlike any before. Through introspection, research, and education, I finally began to stumble upon the healing I had been seeking. I took a deep dive into nutritional therapy, explored the mind-body connection, nurtured my spirituality, and released past traumas. By understanding my body, adopting a tailored nutritional plan, redefining my spirituality, and refusing to live in survival mode any longer, I achieved remission from my autoimmune diseases in 2023. 

Through achieving what I was told wasn’t possible by professionals, I knew there had to be a deeper purpose behind my own health obstacles. In a pivotal decision, I enrolled as a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) with the intention of gaining a higher understanding of whole-body health for myself, and others. In December 2023, after intensive training and coursework, I graduated from IIN and became a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.