Supplement timing, recovery milestones, red flags. From your phone, no download.
Those experiences reshaped how I approach healing. Long-term stability requires more than crisis care. It requires preparation.
Every flare followed the same script: pain, antibiotics, wait, repeat. I was never taught how to reduce the inflammatory load driving it. No one explained motility, microbiome disruption, or nutrient depletion. I was treated when things escalated, not guided on how to prevent it.
In 2018, after repeated flares, 8 inches of my colon were removed when one section became severely damaged. For six years after surgery, I had no flares.
Then in 2024, symptoms returned in a different area. When I went to urgent care, my white blood cell count was 21,000. In 2018, a similar number had put me straight into the hospital without a diagnosis. At urgent care, I was given antibiotics and told to follow up with my primary care physician if I didn't feel better in a week or two.
I understood the protocol. But I also understood my body. After surviving MRSA and rebuilding my health through integrative medicine, I knew repeating the same cycle and hoping for a different outcome was not the answer. This wasn't about rejecting medical care. It was about recognizing that stabilization required more than a prescription.
So I returned to the functional framework that had rebuilt me before. This time, I chose a different response.
What started as a routine hernia surgery spiraled into necrotizing MRSA — an aggressive infection that nearly took everything from me. I went from living independently to living in hospital gowns, hooked to IVs, fighting day by day to stay ahead of the infection.
For almost a year, I faced:
Eventually, I was told there wasn't much more they could do.
But I wasn't done fighting.
It was evidence-informed, whole-body support.
"Traditional medicine kept me alive. Functional medicine saved my life."— Danae De Guelle, Founder, Living Proof Protocols
The results were undeniable. I healed fully.
Surrender to the infection, or fight for my life in a completely different way. I chose the second path.
I turned toward integrative medicine, rebuilding my body through targeted nutrition, immune support, gut repair, and inflammation regulation. For the first time, I stopped reacting and started rebuilding.
Once my body finally had what it needed, everything shifted. Within two months, my recovery accelerated in ways I had not experienced during the previous year.
They remind me of the nights I prayed for another chance, the nurses who became like family, and the moment I realized I would live. But survival was not the end of the story.
My healing exposed a gap I could not ignore. Patients are often prepared for surgery logistically, but not biologically. They are told how to scrub their skin, not how to strengthen their systems.
That realization became my mission.
I am a certified health and wellness coach. I now work directly with my integrative practitioner, Dr. Bryn Kanuck, LAc, DAcCHM, building protocols for people who are done letting the system manage their symptoms and are ready to address the root cause.
Whether you are preparing for surgery, recovering from one, managing diverticulitis, or simply want to strengthen your body before a major procedure — these frameworks were designed for you. You deserve preparation that goes beyond a checklist.