ABOUT ME!

First Off Happy & Healthy Blessings To All! 

I am the Dreamer, Founder, Creator, Owner, & Entrepeneur of Just Breathe. 

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I received my degree in Respiratory Therapy & Applied Science in 2007. I have been a Respiratory Therapist in the medical field for over 20 years.  Started out in a hospital setting “traditional medicine” & loved the adrenaline for a long time until my own health had taken a turn. 

 

I met my husband, Chad Zachman in 2013. Married in 2016. He is amazing, supportive, & pretty much does what is told.  Isn't that how every marriage should be. ;)    

I am also a mother to triplet daughters & stepdaughter 4 years younger than the triplets. All kids are out on their own adult life adventures.  

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Our beloved German Shepherd Mandalorian is our emotional support/service dog.  He is trained in a multitude of ways to be of service. Ravioli our lab/hound mix was a stray found on the side of the road left for dead with a complete fractured leg and was told it needed to be amputated. Luckily, we were able to save the leg through treatments.  Ravioli & Mandalorian do Just Breathe Services like PEMF Mat & Ionic Detoxing Foot Bath Treatments to stay healthy & assist with injuries!  

 

I am very passionate about any kind of work that I do!  I am very heartfelt about helping people out in any way I can. I believe that God will always provide no matter what!  That is why I am so fortunate & blessed to be able to develop a wonderful company of my own doing what I want to help people!

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DID I REALLY GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS!

Back in 5th grade & in 2013 I was bitten by a tick. Had a bullseye rash from that bite.  Yet the doctor refused to listen, treat me, & said I would be fine.  Little did I know years later it would turn my world upside down into a living nightmare.

After a vacation in 2016, resulting in an upper respiratory infection & vertigo after swallowing the ocean water.  I ended up becoming bedbound, had a “Lyme'' stroke affecting my whole right side, speech, memory cognition,  gaining weight (but not eating to be able to gain the weight), wanting to sleep all day/night long, to insomnia, brain fog, cognitive issues, words not coming out correctly, blood sugar out of whack, but not diabetic or prediabetic, sometimes would have up to 34 non epileptic, "Lyme" seizures a day, extreme pain, the list goes on & on.

Whatever was in the ocean water activated the Lyme Disease Spirochete plus other viruses. I went through all that suffering, doctor visit after doctor visit without a proper diagnosis of what I knew all along as Lyme disease. Testing for Lyme Disease kept showing negative time & time again. 

Four months into this newfound sickness in I found a Chiropractor who was just starting functional medicine in Chicago. Sparked his interest with my story & he actually listened to me.  He ran all kinds of testing. Food allergy testing, Environment testing, X Rays, CT scans, all other additional testing to try and get answers.  He even ran a Lyme Disease test which still came back negative again, but a new test came to light. My C4A, which tests for autoimmune disease & inflammation, was three times the limit.  The Chiropractor said I should have been dead with numbers like those. He ended up putting me on a Lyme Disease Protocol with herbal supplements anyways. We followed it to a T.  It took a while for my body to adjust to these supplements/protocol he was experimenting with, & it worked for a while. In addition, I had to clean up my gut which meant no gluten for sure & to stay away from my food allergies. There was only one other person at the time of all of this sickness that listened to me & was willing to help me in any way she could.  Doctor Nathalie Pelletier, from Danville Chiropractic in Danville, IL.  She knew me way before my sickness & understood at the time she was not seeing the normal old Laura.  She knew that there was something definitely wrong. 

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TIME WENT ON WITHOUT ME!

I ended up seeing 22 “traditional medicine” doctors & not getting any answers of what was going on.  I kept hearing from these doctors ``Everything is normal, Blood work shows nothing, x-rays are fine, CT scans good, MRI’s, etc.” “There is nothing wrong with you!” Was often told to me. “Let's try this medicine to see if it helps your symptoms.” “You don’t have Lyme Disease, because there is no such thing as ticks!”  “There are no ticks in Illinois.” “You need a CPAP.” “You are crazy!”  That last doctor who told me I was crazy was an infectious disease doctor who used to work for the CDC.  (The former CDC doctor was the one who sent me over the edge of the frustrated healthcare system.)  I hobbled out of that doctor's office that day with a walker & tears.

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WE HAD TO TAKE MATTERS INTO OUR OWN HANDS!

I eventually was starting to heal slowly with lots of research from my husband, lots of doctor visits, lots of Neurology appointments, Chiropractic appointments, & Cognitive therapy appointments so I wouldn't have to be bed bound anymore.  As I ended up suffering a stroke due to all the delays in care. As a result, ended up bedbound for 6 months. These specialists didn’t think it was Lyme & were pushing Big Pharma medicines on me as almost a trial guinea pig. To try and mask any symptoms I was having.

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AM I CRAZY?

I started to think after all these visits.  Was I crazy?  Was I imagining something & just thinking that there was something wrong with me when there wasn’t?  No, I knew there was something wrong, I could feel it. However, couldn’t explain it, & no one was listening. 

 

WORKING WORLD VS. CHRONIC ILLNESS!

6 months later I finally was to the point where I was at least well enough to return back to work. The job I knew & loved was becoming more of a struggle daily.  I would come home in so much pain/crying daily from being on my feet, not understanding things, fatigued, working longer hours. Eventually I started declining with my health issues again.  I just couldn't do it anymore.  I got offered a desk job, leaving the hospital world.  I loved the people I worked with & my patients at the time.  I considered them all family but felt like something was still missing.  I was missing who Laura used to be & who she wanted to be as a therapist. Who she wanted to be as a person who went through a chronic illness.  

I wanted to help others out, be an advocate for them.  Only I was failing as a therapist and myself with the traditional medicine field.

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FINALLY, SOME HELP!

In Nov 2021 my husband talked with me as he & I both noticed that I was declining again.  He convinced me to go to yet another doctor.  I was very reluctant to go.  I was tired of being told that I was crazy, & I wasn’t sick.  Hearing others say I was making this up didn't help.  However, he was able to talk me into going & at least seeing what the doctor had to say.  His words were ``What can it hurt?”  That was by far the best decision he ever talked/ forced me into. She performed a lot of the same tests the Chicago doctor did, but then some extra.  I will tell you I left that office crying & giving this doctor hugs. Thanking her over & over again. Why you ask?  Well because she was the first one in a long time who actually listened, didn’t judge me, was willing to help, took her time with me.

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A DIAGNOSIS! WHAT IT CAN'T BE!

A functional medicine/root cause doctor, number 23, properly diagnosed me with Chronic Lyme Disease and was my saving grace! Dr. Lisa Miller Excell For Life Functional Medicine out of Indianapolis, Indiana. 

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A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!

Dr. Lisa immediately started me on a daunting, long, intense, tedious Lyme protocol. Heck, I had to trust her with this next step because she was the only one who took the time to get answers for me at this point. She made it a point that she was working for me, with me as a team, & on call for me whenever I needed her. She was well versed in the Lyme Disease Treatment process. Following Dr. Jemsick's Protocol a Lyme literate doctor.

 

THANKFUL EVERYDAY!

 I am so very grateful & thankful daily that God brought Dr. Lisa into my life, & she is willing to do anything for me by working together as a team.  That right there is what the difference is between Traditional Medicine & Functional Medicine. Also, why I wanted to venture on the alternative medicine business side. 

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IT'S NOT OVER YET BUT CLOSE!

I am still currently on the Lyme protocol hoping/ praying daily for a full recovery. It will take a full 2 years or longer to complete the protocol.  Some days are rougher than others. Yes, I have my good and bad days.  But I learned to put myself and self-care first through all of this.  

Overall, my health is getting better & improving daily. 

I also use other forms of treatments using energy and detoxing to help keep the Lyme Flare ups at bay.

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TURNING POINT FOR MY OWN VISION & COMPANY!

I was offered a position in the traditional medicine world to help out people in the way that I thought I could.  Kind of like how Dr. Lisa Miller has helped me.  Boy was I wrong!  I was told that I can’t do essential oils to help patients who were having anxiety issues.  Can’t give patients positive affirmations.  Can't connect with the patients through my sickness to help them, Etc.  I was to the point that I was so frustrated & angry because I felt like I couldn't help my patients fully heal in the way I wanted to advocate/help them. I couldn't be a Dr. Lisa or the old Laura. Especially with insurance & BIG Pharma dictating healthcare.  

Finally, I reached that point I couldn't take it anymore and my career with Traditional Medicine was done.   God was directing me towards bigger and better things like client advocating & other forms of treatments via energy & detoxing.

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SIGH OF RELIEF DOING WHAT I LOVE THE MOST - JUST BREATHE!

I can finally help so many people out in the way I want to.  Through all these struggles it has taught me who God wanted me to be. What business I needed to devote my time, effort, passion and love into.  It is showing me how Just Breathe Alternative Medical Solutions LLC is coming to be & Who I am supposed to serve! 

                                 The True Meaning of Just Breathe

Jesus Understands Struggling Trials  

Blessings Reach Everyone At Therapeutic Healing Energy 

Medicine!