Hi, I'm Ashley.
I’m an Holistic Nutritionist, Clinical Herbalist, Registered Iridologist, and BIE practitioner, and my journey here has been anything but conventional.
It all started with a diagnosis that shook my world—chronic Lyme disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
What initially felt like an insurmountable battle ultimately became the catalyst for my personal healing and the foundation of my wellness practice.
For much of my life, I avoided the spotlight. So its taken a lot for me be here today, sharing my story.
It wasn't until recently that I felt both safe and compelled to open up about my experiences, the path that brought me here, and the strength I’ve discovered within myself along the way.
I hope my story gives you a bit of hope, and a feeling that you are not alone in your journey with Lyme or Chronic Disease.
The Beginning
It all began in 2010 when I was working at a dog grooming shop—a job I loved. What I didn’t realize at the time was that ticks were a significant concern. While I can’t say for certain where or how I contracted Lyme disease, the symptoms began at that time.
For two years, I hid my struggles from everyone— family, friends, all but one person knew the agony I was experiencing. I adopted this mentality that I didn’t need anyone, that I could handle things on my own. It was always how I’d handled challenges in the past, but this time it was different. I didn’t want others to pity me or think of me as fragile, especially when I knew that my approach to health was unconventional and not widely understood. I trusted myself but was deeply guarded when it came to others.
The first time my family realized how sick I truly was, I weighed only 110 pounds—an all-time low for me. It was graduation day in 2012 from the Institute of Holistic Nutrition (IHN), and as I walked across the stage to accept my diploma as a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, I hid the pain I was in behind a forced smile, wrist guards, a knee brace, and an ankle brace. A day that should have been full of pride was overshadowed by thoughts of just getting home to rest.
A Turning Point
Why was I keeping my struggles a secret?
At 26, I was misdiagnosed with chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and prescribed a slew of medications—pills, injections, opioids, and antidepressants. I was told by one doctor that without medication, I’d end up "crippled in a wheelchair for the rest of my life." As I sat in a wheelchair, another doctor felt the need to express “It’s too bad, because you’re such a beautiful woman.” My worth seemed to be measured by my physical appearance, as if my identity and dreams were no longer valid because of my illness.
I asked about having children and was told to give up on that dream—my RA was too severe. These painful experiences left me feeling like my future was slipping away, but they also taught me a profound lesson: my value isn’t tied to my illness or appearance. I am more than my body’s challenges.
The Search for Answers
When I was first diagnosed with RA, my gut instinct was that I was misdiagnosed. As I was studying Holistic Nutrition at IHN, I couldn’t understand how someone so healthy could suddenly fall so ill with no family history of RA. After this quick diagnosis, I was handed a stack of literature about RA and told what to expect. I was left feeling hopeless.
I sought out second opinions from four different RA specialists. One of my RA specialist’s student suggested I might have a bacterial infection, possibly a co-infection of Lyme disease, but that was quickly dismissed.
And this is where it all began to change: I decided to take matters into my own hands, I decided to trust my intuition and my own research.
Through my studies and my growing knowledge of natural medicine, I began to build a team of practitioners who would support me in exploring a different path.
Lyme Disease: A Diagnosis and a Turning Point
In 2015, I attended a talk by Paul Pitchford author of Healing with Whole Foods, at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Toronto. Afterward, I approached him with questions about my symptoms, and he immediately suggested I get tested for Lyme disease. At that time, I knew little about Lyme, but his advice planted a seed.
One week later, I asked my doctor to test me for Lyme disease. He refused, insisting I had RA. When I pressed further, he eventually agreed to test me, only to call me two weeks later with the news: I did, in fact, have Lyme disease. The doctor was shocked, and mentioned “I have never seen the correlation between Lyme and RA” & mentioned that he was going to present it to the board of directors. He then prescribed doxycycline, the antibiotic typically used to treat Lyme. Finally, I felt a sense of relief and hope—maybe I was on the path to understanding what had been happening to my body all along.
After scheduling a follow-up appointment with my family doctor to review paperwork he had just filled out a day prior - I was applying for short term disability. On my paperwork, my doctor had written “Lyme?” under the diagnosis. As many of you know, adding a question mark to a diagnosis doesn’t exactly help clarify things and can easily have me denied. I asked him why he included the question mark and expressed to him my concerns. In response, he looked at me, crossed out the "Lyme?" and said, “You don’t have Lyme. You have Rheumatoid Arthritis, I suggest you take the RA medication otherwise you’ll end up crippled in a wheelchair for the rest of your life.” - I could not understand how a day before he expressed that I was diagnosed with Lyme and seemed confident in presenting it to the board yet suddenly I don't have it and I'm back to my original diagnosis.
The Struggle for Support
Despite my Lyme diagnosis, getting support wasn’t easy. In Canada, Lyme disease wasn’t widely recognized by the medical community, and doctors were often not allowed to diagnose or treat it. To find help, I had to seek out Lyme-literate doctors (LLDs) in the United States. I found one in New York, but the cost of treatment, including doctor’s fees and medication, was overwhelming. Not to mention the process to make this journey successful.
Over the next nine years, Lyme disease left me bedridden, in constant pain, and unable to care for myself. It took a severe toll on my mental health. There were times when I questioned my worth, even considering extreme options to escape the suffering. But through it all, I realized that my body was speaking to me, and I needed to listen. I needed to trust myself again and take control of my healing journey.
Empowerment and Healing
Eventually, I made a radical decision to stop seeing doctors and specialists who weren’t helping. I began to trust my own intuition, knowledge, and embraced natural integrative therapies. I transformed my diet, worked with frequency machines, and incorporated herbal medicine and cannabis into my healing process.
The shift was profound. My body started to heal. Inflammation decreased, pain subsided, and I regained strength. I wasn’t fully the same as I was before Lyme, but I felt more like myself—alive, not dependent on others, and ready to rebuild my life.
Launching into the Canadian Market
Throughout my healing journey, I continued to create botanical products—something I had always done. I developed and formulated an all-natural plant-based topical in 2012 to help manage my symptoms of Lyme disease and chronic rheumatoid arthritis. In 2015, myself along with my previous business partner were selected for an accelerator program, receiving funding to bring our vision to the next phase.
In 2019, we pivoted, presenting the topical as a "ready-to-mix" cannabis oil formula before legalization, aiming to educate on the benefits of cannabis-infused topicals. Our pitch on Dragon’s Den earned two offers.
In 2020, Earth Kisses Sky achieved legal status and launched one of the first cannabis-infused topicals on the Canadian market, (SHINE) in line with the country's cannabis legalization. This milestone enabled our brand to grow within the cannabis sector while remaining committed to its core focus of natural, holistic wellness.
Sadly, the cannabis business we founded was taken over in 2023 by a larger corporation; its legacy continues to inspire me and guide my practice.
Healing Beyond the Physical
I realized that healing was not just about tending to the body; I needed to address the trauma and emotional effects of this experience. I had this realization after a full knee replacement at 36 - my knee was fixed - the trauma and emotional toil this diagnosis, condition and lack of support, took on my mental health was neglected. It led me to developing protocols and botanical formulas to insure my mental and emotional health was stronger each day.
There’s no one-size-fits-all remedy. Healing is a lifelong process.
Today, I am healthier than ever. Both my Lyme and RA tests are negative. I am living proof that an integrative approach works, that plant-based medicine, cannabis and nutritional changes have real therapeutic value, and that trusting my body and intuition were essential for my healing.
My Why
Everything I’ve been through has shaped who I am today and the clinical practice I have developed.
The knowledge and experience I have gained from these challenges have shaped my vision: to support others in discovering their own healing potential and to remind you that no matter how dark it gets, there’s light and hope waiting on the other side of your diagnosis.
You are not alone, there is hope, and I am here to walk with you on this journey to feeling like yourself again.
