I'm a mother to three kids, aged 16, 13, and 5, and they really keep me on my toes. They are busy, messy, full-on, and loud, but I couldn't picture it any other way. Family is our number one value, and our whole extended family is close. We live in Southend, SA, and are lucky enough to live close to each other, so cousins are always in the mix.

Back in 2018, my husband was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. It was a huge shock and a very difficult time for everyone. He sadly passed away after a few short months, in December 2018. I still have times of utter disbelief that he's actually gone.

When he passed away, my youngest was only 15 months old. From his passing, I learned a lot about death and that when someone passes, it's really more about the people left behind than the one that's gone. We all have to pick up the pieces, somehow find a way to function without them, and deal with grief.

Grief is hard. It's long, up and down, and all over the place. It took me nearly 3 years to start feeling like I could approach the world again. Working in my own business means it all stops when I stop, and my husband was the bigger earner in the family, so I had to step up. It was a difficult time to go through, with financial pressures, the pressure to be emotionally okay, and to be there for my kids too.

This was a time when I really relied heavily on the use of EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique, which I worked intensively with an amazing practitioner to help me calm the extreme emotional distress I was feeling. There were definitely times I had to be pushed to show up for these appointments, but I did, and I believe they got me through.

Life went a bit like this - in mid 2017 my dad was diagnosed with aggressive B-cell Lymphoma and told he would need chemo therapy straight way, I was due to have a new baby in August and our family was highly stressed over this news.  About 6months passed and he was in the thick of treatments, lost his hair, most of his body weight and muscle tone, he looked a pale yellow colour and felt nausea and zero energy everyday. During this time,  our dear Nanna Judy suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm at the start of January 2018. 

Another very significant event in my life as Nanna Judy was a major part of the Chambers family and she was always, like always there if anyone in the family needed anyone, for anything.  I once watched her hand sew a live chickens neck back together, oh and a duck that had been mauled by a dog attack, she stitched him all back together too. She was a true healer and also a pillar of strength and pushing through life obstacles.  Life would never be the same without her there.  Then 6 months later my husband was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, and weirdly enough, it was the same type of tumour as my Aunt Cheryl who had died from her tumour,  many years ago, when she was only 22years old.  So then my husband went through a major brain operation and treatment, but passed away in late 2018. He lost the use of his whole left side of his body and was in a wheel chair by the end and this affected his speech also, which was hard as he did love a good chat.  Then 8mths later Poppa Jake passed away from prostate cancer.  Then April 2020 my Nanna Grace on my mums side passed away from a combination of health issues, very hard watching her deteriorate. 2022 Pa grace passed away after being diagnosed with bowel/stomach cancer - a large tumour was blocking way for him to eat and seeing him slowly fade away to skin and bone and deal with constant extreme pain was indescribable.

Life has thrown so many curve balls and I could talk all day about all the rest that i haven't mentioned.

The stress of grief, the stress of illness and just trying to cope and keep up in this busy crazy world is a lot.  Having options and a place to go when it gets too much is important and im glad i can provide that space for people when they need it most.

Room of Health isn't just for that though, its there to support and provide options for wellness, feeling better and finding relief.  Sometimes taking time to tune-in to ourselves and pivot or redirect our thinking is what we need most.  We have the power to do this but sometimes we need support all around us to lift us up to get there.