Meet Our New Natural Health Practitioner Amy Prins

Amy Prins, CHS, CNHP
Certified Natural Health Practitioner

Specialties: Nutrition, Digestion, pH Balancing

In April of 2011 my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The cancer was discovered by mistake when prescribed medication that severely interacted with her other prescriptions and current state of health. My parents went on vacation shortly after starting the new medication, but had to return home abruptly because of her alarming symptoms. Jaundice and major black spots across her entire body set off every red flag. We immediately took her to emergency care. There we discovered the cancer that had progressively taken over her body. The next couple of weeks were incredibly taxing for her and our family. None of us having any experience or knowledge of cancer, or how to truly stay healthy for that matter, were going into an incredibly vulnerable situation without any resources or protection. We went from doctor to oncologist to doctor to surgeon. The list goes on. My mother was on over a dozen medications and couldn't name more than two and was constantly in a drugged-up state. Receiving cold and unkind care from particular medical professionals compounded my frustration and despair for my mother's situation. Another week went by after only one round of chemo and she ended up in the ICU. She called me to her bedside to tell me she was ready to let go. At home, hospice graciously joined us and aided us in her transition. They were angels and gave us a light during that difficult time.

After the loss of my mother I realized that there must have been something more we could have done. But what? And where to start? As I was searching for the path I wanted to pursue, I gained advice from my friends who applied natural health in their daily lives. I decided to look into educating myself in every aspect of holistic health. I craved the knowledge of the natives and their natural ways of healing without having to turn to a pill every time something went wrong. I absolutely respect the medical field for its critical role particularly in urgent and emergency care. I knew, though, the more I could learn about prevention and healing, the more tools I would have access to in order to empower myself and others to make the best decisions for optimal health, preventing the overuse of prescribed medications and their side effects.

Upon my search I discovered Trinity School for Natural Health. I became obsessed with classes, studying and applying what I learned at home and with friends and family. I quickly earned two certifications and am currently working on my certification in traditional naturopathy and will go on to work towards becoming board certified. I naturally wonder that if I had been more resourceful with my mom’s illness, I may not have felt helpless and 100% dependent on others to make life changing decisions for my family and myself. Instead I realized that I had a voice of my own and the power to make my own decisions.

Fast forward to 2019 and I find myself pregnant for the first time after removing my copper IUD that was in place for 10 years. By the end of June it came as a surprise, but a very welcomed surprise. In September I started spotting. I was working out very intensely at the time and just blamed it on a popular notion that spotting was normal during workouts and heavy lifting. I got in touch with my midwife and she ordered an immediate ultrasound. On the way to the appointment I started shedding tears. I just knew. My partner and I were told we had a miscarriage and that the fetus had stopped developing at 8 weeks and we were at 13 weeks. This is what is called a silent miscarriage. For over a month I carried my deceased fetus, and gone with the life of our baby were our entire future, hopes and dreams. After the initial shock of loss subsided, I needed to figure out how to move this process along. My midwife was concerned of serious infection. She and my OB suggested I take a medical route and try prescription to get things moving along. I know emotionally I really needed this to happen in order to let go. I had tried different methods on my own to no avail. I was initially resistant to the meds but was willing to try that in hopes of avoiding an invasive procedure called the D&C. Inducing the completion of the miscarriage happened almost immediately. I experienced contractions from 9pm that night until 2pm the next day. Everything massively released all at once. And from there I could start to heal emotionally.

The next several weeks were difficult in many ways. I felt grateful for being able to go back to work almost immediately and back to CrossFit, which encouraged healing. My hormones were a bit wild and uncontrolled as they worked to balance. I was experiencing crazy hot flashes and bursts of wired energy. Of course I studied everything I could get my hands on about pregnancies, miscarriages and everything in between. I was unaware at the time that miscarriage was such a stigmatized topic. I hadn't noticed the lack of open conversation surrounding it until, of course, I had one myself. It also made me conscious of how common, although no less painful, they actually were. Shame and guilt with an amass of other emotions accompanied my loss and I saw that in other women who carried the same loss as well. I found that being open about miscarriage helped aid in healing, but was also significant in showing others that it is okay to talk about freely, if emotionally possible, and that blaming ourselves is not the answer.  Receiving emotional and mental support from my partner and friends helped to guide and transform this journey. I took this unparalleled loss with me, and used everything I had - my resources, my strength and my support - to move forward.

As I progressed through the beginning stages of that healing, I found myself pregnant again in January. Elated by this new reality I was still struggling with the loss of my first. I was also incredibly wary and had built an emotional wall. I couldn't wrap my head around having to go through another miscarriage again, especially so soon. I armed myself with as much knowledge as possible without letting paranoia of loss consume me. I worked by incorporating what I learned through my first pregnancy and miscarriage by tweaking my diet, making sure my blood sugar was constantly stable and not pushing myself to extremes during workouts in order to support this pregnancy in a way I did not before. The biggest part about the miscarriage was not only the loss itself, but the unknown. WHY? If you search any literature, you may find that pregnancy loss is commonly due to chromosomal abnormalities. That makes sense and there is scientific research backing those claims. But as a woman who went through a miscarriage and is starving for knowledge I needed more. The natural health arena would also agree that the fetus was perhaps not strong enough to be brought to term due to abnormal growth, but they may also look a little deeper at that and discover a link between thyroid health and pregnancy and something even as simple as continually getting enough sugars to properly oxygenate developing embryos and fetuses. My miscarriage has already made me a better pregnant mom for this new little miracle. Learning more and more with how I can aid in the healthy development and growth of this baby through natural modalities empowers me to be the best mother possible and to best serve other women and empower them on their journeys wherever they may be.

My passion and goal is to inspire and empower. People desperately need education on meeting their own needs and what the right fit is for their unique bodies and lifestyle. Supporting others in being able to identify on their own practices that will ultimately aid in their healing is what I strive for. I do this for my mom, myself and for those who are looking to seek answers on how best to identify root causes and want the power to heal in the most optimal way possible.

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