Real Stories, Real Healing: A Journey to Wellness and Hope

Who doesn’t love a success story? There’s something so inspiring about hearing how someone overcame challenges and found their way to a healthier, happier life. That’s why we’re excited to start regularly highlighting CCN members who have experienced real healing and transformation through the CCN Way of Life. Sometimes, the best motivation comes from knowing someone else has been in your shoes and made it through. If you’ve ever felt stuck in your wellness journey, this story is for you. It’s proof that healing is possible, growth is real, and with the proper support, anything can change. Stay tuned for more incredible stories from our amazing community!

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Melanie’s Story (Age 52)

I honestly don’t remember how long it had been that I’d been following Cara—it seems like once I stumbled upon her posts years ago, I connected to what she was sharing and became a regular follower. I did a few challenges and bought several of her cookbooks. I was so impressed by the fact that she didn’t tell me I had to give up whole food groups or eat some crazy diet that consisted of a bunch of things I had never heard of.

When The Wellness Remodel book came out, I read it immediately, and I knew in my heart that her approach was the way to go. I began incorporating the basic principles of CCN into my daily life, and although I did feel fairly good when I was doing them, I just could not get myself well. Truly well. I still didn’t have much energy, my joints were as sore as ever, and I knew if I went to see the doctor, I’d end up in yet another surgery. I just really felt like there wasn’t much left for me to try. I was learning to accept that this was my life, and I needed to make the best of it.

I remember the day I saw that CCN had opened their membership and thinking, Well, it can’t hurt to join. On a whim, I emailed Cara. I was now a member, and although I’d made use of the recipes and blogs and such, I hadn’t really reached out and truly asked for help. I’d prayed for years for healing, received prayer on many occasions, and I honestly believed God could heal me. But I was at the end of my rope and was feeling very defeated.

So, I sent the email. In that email, I listed for Cara some of what I’d been going through over the last 15 years or so and asked her if she would share her AIP program with me, as I was really trying to get well. She immediately sent it my way, and I dove right in.

I started AIP in April and did it for several months (and still continue to do modified AIP to this day), and although I knew that it should be helping me so much, it just… wasn’t. Yes, I lost a few pounds. Yes, I gave up coffee. Yes, I stopped eating much in the way of sugar. I knew that all of those changes should have made me feel fantastic. But here I was—still tired, still aching, and still unwell. I prayed like crazy for God to heal me, but that just didn’t seem to be in the cards for me.

Quite to the contrary, the next thing I knew, I was hit with yet another disease, another diagnosis. This one was an autoimmune/auto-inflammatory disease. That was it. That was my final straw. I emailed Cara again and explained that for whatever reason, I just wasn’t getting better. I explained to her that I had actually somehow developed yet another issue. I cried while I wrote that email. It really was my last hope, and I truly felt defeated.

By the grace of God, He prompted her to offer me the opportunity to become a client, and I immediately took her up on it. I knew on our very first Zoom call that this was going to be different. Cara’s love for God and strong belief system that she so proudly speaks of set her apart for me immediately. I knew that if anyone could help me, it would be her.

What has happened over the last couple of months honestly makes me emotional just as I’m writing. Cara helped me see so many things that I couldn’t see on my own. Sure, I had some knowledge about healing and a great deal of faith, but I was missing the pieces that would bring it all together and actually put me on a path to healing.

Cara immediately recognized that my nervous system was completely bonkers. Perhaps it was the fact that I rambled a million miles per hour when we talked and was like a crazy lunatic on our Zoom calls. Doesn’t really matter how she knew—the fact is that she did. She explained to me that until we healed my nervous system, nothing else was going to heal. Even with all of my research, my education, my coursework, I missed that.

Cara gave me strategies and suggested tools that I could use to heal the dysfunction in my nervous system as she guided me through the foundational protocols that I was missing. On one Zoom call, Cara and I did listening prayer. This was life-changing for me. I have been a very active Christian for many years, but something about that experience changed me.

Cara helped me to see that I needed to learn to pray in a more passive manner at times, and simply allow Jesus to speak to me, rather than me doing all the talking (again—that’s my high-strung nervous system doing its thing). I truly began seeking God and His will in a different way, listening for His voice more and trusting that He was going to guide me in the right direction.

The last three months of my now 52-year-old life, I have felt the best that I have felt in more than 15 years. I’m calmer, I’m more at peace, and I’m actually interested in exercising and getting my body moving—something I was just too tired and sore for before.

I am walking a mile every day on my walking pad and using a rebounder for lymphatic drainage. I use an infrared sauna about five times per week and a PEMF mat to support the regulation of my nervous system. I’m sleeping better and have energy that I haven’t had in years.

Recently, when I saw some family I hadn’t seen in a few months, they commented on how good I looked. It’s always nice to get a compliment, but this felt different. They were actually seeing the difference on the outside of what I was feeling on the inside. It was amazing.

There is so much I am still learning. This journey I’m on is far from over, and honestly—it may never fully come to an end. I have learned to give myself grace, which is something I had forgotten how to do. I had to be reminded that this is a long race, not a short sprint. I had to temper my expectations and remember that I am already so much better than I was before, and that it’s okay to have a bad day once in a while.

When you’ve been so unwell for so many years, it’s easy to panic if you have a day where you just feel kind of “blah.” I know my journey is still in the early stages. There is much, much more healing that I need to do. I still have the scars and the damaged joints, and some days they remind me that they are there. But what they are not doing anymore is controlling my life.

I can now function in spite of that damage because my overall health is so much better that I often forget just how broken everything has been. That, in itself, is my own little miracle, and I will never be able to express my gratitude for the work Cara has done with me to get me here.

If you are struggling, please know that there is help out there, and there are answers. Turn to God. Pray. Utilize these amazing tools that CCN has to offer, and most importantly, don’t give up. Your healing is coming.