Cristie was born with a dislocated hip; which may be an odd place to start however it was the first major sign that was overlooked by doctors that should have prompted them to do genetic testing and further investigations in order to find out what was going on in her body.  Instead, doctors told her parents that she was double-jointed, as if that was normal, and as she grew and developed other symptoms she was consistently dismissed and told she had anxiety.  It took almost 40 years of being gaslit by the medical system until she advocated for herself and pushed for answers, to finally be diagnosed with a rare genetic connective tissue disorder that explained all of the seemingly disconnected symptoms she had experienced throughout her life.

Doctors suggested she be put into dance to help stabilize her hypermobile joints, so at the age of 3 she started taking ballet and performing on stage.  The stage became a sanctuary throughout her childhood and teenage years where she experimented with all styles of dance and eventually fell in love with theater; she was even chosen to be a part of creating a semi-professional theater company in high school.  In addition to dance, one of her earliest memories is writing short stories; she still has her first journal where she mused and created.  Writing a book has always been a huge dream for her since as far back as she can remember.

Cristie’s professional career in public relations began at the flagship Four Seasons Hotel Toronto and eventually transferred to a destination marketing company; in those years she had the opportunity to lead groups of journalists on media familiarization tours, wrote press releases and copy for marketing materials, coordinated photo shoots and multiple grand prize giveaways, media spots for clients along all forms of media and was involved in international event management including the Four Seasons GM Summit and the Toronto International Film Festival.

She always knew that she wanted to start her own business so a few years after working for other people, she took the leap to move back to her hometown of Ottawa where she opened Stellar Events, a wedding and event planning company.  For over a decade in business, Cristie became a community leader and award-winning entrepreneur working with clients from around the world.  She promoted many of her events as a spokesperson on TV and radio, as well as being featured in numerous magazines and newspapers.  As an entrepreneur, she was on the cutting edge of integrating video into her marketing and social media; not only creating a vlog but collaborating with a video production company to host a series of roundtable discussions featuring industry leaders to discuss themes impacting the event industry in Ottawa.

In 2011, her sweet godson Nicholas was born; which stopped her in her tracks and made her start re-evaluating her life and what was truly important.  Without knowing, Nicholas had suffered strokes and seizures in utero and the doctors did not think he would live days, let alone years due to the brain damage including hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy.  It was her first real experience with disability and the thought that he could pass at any moment was devastating.  He changed her in such deep and meaningful ways, knowing how delicate life can be.  Despite what doctors originally thought, Nicholas has surpassed many of the limitations they had placed on his life and is a true testament to the power of love and resilience.  To help cope with the uncertainty surrounding her godson’s life, she turned to an energy healer that practiced reiki to help process everything.  Eventually, she fell in love with energy healing and became certified in reiki, integrated energy therapy (IET), healing touch and access BARS.

A few years after Nicholas was born, her own health began to decline leading to her first official diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.  Unfortunately, her health continued to worsen and eventually was diagnosed with a rare genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and an immune system disorder that responds like an allergic reaction called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.  It came to the point where she could no longer physically do events anymore, so she transitioned from the fast-paced days in PR and event planning to a more grounded energy healer and mindfulness teacher.

Over the years, as her body continued to decline, she found herself leaning into her spirituality and the mindfulness techniques she had learned throughout the years as an energy healer.  Gradually digging deeper to heal past trauma, inner child and shadow work to get to a point where she knew herself on the most authentic and real level.  She learned to feel every emotion, keep the lessons and release what no longer served her to the point that she was able to cope better in her everyday life living with complex chronic pain.  In 2020, as the world shut down due to the global COVID pandemic, Cristie’s body simultaneously went downhill with an IBD flare that ultimately led to emergency life-saving surgery to remove her entire colon in October of the same year.

Following the initial ileostomy surgery, she underwent two more complex and difficult surgeries within the next two years.  As she navigated the complexities of having a dynamic disability that most medical professionals do not understand, living with a stoma bag on the outside of her body for two years and going through the process of preparing for surgery, the increased acute post-surgical pain, dealing with complications in and out of the ER and trying to strength train prior to each additional surgery; Cristie shared her experiences online to create awareness and became a vocal disability advocate.  This became even more important to her as she witnessed the downfall of the general public and how people with disabilities were treated throughout the pandemic, and since.  She has shared her insight and first-hand experiences with adversity and disability on podcasts and looks forward to connecting with larger in person audiences on stages around the world.

Words have power.  As she continued to face complicated health challenges, Cristie started to very intentionally refer to herself as a warrior goddess.  Her warrior is the part within her that fights the physical battles, dealing with constant pain and the ability to face adversity with strength and resilience.  Her health has taught her many lessons, including: avoiding toxic positivity and showing up authentically even in the hardest moments, the power of words and training your mind through neuroplasticity techniques, appreciating the small things in life, creating healthy boundaries that prioritize your health and the importance of community.  On the other side is her goddess, which represents her spiritual gifts as an intuitive empath, connecting with her angels and spirit guides as well as energy healing.  Her goddess has taught her a lot as well, including: exploring the deep waters of her emotional being, learning to live in the present moment, finding her true light through the darkness of inner child and shadow work, showing up authentically and understanding that our relationships act as mirrors reflecting back to us areas that need healing and transforming perceived weakness into your superpower.

Within the pages of her first published book, Bless the Meds, Cristie shares her first hand lived experiences of how she persevered and thrived through uncertainty, pain and everything that comes with disability.  From learning how pain impacts our brain and nervous system to mindfulness techniques and ancient eastern medical practices, this book breaks down complex medical terminology in an accessible and easy to understand way.  Although there is no magical pill to make pain disappear there are many techniques that can transform your relationship with pain; and that is where our power lies.  Prepare to transform from a victim to warrior mindset as Cristie guides you to radically accept limitations due to chronic pain; creating a new reality where you find happiness and new dreams despite the difficulties that come with living in pain.