Meet the owner

 

Hi. I am Jodi McKee.

I took inspiration from my own healing journey as a catalyst to create Jewelweed. The store comes from a wish I had when I was undergoing my own personal transformation. I didn't want anyone else to suffer through a transformation alone. Now, I offer you this unique experience.  

I am a mother of three boys who were raised on herbal medicine. As a natural healer, I've experienced first hand the healing and support plants and alternative methods can offer. My unique experience and trainings as an herbalist, flower essence practitioner, life coach, energy healer, interior designer, entrepreneur is now brought to Jewelweed.

This shop is my wildest dream come true. The store's purpose is to offer inspiration and serve as a place of introduction to ideas and practices that you may still label as "weird" and yet, are healing and nourishing for the body and soul. 

 My Introduction to healing with plant medicine...

The question I get asked the most is, "how did you get into all of this," as people gesture around the store. My "story" of how I got started on the plant path and came to trust in alternative methods is a long one. The reason I stuck with plant medicine for more than 18 years is because... 

I witnessed plants and other modalities heal people in miraculous ways

I am here to share what I learned as a mother, herbalist, energy worker, and spiritual seeker in hopes that it can benefit others.

My oldest son, Alec had terrible asthma when he was little. It began when he was three months old and lasted five long years. Frequently, he caught colds that severely affected his lungs—he was constantly wheezing, coughing, and struggling to breathe. We went through numerous late night emergency room visits, multiple extended hospital stays, two 911 calls, many doctor visits, several specialist appointments, and prescriptions for heavy-duty drugs including albuterol, steroids, and antibiotics. We even had his tonsils and adenoids removed. 

My breaking point came after a two-day trip to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. My son received 25 allergy testing pokes, as well as an aerosol “irritant” in to his lungs that caused him to cough for six weeks straight.

Their conclusion—he would have asthma and allergies for the rest of his life. As a last ditch effort, I asked the doctor about diet and supplements. I was told that neither would have any impact on asthma—rather, I should load up on prescription drugs and prepare an action plan for future asthma attacks. When we left Rochester, our son was so much sicker than when had arrived. 

I felt angry, frustrated, and hopeless.

Up until then, I had been an obediently “good” mother, following everything the doctors told me. But eventually, I realized that I needed to try something different. So I started doing research. 

In 2001, I didn't have access to the internet so I went to the library and bookstores. One of the first books I found was about a water cure for asthma. (Seriously.) 

We tried it. It didn’t work.

I found books on maintaining healthy homes and clean air and learned about the toxicity of cleaning products. I read about the vitamins asthmatics were often deficient in.

Then, I stumbled upon herbal remedies.

Shortly after I took my first herb class, taught by Lise Wolff. She gave me an analogy that stuck with me. She told me to think of the immune system like a cup. Just as a cup filled past its limit will overflow and lose its functionality, an immune system overloaded with too many toxins cannot do its job properly. Lise told me that this will show up in some as asthma and allergies.

We made a lot of changes. Some were easy and others difficult. We gave away our dog, moved to a "healthier" home, installed air and water filters, went dairy free, and quit using harsh chemicals in our house and on our lawn. 

I started driving 30 minutes to the grocery store to buy organic food and spent more time at home to avoid anyone with a cold. Of course, we received pushback from our friends and family, but this didn't stop me. 

Finally, I began to think for myself and question everything the doctors told me. I watched my son closely and really tried to notice what helped as well as what harmed—which foods turned his complexion pale, gave him dark circles under his eyes, or made him cough. When he was coming down with a cold, I could tell by the little tweak in his voice.

I learned to trust my observations and intuitions.

We consulted with Lise for my son’s asthma, which was already showing signs of improvement. Alec started on low doses of herbs daily. Within months, he came down with a terrible chest cold accompanied by coughing and heavy mucus. When the cold had run its course, that was it. 

No asthma ever again. 

I continued to use herbs and vitamins to build up his immune system. At the first sign of a cold, I gave him more herbs and modified his diet to help fight off the virus. We stayed away from prescriptive and OTC drugs. It worked. Today, my son is 23 years old, and his immune system is stronger than ever. The changes we made in the process of helping Alec are now a part of our everyday family lifestyle.

Looking back on the experience two big shifts occurred: 

My son went from “un-curable” to cured.

I went from ignorant to educated. 

I learned that the doctors only know what they know. They can be awesome, helpful, and amazing, but I no longer go along with what they tell me simply because they have an MD behind their name. We need to do our own research, trust our intuition, observe our children (as well as ourselves), and recognize the messages our bodies communicate.

Sometimes, adjusting to what a body is saying can be inconvenient, expensive, or simply confusing. It might mean letting people down or doing something considered "weird."

Do it anyway.

It is this deep listening as well as consciously responding that brings about true healing.  

 

Welcome to Jewelweed!