Welcome to Black & Organic
Welcome to Black & Organic! I think this space, this conversation, is one that I’ve been having in my head for a long time, but never really got a chance to articulate it.
My name is Charlee Martin and I’m a wellness coach, a naturopathy and herbal medicine student, and an advocate for those living with complex chronic illnesses. I personally have suffered from a chronic skin disease with painful boils since I was 13. From the age of 16, I had inflamed veins in my arms and legs and an irregular heart beat. My family and I tried to seek out proper medical advice for years, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I would get diagnoses to go with these conditions - Hidradenitis Suppurativa and A-Fibrillation. Both conditions don’t give you many options for treatment allopathically, and both conditions are easily triggered by stress, poor diet, poor sleep and fatigue.
But my interest in health didn’t begin with myself actually. When I was 9-years-old my mom was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer and given a poor prognosis. She had surgery to remove 3 lymph glands, one the size of a baseball, and underwent chemotherapy. Before her treatment, she began a holistic journey, switching to vegetarianism, taking herbs, juicing and a raw diet as well as practicing deeply held spiritual beliefs. And after her treatment, to repair her body she went to a naturopath and acupuncturist. Her recovery was miraculous given how ill she was. She also had a renowned surgeon, dedicated to helping his community regardless of their income limitations - a a graduate from Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Ga. And though she’s continues to struggle with physical health, I do believe without the naturopathic treatment coupled with a non-aggressive allopathic regime, she would have died.
I studied to be a Medical Assistant after being home schooled for high school, and then went on to work in a trauma hospital in the medical-surgical unit. I’ve always worked in healthcare, mostly in project and digital roles, but it has been holism and natural medicine that I’ve used to control my conditions and help my mother battle extreme fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. It’s still a challenge, everyday, when you have a chronic illness. But understanding my body, what it lovingly requires for survival, has brought my conditions under control.
It’s a lonely, up hill battle with a chronic illness, and learning to live naturally and healthily can feel like a two steps forward, one step back process. Of course it does - we live with unexpected flare ups, bewildered clinicians, and life responsibilities that don’t stop with these conditions.
I want this community to be for everyone who wants to live a healthy natural life, but especially people suffering from chronic and confounding conditions. I want us to:
Empower each other through shared knowledge.
Support each other in times of challenge, flare ups, and frustration
Help each other hold ourselves to account, and motivate us to keep going
Build a community of friends, people we can rely on for support and will be there along the journey
And lovingly reduce our isolation - chronic illness is a really lonely place.
I really hope I can help you get healthier, balance your emotions, and learn the joys of living naturally!
So happy to meet you!
