Kendrah Betz

I have a background as a medical Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), graduating with my Masters from Miami University of Ohio in 2012, so I am no stranger to Western Medicine. It definitely has its place and I’ve seen it save lives. But I grew up with a very holistic mother who taught me to “try natural” before jumping to pharmaceuticals, and with an awareness that our system has a weakness for supporting the chronically ill. Still, my profession served me well as I worked to retrain speech, language, and cognitive function for those recovering from Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA, aka: stroke), or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or suffering from Post Concussive Syndrome (PCS). I also enjoyed evaluating and treating patients with Dysphagia (chewing and swallowing impairments). I had the opportunity to be a holistic provider and help so many wonderful people.

Unfortunately, as I thrived in my career, my health was declining. I began to have severe joint pain (in the knees particularly) by the age of 29 I was diagnosed with arthritis, unspecified type. I had dizziness/vertigo, chronic migraines, unending lists of food sensitivities, fatigue, insomnia, muscle pain, severe bloating and constipation/diarrhea, abdominal pain and distention, brain fog, and on and on the list went. Eventually I began to experience major depression and anxiety symptoms, escalating to panic attacks, dissociative episodes, and suicidal ideation. This was really terrifying for me and I had been seeking answers as these symptoms kept evolving. I also continued to work (somehow) and developed a kinship with my PCS patients who genuinely asked me often if I had experienced a concussion before because I could relate to their experiences so well (yikes!). I was seeking answers with top physicians at top hospitals that I worked with in my area, but was overall dismissed and diagnosed with things like “IBS” and “fibromyalgia” and “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” with no answers and no hope (except for my hope in Christ). I finally was diagnosed with CIRS by Dr. Eric Dorninger and my husband and I began our journey on the Shoemaker Protocol. This journey - both pre and post diagnosis - pushed me to expand my holistic values and recognize that while what I was doing as a career was valuable, often times I had patients who would be much better served by certain lifestyle changes that were outside of my scope of practice to support and recommend. Many patients had degenerative diseases that I knew would benefit from checking their home or work environments for biotoxins (such as Alzheimers or Parkinson’s Disease). This realization moved me to become a Functional Medicine Coaching Academy certified Health & Wellness Coach in 2018.

I continued to practice as an SLP for a few more years until we discovered that I was still in exposure from my workplace, which was stalling my recovery. It was a huge identity crisis but I left my job and took time off for a few months, focusing on the protocol. I was unable to eradicate MARCoNs and so I pursued removing a failed root canal tooth, and underwent cavitation surgery for 4 cavitations I had from prior wisdom tooth extraction. This helped and I tested MARCoNs free for a time, and overall my health seemed to stabilize. In the meantime, I opened my own speech telehealth business, and began working as a CIRS coach as well.

Up to this point, my husband and I had LONG awaited having children, and we were thrilled I finally felt well enough to conceive, carry, and raise a child. We were blessed to conceive our rainbow baby, Lydia, in 2022. She was born on St. Patties Day in 2023 🌈 ❤️. Parenting has been a rollercoaster and the main focus of our lives since. I did relapse this year (2024) into active CIRS after one too many doctors visits for my baby girl, without being on the protocol. I’m resuming the protocol now as I continue to coach, but am eagerly awaiting for when I will have the time to complete the CIRSx Institute coaching certification. I’ve lived this and feel very confident in my knowledge, but there is always more to learn and I’m so grateful for CIRSx keeping us updated on the latest!

I so hope if you and a loved one are struggling with this protocol and with biotoxin illness, you’ll tune into the interview with me and my husband. We have gone through the GAMUT and come out the other side stronger. Marriages CAN survive CIRS and the Shoemaker Protocol 🙏.