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More than 20 years ago, when I was a teenager, I had an accident that tore my earlobe all the way through. I had always wanted to fix it, but never made it a priority. Instead, I just re-pierced my ear (and tried to cover the tear with my hair). Imagine my excitement when I learned that Dr. Julie Keiffer, NMD, was performing minor surgical procedures right in the East Valley Naturopathic Doctors clinic – and that she was able to fix my earlobe in a simple, cost-effective, in-office procedure!
Although I was somewhat nervous before the procedure, Dr. Keiffer immediately put me at ease. I was in great, experienced hands and I literally felt no discomfort (not even when injected with the local anesthesia). In less than one hour, my ear was made whole again. I was expertly stitched up and sent on my merry way. I felt little or no pain later that day or the days following. The stitches were removed a week later – and now three weeks post-procedure, my earlobe is looking great! The scarring is already fading significantly, and I’ll be re-piercing in the next couple months.
I would highly recommend Dr. Keiffer for minor surgical procedures and look forward to seeing her again during her ‘Whack-a-Mole’ clinics. She is kind, gentle and, above all, well-skilled. And her rates are terrific, too. Chalk this up to another terrific experience at EVND!
- J.W. , 41 yr. old female
I'm 7 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. I am, of course, suffering from morning sickness. It was all the usual things. Smell sensitivity, nausea, and vomiting. I was so sick I lost 5 lbs in a weekend's time. I had a homeopathic intake with Dr. Rittling and within a few hours of taking the remedy she prescribed, I was able to eat. I am now eating comfortably. My nausea is loads better. I am so thankful to Dr. Rittling for making this joyous time bearable for me and my husband.
-M.L.
Our family began treatment at East Valley Naturopathic Doctors in 2009. We found the treatments we received to be extremely effective. Our family's overall health has positively changed through nutrition, homeopathy, and natural supplementation, as well as supportive and caring doctors and staff. My children's allergy, anxiety and attention deficient symptoms have greatly improved. Our family had unanswered questions regarding our health and the doctors at EVND were able to provide our family with solutions.
-J.R.
I brought my 2 boys to see Dr. Rittling in 2007. I was extremely skeptical because I knew that naturopathic medicine was unconventional and outside of my realm of comfort, but I was in search of answers and tired of giving my young boys prescribed medication for their recurrent respiratory and allergy problems. Dr. Rittling quickly responded with supplements to build their immune system and I was thrilled to see them so soon off their many medications. We no longer fear allergy season! At the end of 2010, we received the opportunity to become the parents of a 5 month old baby boy that had been drug exposed in-utero, but thankfully did not test positive at birth. No one ever knows what the exposure of drugs will look like, so any complications moving forward were unknown. Adopting is a step of faith.
When we met our baby, we saw an overweight 30lb 5 month old and our hearts immediately fell in love with him. He was physically and emotionally delayed, I believe that was because he was so big! We soon found out that he had an inability to self soothe, did not know how to sleep, he was constantly restless and would jerk and shake when he was sleeping, did not like physical touch, could not be soothed by traditional methods, and had a high pitch scream like we have never heard before. We were involved with occupational, physical, and behavioral therapy and his conventional state assigned pediatrician was telling us that he will most likely be medicated by the age of 2 for ADD/ADHD or bipolar disorder. Thankfully, under the care of Dr. Rittling, that is not our story.
Dr. Rittling has done amazing things for this baby! I feel like it has been an incredible journey and I can look over the past year and am truly amazed at her wisdom and therapies. She has a heart for children and parents, she took all my phone calls, she hugged and nurtured me in my weak, sleep deprived moments when I felt like I could not handle another day, she encouraged me and loved our family through the ugly times and is the first to laugh and celebrate our good times.
Dr. Rittling’s care has been life changing, her appropriate testing and therapies have given us vibrant, busy, happy, jumping, running, 30 lb 2 year old. We are all sleeping and he is filling our lives with joy! We thankful to be raising our children with the caring and loving family at EVND.
-S.K
"In my twenties, I never thought about aging although I have always been pre-occupied with the damage and emotional pain of constant acne. Now in my 30’s, and after years of acne, oily skin, and tanning, the consequences began to show and I sought some intervention. My skin is now not only being looked after in a way appropriate for my age but it has also undergone healing treatments and even anti-aging preventative treatments. My skin is still getting better and better: sometimes people even think I’m in my twenties now! But more profound than the health that Dr. Keiffer gives my skin is the health that she gives my mind and heart. I found, in a doctor, someone who authentically cares about my beauty and health both outside and inside. Dr. Keiffer has taught me about healthy skin and body but along with that, extra’s that I have never found in any other office. I feel like I have a partnership with a highly knowledgeable and caring doctor. That is rare and something I have only ever found here at East Valley Naturopathic Doctors and Dr. Keiffer. "
-M.C., 35 yo female
""My name is Tracy Pratt. My daughter was diagnosed with Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2004. She was critically ill and all of the specialists and their treatments did not seem to help her at all. She had a stroke and missed her entire senior year of high school. It was by chance that we met Dr. Jason Porter in 2006 who was at the time sharing an office with another physician while his current office was being finished. The doctor we came to see was overwhelmed by the complexity of my daughter's health and asked Dr. Porter if he had a moment to consult.
"His caring and professional nature won us over immediately and we began to see him regularly. After her first few appointments, my daughter was able to keep food down and put back on some of the 30 pounds she had lost due to the diseases and medications. Over the past 6 years, Dr. Porter has become the physician we rely on for all her care. She was later diagnosed with more autoimmune diseases and blood diseases with multiple hospitalizations and surgeries. Dr. Porter has consistently given the utmost care and attention to my daughter's health. She has shown great improvement from her IV, medical, acupuncture, and supplement treatments. We have come to rely on him and his unwavering work to find cure for her health problems.
"I would wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Porter as a physician and after so many years also feel honored to call him a friend."
- Tracy Pratt
"My head felt thick, spongey. It felt like a basketball was rolling around inside. There was pressure on the inside of my ears pushing outward. I was dizzy. I was exhausted and slept for hours and hours every day in addition to each night. Motion in any of its forms was my worst enemy and extracted an exorbitant price each time I was exposed to it. I was diagnosed with Mal de Debarquement in 2008.
In 1998 I went on an ocean cruise and came back with “Sea Legs” that lasted eight days. In 2008, I had another chance to go on a week long ocean cruise from Hawaii to San Diego. I couldn’t bear to pass it up, but knew that it would take time to get over it. Against my better judgment, I went, had the time of my life, and then, began to pay dearly for my choice. Eight days of “Sea Legs” came and went. Days turned to months which turned to years.
Initially, the hardest thing was walking. The floor would seem to move up and down and side to side, so it was difficult to know where and when to put my feet down. My balance was nearly impossible to find. Sitting in a chair was also a problem because I always felt like I was falling off it. I was able to find peace in sleep, so I slept a lot. One weekend alone I slept for over forty hours.
I was becoming hyper-sensitive to noise, to light, to music, to movies and especially to motion. We heard energetic youthful drummers practicing for a festival at the local high school and I was overcome with dizziness just from the sound and thereby immobilized for several days. Another time we slowly walked through a jazz festival and as the distinct patterns of rhythms from one band overlapped the sounds of the next band, the cacophony of mismatched sounds overwhelmed my senses; I was completely unable to continue moving and had to leave immediately. It was two days before I could function. My family decided to watch a movie about the sea, “The Perfect Storm.” I could not remain in the room as the flashing, swirling sea wrought havoc on my balance. I could hear the motion of the ocean through the walls in the other side of the house and spent the next few days sick from the experience.
Sitting in a rocking chair was a violent experience for me. Driving the car for over a mile or two was nearly impossible. Shopping for groceries and walking past isles and isles of items on shelves flared up the sensation of movement and overwhelmed my senses, so I had to walk very slowly, say, like a tortoise. I found it excruciating to sit outside and watch the gentle spring breeze billow the blades of grass; heaven forbid that breeze touched me. Dancing shadows or flickering firelight pained me immeasurably.
My memory was being affected as well: I kept misplacing things- the keys in the freezer, the milk in the pantry. I had enormous difficulty in making decisions like how high to set the toaster setting or how to solve a dispute between my children. My reasoning and cognitive abilities were at an all-time low.
One can only imagine how this affected me personally. I was trying to raise a family and could only lie on the couch or my bed and watch them. Their life was going full steam ahead and my life had stopped. I could not participate in anything with them. They had to press on ahead without me. My husband had to carry not only his heavy load, but mine as well; my children had to care for me instead of the other way around. As my world was caving in around me, emotionally I began to hurt very deeply and began to isolate myself from disappointment by deciding not to want anything since I couldn’t have it anyway. I began to die to desire. I felt an enormous sense of helplessness and hopelessness wash over me. At 43 years of age, my life was ending and I couldn’t find anyone who could do anything about it.
In time, I found the Barrow Neurological Institute. One of the only doctors in the country who knew anything at all about Mal de Debarquement was in Phoneix and specialized in MdDB; he helped me by prescribing medication. It took the edge off the condition, but didn’t cure me. I had better mobility, but could not get better. I experienced months of misery, then months where it would lessen, then misery would return again with the cycles spiraling downward.
It was at this time that I came to see Dr. Jennifer Nevels about this condition. In her beautifully loving and compassionate manner, she carefully examined every possibility that could be causing this. She researched, questioned, searched, and tested. She looked under every rock she could find, turning and upsiding each one looking for answers. She was on a quest to help me. Her words kept echoing in my mind: “I can help you.” All the other doctors told me they could try and see what happens. She told me, “I CAN.”
As a woman of faith, prayer has been my mainstay. Many people around the country were praying for me and I took great comfort in that. Yet, I was worsening. At church, in my darkest hour, once again I turned to my Lord for help and healing; miraculously, I received the assurance that He would bring me back to health.
The following morning, I had an appointment with Dr. Nevels. I had no idea what to expect. She had tested me for Heavy Metal Toxicicty and the results were in. I can never forget the expression on her precious face as she told me that I had extreme levels of Aluminum, Lead, and other toxic metals. She said it was urgent that we began intraveneous Chelation Treatments to remove the metals. We started that week.
I began a journey of healing that would take time. Within months, however, I began to see an improvement in my mind and my body. I was thinking more clearly- remembering and reasoning were coming back to me. I was receiving relief from the motion--I was beginning to be able to tolerate more and more sensations from my world. I remember how excited I was to share with Dr. Nevels how I was able to drive all the way to Tempe Town Lake and watch the sailboats skimming across the water. There was sunshine, clouds, breeze and motion and I was able to experience it all! What a gift from God!
As the months turned to a year of treatments, I have continued to improve. It has been such a joy to have another chance to live my life again! I feel alive! I keep reminding myself that I am forty-seven years old and not seventeen! I can hop, skip, spin, twirl, ride my bike, drive, I can dance with my kids! I thank God every time I can experience this beautiful world. I play in the wind like a five year-old does, holding up my arms and throwing back my head letting the wind carry me away. I walk my dogs and play volleyball and watch my sons fly airplanes at the park.
I am a part of my world again.
I am so grateful for East Valley Naturopathic Doctors. I cannot imagine where I would be today without them. The staff here is amazing and like none other that I have ever experienced. Each one here is so very beautiful and special and treats each patient with kindness and grace. I feel blessed just because I came to the doctor’s office! Spending so much time in the lab having bloodwork and IV’s done by Matthew and his various assistants has been my joy! These people have tender hearts and beautiful bedside manner. I am always at ease in their competent hands.
The front office staff has always been top-notch professional with a heaping dollop of kindness and caring. I have always felt like I matter to them and am not just another nuisance coming through the door.
My deepest expression of gratitude, however, is for Dr. Jennifer Nevels. Words are not adequate to convey what my heart feels: To be given life because she cared. To be allowed to participate in the world once again because she took time to find out what was wrong. To have hope. To have a future.
With my whole being, I say , "Thank You."
-Terri
"My experience at EVND has been nothing more than wonderful, I am thankful to have found a practice of naturopathic physicians of their caliber and expertise.Our family has experienced healing through the patience and knowledge of their amazing team.My children adore Dr. Rittling and she has helped them with a variety of issues ranging from the recovery of croup with natural remedies to behavioral issues.In addition, Dr. Nevels has been extremely helpful in bringing back a quality of life that I was missing.These Drs. care about you and take the time to listen to your health concerns. I never hesitate to recommend EVND to people who are looking for an alternative to conventional medicine.Keep up the great work!"
- Stephanie
"Our family began treatment at EVND in 2009. We found the treatment we received to be extremely effective. Our family's overall health has positively changes through nutrition, homeopathy, natural supplements as well as supportive and caring doctors and staff. My children's allergy, anxiety and attention deficient symptoms have greatly improved. Our family had unanswered questions regarding our health and the doctors at EVND were able to provide our family with solutions."
With deepest gratitude, - The Rabin family
"I started coming to EVND a year and a half ago for chronic migraines which have increased over the last 23 years.Over the last 12 years I have seen various Neurologists and have many tests done producing no answers.I have been on numerous daily maintenance medications as well as acute medications.These medications have done little to even ease my pain.Before coming to EVND, I was having headaches and migraines up to 27 days out of the month.I could barely function, but had to for my children.At EVND they spent time talking with me and asking me questions.They were very sympathetic and understanding.While the previous Neurologist’s were trying to make my headaches go away and treat the pain with various medications, EVND was searching for the source of my migraines so that we could resolve them.Through the superior knowledge and insight of the doctors at EVND and the testing they have done I was diagnosed with yeast overgrowth of the digestive tract, as well as food allergies including yeast and hormonal disturbances.With medication to stop the yeast overgrowth as well as avoiding yeast in foods I have narrowed my headaches and migraines to a few days a month.My family and I can’t begin to thank EVND for all they have done to restore daily functioning in our lives.I truly wish I had learned about them sooner and all my suffering could have been avoided."
- Kim
"I am extremely grateful to Dr. Porter and all of those at EVND who have treated me for ovarian cancer. I chose the alternative treatment of taking the vitamin C IV's because there's no harm to my body, and my quality of life will be GREAT! Dr. Porter has done so much for me in trying to get me healthy. I like the fact he monitors the progress of this alternative treatment and I also appreciate that he checks up on me during treatments, making sure I'm doing okay. Dr. Porter is very dedicated and committed to getting his patients feeling well and healthy. He listens to my concerns with compassion. His staff is just as wonderful with me all very caring about me. The staff all make me feel so special from the time I walk into that wonderful clinic of "wellness" till the time I walk out.
I wake up every morning feeling so grateful and blessed with this alternative treatment. I took a great leap of faith coming from NE to AZ for this alternative treatment. Taking this treatment is the best thing I have ever done for myself to my body."
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