It’s me, (Anna)bel

Welcome. This is the story of a girl. (Who cried a river and drowned the whole world.) Okay, but seriously, this is the life of a young woman. And just like any other story of a woman, there will be heartbreak, self-discovery, passion, love, and humility. I’ve come to realize a lot about myself, but there’s so much more to figure out. Not to mention, as humans, we’re always changing, so does anyone ever truly fully know themselves?

The path I am on now started about 3 years ago, when I had surgery for my endometriosis. People say you lose yourself in motherhood, but if I’m being honest, that surgery was where I began to feel like less and less myself. I was so excited to finally get my endometriosis diagnosis and get some relief. Something I never found in the numerous birth controls I tried. Surgery day came and it (mostly) went as expected. My partner and I woke up around 4am to be at the hospital by 6. We arrived, pre-op went smoothly, and after about 5 hours, I woke back up.

After a surgery like this, you have to pee before you can leave the hospital. I tried and tried but couldn’t. For hours. In that time, I became extremely nauseous because I was going on over 30 hours of not eating and was, of course, on pain medicine. I ended up throwing up. This made my surgeon check on me. I felt awful. I was tired and hungry and I just wanted to go home. My surgeon comes in after I’m finally able to pee but decides, while he’s there, he might as well let me know how it all went. He starts off with “it was even worse than we thought it would be.” Honestly, it was extremely validating. The pain I had been feeling for years, the events I had canceled on, the work I missed, and the fight I had been in to get diagnosed… all validated. Then my surgeon goes on to say that it was in fact level 4 and it was one of the worst cases he’s seen. Again, adding to my validation. Then the air is sucked out of the room and I freeze as he tells me if I ever want to get pregnant, it’s going to be very difficult and I will have to meet with a fertility specialist.

I waited until my doctor left the room and then I sobbed. I have wanted to be a mother my entire life. My heart yearned for it. This news was devastating and while I tried to convince myself everything would be alright, it weighed on me daily. Through an awfully long recovery and trying to continue my normal life, it was all I really thought about. My surgery was in February of 2023 and by September, I had fallen into a deep depression. I’m thankful that summer was able to distract me but I think it also delayed me getting help. Once it hit, even though it had been piling up, it felt like it came out of nowhere. One day, I was suddenly and fully engulfed in grieving the life I thought I would have.

It was awful and I still didn’t feel as though I was fully physically healed, so I tried to ignore my emotional well-being (stupid) and focus on that. My doctor had put an IUD in when he did my surgery (he wouldn’t do the surgery without me agreeing to that despite my best efforts to fight hormonal birth control of any kind as it has ALWAYS f*cked me up). I had it taken out a few months later because surprise surprise it was awful. That being said, in September, I decided to take matters into my own hands. While blood tests never fully confirmed how out of wack my hormones felt, I knew the root of my issues were coming from a crazy imbalance. For about a month or so, I tried out an anti-inflammatory diet to help balance my hormones. As I mentioned, I was pretty depressed so sticking to a strict diet when I all I wanted was toaster strudels, ice cream, and sweet chili doritos, was quite difficult.

So I turned to herbal medicine. I saw a few videos about teas that helped with hormone balancing. I looked into them and then paired with my own research, I talked to my partner about it all. He told me we had half of the ingredients I wanted to use in the basement. So I ordered the other half and made my tea. It was a last ditch effort to feel better. I was at the point of wanting a hysterectomy.

Two weeks into drinking the tea, my PMDD and overall mood had already improved. Three weeks and my cramps were less intense and my acne starting to clear up. Seven weeks and my period was about a day or two shorter and my PMS symptoms only lasted a few days instead of over a week. Ovulating no longer came with bleeding and cramping. I felt worlds better. Which also ultimately helped my depression a little. Then, after about 4 months of drinking this tea, I found out I was pregnant.

It was terrifying and my partner and I honestly had a hard time even believing it was true. But once reality set in, we were so happy and felt so unbelievably lucky. My depression didn’t magically go away. It was there before this part of my journey and it will be with me always. But I was finally able to see some light again. I was already in therapy again, which helped me navigate my somewhat complicated feelings about being pregnant. I was thrilled but due to my mental health, I was scared. Not to mention, being pregnant in general is scary. Growing a human is hard and exhausting. Bringing in new life changes you and can easily change your relationships. I wanted to have my business in full swing before I had children, this pregnancy brought a lot of things to light that I didn’t think I was ready for. That scared the crap out of me. 

But, as it so often does, pregnancy broke me open and sent me down a path I didn’t expect. But one of the most rewarding journeys I’ve ever embarked on. The success I personally had with this tea made me share it with anyone and everyone I knew who had cycle issues. It cleared up my sister-in-law’s acne, helped another sister-in -law get pregnant, helped a wonderful new friend get pregnant, and helped another friend get back to a sense of normal quicker as part of her postpartum journey. All my life, I have wanted to help people and make them feel good. Now, I get to do both.

Now, here we are almost three years after my surgery. I have a nearly 20-month-old boy who is the sweetest, happiest baby there could be and just had a baby girl last week! I was laid off after a month back at work after maternity leave back in February 2025 and have taken it as a blessing and an opportunity to focus on this business. Doing the things I love and getting to spread love and wellness. I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way but am learning and growing so that I can put the best product out there for those who are seeking a bridge in their health journey. Those who want to work on things holistically as we may be made up of parts, but we are whole people who deserve to look at ourselves and each other as fully-integrated, whole selves. I am Annabel and I have flaws. I have strengths and weaknesses. I laugh as easily as I cry. I love as openly as I grieve. I’m human and I am whole. Welcome everyone and remember, you are worthy and you are loved.