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“I was going to make the most of my situation, even with my immobility.”- Aimee Tariq
I was a senior in high school, president of every club, a cheerleader, and already finished with all of my high school credits to graduate with honors. I didn’t graduate early so that I had time to save money for college. I was working as a waitress, tutor, assistant teacher, organizer, and a nanny, while looking for ways to start passive income so that I could focus on studying without stressing about work.
I dreamt of becoming a doctor who would change people’s lives and their health. I thought that as a doctor I could help change the world to be a better place. Even though I received full rides to my choice of college, becoming a doctor wouldn’t happen.
One night, as I tried to fall asleep after a long day of school and work, I felt my heart beating hard and fast, so hard it was hurting my ribs. My whole chest was shaking. After much convincing, my mother finally called 911. It was my first-time riding in an ambulance and my parents were already furious with me, anticipating the bills of what was to come.
I thought I was going to die.
The emergency room staff couldn’t bring my heart rate down. They were rude and hurled insults at me, making comments on how I looked, and the type of “trash” they thought I was, while I didn’t even have the strength to ask them to stop. My image of what healthcare was meant to be was slowly being ripped away from me.
Finally, after 3 days of countless blood tests and stress tests, and after finally admitting they were wrong and that I wasn’t on drugs, they discovered the problem. I simply had strep throat.
They sent me home with antibiotics and I thought I’d be able to go right back to normal.
But my heart rate was never the same, and neither was my health.
My heart rate stayed exponentially high and my body lost significant weight.
I couldn’t brush my own teeth, brush my own hair, or even have a simple conversation.
The teachers and students began treating me badly, because I couldn’t even hold my head up due to exhaustion from my illness.
It didn’t take long before I was labeled as a spoiled brat who wanted attention and an “easy pass.” (Even though…I had already passed.)
After being labeled and abused by the school staff because I was no longer “normal” and having no family support, and no longer being able to do simple, everyday tasks… I began wishing I had just died that day in the ambulance. It would’ve been easier than having to deal with watching all of my “friends,” teachers, and family say terrible things to me, treat me badly, and force me to do things I no longer could physically handle.
A quick death would’ve been much preferable to this agonizing, long, inferno.
Watching myself lose muscle and weight while there was nothing I could do.
Watching myself go from a super star athlete, to someone who couldn’t even brush her own teeth. Watching some people happy to see me so sick and withering away. Listening to my own friends and family say that I was a worthless loser, a burden, and a “cripple” and should just die. Being in this limbo was the worst. Being in this limbo is many people’s everyday reality.
As I went to many doctors and hospitals trying to find a solution, all I received was a total lack of care and my faith in western medicine was eventually shattered.
After winning over a million dollars in scholarships and winning all of the academic awards from my school, I decided on a small private college near home which guaranteed they would be understanding of my condition and they said it was fine if I needed to take days off to see my cardiologist. The college said I would have access to nurses and that they had healthy food options on campus. It was all a lie.
The professor who taught a class that students were forced to take on “how to use a planner” was told several times that I wouldn’t be at class due to a cardiologist appointment I had booked six months in advance and could not re-book. Instead of being understanding, she threatened to fail me, which would ruin my full ride scholarship. This led me to realize that school wasn’t worth sacrificing the little health (and perhaps life) I had left. With that realization, all my dreams to become a doctor were destroyed.
With this new purpose I had only two focuses: to get healthy or die trying. Now, more than ever, I had to become self-sufficient, because doctors weren’t helping me, my family wasn’t helping me, and the school and workplace wouldn’t want to work around my issues. I was going to have to learn how to make money in very little time with little energy, which pushed me to entrepreneurship.
During those next few years I lost the respect of everyone I knew. “You’re a quitter. You’re a loser. You just want attention. You’re wasting your life and youth. You’re throwing everything away. You’ve disappointed everyone.” I became isolated, but I made the best of it.
Regaining my health was the opposite of throwing my life away. It was the best decision I could’ve made. Creating my own online businesses instead of going into a workplace- also the best decision I could’ve made. Those people didn’t pay my medical bills and didn’t have to live with my disabilities. They had no idea what it took for me to simply stay alive. And they had no right to pretend they did. They had no right to say those things to me.
I was going to make the most of my situation, even with my immobility. I don’t know how I kept fighting, but I did.
I focused on reading books and improving my knowledge, my mind, my health and my abilities. I began writing books and learned about businesses and health. Everything I learned about health was the result of careful and strategic planning because one mistake would lead to cardiac arrest. It was like navigating my way through a minefield.
Once I was able to leave my parent’s house, I made everything in my life organic, wholesome, and toxin free. I bought the best water filter, organic mattress, and food. And with much work and dedication, I healed.
To this day, despite my best seller, despite working with some of the most prominent bi-regulatory physicians in the world, despite helping thousands of people achieve better health, I am hated by many for talking about the importance of a toxin-free life, in food, in relationships, and in the workplace. But I’m appreciated by more, for living in my truth and for helping others. For me it was a matter of life and death. I wanted and NEEDED to heal my life, and in the process, I learned that the same method could be applied to others.
My purpose is to help those who want to live healthy and unlock their greatest potential. I am grateful to live my life on my terms and to live out my original dream of healing people…only in a way I never knew was possible.
What advice would you give to others to help their employees thrive?
Make sure to respect employees as human beings with human needs- they need adequate rest. Educate them with proper nutrition. Skip the donuts and provide some healthy snack options if they come in to work, because healthy and happy employees are the foundation of your business. When you look after your employees, they look after your customers. When your customers are happy, your company is thriving.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Because of what I’ve been through with my own health, I have a trusted network of bioregulatory physicians for injuries, dental work, hormones, illness and disease.
For example, when I had regular strep throat, gingivitis, cavities, and mouth pain I was searching for a dentist who followed and recognized the innovative and progressive work Weston A. Price conducted. I accidentally stumbled across a microbiome dentist who would change my life with his innovative techniques. He had a patented toothpaste that restores the bacteria ecological balance in the mouth, without the use of toxins. It cured my gingivitis and I haven’t had strep throat since.
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