One year ago I had a day where I was just “off.” I missed the turns to not one, not two, but THREE familiar places at three different times that day. After the third time, I thought, “Jeez—I must be pregnant. I haven’t had mom brain like this in a long while.” I went home, peed on a stick and, sure enough, saw two pink lines.

We were beyond excited. The first half of the year had been full of stress and major changes—we sold our home, spent three months getting rejected on bids for a new house, finally had an offer accepted and had closed escrow a mere 20 days earlier on a home that required a major remodel. What was one more major change on top of that? We had this.

A month later, I miscarried. We opted for a D&C because we were leaving for a family trip a few days later and thought this would be more predictable. No miscarriage is easy, and no miscarriage is the same. I know I am not alone in the physical and emotional struggle that followed. Six weeks later, I was still bleeding. “Totally in the range of normal” my doctor’s office advised. Another two weeks passed before I stopped bleeding for a whopping 6 days before getting what I thought was my first period. That lasted a month.

My doctor’s office finally thought it was time I come in for an appointment. On the ultrasound, she saw something that did not look right, so I got sent for blood tests, more ultrasounds, MRI and even more blood tests before someone decided to tell me that I had a growth that appeared to cover half of my uterus.

That’ll make you pay attention to what matters in a big hurry.

I’d be lying if I didn’t have a moment of thinking “Why me?” But it wasn’t a moment of self-pity; it was a moment of truly WHY would an otherwise healthy 37-year old would face a diagnosis like this? I eat well (mostly organic, minimally processed foods), exercise, don’t smoke, drink alcohol in moderation, et cetera, et cetera.

There is a growing body of research pointing to the role of environmental toxins in the increased incidence of cancer and other significant diseases and disorders. You can read more about this topic over at SaferChemicals.org’s health report.

After several months of watching and ongoing testing, two surgeries and a bunch of hormonal manipulation, it was determined that it was, in fact, NOT a cancerous growth on my uterus.

But the wheels had been set in motion.

We’ve taken steps to reduce our chemical burden in the hopes that we will never be faced with a situation like that again. We’ve swapped out our household chemicals with non-toxic, plant-based cleaners and dumped most of our personal care products in favor of items made at home with natural ingredients and essential oils.

I hope you will join us on this journey to improve the health of your family. Scrutinize labels. Learn about chemicals in your home and personal care products. Make small changes that yield big results.