Dr Cyndi Gilbert ND

03/06/2024

The event is literally written into my skin. It’s there in the bruises, sutures, and incision scars. It’s there in reports I read on patient portals, sometimes even before the doctors do.

Being hit by a car is a single moment in time, but the repercussions come in waves. Some of them are known very quickly, like the neurosurgery needed to stabilize my spine. Others can show up later, like the spinal cord injury I was diagnosed with weeks later called subacute post-traumatic ascending myelopathy, also known by its hilarious acronym - SPAM.

I first heard about SPAM five days, four MRIs, loads of blood tests, and a lumbar puncture after being readmitted to hospital. The name was in the consult report from the neuroradiologist enlisted to figure out what was going on. Along with a likely diagnosis, was a PMID. Immediately I pulled up the report. It was a literature review with less than 40 cases. I didn’t make it past the abstract. The conclusion was too bleak - “There is no effective therapy... The prognosis of SPAM is poor… The mortality rate is approximately 10%.”

I dropped my phone and started bawling. I don’t know what I had expected but it wasn’t this. It took a lot of hugs and rest before I could read the rest of the article, which I knew I need to do I so I’d have coherent and educated questions for my neurology team the next morning during rounds.

Weeks later, now safely back at home and in recovery, SPAM and that literature review have forever left their mark. Both are literally written into my skin.

ID: photo of the author’s back, showing eight incisions, four on either side of the spine. Overlaid on top is a PDF of the article titled “Subacute post traumatic ascending myopathy: a literature review” PMID: 27995944.

12/21/2023

I have big news! And big changes ahead!

I’m 🥳 (and also 😢) to share that I’ve been appointed the new Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors!

As many of you know, I’ve long been involved in advocating for health equity, anti-oppression, and reconciliation, working as a naturopathic doctor, a faculty member, a researcher, a volunteer, and a consultant. I started out my first career in not-for-profits working at the intersections of human health and planetary health, and I’m excited to complete the circle with a return to non-profit leadership at the CAND. I will be starting full-time in my new position, and thus no longer seeing patients (or the other 5 jobs I have if you ask my kids), as of January 29 2024. 

Of course, I have mixed emotions. It’s a lot of change. I will miss working with my patients, who I care for deeply. I’m sad to no longer be a regular part of the CCNM community and Heal All. But my passion and commitment to naturopathic medicine hasn’t changed.

For patients, I want to help ensure a smooth transition. I have appointments available in January and will help make sure your next ND is also a great fit. Check your email for details ;)

For students and colleagues, things are changing, but I’m relieved to know I’ll get to keep working with you to sow seeds and help our profession flourish. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together!

🍁🩺❤️

[image description: text on off-white background reads “Everything is about to change. Big news and clinic announcements ahead.” Dr. Cyndi Gilbert ND’s clinic logo is in the bottom right hand corner]

12/11/2023

Always Fresh by was an unexpected gem we saw earlier this week. Charcoal and paint drawn on top of produce boxes, it brings to life the lives and labours of farmworkers. On the left of the painting, a group of people sort fruit; on the right, the same group sits at rest in the orchard. At the centre is a profile view of a farmworker wearing a ball cap, sunglasses, and a bandana covering their nose and mouth. In the foreground, a person is sitting on a bench looking at the artwork.

11/29/2023

I’m not interested in competing with anyone. I hope we all make it.



[image description: black sign hanging outside a building with white all caps lettering as per the caption on this post, photo source unknown]

11/17/2023

Excited to release this update! New standards, updated language, and more adjunctive naturopathic care info.

11/17/2023

When I’m feeling overwhelmed with grief or despair and I feel like ‎ די וועלט איז דרעק
, I go hang out with plants. These Bittersweet were perfectly appropriate and aptly named the other day, right there when I needed them.

[image description: a branch with multiple round orange fruits, some of which have opened to reveal their red seed pods]

11/15/2023

New article out from me and Dr. Michelle Cohen MD on the role of naturopathic doctors in primary care and collaboration between NDs & MDs.

Naturopathic doctors (NDs) have an important role to play in the health-care system. We need a pilot project to assess the viability of ND integration into team-based primary care models.

10/28/2023

What do NDs do at our annual conference? We go for botanical walks of course.



[image descriptions: 1 - dark red leaves and berries; 2 - path lined by trees; 3 - pink water lilies and lotus leaves floating on water; 4 - white umbelliferous flowers of a Hydrangea; 5 - bright yellow leaves on a tree]

09/20/2023

No hate. No fear. Trans and nonbinary kids are welcome here. I support young people in their agency.

09/12/2023

09/04/2023

Sunsets over summer.

There’s still a heat warning in the city but I’m already looking forward to fall colours and less sweaty hikes and cozy sweaters.

[image description: both pictures feature a yellow-orange sunset with mountains in the background and a sailboat on the ocean in the foreground]

08/28/2023

By walking, I found out where I was going.



[image description: black and white photo of two eyes each inside a small blue painted window pane with text below the one on the right that reads “By walking, I found out where I was going.”]

08/26/2023

It’s all about the views and vibes.

[image description: 1 - the sun shining through a large stone doorway; 2 - rolling green hills and a valley leading out to the coast with more small mountains in the background; 3 - looking down at a stone amphitheater with more archeological ruins in the background and a valley below; 4 - a poster on a stone wall, navy background with a drawn image of person with stencilled text above that reads “capitalism must fall”; below is an image of a sun, blue sky, and a tree that looks like it was drawn with crayons; 5 - wooden trireme boat in the harbour with a small inflatable boat in the foreground; 6 - green poster from with white writing on a brown wall that reads “All I know is that I know nothing. Socrates”]

08/15/2023

Summertime… I’m offline.

[image description: 1 - wavy red soil that makes up the Cheltenham badlands with green forest and blue sky in the background; 2 - closeup of a single yellow Elecampane (Inula sp.) flower; 3 - right orange cluster of butterfly w**d flowers]

08/11/2023

Fascinating research and super cool findings

Both bears and humans may have been attracted to the same resource-rich regions

07/31/2023

You aren’t perfect. Nobody is. It’s ok to forgive yourself.

[image description: white poster on a brown building with an illustration of a cloud hugging another cloud while sitting atop the earth. A red heart is in the bottom right corner. Above the image, black text reads: “it’s okay to forgive yourself.”]