Eden Family Practice, LLC

05/11/2026

I am exclusively home visits and telemedicine at this point. My second story clinic didn't meet the needs of most all of my clients, and admittedly, I do enjoy home visits so this was fine by me.

As I build my clientele in Lexington however (and surrounding areas), my clientele are older than they were in my years in Indiana. This makes sense since I started my career as a midwife, which made for lots of mommas and babies, and then husbands and older kids, even some grandparents. Now though, that I am not caring for pregnant women as often, the vast majority of people needing primary care are our seniors.

What I am taking notice, as I am starting my sixth decade of life, is how well people have prepared themselves for these later years in life and not just physically, but also financially.

Every client I meet, I ask if they have the financial means to care for themselves, to eat well, to obtain their medications and secure stable housing. People are struggling. Some are suffering.

I've learned that while we want soaking tubs when we are young, as we age, we depend on a walk-in shower. It's also important to have laundry and the primary bedroom on the main floor.

Into retirement, one must still maintain a reliable car and car insurance. I've had several seniors share with me they could not afford their car insurance any longer, and how this concerns them since they know their mental health is declining or their Parkinson's advancing.

Hearing aids, dentures, time in rehab after falls or joint replacements are expensive, as are many of the more important drugs. I met an 87 year old last week who says she plans to continue living a life of vitality for another 7 years and then she'll be ready to go, but she can't afford the $300 deductible for her glasses and she'd like to see her life until she is ready to go.

Only 18% of Americans make more than $100,000 a year. The average consumer debt is $22,000 a year. Most adults, 61% live paycheck to paycheck, and this is incredibly important when you are living off social security and are paying rent. A lot of senior citizens are living in apartments and will pay rent for the rest of their lives.

As much as I love to talk about optimizing health and wellness, moving in nature and talk therapy, eating well and sleeping sound, building good relationships and addressing trauma, it is also incredibly important to evaluate your annual income. Do you own your own home? Is your income stable and do you have multiple income streams? What percentage of your income is going into savings or how much are you investing? Do you have a retirement plan?

Your vitality depends on your financial freedom.

05/09/2026

We were planning a Disney Cruise this summer. Wanted to share in the event your family thought the same.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17Kqv8HQHc/?mibextid=wwXIfr

05/05/2026

04/17/2026

IN FRANKFORT: House Bill 134 expands access to nurses specially trained to treat survivors of sexual assault. Sponsored by Representative Rebecca Rayner and signed into law by Governor Beshear, the measure establishes a statewide Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) coordinator. More below.

04/13/2026

Ruby and I got a new dog from the pound, a gorgeous gentle giant. We met with the vet associated with the pound, as we had agreed to have him seen within 10 days of adoption. It's my assumption that this vet clinic probably offers the bulk of the services for the dog's at the pound, which is a great marketing strategy, and I also hope this effort is about wanting to give back to dogs and cats in need. Wonderful.

I was a bit conflicted then, because during our two-week trial with Kopper, knowing almost immediately we wanted to keep him, I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with the local veterinarian who pays to be listed on google as a holistic practitioner. I read the bio on her website - acupuncture and herbal medicine, fabulous.

German Shepherds are known for having arthritis, and our sweet Kopper is already showing early signs so I wanted to be sure we had a good plan for him. My preference is not to wait until he can't climb the stairs because we live on the third floor and he's a 100-pound dog.

When we arrived, the vet tech asked if we were there for a standard evaluation and I explained, "Well, we had just had him seen by a vet so he's had that and we got the Lyme vaccine, but I was hoping to connect with a holistic vet and establish a relationship." She reassured us that Dr. Hill was very holistic and I would really enjoy her. Lovely.

Just a few moments later, we were greeted by the doctor and she immediately states, as she grasped her proverbial pearls, "I am not a holistic doctor!" I was a bit confused because she was clearly offended by this suggestion.

In my mind, having the opportunity and heart to practice holistic medicine is a privilege and mark of a good-hearted clinician. Why? Is? She? Offended?

I think I responded, as I tried to collect my thoughts, "Oh, I googled for a holistic vet in Lexington and your clinic came up." She then climbed up on her high horse and said, "yes, we get that request all the time but no where on my website does it say that!"

She then explained she was certified in acupuncture and trained in herbal medicine, but she made very clear, SHE IS NOT HOLISTIC. Again, what? Do you even know what holistic means?

Many thoughts are going through my head here, such as, "so you don't center the care around the animal" and "why does it offend you that I thought you might have a wellness approach or that you might want to provide compassionate healing options for any chronic care issues beyond standard, conventional therapies?"

I was really baffled and a bit speechless for a moment, so she goes on to explain - repeatedly - that she is a "big fan of conventional medicine."

Hoping to reassure her I said, "holistic care and Western medicine are not oppositional of each other."

I didn't get it right, and that upset her even more. She then over-talked me, reiterating again and again that she has high regard for Western medicine.

I waited and then when I thought I had a moment, I asked her what she thought holistic medicine was because I thought we probably are in alignment - trying to right this wrecked train, but she then says, "I think every time someone comes in here asking for holistic medicine they are..." in an incredibly condescending tone... so I just stood up and thanked her for her time, that we were not in need of her services.

It didn't matter at this point.

Even if our integrative approaches were similar, she was right - she was not holistic. A holistic practitioner listens to her patient. They have a curiosity about understanding what their patient's needs are, not just diagnosing pathology. And this woman did not give one iota about what I desired.

She was shocked that I was leaving which is even more peculiar to me. Did she really think she could just berate me based on her own assumptions and I would just be agreeable to paying her $300 for that experience?

I responded, "I don't know that we aren't aligned in our approach to care. I am a holistic human doctor, but I don't feel like there was ever any effort to understand me. You over talked me the entire time. I was never heard."

I too have a great deal of respect for conventional medicine... I spent $180K investing in that knowledge for my own educational efforts, and I utilize it daily in my healthcare practice. Western medicine absolutely has its place and its an honor to have a license to practice.

I have also added substantially more education during my career in integrative health approaches, so I view this as going above and beyond. How that is an insult is beyond my comprehension, but, what saddens me, is that while I suspect we really were very much aligned in our approach to pathology, even optimizing wellness, but her pride and inexperience causes her to sit in her ego.

So ultimately, she was right.

She is not a holistic practitioner and not because she values Western medicine, but because she doesn't value her patient.

04/05/2026

NP Melissa Dore - Loses Licence for Vaccine Exemptions!

I want you to meet Melissa Dore, a principled and courageous Nurse Practitioner who has been in the nursing field for 24 years.

She tells me she recently had a high profile appeal in the court system after having her licence suspended by the College of Nurses for providing vaccine exemptions to patients.

In this multi-year battle, Melissa tells me she hasn't been able to work as a nurse for over 4 years. In the process she's lost her house and her car.

She just recently had her appeal in court, and she says it went very well! However, it will be several months before we know the outcome.

Melissa has shouldered the burden of defending herself, and has also suffered significantly financially over the past 5 years. Please help support her fight today!

To support Melissa click below:

https://www.fundingthefight.ca/melissa_dore

Melissa told me her story in a recent interview.

In September of 2021, a former patient approached her with some concerns about taking the COVID jab to keep his job. He was unable to receive help from his family doctor. Melissa did some research to see what the guidance was for issuing exemptions for the COVID jab.

She found a document put out by the Ontario Chief Medical Health Officer called Directive 6 resource guide, which had guidance on how to implement COVID vaccine mandates in the workplace. This directive encouraged employers to offer three options to be in compliance. Option 1 was to show proof of vaccination Option 2 was to show proof of a medical exemption and Option 3 was to show proof of attending an education session that outlined how the vaccines work, the benefits, the risks and the side-affects of the vaccines.

Melissa decided to develop an online education session covering the information required in the Directive 6 resource guide, which would satisfy Option 3. Melissa notes that this was in alignment with the Healthcare Consent Act which is legislation healthcare providers must abide by when caring for patients, which of course requires informed consent.

She says she created her course using information directly from the vaccine manufacturers (the product monograph that came with the vaccine).

She offered the course several times a week via zoom, as there was heavy demand for it. If someone completed the session and chose to decline the vaccination, she would provide them with a certificate saying they were taught the information and that they chose to decline the vaccine.

As you can imagine the College of Nurses didn't like this. Melissa tells me she was found to have committed professional misconduct, and the penalty they levied on her was to revoke her certificate to practice nursing. As she says, "I have no licence to practice nursing anymore as a result of providing informed consent to those who were interested."

Melissa says her licence was formally revoked on March 24, 2025. However, she says they made her essentially unemployable as of February 7, 2022. That was the date they put restrictions on her licence that she says made it basically impossible to get a job. Therefore she hasn't been able to work for over 4 years.

Melissa just completed her appeal of the College of Nurses before three judges in court. This happened on March 2, 2026.

Melissa says she argued that did not commit professional misconduct, and further that the college's actions were similar to malicious prosecution.

Not being able to work for 4 years has taken its toll.

“As a single mother it’s been brutal…without warning, one day your licence to earn a living is snatched from you...No one would be able to fathom the challenges I’ve faced and I’ve had to endure and overcome over the last few years”

I’ve lost everything…I’ve been surviving off the kindness of others and by God’s grace.

Melissa really needs your help to continue her fight. To help, please click below!

Please Support Melissa Here:

https://www.fundingthefight.ca/melissa_dore

Melissa also shared with me that her professional liability insurer also refused to defend her. She was left without any support. She believes the nurses association which provides the insurance and the College of Nurses essentially colluded to ensure that she would be found to have committed professional misconduct and take her licence.

She has also taken them to court, a story I will expand on later this week.

I'm proud of Melissa for standing up to fight against some big Goliath's in her life, even though she didn't have any support.

Thank you for standing with Melissa today!

Stay tuned for out interview coming out later this week!

04/01/2026

Yesterday, I went to care for a momma of a disabled man in my practice. I had spent a lot of time getting to know her when I came to care for her son originally, and she has so many challenges in her life; I think of her often and how struggling families like this become invisible and isolated.

I was eager to see if any of the resources I provided for her son were helpful and how I might be better able to help her. She’s not someone who asks for help, but even as much as I’ve carried in my life, I feel overwhelm when hearing her journey.

She was ashamed to ask for help, to use community resources for food and utilities. I was speaking to that and hoping to reassure her that many people are struggling. Everyday at least one client shares with me that they run out of food by the end of the month. The client I had visited just prior to her was actually losing weight because he couldn’t afford enough food and was being evicted from his home.

Of course, she immediately asks for his name and address and said she will feed him and take him cooked meals if that’s easier for him. She’s an empty cup, in so much need it wakes me up at night, but her heart is to assure that everyone else is cared for.

I wish it was a mandatory life experience for everyone to follow in the shoes of a nurse for at least a week, to see what we see, and to better understand the suffering of others.