About

Hi, I'm Mardy Ross, the creator of Lumigrate.  

This photo was taken at the time Lumigrate was being created, and was used from "day 1". I created Lumigrate as a "next step" for me professionally, in order to be able to viably work in a different way, melding my personal health experience and information I found helpful with my professional experience as an occupational therapist.   

I became a Registered Occupational Therapist at age 37, after having worked my way up from statistical typist as a "student hourly" at 19 years of age, to eight years serving as a "state classified employee" in a prestigious position as the "right hand assistant" to a researcher at Colorado State University's collaborative project with the air quality division of the National Park Service. 

The project's research lead to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and the resultant "carbon taxes", a review by the US Supreme Court, and many, many publications I supervised the production of for our team of researchers.  One conference alone had thirteen papers which went into the proceedings from our group.  

Our burgeoning group and funds lead to a new addition at the "solar village" on the research campus at Colorado State University, and the long hours in an unhealthy building lead to a total collapse of my health in my late 20s. In that era, what became known as "chronic fatigue syndrome" would lead to half the people having it becoming bed or house bound, and the other half would "recover", which was considered 80% of previous functional level.

I simply could NOT imagine spending the rest of my life in such an incapacitated state, and I worked very hard doing what my allopathic doctor, paid for by my insurance, prescribed (as medication) and recommended (as activity).  I got a lucky break, really, that my GP knew there was a "bunch" of what I had in Fort Collins at the time, and that an ENT group in town had been taught by National Jewish Hospital in Denver what could help, and how to diagnose it. 

That didn't happen without persistence on my part as the first partner in the practice said I had "sinus headache" and diagnosed a drug that made me almost pass out in the shower the next morning.  But I waited until his partner returned from India -- my GP had suggested the doctor who was gone at the time "only because he has less of an accent and is easier to understand".  Since I'd worked in mathematics and statistics offices at the University, I was familiar with people who were from India, and I appointed initially with the first available provider.

I had no way of knowing my life would never be the same, how much I'd have to learn, how much money I'd have to spend, how it would affect my work, my family and friend groups, and literally every aspect of my life. 

I also did not forsee that once I became an occupational therapist at the age of 37, I'd be lead into a melding of my professional and personal life's challenges with health, and create a website like this, in an attempt to simply HELP PEOPLE FIND INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, and PROVIDERS with more efficiency for TIME, ENERGY, and MONEY. 

In spring of 2007, in a collaborative brainstorming session with a professional colleague who influenced me as much as any in my entire career, Dr. Chris Young of Behavioral Health and Wellness, the Lumigrate YOU! Model came from my bringing out notes of January 2005 meeting with a savvy rheumatologist who mapped out what a person with fibromyalgia needed from the mainstream medical community in combination with what Dr Young and I had found was successful with Helen (permission given to use her name, she was proud of the influence she had on our programs), who was my first new patient in 2007. 

 The Cornerstone of Lumigrate and my work since '07

The photo, below, was taken on what turned out to be my last day doing "OTR" work.  The gentleman on the left was a Certified OT Assistant (COTA) who had every bit and more skill at occupational therapy as any OTR I'd seen, and was master level at therapy of the upper extremity.  He'd joined me in the fall of 2006, part time, then became full time as the demand grew simultaneous to his wanting to simplify his professional life and only work one place -- and I was honored he gave me first option to have him full time.  In 2007, the gal in the middle contacted me requesting a COTA internship, and I was thrilled when the COTA was up for the responsibility of co-supervising her internships.  Her internship ended at the same time as the clinic we were within had become aware of some forthcoming changes that would affect our program, so on Leap Day 2008, I "leaped" via professional movers, to help start an innovative, private pay clinic.  

The concept was straightforward, and drew upon experiences I had clear back in that sick building with the air quality research program (a striking irony that the indoor air quality was so problematic to me), as the boss had me buy all the equipment and hire the staff to have in-house graphics arts and videography / editing / production: I'd help produce educational seminars for the local people who could come to the clinic, harvest the content that was most helpful to people who had complex, chronic health issues such as I had navigated successfully by then, and have the products available to purchase that were discussed and provided in house to patients locally if anyone wanted to purchase them from my business.  

But the group didn't "hold together" long enough for that to come to fruition, though I did get a good complement of videos produced, which came with a downloadable file of the key points.  I was about a decade ahead of things, streaming needed to become the norm, as we've now realized.  And providers and the consumers needed to embrace distance consultations using phone or video conferencing.  Covid-19 did us a favor on THAT aspect, in 2020.  

So I basically ran out of funds after a full time effort to get the videos produced, edited and onto a website that was capable of doing downloads, forums, blog, and product sales/shopping cart.  We had Facebook, YouTube, and even podcasts that were in iTunes (in 2010 I had a little money to work with for a while, and did the podcasts).  I was able to produce content and have guests in the Forums, and focused on that for a number of years, and gradually people increasingly recognized my contributions and costs and supported my work.  Overall, the public was becoming aware that if you wanted "truth", you needed to contribute via donation or subscription, and in my case, I provided time to talk and I'd give my input.  It has never been enough to support my costs, but whenever it happens it is meaningful to me because it SHOULD support me, some day, and most people are satisfied or more with the results. 

I find that people will pay $20/hour for time talking with me about a variety of things I have some knowledgew about.  If you'd be interested in that what I do is ask for $20 to be put into my Pay Pal or otherwise paid to me, and we set up a time to talk.  It can be changed once, but if a second change is needed the $20 paid goes to my time that had been taken getting to that point and we reconsider if the person is at a point in their life to engage or not.  And usually people don't have to reschedule or cancel, and we might talk for several hours (at $20/hour).  If this is of interest to you, connect with me.   

Please see my professional biography/vitae at the Forums tab; the forum it is in is near the top and is titled 'About Lumigrate's Forum Writers'. For your ease, mine is at this link: www.lumigrate.com/forum/mardy-ross-otr-and-founding-executive-director-lumigrate

Since the "Contact Us" tab cannot be changed at this time, and that information is not correct since 2014, I put my most current information at About Us and update it, while sprinkling requests for supportive contributions in a variety of ways, leading here for details.  Thank you for being here! 

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An issue with so many ways of contact as is needed today is something can be missed, so please don't end up in a crack if I don't respond.  Try again!  

My phone (and I text) is ----- 970 as area code, 462 is the prefix, and 8662 are the last four.  CELL PHONE NUMBER can help you find me on Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle. 

My address is: Mardy Ross; 202 North Avenue #177, Grand Junction, CO 81501

I'm on Facebook (Mardy Ross) and Messenger.  I will respond. If I don't, it's because I've missed the message so use another means.  Keep trying until you reach me!

The email is: mardy dot poppins at yahoo dot com

Thank you for 1) Being a YOUser at Lumigrate if you've accessed this topic.  2) Giving if you will take the time, energy and have the funds and are so inclined.  3) Letting others know of the resource for information AND a place they can give if interested in helping us to help YOU! (the overall).  ~ Gratefully, Mardy

 

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE 

Mail, see address in box, above. 

PayPal link is: paypal.me/MardyRoss (or you can use my name or phone number, above, too)

Venmo : venmo.com/Mardy-Ross

Zelle : A banking app, you can find me with the telephone number listed above, or email.  Text or call if you're going this route, or certainly if any difficulties arise.  

Corresponding, cropped, screen shots of my accounts -- so you can better recognize them if it's the method you will use, are:

   A girl and a dog, age 5, 1965.   Little did I know that 50 years later, I'd be connecting with a big retriever mix dog of 10 who clearly had symptoms similar to mine, called "fibromyalgia" in the past, my many.  He would lead me to finally "open up my mind" to a mentor in Germany who was trying to get through to me for several years. My symptoms quit advancing, and some reversed for a time (I was 57, so ..... you can't maybe expect a lot of reversal but it was amazing to see advancement halt!)  My gut told me I had to do whatever it took to stick with that dog and keep learning, and helping him.  Vice versa, it was, but of course I looked at it only as what I was doing to help, not what I was receiving.  

The funny thing is, at the time the photo was taken, above, I'd seen a yellow lab at a dog show and told my mother I wanted a yellow lab.  She said I couldn't have one.  Was I fore-seeing my future at 60?  Maybe so.  I brought Tres home on the 2nd Monday in December, 2020, when my schedule was perfect with workload and clients I was helping.  The next day I'd have some symptoms that I attribued to the dog being from a farm and having things on it's fur I was allergic to.  I'd also have a keen and different ability with taste and presume it was from taking extra zinc and other things becaue COVID was hitting our area hard.  

It turns out that I had COVID, and a week later it was apparent and I was extremely ill.  This very patient dog hung out watching me without bothering me the entire five days I had the horrendous symptoms.  I'd not be able to merely let him out the door because the back door came off the track the first day I was ill, and I'd have to walk him out the front door and around enough -- in December in the high desert of western Colorado -- to relieve himself of bowel and bladder.  It's entirely possible that my Covid experience would have been not as good an outcome as I had (my client I caught it from died) if he'd not come into my life as he did, and I was dogless with Covid, not having to go out into the cold air 3x a day as I did.  I don't know, there's no way to know.  But I do know that I've become a "niche filler" -- people's lives create niches where they need help, and I'm able to help in a wide variety of ways, and there appears to be a need for older dogs with chronic pain issues to be given a home with the things that can help.  

Today, on the day in October I was updating this, there were 50 and then 40 computers accessing the forums.  On the day in August 2020 I updated this, after a month getting back to new information building, once COVID-19 information was available I wanted to cover, 70 computers were accessing the forums one time I looked, it had been 58 earlier in the day.  So if you like the feeling of giving so that everyone might benefit, I'm doing my part since 2008 and I welcome your help in gifts of funds.  

Please see my professional biography/vitae at the Forums tab; the forum it is in is near the top and is titled 'About Lumigrate's Forum Writers'. For your ease, mine is at this link: www.lumigrate.com/forum/mardy-ross-otr-and-founding-executive-director-lumigrate

Since the "Contact Us" tab cannot be changed at this time, and that information is not correct since 2014, I put my most current information at About Us and update it, while sprinkling requests for supportive contributions in a variety of ways, leading here for details.  Thank you for being here! 

---

An issue with so many ways of contact as is needed today is something can be missed, so please don't end up in a crack if I don't respond.  Try again!  

My phone (and I text) is ----- 970 as area code, 462 is the prefix, and 8662 are the last four.  CELL PHONE NUMBER can help you find me on Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle. 

My address is: Mardy Ross; 202 North Avenue #177, Grand Junction, CO 81501

I'm on Facebook (Mardy Ross) and Messenger.  I will respond. If I don't, it's because I've missed the message so use another means.  Keep trying until you reach me!

The email is: mardy dot poppins at yahoo dot com

Thank you for 1) Being a YOUser at Lumigrate if you've accessed this topic.  2) Giving if you will take the time, energy and have the funds and are so inclined.  3) Letting others know of the resource for information AND a place they can give if interested in helping us to help YOU! (the overall).  ~ Gratefully, Mardy

 

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE 

Mail, see address in box, above. 

PayPal link is: paypal.me/MardyRoss (or you can use my name or phone number, above, too)

Venmo : venmo.com/Mardy-Ross

Zelle : A banking app, you can find me with the telephone number listed above, or email.  Text or call if you're going this route, or certainly if any difficulties arise.  

Corresponding, cropped, screen shots of my accounts -- so you can better recognize them if it's the method you will use, are:

 < after many things I did in 2004/5 helped

                                        < Fall 2003, unwell

                         December 2017 with O'Rio Grande, six months after "root cause" was found and I learned "to test" for the element(s) of sensitivity O'Rio and I had (I have two, very rare genetics to cause that, and one was same as O'Rio).  

April 2013, unwell again and baffled at the time as to why.  (Which was all explained once I learned from the German auricular medicine (a form of energy medicine) provider who was trying to get me to "tune in" and learn at the time of this photo but I was not able to at the time.  

                                           My Root Causes / Onion Layer Model