In July of 2016, while many Americans were celebrating the fourth, Serita Valmond’s life changed forever when she was rear-ended at a stop light. The accident left her with severe chronic pain, a result of bone fragments pressing into her nerves. Following her accident, Serita was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome, degenerative disk disease, chronic migraines, and nerve damage. The excruciating pain that originated in her right arm and upper back started to spread throughout her entire body. Surgery reduced the pain but didn’t resolve it, prompting numerous specialists to argue with Serita about how much pain she was really in. “The system, unfortunately, is failing us in major ways… and it’s okay to admit that we screwed up,” said Serita, noting that “western medicine does have its place… but it’s also not the end all be all.” After her doctors prescribed a combined total of fifteen medications, which still did not resolve the pain, Serita took matters into her own hands and began searching for ways to heal herself. She felt like her life had become a science experiment, so she decided it was time to become her own scientist. She disappeared down a rabbit hole of alternative pain management solutions and never looked back.
Serita explained how she changed her diet – meaning anything she had to intake and process, from food, to media, to experiences, to the people she surrounded herself with – and began weeding out toxicity wherever she could find it. She started managing her stress, something she had given almost no thought to previously.
Her stress management practices included journaling, meditation, therapy to process her grief after the recent loss of her mom, as well as prioritizing rest and reincorporating movement back into her regular routine. Within four months, she had stopped taking her pain medications, lost the 50 pounds that she had gained after her accident, and essentially rid herself of the debilitating pain she had been experiencing on a daily basis.
Serita explained how she changed her diet – meaning anything she had to intake and process, from food, to media, to experiences, to the people she surrounded herself with – and began weeding out toxicity wherever she could find it. She started managing her stress, something she had given almost no thought to previously. Her stress management practices included journaling, meditation, therapy to process her grief after the recent loss of her mom, as well as prioritizing rest and reincorporating movement back into her regular routine. Within four months, she had stopped taking her pain medications, lost the 50 pounds that she had gained after her accident, and essentially rid herself of the debilitating pain she had been experiencing on a daily basis.
Following her own personal transformation, Serita pursued certifications as a Master Health and Life Coach, a Transformational Coach, and Reiki Practitioner, with the goal of helping people who found themselves in similar situations to the one she faced. Through her business, I Am Chronically Resilient, which she founded in February of 2020, she helps people with pain caused by fibromyalgia, surgery, migraines, inflammatory conditions, and more. The main part of her practice, she explains, is “teaching people how to pay attention to their bodies.” One of her favorite modalities for building this bodily awareness is journaling. Once she helps people build awareness around the pain they feel physically, she can then work with them to release emotions associated with the pain, depending on where the pain resides. She wants to make it known that healing is possible, but “it is a lifestyle,” and a mindset, adding that “if you don’t believe that you can heal, I can’t assist you.”
In the two years since launching her business, Serita has been featured in The Comeback Anthology, a collection of stories about recovering from life’s setbacks, and worked with the Milwaukee County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, from whom she won an award for her work with mental health and wellness. “Wellness is not a focus in Milwaukee,” she commented during our interview, noting the lack of focus on nutrition, as well the food deserts in many, predominantly Black, parts of the city. Being one of the most segregated cities in America is holding Milwaukee back, Serita notes, pointing out that people who need resources most are not getting them, and are often not even made aware that they exist. A self-proclaimed “solution-based person,” Serita asserts that wellness needs to be more accessible to all communities in Milwaukee, declaring that it is time to “make things better for future generations because the kids are looking at us right now.”
Whether through her work offering 1:1 coaching, or selling organic body butters and reiki-infused candles, it is clear that Serita is working to do just that. With Chronic Pain Awareness Month coming up in September, Serita is hard at work organizing an event for those with chronic pain to come together and form a community. “The option is there to heal,” she stresses. Serita is, as her business name suggests, chronically resilient, and she hopes to help others see their own resilience as well. To learn more about Serita, I Am Chronically Resilient, and any upcoming events, follow her on Instagram, schedule a consultation, or send her an email at goalchasers2020@gmail.com.
