Who is DeeDee?
When I first entered college, I knew I wanted to go into the human services field, so I chose psychology and criminal justice as my majors. After graduating, I worked for 10 years with clients that were developmentally disabled as well as each having a psychiatric diagnosis. This job was very stressful, and so after having my second child, I decided to stay home to be with my children. For six years, and through the arrival of my third child, I ran a home daycare.
During college, I had started to have severe stomach and intestinal pain. This pain would come and go throughout the years. For a while, when the situation was really bad, I would be in pain about once a month for three solid days. I still had to function during these days, but I always wished I could be in bed. My menstrual cycle was also erratic.
I went to a medical doctor during college, but the doctor had no idea what was wrong or how to help me, so I just lived with the pain. When I was home from college, I had a gallbladder ultrasound, a barium swallow test, and blood tests, but again nothing was found to be wrong. I was told that my symptoms were probably related to stress and that nothing could be done.
I continued to live with the pain for years. Once out of college, I started looking for solutions to the pain. I changed my diet and took supplements. The pain diminished but didn't go away completely.
I started taking classes in nutrition. The more I learned, the more I was inspired to learn more. Even while I was doing the daycare, I knew I wanted my life's work to be helping people with their overall health. In 2003, I enrolled in a Master's Program in Nutrition at American Health Science University. I loved what I was learning.
Towards the end of the program, I was assigned an internship. I searched on the internet under "nutrition" and "Madison, WI" and found the Optimal Health Network/Center. I called the OHC and spoke with
Kristina, who invited me to Madison for an interview. At that time, we decided that I would volunteer 8 hours per week doing everything from assisting with the farm foods to assisting Kristina to finish her book,
Ten Days to Optimal Health. I helped her test the book out in practice, talked with clients to help with their health programs, and also did bookkeeping for her small health business. It was hard work given that I still had two other jobs, was going to school, and had three small children at home, but I learned a lot from working with Kristina, and soon was hired full-time as customer service support and her assistant.
With Kristina's encouragement, I went to an internationally certified colon hydrotherapy school in Chicago, Illinois, about 6 months after the start of the internship. I am now a National Board Certified Colon Hydrotherapist and Licensed Certified Nutritionist.
Since then I have been trained in hair tissue mineral analysis
(HTMA), Adrenal Stress Index (ASI) testing, hormonal balancing,
and stool analysis and have done hundreds of nutritional
consultations and consultations on the test we offer. I have also
given thousands of
colon hydrotherapy sessions and hundreds of
enema sessions.
One of the things that I love most about the testing that we do at the Optimal Health Center is that now I see that stress can cause intestinal pain and that there are things you can easily do to optimize your health to handle the stress without tearing down your body and causing chronic inflammation. I wish I would have found a resource like the Optimal Health Network back when I was in college. I am certain, given the remarkable changes I see with clients, that I didn't need to live with that pain for all those years.
Throughout this process of understanding my own health, I have never stopped learning and am continually educating myself. For instance, I recently went through a post-graduate
distance education course to earn my certificate in Practical
Herbal Therapy through the Australian College of Phototherapy
in Practical Herbal Therapy.
When you call the OHC, I will most likely be the person who answers the phone to help you decide which colon cleanse equipment is best for you and which tests you might wish to partake in, and who helps set up your colon hydrotherapy session, your
massage session, or your
FIR sauna session appointment.
I wear many hats. I love my work and the time I spend with clients and customers, both in person and over the phone. If I haven't met you yet, I look forward to meeting you. I am happy to help you with any health issue you have.
—
DeeDee Delkamp
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When I first entered college, I knew I wanted to go into the human services field, so I chose psychology and criminal justice as my majors. After graduating, I worked for 10 years with clients that were developmentally disabled as well as each having a psychiatric diagnosis. This job was very stressful, and so after having my second child, I decided to stay home to be with my children. For six years, and through the arrival of my third child, I ran a home daycare.