Podcast 149 — Moms with Moxie: Successfully Healing a Toddler’s Cellulitis

Hi, I’m Joette Calabrese, and I welcome you to our health care movement — yours, mine and the countless men and women across the globe who have retaken control of their families’ health with Practical Homeopathy®.

So, for the next few minutes, let's link our arms as I demystify homeopathy — what was once considered an esoteric paradigm — into an understandable, reproducible, safe and effective health care solution available to all.

This is the medicine you've been searching for — my unique brand of homeopathy, PRACTICAL Homeopathy®.

Introduction: Successfully Healing a Toddler’s Cellulitis

Kate: (01:00)

Hello and welcome to the Practical Homeopathy® podcast, where we explore real-life stories and empowering solutions using the gentle and effective power of Practical Homeopathy®. I'm Kate, and I'm so glad that you're here with us today.

We have a heartfelt and inspiring episode for you. I'm joined by Jordan, a mom whose story is a shining example of what calm confidence and the right knowledge can do, especially when it matters most.

She'll be sharing how her understanding and experience with Practical Homeopathy® helped her to navigate a potentially serious health issue: cellulitis in one of her children.

You'll hear how Jordan stayed grounded through the uncertainty, trusted what she knew, and took action in a way that supported her daughter's recovery beautifully.

So, whether you're new to homeopathy or a seasoned user, this episode will leave you feeling encouraged and empowered. Welcome to the podcast, Jordan.

Jordan:

Happy to be back. Thanks for having me again, Kate.

Kate:

Yes! So, you might have heard Jordan's story in a previous podcast. It was Podcast 99, where she shared her story. So, you might want to take a listen to that when you have some time.

But Jordan is one of the team members at JoetteCalabrese.com. She is actually an amazing writer. In fact, if you're a Mighties Plus member, you may have experienced her delightful writing. She helps with those Remedy Riddles we all know and love and are posted each month.

If you're not a Mighties Plus member, and you don't know what we're talking about, you can find that information at JoettesLearningCenter.com. Check it out. It's a really great community. Jordan, thank you for being with us, and you're going to share mostly about a case of cellulitis that you dealt with, with your daughter.

So, let's just dive in. Can you tell us what happened?

I Thought They Were Bites

Jordan: (02:49)

Yeah, so my daughter, Zélie, was just over a year old when this happened. So, she was very little, and it began with what seemed to be a few bites on her legs — very red, hard, swollen, definitely looked painful.

The first time I noticed them was when I was changing her diaper right before bedtime. And when I saw the bites, I thought she had been off that day. She woke up early from her nap crying, and she's normally very cheery and bubbly. But she was just not her normal cheery self that day.

So, when I saw the bites, I thought, “Okay, this makes sense.”

I gave a few doses of Ledum 200 and put her to bed and then kept a close eye on it through the night. Whenever she woke up to nurse during the night — which is very typical for her, she nurses quite a bit — I would give her a dose of Ledum and feel her legs to see if this swelling was going down. And it was. So, I was feeling very encouraged and thought, “Okay, good. This is going to be gone quickly.”

The next morning, looked at her legs, and they definitely looked better initially. They were flatter, and they were fading. But then it took a wrong turn very quickly.

So, it would maybe be only an hour or so later that I noticed that the spots were rapidly spreading. It was probably during one of her diaper changes, and they were all over her legs, and they were very inflamed, very angry-looking.

Now, Kate, as you know, I have seven kids. I think you joked one time that my house was an urgent care — which it's true. There's always something going on here, but I had never seen this before. This was beyond my experience.

Time to Pivot … but I Needed Support

Jordan: (04:13)

I could tell it was probably a systemic reaction of some kind because of how it was spreading. But beyond that, I was not sure.

So, I definitely started to feel overwhelmed.

I don't know about you, but when I'm confused and I don't know what the next step is, I start to feel very overwhelmed. So, I had that feeling of panic setting in.

But then, very soon after I was starting to feel my heart racing, I heard Joette’s little voice say in the back of my head, “You need to know what you're treating. You need to know the name of the condition. Then you can just choose the correct protocol.”

So, I thought, “Great. That's my next step.” So, I called my sister to see if she knew what this was. Nicole is one of Joette’s Academy graduates. So, she's very knowledgeable, very competent, and has always been a very strong support to me.

So, when she saw the pictures of Zélie’s legs, almost immediately she said, “That looks like cellulitis.” And she knew what she was talking about because many years ago, her own daughter had been bitten and had developed cellulitis.

So, even before we were off the phone, I began giving Zélie Hyper/Ars 200, which is the Banerji Protocol for cellulitis that I had learned in the Antibiotic Alternative class.

Thinking Several Steps Ahead

Kate: (05:18)

Okay, so let me just clarify, Jordan, that is a combination remedy of Hypericum and Arsenicum album. So, for those who might not know what we're referring to.

Jordan:

Right. And I gave her three doses of that — close together — and then laid her down for her nap.

And although my sister and I felt pretty confident it was cellulitis, we both thought, “Wouldn't it be great if a practitioner could just confirm it for us?” But I really did not want to go that route. I really did not want to go to urgent care. I knew that if I stepped into that realm, there's a good chance I would lose the freedom to treat this the way I wanted to treat it.

I kept thinking of Joette's chess analogy. I can't remember which class she shared this in, but it really made an impression. And basically, what she was saying is a good chess player not only thinks about the move they're about to make, they're thinking two, three, even four steps ahead.

So, I don't play chess, but I've watched my husband play my sons and my brothers playing each other, and I can see the wheels turning. And they're not just thinking about their move. They're thinking about if I move this piece, how will that change their strategy?

And so, in my circumstance, I was thinking, “If my move is to take Zélie to the doctor or urgent care, what will their move be? How will they respond to me? Will I be allowed to simply walk in, get a diagnosis and leave, especially considering that this was a baby with what would be seen as a dangerous infection?”

Now, I'm not saying there's never a time and place, right, Kate?

Kate:

Right. Right.

Jordan:

There is a time and a place. My kid breaks their bone? I'm out of my league. I need to go get that set. But that was not the case here. I had what I needed. I had the Banerji Protocol and a community to back me up.

Kate:

I think what you're saying, Jordan, is so important to think ahead about the things that we are about to do. I had to do that so many times as I was caring for my mother, just thinking about, “Okay, I really want a diagnosis, but what comes with that?”

And so thankfully, I had a team of people who were very willing — including her primary care physician — to give us a diagnosis and then say, “Okay, so now what do you have that can help her?”

And if you don't have a care team like that, whether it's a physician or maybe a friend who's a nurse or even a chiropractor for some things, I think it's beneficial to find those people who can give you the information that you need where you don't have to worry about “Am I going to be chastised for not taking a medication?”

Trusting My Community

Jordan: (07:44)

Right. So, that's the route I took. I depended on my community. First, as I mentioned. I went to my sister. Then, to confirm what we were thinking, I reached out to a few more knowledgeable friends — including you, Kate. And they all came back saying, “Yes, this looks like cellulitis.”

And one friend in particular not only confirmed that for me, she was such a support. She really stayed by my side, Franicia. Daily, she was checking in on me, sending me texts saying, “How is she doing? What are you noticing?”

And at one point, she even sent me a chart with other medicines to consider should I need to pivot. Fortunately, I didn't. The protocol did act. But how beautiful is that? That she was engaged with me, and she gave me that sense of “You're not alone. I'm here for you.”

Kate:

And that's the importance of community that we talk about so much. And you've developed a community of people, Jordan, that you can rely on, and that are there for you, and you're there for them, which is so beautiful.

Jordan:

Yes, and that's it. I was relying on them. But there are other times where I have a community of other people who are new to homeopathy, and they're using me as that safety net.

It's that … both … that you're reaching out to those who are further along, perhaps, and then you're also being that guiding light, helping those who are not as far along as you are.

The Beauty of the Banerji Protocols: Medicines Proven to Act

Kate: (08:53)

I just want to be clear. And we're not saying that someone who's not a physician can diagnose or treat conditions. What we are doing is we're assessing, and we're using the medicines that we have known — or not we have known — but really that have been proven over many, many years to act for certain conditions. And those are called Banerji Protocols. So, that's what you were employing.

Jordan:

Right. And I don't think I would've felt confident to treat this on my own had I not had a protocol. I'll circle back to that later, but it was because I was standing on the Banerjis’ centuries worth of experience knowing what treats cellulitis.

If this were just me and a repertory, I don't think I would've gone there. But because I had the protocol that's backed up by their vast cumulative clinical experience, I thought, “This is a no-brainer. I'm going to start here.”

And not only that, as I was mentioning, I had a community to say, “Yes, this is what this is.” And no one was calling into question what I was doing. They were all like, “Yeah, this is great. Rock on!”

They were there for me to support me through that, and to — if I needed help — if I needed to pivot, they were willing to help me with that.

Kate:

And if it would've been dangerous where you thought you had to take her, and you certainly would've done that. I know you.

Jordan:

Yep, absolutely. And that's one thing Joette teaches is if you're out of your league, you need to know that.

But in order to get to that point where you have that ability to choose, that's why you build your knowledge. That's why you build your community so that your threshold for what you can handle gets higher.

I would not have dealt with this five years ago when I first began. I would not have been able to tackle cellulitis if I had not tackled ear infections and UTIs and headaches and all those things that came before it.

And like I said, too, the community was a huge part of that. I think my initial conversation … so I called my mom (I was supposed to visit her later in the day). Our initial conversation was, “Which urgent care might you need to take her to if this doesn't turn around quickly?”

So, we were discussing that, but like I said, my heart just went, “I know my community and my knowledge is enough.” And I really felt very confident in that.

How to Develop a Community

Kate: (10:48)

How did you develop that community? I know we're taking a little side conversation from the progress of what happened with your daughter, but I know people are probably thinking right now, “I want that. How do I get that?”

What would you say?

Jordan:

Yeah, I mean, it's a combination. I mean, one of those people that I mentioned was my sister. And we've been on this journey together for several years now.

And a lot of it's God. I mean, He brings people into our lives to help us achieve our mission, to fulfill our calling.

This is everybody's calling. This isn't just me, Jordan. This is all mothers … anyone taking care of a family. God intended for us to be competent healers. So, if we're open and our eyes are ready to see those opportunities, I feel like God puts those people in our paths.

Kate:

And you've taken the Gateway I and II; I know you've been in some of our study groups, right?

Jordan:

Yeah. So, taking those leaps of faith to start Gateways, to be part of Gateways. I mean, I was a part of your Gateway II, Kate.

I'm just thinking back to how I met other people through The Academy. And that was prioritizing those chances that I would have to meet people, like going to Florida when Joette would gather us from The Academy. And that's where I met friends there, who I still connect with and talk to.

So just making that a priority. This is something I need. God did not intend for us to work in isolation. We were not meant for that. So, I've made choices in my life to make sure that I'm building these relationships. I'm spending the time and money and energy to fly to Florida to keep up with people. It's just as valuable, I feel like as the knowledge that you gain on your own.

Kate:

Sorry, I didn't mean to lead us astray there for a minute, but I thought that was so important.

What happened next?

Expectations and Assessing the Case

Jordan: (12:28)

As I mentioned, I gave the three doses of Hyper/Ars close together before her nap. And when she woke up from her nap, I was so eager to see what it looked like. I was really hoping some change would happen, and it did.

The spots were still there — definitely — but they looked less proud, less inflamed, and no new spots had emerged. So, the progression of the disease was halted.

So, in other words, that's the magic marker of less intensity that I was looking for. And keeping in mind those markers was so important — that less intensity (lasting for a shorter period of time with longer spaces between each episode) — that was just so key, especially during the first day.

And if you're a student, you know Joette talks about these markers often. Sometimes you're like, “Okay, enough, enough.” But now, especially going through this case of cellulitis, I can see why she over and over again repeats that.

Because if I had had unrealistic expectations — if I had gone into that bedroom where I was getting her up from her nap and I was hoping it was going to be gone or such a huge change — if I was looking for that rather than just some degree of improvement, I would've lost heart and been like, “I'm done. I’ve got to take her in.”

But because these magic markers have been so ingrained in me, I knew I was looking for improvement. And so, I was encouraged and could continue giving them to her — the medicines.

So, I stuck with the medicines throughout the day, and since I had already planned to visit my mom, I just went ahead with those plans, packed up the kids, and we went.

And while we were there, I just kept Zélie’s pants off because I wanted to keep a close eye on her legs to see if any new spots were emerging and just to see how the old ones were looking.

And it was actually kind of cool because there she was running around in her diaper with cellulitis on her bare little legs, but no one was freaking out. No one was pressuring me to take her anywhere. No one was saying, “You got to do something about this!”

My parents, my children, my adult siblings and my husband, who was out of town for business, they were all on board. Everyone accepted that this was how I was handling it. And the overall feeling was not, “Oh my gosh, this is terrible.”

It was: This is how we handle hard moments. This is how we take care of our children with homeopathy, with careful observation and with calmness.

In the older generations of my family, there was a lot of fear surrounding illnesses and disease. So, this experience felt like we were rewriting that story together. It was actually kind of healing in a different way.

Kate:

And freeing — free from fear, right?

Practical Homeopathy® Is Freeing

Jordan: (14:54)

Yes. Now, I don't want to make it sound like I was never anxious because that would be glossing over some other important parts of the story.

And there were a few moments — this is something that we learned about with Joette — is healing is not always linear. And there was moments where it seemed like there was a small step backwards. Later that day, I think it was … yeah, it was later that day.

That first day, I noticed a new smaller spot on the top of her leg. And right away, that fear came in again and was like, “What if this doesn't work? What if these medicines fail? What if you have to take her in?”

And again, my heart started racing, and I was panicking a little bit again. But then that voice of Joette that has been so ingrained in me said, “You might just need to tighten up the frequency of the medicines.”

So, when I thought about it, I was like, it had been a while since I'd given the last dose. Because she was doing so well and because we were visiting and enjoying ourselves, I kind of forgot to give her the dose when she should have had it. Because, as you know in acute situations, not only is the medicine important, so is the frequency.

So, that's what I did. I went back to giving the medicine more frequently and carried on.

By the next morning, just under 24 hours of starting the protocol, I could tell with even greater confidence that her legs looked better. So, I began to space out the medicines, and then by day four or five, I stopped them altogether. I may have been able to stop them sooner, but just to be safe, I did continue until about day four or five.

And that's quite incredible. When you look at the typical trajectory of cellulitis. When it's met with antibiotics, it seems to take a lot longer to really see that improvement and to see, not a cure — I guess, in the case of antibiotics — but that relief from that disease.

Kate:

That's incredible progress with the healing and how quickly that happened. And you did stay really calm during this whole period of time. We talked, I know at least once, and you seemed oddly calm for such a serious condition. And so, I'm just really proud of you for handling that and your confidence that I saw.

And you wrote down the word “freeing,” and I just want to talk about that for a bit. Can we break that down as to why did you feel that this was freeing and how did that come to be?

Jordan:

So, my sister felt the same way about noticing how calm I was. She said after the fact, “Yeah, I was surprised at how calm you were on the phone.”

And just to kind of make a point about that, this is not the way I've always been. Before I knew homeopathy, about seven years ago, one of my kids woke up in the middle of the night with croup. And I immediately called my mom in a panic, and I said, “Take me to the hospital. I need to take Thérèse.” (That was my child who had it). “Take us to the hospital.”

And she said, “Are you sure you want to go right now? Don't you want to wait and see?”

And I was like, “No, we need to go now.”

And I just was so panicked. I didn't have the knowledge; I didn't have the community. I just panicked and went there.

Part of me is mad at myself. Why did I do that? But I do understand why. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have the protocols. I didn't have the knowledge. I felt alone. I didn't have the community to back me up.

Obviously, a lot has changed now. Right?

So, besides that, another thing that has been the reason that I was able to hold steady and treat this homeopathically was the trust that I've come to have in these protocols. Once I knew it was cellulitis, my heart didn't sink like, “Oh no, it's cellulitis.”

Oddly, my heart leapt because then I thought, “Oh, cool. I know what to use. I know what protocol to use now.”

I've seen these protocols act. I've seen them cure, as I mentioned earlier, all kinds of things: ear infections and UTIs and headaches and allergies and asthma.

So, when it came to cellulitis, I wasn't intimidated. I had seen it dozens of times act in other situations and in other contexts. And that's why I think it's a mistake when many of us, who are new to homeopathy, are … The usual thing that we ask is, “Just give me the protocol. I just want to have all the protocols.”

And I think wanting the protocol without wanting to learn and build your experiences, like wanting the answer key to a test.

Kate:

Uh-huh. Right!

Jordan:

You might be able to answer those questions on that test. But what about other tests, future tests? What about applying that information to your life?

And I understand why students ask that. They want relief from whatever condition it is that they're suffering from or that they're watching one of their loved ones suffer from. But if we're going to tackle difficult, scary, chronic, difficult conditions, we want to be truly competent and independent.

We Need to Learn How to Fish

Jordan: (19:08)

We need to think bigger than just, “Give me the fish.” We want to know, “How do I fish?” Right? So, we want to understand how to apply these protocols in real-life situations.

Kate:

What happens when the hook gets caught in the fish's mouth, and what happens if you can't reel the fish in? And you know what I mean?

There are all of these things that happen. You're right, Jordan. And if you know the bait to use, that's only one part of fishing.

Jordan:

Right. Because if someone had just handed me the fish — handed me the Banerji Protocol — when I had gotten that diagnosis of cellulitis, and I didn't have that foundation of trust and experience already — and I think I said this earlier — I'm not sure I could have followed through with it. I'm not sure that I would've had the guts or the knowledge or any of that to say, “I'm going to give this time. I'm going to be patient.”

Just like with the croup — my other daughter having croup. I panicked when I didn't know what to do.

In this case, I knew what to do, and I had the trust that these protocols are going to act. In 80% of cases of cellulitis, the first-line protocol will act.

So, to batten down the hinges and weather that storm, I needed to know down to my toes that these protocols work.

Closing Advice

Kate: (20:10)

Such good information, Jordan. I hope this is helpful for those who are listening today.

I know watching you throughout the years and your confidence and your knowledge grow in homeopathy has been a blessing to me, and it's very encouraging.

So, for those who are listening and wonder, “I don't think I could do that.”

You CAN do it! It just takes time. It takes a community and the experience, as you said, and the study.

Because you are a student, Jordan. You are always learning.

Something that I think might be worth mentioning is how do you learn with such a large family, homeschooling your children. You're very busy! So, how do you fit that into your life?

Jordan:

The question I think we need to ask whenever we're trying to make a decision about making something a part of our lifestyle or making a change, is how important is this to me? Because when it's important enough, we will find a way. We make excuses when it's not important enough.

So, for example, I've been wanting to lose weight for a long time. I've been really wanting to lose the baby weight for a while, but yet, I wasn't willing to make the changes necessary to lose the weight until recently. Now it's becoming more important to me because my quality of life is being affected, and so now I'm making changes to lose the weight.

So, it's true with homeopathy. How important is this to you to learn? What are your goals? If your goal is to treat occasional ear infections or stomach flu, it's probably fine just to read the blog and dabble in maybe Gateway or a course.

But if you want to really handle the tough situations, the high-stakes situations, we need to immerse ourselves.

It's like learning a language. If you want to be fluent in French, you're not just going to buy the book, “How to learn French,” and just read that. You're also not probably going to take just a high school or college class.

To really grasp the language so it becomes second nature to you. You have to immerse yourself in it. You're reading, listening, practicing often — perhaps even daily — or traveling to France and living among native speakers.

And it's the same with homeopathy. If our goal is to treat just a few conditions, casual study’s probably fine. But if we want to be fluent in homeopathy, we want to be able to take care of our families, we really need to immerse ourselves in it. And this looks different for each person. Some people are taking The Academy, others are doing it a class at a time.

And my approach is every day I'm listening to something when I'm nursing the baby, or I'm preparing food for dinner, or I'm washing a floor. Whenever it's a task that doesn't require mental effort, I've got in my ear Joette talking: a class, a lecture, a podcast, something. So that every day, I'm immersing myself in that world, and I'm learning that language every day.

Kate:

Really good, Jordan. Thank you for sharing all of this. Again, it's been amazing watching you grow in your knowledge and confidence using homeopathy. What final thoughts do you have today as we end the podcast?

Jordan:

So, I was remembering a time before I had children. I had just gotten married, and I was in the bathroom looking in my mother's medicine cabinet. I'm not sure why, but I was looking in her cabinet, and I was looking at all the medicines in there.

They weren't homeopathic at the time because my mom and I had not discovered that. So, they were just the typical Tylenol, Benadryl, that kind of thing.

And I was looking at each of them and thinking, “I don't know what to do with these. I don't know how to treat my family. I don't know what I'm doing.” And it was a terrifying, disempowering thought, and I still remember what that felt like.

But I think God heard the cry of my heart because look at what He's done. Look at the teachers, look at the community, look at the knowledge, look at the experiences — the good and the bad — that He has brought into my life.

And I really don't feel like my situation is unique. I feel like this is not just for me, not just for Kate. This is for everyone, for all mothers. This is God's desire for you and your family.

Kate:

Well said, Jordan. Thank you so much for taking the time today to share with us.

Jordan:

Thank you, Kate. It's been a joy.

Joette:

It's my honor to share many lessons on this simple method of using homeopathy for free —without affiliates or advertising — here in my podcasts, but also my blog posts and Monday Night Lives.

But it's critical that you learn how to use these medicines properly. These podcasts should serve as only the beginning of your training. Peruse JoettesLearningCenter.com to find fun study group opportunities and in-depth courses developed by subject.

So, with the proper training, you can join the thousands of students before you in developing the confidence and competence to protect the health of your family and loved ones with my brand of homeopathy, Practical Homeopathy®.

Kate:

You just listened to a podcast from internationally acclaimed homeopath, public speaker and author, the founder of The Academy of Practical Homeopathy®, Joette Calabrese. Joette’s podcasts are available on all your favorite podcast apps.

To learn more and find out if homeopathy is a good fit for your health strategy, visit PracticalHomeopathy.com.