Caring for Others, Love and Loss
Hello.
Our business is inspired by our daughter, Ella, who lost her battle with terminal illness in September 2020 after 11 years. Our professional counselling services are informed by personal experience and focused on empathy.
1p36 and Ella
Ella was diagnosed with 1p36 micro-deletion syndrome at three months, after she presented with aggressive seizures and was admitted to hospital. Tests concluded that Ella’s condition was not hereditary - click for more information on 1p36.
For her whole life, Ella was affected by a condition which left her unable to walk, talk or feed, and completely dependent. Despite the severe epilepsy, which constantly affected her development and the chest infections which came close to taking her life many times, she always put up a good fight and was often a happy child, who expressed herself the best she could.
Our lives were over-run with 24/7 care responsibilities, but we persevered, as parents do. It was during those difficult days, that we learned how to survive in constant chaos and uncertainty, often sleep deprived and stressed. Ella taught us to find ways to get through the most impossible of situations, through her enduring spirit and we will always be grateful to her for showing us how to find new strength.
Lois, Ella’s younger sister, is also a greatly courageous girl, who has carried on well after such a terrible time. Lois likes to get involved in the business and is an uncompromising young critic.
Wellbeing Skills and Experience
I have been crafting from a young age and love brightening up life with vibrant colours and connecting with my creative part of self.
I am a qualified counsellor, life-coach and Holistic Therapist including aromatherapy and reflexology. During my corporate days and working in various professional roles I have always been pulled to support others, through leadership, mentoring and other person-centred roles. Training as a counsellor seemed like the next step, to support people at a deeper level.
I completed a meditation diploma in the summer and am currently training in HeartHealing®.
My work as a counsellor and my own personal experiences led to thoughts about ways of managing difficult situations, which was when I began designing creative and calming products to support people going through difficult times and deciding to launch my wellness business.
Back in 2000 I trained and was attuned in Reiki. Over the years I have connected with my spiritual side, which keeps me in a good place, and is a part of my life now. I recently trained as a meditation teacher and want to bring this more into my wellness business.
Life is very enjoyable when things are going well but when it becomes extremely tough, we may have to try several approaches to improving our wellbeing, before we discover a method which works for us.
I have now started my HeartHealing certification and very excited to introduce this into Galena Wellbeing.
My husband started University as a way of coping with Ella’s condition - click for more information - and graduated shortly before her death, so was able to celebrate a little with her. He studied: creative writing, English literature, language and creativity and now has a 2:1 honours degree.
Giving back to our community
Part of what we set out to do was to help others, in some small way. We do not have the resources of a charity, but have already been able to provide support to a few people with anxiety, cancer and others who are going through a tough time, and would like to help more in the future.