Meet Kim Carr Swords, BCHHP, CHN, CHHC, AIPCC | Health and Wellness Entrepreneur
We had the good fortune of connecting with Kim Carr Swords, BCHHP, CHN, CHHC, AIPCC and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kim, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I think for my business, my story, my passion, my unparalleled knowledge, and my dedication to helping others play the biggest role in my success. My story is extremely rare, and I think a lot of people that are dealing with any sort of health issue can relate and want to follow the path of someone that has done what they want to do…be healthy, feel good, and maintain it through old age!
My health journey, and knowledge gained, with autoimmunity and chronic illness began with Grave’s Disease and Celiac Disease and have affected my life in the most profound way. The worst thing that ever happened to me (almost losing my life and having three different doctors tell me that I was going to die), turns out to be one of the best things that ever happened, as I discovered an immense passion for health and healing, and a determination to help others not experience the same things that I had to endure.
I began my healing health journey because everything went wrong, and I had to figure out how to make everything right again. I became a Board-Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, Holistic Nutritionist, Holistic Health Coach, and Autoimmune Certified Coach. I am a speaker/presenter on the AIP Summit (Autoimmune Protocol), I do a lot of work in the autoimmune community and am a Featured Speaker at the International Salt Therapy Conference.
By following my own path, and following my gut instincts, I put my life back together after a life-threatening experience and two weeks in the ICU with all natural healing modalities. The same natural modalities that I used to heal myself, I turned into Salt n’ Sauna Wellness.
Basically, it took a life-threatening situation turned into an immense passion to flourish into three thriving businesses…Salt n’ Sauna Wellness (Halotherapy and Infrared Sauna), KBBB Organics (100% Organic, 100% Natural, 100% Clean Himalayan Salt Body Scrubs), and Coach Kim Carr (empowering others to take control of their health, specializing in chronic illness and autoimmunity). I have proven that you can be at your lowest point that you never thought possible and rise above it to achieve things that only dreams are made of.
What should our readers know about your business?
Starting my business was the toughest thing that I have ever done and the most rewarding! The fact that I get to help people every single day improve their health and quality of life is such an honor and blessing all rolled up in one. I love what I do and feel blessed to be able to help others every single day.
Every facet and layer of my business sets it apart from others. I’m so proud of what I’ve built from my own personal health journey, and my relentless determination to help others not have to experience what I have when it comes to health.
Salt n’ Sauna Wellness is simply based on obtaining true Health and Wellness! We want to inspire healthier living by connecting people to therapies that can heal, optimize health, and maintain health and vitality into old age. Our therapies are based on science and research, are drug-free and safe, and can be the catalyst for a healthier you. We believe that obtaining optimal health should be available and affordable to everyone, provided by people with a true passion and dedication for healing and service, and delivered with kindness, warmth, and empathy.
Salt n’ Sauna Wellness was founded from my healing journey with chronic illness, and the need for me to become the “Healthiest Me” that I possibly could become. I have suffered from allergies, sinus infections, ear infections, and hypoglycemia my entire life. It was my normal…I didn’t know anything different, other than shots, medication, a lifetime of respiratory suffering, and a love/hate relationship with sugar. As I grew older I started to feel aches and pains from 30+ years of athletic abuse, suffered a severe MCL tear, and then the camel that broke the straws back…I was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease and Celiac Disease (both autoimmune diseases). Well, that was it! No more!! I had had enough…or so I thought. What happened next was life changing, to say the least.
A few weeks into taking medication for my Grave’s Disease, I became deathly ill, and was admitted into the ICU. The medication I was taking was killing me, literally. I had one of the most severe reactions ever on record, and I had to listen to the doctors say “she might not make it”. I was deathly ill with SEVERE Agranulocytosis (zero WBC, zero neutrophils), Sepsis, severe Tachycardia, severe Hypotension, Neutropenia, and a host of other conditions. It took more than 10 days before my white blood cells and neutrophils began to rise above zero. After two weeks in the ICU, a mere shell of my former self looking like a skeleton, I didn’t become weaker, I became stronger. A fire was lit within me like never before to discover how I could change my life and become a healthier me.
Traditional medicine was not the answer for me any longer whether I liked it or not. My doctor gave me two choices when I left the ICU…have my thyroid removed or die! I could never take medication for my Grave’s Disease, and I didn’t believe that surgery was my only choice. I opted to follow my own path, and began the journey of healing myself. And healing myself is exactly what I did! I followed my gut instincts, and 6 weeks after barely being able to walk out of that awful ICU room, my thyroid levels were in the “normal range”, and a year later my Grave’s Disease was in remission!
The relentless driving force pushing me to heal and survive was my kids. I have three amazing humans counting on me to be around for a very long time, and my oldest, especially…she is special needs, and literally the fire within my soul! My sons are the rocks, the balance, and the unconditional support! My life has been blessed more than I could possibly ever imagine with those three. They truly inspire my relentless determination every single day. My passion for research, discovery, and just being as informed as I possibly can be, first came out of me being a young Mom trying to navigate the world of being a Special Needs Mom, and feeling lost.
The journey with my daughter has taught me more than most will ever learn in a lifetime. She is an absolute gift, and lit many fires within me to not just accept what I was told, to research, learn, and know myself. This didn’t happen overnight…it has been a lifetime of research, 25+ years to be exact, with the first 10 years being life changing. I realized that doctors can be wrong, and that you HAVE to advocate for yourself and your loved ones. My daughter was a toddler, and a highly regarded Pediatric Neurologist was treating her disability in a way that I knew was wrong with every fiber of my being. Turns out I was right, thus began my quest for knowledge and a passion to make sure it never happened again.
As a young Mom this was the biggest lesson that I could have learned…You have to advocate for yourself and your loved ones and do your due diligence when it comes to your health and your loved one’s health. Yes, listen to doctors. Yes, take their advice and listen to their expertise regarding your health, but also be informed in your own right. It possibly could change your life or a loved one’s life! At the time I had no idea what was in store for me some 20 years later, and the immense need I would have to advocate for myself.
From the 25+ years of experiences with my daughter and my Grave’s Disease and Celiac Disease diagnosis’, I began my pursuit to discover how I can become the “Healthiest Me” possible today! I was drawn to learn more and more, and to share my knowledge with everyone by becoming quintuple certified as a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, a Holistic Nutritionist, a Holistic Health Coach, a Health & Wellness Coach, and an Autoimmune Certified Coach. Through countless hours of research, late nights studying, relentless years of learning priceless information, and vetting the best equipment geared for true health and healing, I founded Salt n’ Sauna Wellness. Shortly after, I began my coaching business, Coach Kim Carr, and my cup runs over every single day because I’m able to do the one thing that inspires me to get up every morning…teach people how to heal themselves, how to advocate for themselves, and empower others to become the healthiest version of themselves they can be.
Detoxing is the foundation for being healthy, and the key for living a longer, healthier life today. If you live on this planet, you have toxins. If you live in the US, your toxic load is much greater than other places in the world. Toxins are in the air, in the food we eat, in the water we drink, they are everywhere. If your goal is to live an abundantly healthy life in today’s society, detoxing should be a part of your health routine. It is the key to optimal health. Your body is wired to heal and be healthy, you just have to find a way to let it. Halotherapy and Infrared Sauna both have extraordinary healing and detoxing abilities with respiratory health, heart health, immune health, cell health, mental health, and more. Infrared heat therapy alone is one of the most important breakthroughs for health, and probably the most important avenue for detox and living an abundant healthy life today. It is priceless for people suffering from immune system problems like chronic fatigue syndrome, environmental illnesses, chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia, chronic illness, and autoimmune diseases (like me).
Halotherapy and Infrared Sauna Therapy, along with diet and lifestyle modifications have become the catalyst for changing my life for the better, all having remarkable healing and detoxing abilities. I don’t know where I would be today without these modalities. With each and every doctors visit following my ICU stint, the doctors were stunned and amazed at my recovery. None had ever seen a patient recover from such a depleted state to where I am today, all asking “What are you doing?”, and stating “Well it’s working, keep it up!”. My endocrinologist said during my visit that confirmed I was in remission, “You’ve done what medical science could not. I’m not going to give you any advice. I’m not going to tell you what to do, because I couldn’t have gotten you to where you are today. No doctor could have. Keep doing what you’re doing, and you will be AOK!”. That was music to my ears. Not only am I beyond excited to have figured out the art of healing, but my children are extremely grateful. My kids wanted “me” back just as much as I did! Well…I’m back, and recharged like never before, and on a passionate mission to inform everyone I know about how they, too, can be the “Healthiest You” possible!
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would eat at Milton’s Restaurant in Milton because of the quality of the food. It’s probably my favorite in the area! I’ve never had a bad meal there, even with all of my dietary restrictions, they are very willing to accommodate. We would probably also make a venture to Little Alley’s Steak house in Roswell. Again, they are very willing to accommodate my food issues and the meals are so good. Also make a visit to Ceviche in Roswell (my son works there) because the drinks, food, and atmosphere are great for a night out. Pure in Alpharetta is also a local favorite of ours. I love the garage doors!
For night life, we would try to catch any live music in downtown Alpharetta or Canton Street in Roswell. There is always a band playing somewhere in either place. It seems like there is always great music to be heard.
For daytime, North GA mountains for sure! I love hiking, I love nature, and a perfect day for me is hiking the North GA mountains. I would say every hike is a great hike because of the uplifting effects that a day in nature brings you, or at least it does me. I’m so happy when I’m hiking. It feeds my soul! I love all of the hikes in N GA, but I think one of my favorites in Yonah Mountain, because when you reach the top, the view is outstanding. You can just sit, take in the view, and breathe in the clear mountain air. It’s great!
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is so easy…MY KIDS! They have been a part of my health journey from day one and supported me 100% in everything that I’ve done since the day that they drove me to the ICU. They experienced the horrific trauma, maybe in a different way than I did, but they were all immensely effected by what happened to me in the ICU and everything that followed.
They supported me when I choose to heal myself naturally and go against my doctors’ orders to remove my thyroid or die. They knew that there was always a possibility that I could die if I followed my own path, yet they also knew that I was the most determined human that they have ever known. They knew that my competitive nature would kick in, and there was no way that I would allow that doctor to be right. And look at me now! 🙂
Our lives were completely turned upside down in one of the most important phases of their lives, being a teenager. My daughter is special needs, and my boys were very active teenagers when our lives essentially stopped for a moment in time.
Regardless of what they had going on their lives they were always there when I needed them. They supported me 100% regardless of me turning our entire household and lives upside down in order to support my health needs. They supported me 100% when I began the journey of starting Salt n’ Sauna Wellness, even though they thought it was crazy and would be too much for me to take on. They may not have thought it was a good idea at first, but they were behind me helping me and supporting me at every twist and turn.
So, a HUGE shoutout needs to go to my kids for their steadfast support, love, encouragement, and belief in everything that I attempted to achieve that went against the norm, that went against doctors’ orders, that went against everything that is “normal” thinking regarding my health and the future of my health.
They were the fuel behind the fire in everything that I have done since the moment I walked out of that ICU in 2018 and will continue to the fuel to my fire!
Website: www.saltnsauna.com
Instagram: @saltnsaunawellness
Facebook: @SaltnSaunaWellness
Other: www.coachkimcarr.com @coachkimcarr – instagram & facebook www.kbbborganics.com @kbbborganics – instagram & facebook
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
