About me

How I found coaching and nutrition

I was a doctor for 24 years and a chest and post-mortem radiologist (doctor who interprets scans) for 17 of them. I learnt what shortens lives and what to do about it. I loved my job and felt I was making a difference but it all went horribly wrong on Christmas Day 2020.

I woke up with severe pain and blurred vision in my left eye. Within weeks, both eyes were affected. The pain was constant, the uncertainty and anxiety overwhelming. My vision came back and to cut a very long story short, I was diagnosed with a rare chronic pain condition called corneal neuralgia. The condition was incompatible with my job, forcing me to take ill health retirement from the NHS in August 2023.

During the long months of treatment, I re-evaluated my health and found it wanting. Long hours, high stress levels, poor sleep, a rushed sandwich at my desk and nowhere in the schedule for self-care.

That was the turning point. I learnt to sleep more, stress less, eat well and move daily. The irony is apart from my eyes, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been.

I gave up my medical license but not my drive to support others. So I trained as a health coach, bringing together my knowledge and lived experience to help other women rebuild their health. This wasn’t enough. I wanted to learn more about nutrition and follow the evidence to truly understand how women of our age should eat as we age. Which is how I find myself back at University as a (very) mature student making good use of assistive technology. I’ll complete my Masters in clinical nutrition in September 2026

I still struggle with screens so my husband Pete helps with the admin. You’ll notice I wear dry eye glasses. Not very glamourous but they do the job.

In February 2025, my mate Dave dared me to start a YouTube channel, so I did and it’s grown to 21k subscribers in a year.