Since 2020, Cindy Carfore, owner of A Holistic Approach, in Fort Myers, has had more than her share of emotional and financial challenges to overcome due to losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the devastation of Hurricane Ian to her two businesses and home, a move to a new location and her husband’s personal health challenges.

Carfore, a strong woman with a positive mindset, managed to navigate them all, with the unexpected exception of one incident that occurred in 2023. “Ian flooded my house in 2022 and we’re still not living there. On the bright side, we’ll have an almost new house, since we took the opportunity to remodel,” she says.

“I own another business; grooming products for horses. It had four feet of water intrusion. We also owned an industrial rental with five tenants which was flooded with four feet of water. “In June, prior to Hurricane Ian in September, my husband had major abdominal surgery. I thought I was going to lose him twice. It’s been a very long three years.”

A Holistic Approach relocated and she explains, “The good news is that we own our building, which feels good. I love it here. While we have more space for therapists, we have no more yoga. After the pandemic, most yoga instructors weren’t comfortable teaching and didn’t return.”

The hitch that Carfore didn’t count on was a recent incident that surprised and shocked her. “My sister and I were having lunch on a beautiful day outside at Deep Lagoon. Suddenly, I heard a helicopter and immediately became obsessed with locating it. I've never experienced such a feeling before. I stopped what I was doing and frantically tried to locate where the sound originated. Spotting it, I saw it was as a military helicopter,” she relates. “I started crying uncontrollably, which is very unusual. I don’t cry, it’s just not me. It triggered a flashback to me standing at Shapley’s, in the San Carlos Boulevard area, where during the hurricane recovery I had watched military helicopters transporting supplies to Sanibel and flying back with bodies. I’d never been triggered by anything before. It was so unexpected so long after the hurricane.”

Carfore shares, “Dorothy Rodwell, MS, our licensed marriage and family therapist who practices holistic mental health, had suggested that I make an appointment to see her. I thought I was functionally normally, but Dorothy, who understands trauma and recognizes that I’ve been through a lot of emotional upheaval in three years, intuitively knew better. She is trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction, rapid resolution therapy and clinical hypnosis, so she knows that she can help me resolve my trauma triggers in a few sessions with her. I finally made the appointment for next week. I’m fortunate to own a business where there are holistic therapies that can help me. I’m telling my story to help others who may be unaware that perhaps even years after an event like COVID-19 and Hurricane Ian, they might be carrying trauma that can be triggered by a present event.”

She says, “Our mission at a Holistic Approach is to accompany you on your journey by providing education, resources and the complementary health services you need and wish to explore in a comfortable environment. Our healing services cover everything from clinical psychology and acupuncture to functional medicine and genetic testing, as well as therapeutic massage therapy, energy work, halotherapy, IV therapy and a full-spectrum infrared sauna,” says Carfore.

A Holistic Approach is located at 15641 New Hampshire Ct., in Ft. Myers. Cor appointments of more information, call 239-433-5995 or visit AHolisticCenter.com.