Health crisis leads to Faith & Gratitude

It was a health crisis that led to a new career for Lori Ball.
“I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the fall of 2015,” she says. “It was a very low stage, totally contained in one ovary, which was a good thing. They typically don’t catch ovarian until it is a very late stage.”

She had surgery and went through 18 weeks of chemotherapy, finishing on July 19, 2016.

But while the doctors were treating her illness, who was tending to her mind, body and spirit?
“I felt the process was very impersonal,” Lori says. “I felt powerless, rather than empowered.”

She needed a way to keep her mind, body and spirit in sync.

After doing a lot of research, she took a holistic approach, supplementing her medical treatments with a combination of healing modalities ranging from prayer, meditation and dietary changes (Lori and her husband have completely eliminated sugar and processed foods from their diet) to journaling, Reiki, and EFT Tapping.

She credits those changes for making a difference in her body’s response to chemotherapy.

“I had none of the side-effects from the chemotherapies,” she says, adding that it “flabbergasted” the oncology nurses, who asked her to put together a tip sheet they could distribute to other patients. She did. She is now working on an information packet to be distributed to patients in treatment centers.

Lori grew up in the “teeny little village” of Norvelt, near the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds. She earned a degree in business from Robert Morris University and worked as a marketing manager in the helicopter industry before joining her husband, Dave, a business broker, in his business. They have a son, Joshua “JD,” who is a student at Penn State Behrend in Erie, and a “crazy” dog, Winston, an energetic, almost 12-year-old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. The Balls built their home in The Legends in 2003.

“We love everything about this close-knit neighborhood,” Lori says.

She also loves playing golf, walking and taking classes — she is a certified Reiki Level 1 and 2 prac- titioner and is working on her certification in EFT Tapping. Reiki is a Japanese “laying on hands” technique for stress reduc- tion and relaxation that also promotes healing. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Tapping is a form of psy- chological acupressure based on the same energy meridians as acupunc- ture — but without needles — used to treat physical and emotional ailments.

Six months ago, Lori founded Faith & Gratitude to help guide people through challenging health crises through the use of integrative health tools.

“Faith and gratitude was my mantra throughout my diagnosis and treat- ment,” she says. “The experience made me more spiritual, religious, faithful and thankful for everyday things. It re-rooted my existence.”

Through Faith & Gratitude Lori meets with people one-on-one. She shares her experiences, talks about what helped her (including diet changes) and teaches them helpful techniques and strategies (like the use of vision boards) to empower them.

Lori understands that everyone’s journey is unique. That’s why she reviews each person’s situation to create their own personal blueprint to better health and a stronger immune system. The bottom line is you have so much power within yourself. That is 90 percent of the battle. A positive attitude is paramount — there should be no other choice.

“Each position I’ve held over the past 30 years has provided me with the experience needed to pursue this opportunity,” she says. “As I stepped on each stone throughout my treat- ment regimen, I felt so strongly the need to give back in some way. As my sister-in-law, Gail, said, ‘Continue to collect your dots until you are able to connect them.’ Now I have.”