photo by John A. Secoges, Secoges Photographics
Karen O’Connor is a survivor turned healer and now an entrepreneur. After suffering for years from chronic pain (from lupus, multiple sclerosis and other disorders) while being treated via conventional medicine, the founder of the Natural Hope Center in West Lawn found healing in alternative therapies and regained her life. Since becoming healthy, she has earned degrees in naturopathy and has begun treating others who, like herself, need more than mainstream medicine offers. She is the first to acknowledge that her road from life-threatening to life-affirming was not easy, but she’s richer for the journey – and wants nothing more than to help anyone who may need her.
Q | What inspired you to open the Natural Hope Center?
It’s been a long haul. I was a sickly child, but doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with me. In my 20s I was diagnosed with endometriosis and Grave’s disease, or hypothyroidism, and from there my health issues escalated. I underwent radioactive therapy for my thyroid in 1998, while going to school to earn a degree in social work and psychology. I was really tired all the time but thought it was from being a mom, being very busy. Then I also began to have rashes and joint pain, which led to my lupus diagnosis. Soon after, I was diagnosed with a host of other auto-immune diagnoses: chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, kidney problems. In less than a year, I went from functioning to being in a wheelchair. I had so much pain, but my kids are what got me through. They were my reason to keep going.
Q | What was the turning point to you becoming the vibrant, well person you are now?
After many support groups and different doctors, I found it in Barnes & Noble in 2001. It was Lupus Alternative Therapies at Work by Sharon Moore. One of the things it suggested was massage. I made an appointment for my first therapeutic massage and that night I slept, really slept, for the first time in years, and I knew I’d found something special. Soon afterward, I started treatment with a naturopath in Lancaster who gave me hope. About a year later, in 2005, I was well enough to run on a treadmill.
Q | It makes sense that you’d want to learn more and help others after that experience.
Absolutely. There had been so many drugs and adverse reactions to them. So many failed treatments, but alternative therapies helped me in almost a miraculous way. I want to pay it forward. Balancing mind, body and spirit is so important.
Q: Speaking of being a caregiver, what are your kids doing these days?
They’re great. My son Zach is 20 and lives on-site at the center. My daughter Abby is 17 and a junior at Cocalico High School, because we still have a house in Adamstown. Both of them and my husband, Jay Manwiller, have been so supportive and helpful in getting the center open and, of course, for me personally.
Q | Your balance must also include fun, so what do you like to do to relax and recharge?
I love to be around water or be alone in nature, in the woods. I love to run on the beach or hike through Nolde Forest. There’s a beautiful stream there, so I get the woods and water. It’s one of my favorite places.
Q | So much has happened for you in just a few years, so where do you see yourself a year from now?
I’m writing a book about my experience finding health, so I hope that will be done and be helpful to people. I’ll also be focused on my work as a naturopathic doctor because I love meeting my clients, getting to know them and helping them.
