We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Megan Hammel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Megan below.

Alright, Megan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

I trust parents. I trust parents to know their child better than I can. I provide the best care and insight when working in respectful collaboration with my patients, parents, and families.

During my training, I sought out every opportunity to hone my skills and gain more experience in pediatrics – grabbing every specialized shift I could, running exam clinics, and even starting up a pediatrics club at my program. I knew the utmost expertise was needed for this field. Naturopathic doctors commonly see patients who have been through many types of treatment and have seen many providers. These patients are often discouraged and scared. One example of this that stuck with me involved a very concerned mother who brought her 3-year-old son to our clinic. She was very concerned about her son’s behavior, reporting he was acting more tired than usual and clumsy around the house. This is not uncommon for a growing 3 year old, but as I took her case what I heard was the urgency in her tone and the pleading look on her face. Her eyes welled with tears as she expressed in an accent “something was just not right.” She had already taken him to the emergency department and they were discharged with no follow-up recommendations. Previous providers had just thought the child was ill due to a virus. The family-of-color were immigrants and low-income. As a student, my job was to perform the intake/physical exam and report back to my attending who would then assess and approve my treatment recommendations. Though the child’s vital signs and physical exam were normal, something seemed off to me and I took the mother’s concern to heart. I remember specifically the 3-year-old little boy just sat on the table for most of the visit, a little dazed-looking, and then when he got off the table he stumbled a little.

After conferring with my attending, I asked to put in lab orders to check his iron level. My attending resisted. “We should avoid putting small children through a blood draw unless absolutely necessary.” My attending was trusting the emergency department had ruled out anything too concerning. This was the first time I respectfully pushed back and advocated strongly for my patient. This mother wanted answers. I wanted answers. My attending allowed it.

Within 24 hours, I was contacted by the lab with emergent lab results. The little boy was suffering from a severe hemolytic anemia, meaning that his red blood cells were splitting apart causing a dangerously low level to be in circulation. We called the family immediately and facilitated a hospital transfer into hematology services. He was hospitalized and transfused for over 1 week. His hemoglobin count was dangerously low, putting extra strain on his heart and causing his unusual fatigue. I stayed in close contact with the hematologist and mother throughout hospital treatment. The mother was so incredibly grateful.

This case remains a tender and memorable lesson for me about trusting parents and myself as well as learning to advocate for what I know is needed. I take ​parent’s concerns very seriously. I do not dismiss unrelated or unusual symptoms. ​I hope to develop trusting relationships with my parents and to aid and empower them to advocate for their family’s health and wellbeing.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m Dr. Megan Hammel (Dr. Meg to my patients) and I am your friendly, neighborhood, pediatric ND! My practice is Children’s Naturopathic Center of Colorado and I specialize in the naturopathic treatment of complex and common pediatric conditions. Children’s Naturopathic Center of Colorado is located in the hear of the Highlands neighborhood in Denver, but I offer telehealth across the state. I craft individual holistic treatment plans and work toward optimizing health for each of my patients. My goal is to create something together that is both gentle and effective. My training covers nutrition, botanical medicine, homeopathy, as well as conventional care. I find my services a wonderful adjunct for patients with a pediatrician who are looking for more natural/holistic therapies to address their child’s symptoms.

​Naturopathic doctors (NDs) abide by several principles that set us apart as healthcare providers. In addition to “First, do no harm,” NDs employ the healing power of nature, educate their patients, address/seek the root cause, focus on prevention, and treat the whole person. ​In Denver, I am one of only a few providers that treat children and to my knowledge I am still the only that sees children exclusively.

It has been my life’s work to learn about what it really means to be healthy and then my mission to teach what I’ve learned to improve the health and wellbeing of the next generation – mind, body, and spirit. There is so much work to do and I look forward to growing my practice into a true center by employing other integrative practitioners – more to come on that soon!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Networking! By far the way I have found the best clients, is through connecting with like-minded providers. I find this to be most effective and meaningful in one-on-one meetings. The Denver integrative/holistic community has an abundance mindset– we share our resources and know that there is more than enough business for everyone. We all just want to see our patients thrive and getting them to the best people is part of that whether that’s an MD, DO, ND, acupuncturist, chiropractor, or therapist – there are so many amazing providers.

By having people who actually know me refer clients, the people that come to me are my ideal clients. Establishing trust and making a connection happens quicker, and that means we get their kiddo on a healthier path sooner. Building a practice this way has honestly been one of the best decisions I’ve made.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Is there a better story of resilience than motherhood? What if I throw in motherhood through a global pandemic? I was afraid of all the uncertainty – in the world at large or in the one belonging to the little being growing inside of me. My husband and I are in healthcare, but that didn’t spare us from moments of confusion and dread, not knowing what was going to happen next. Spending so much time in isolation really forced us to take a hard look at ourselves, our relationships, and the world raging on around us. We had to get more flexible and be more open and vulnerable all at the same time. Pregnancy, birth, and motherhood (like a pandemic) are all about teaching you what you can and can not control. My personality being type A (plus or minus) most days made learning to let go and surrendering a HUGE part of my growth. I can only say that I am better, person, friend, mother, daughter, and doctor for learning this. We welcomed our first child, a wild and spontaneous daughter, at the beginning of 2021 and have been enjoying the ride ever since.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nd4coloradokids.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nd4kids/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drmeghammel/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAS0spxKkY_hIQSj33pVvkQ

Image Credits
Adonye Jaja Photography – https://www.adonyejaja.com/ Gwen Phillips with Grace Creative Studio – https://gracecreativestudios.pic-time.com/portfolio