We were lucky to catch up with Kaitlyn Kee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kaitlyn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When we had our first child, nearly eight years ago, we had continuous terrible experiences with hospitals, doctors, nurses. An awful hospital birth experience, where I was coerced into receiving an epidural, threatened by C-section if I didn’t, one where I was stuck multiple (around 6) times before they ever got the epidural placed. During his first month, we had incidents with his pediatrician refusing to give him the medications he needed, he had severe acid reflux. He became literal skin and bones. As a mother, that was terrifying, trying to get him help, but being repeatedly shut down. He ended up having to be hospitalized to finally be able to get the treatment he needed, where we continued to have bad experiences with hospital staff. The final straw in our medical mistreatment, was that I developed gallbladder problems postpartum. Numerous ER visits, where I was sent home and sent to doctor after doctor before I was able to have my gallbladder removed. (Though, if I had known then what I know now, I would have attempted other options, before removal.) I was so jaundice by the time surgery was scheduled, that I was as yellow as Winnie the Pooh. Not even as exaggeration.

So, when we got pregnant with our second baby, we knew we did not want to have him in hospital. We also were expecting during 2020, “COVID era”. That whole thing really made me begin to question EVERYTHING. I started reading about herbs and natural remedies. If we had a sickness or ailment that needed attention, I researched and found alternate methods to attend to them. Herbal medicine began to fascinate me and I was constantly reading and researching on alternative medicine. I even started making some of my own tinctures and salves. Some of my family members started coming to me with health concerns they had, looking for suggestions for alternate treatments.

I gifted my pain salve for Christmas a couple years back, which led to making even more home remedies for our family. That was the year that I had the idea for my business. But it was only a passing thought, a wish on the wind, as we were expecting our fourth baby. I didn’t think it was something that I could put a lot of time or energy into in that moment. Though I have been continuously studying, creating new formulas, and creating a brand behind the scenes.

Fast forward to this January, when we were all snowed in. Becoming stir crazy, I started looking into online courses. On a whim, I enrolled in a Holistic Health Practitioner course. I felt like, though they are not necessary, having the “formal” education and certification behind my name would lend me more credibility to extend my practice beyond just our familial circle.

In creating my brand, I’ve tried to incorporate a “home” feeling. The name “The ApotheKee” is a play on apothecary, including our last name. My logo includes earthy colors, a quilt, and the tag “Rooted in Relationships”. That was incredibly important to me – making my logo, the first impression people will get of my business – bring back cozy feelings of Grandma’s house. I especially wanted to include the statement “Rooted in Relationships”, because I want my future clients to feel like more than a dollar sign. During all of our troubles with medical professionals, we kept coming back to feeling like we were not listened to. That since we didn’t have the big education behind our names, no one was really listening to us or believing that we could have any idea about what was going on within our bodies. I want my clients to feel like they are family. I want to build relationships, not just a business.

Kaitlyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started my online branding as an acrylic artist. I have been painting since high school, and still really enjoy that today. Since becoming a mother, my focus has shifted, and I have embarked on new endeavors. Rebranding myself as an herbalist, and currently working on receiving my Holistic Health Practitioner certification. One of the main things that I plan to offer is Holistic Health Coaching. What that means, is that I will listen to your concerns or simply things that you would like to improve on, and help you learn about your options for treatment. I am not here to tell you what to do, or prescribe you with a bunch of tinctures or supplements. I am here to help guide you on your health journey, where you are given the information and get to decide how you would like to proceed. I want to build relationships with my clients, not simply build a business.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As long as I can remember, my goal in life was to go to nursing school. I wanted to help people. I dreamed about being an ER nurse in Nashville. When I graduated high school, I started the nursing program at the University of Memphis (Go Tigers!), but I ended up quitting after the first year due to personal events. I spent the next several years longing to go back. Being a nurse had been all I had ever wanted to do.

During the year of COVID, and my continuous questioning, I realized that not being able to fulfill that dream had probably been my biggest blessing. Not going to get into it, but there were a lot of things that I saw during that time that I didn’t agree with. And I was thankful that I hadn’t finished school and was not in that environment during that time.

Even now, I have days where I miss that life I had always thought I’d have. I still have days where I would love to have fulfilled that dream. But I’ve also unlearned a lot of things regarding the medical system that I once believed to be true. I don’t believe that Western Medicine is the end all be all for health. And I don’t believe that it should be the first place that we look for answers.

I’m not saying that I don’t believe there are good doctors and nurses out there, but I am saying that I believe a lot of things in the medical world today are driven by money incentives, and not on how to actually helping us to be the healthiest versions of ourselves. There are also so many listed side effects in medications. Taking a pill to fix one thing, has a list of so many other things it could cause, leading to even more pills to fix those problems. I believe that there is a time and place for medical interventions. But I no longer run to find them first.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like everything is just one compounded pivotal moment. From graduating high school, to joining the nursing program, to leaving the nursing program, to marriage and children. I am constantly pivoting my endeavors and beliefs. As a homeschooled child, I always said I would never homeschool my children. Here I am, going on year three of homeschooling. I always wanted to work, fast paced environment, but have been a stay at home mom for eight years. And I wouldn’t change it for the world. Everyday is a new set of choices and pivotal moments. We have to choose to grow and adapt, rather than sit stagnant in the life that we thought we’d have.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mycupofkee/
• Facebook: The ApotheKee
• Other: Email: apothekeewellness@gmail.com

Image Credits

Kaitlyn Kee