We recently connected with Kelly Wagner and have shared our conversation below.
Kelly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Not only do I want readers to know that Serenity Salt Spa was established because of my mission to help others like myself – I want them to understand how important my journey to healing is to me and to others by sharing my story.
I started my career working for a construction company at the age of 18 because I’ve always enjoyed seeing people with different talents working together for the greater good. Over the years I took classes that would give me the skills to grow my career, working my way up from a Receptions to Project Manager, and finally to business owner.
In 2011, my husband and I open Mechanical Solutions, an industrial mechanical company and I couldn’t have been prouder. We structured the company so that all aspects would be covered, as I would handle all office and accounting at our in-home office and he would be proactive with our customers, employees, and jobs in the field. We finally had control of our own destiny.
We were thriving and so was I – working for myself allowed me to go to the gym every morning, do more for my family and spend more time with my 3 daughters, but as time went on, I started noticing things weren’t quite right with me – I felt off. It started with a few aches and pains and by mid-2012. I started experiencing debilitating chronic back pain, I couldn’t even begin to count the number of days that my husband, John would come home from work and find me on the floor crying from the pain.
I went from being an active businesswoman, fun-loving mom, and compassionate wife, to feeling like I was 70 and dying. Not knowing what that all meant, I went from doctor to doctor and underwent test after test, just to hear the same thing time after time, we didn’t find anything, you have Fibromyalgia, and one doctor actually told me that my illness was all in my head.
You would think, with the way I know my body and my extensive research the doctors would have at least listened to me and given my actual symptoms so creditability, but they didn’t. I would just receive another prescription to mask my symptoms.
As I continued to suffer from back pain, other symptoms, and health issues started to follow suit. There were headaches, sensitive skin, drenching night sweats, eyesight changes, failure to regulate my body temperature, incontinence, depression, irritability, brain fog, word recognition issues, and memory issues. I was struggling in every way.
At the beginning of 2015, I started seeing a new chiropractor and after discussing my health problems during appointments, one day in April she said, “Here’s the information for my doctor, I’m not sure if he’ll be able to help you, but he’s a holistic doctor that thinks outside of the box”.
Being at my wit’s end already, I didn’t hesitate to make an appointment. My 1st appointment was just days after losing my mom, but I couldn’t cancel. The appointment was short consisting of a brief chat, an in-depth blood work paper to go, and schedule a follow-up for 3 weeks. Emotional and having no expectations at all, I went back for my follow-up – and after years of struggling with physical pain, and mental anguish I finally got the answer I had longed for – a diagnosis!
I had been suffering from “Mold Toxicity” also known as Mycotoxin Illness or Wet Building Syndrome.
I believed my body was ambushed from the start because I lacked the genes that normally remove toxins from the body.
This explains why I went so many years going undiagnosed because Western Medicine Doctors aren’t educated on illnesses “outside of the norm” and most do not believe in mold illness or Lyme disease. We are not allergic to mold – the genetics are clear: the occurrence of specific HLA types is found in about 25% of the population. It is in these people that we find the sickened ones almost always (nothing is 100% in biology). In these people, the antigens stay in the body, and our own defenses bombard our body in response to those antigens.
What you now have is a person who is defenseless against new exposures and is suffering daily from inflammation.
And this is why in 2018 I opened Serenity Salt Spa and have made it my mission to provide wellness services that can help people like me.
Although I finally knew why I got sick, I still had to figure out where and how, which turned out to be another long journey. I knew the where because I started getting sick when I started working full-time from home, it was somewhere in my house. After months and months of searching high and low, looking inside walls, under tile and carpet, my husband found a moldy towel under our HVAC system while installing a UV sanitizer – that towel had been there since before we moved in. So, knowing what I know today, the mold started affecting me when I moved into my house in 2005, but the symptoms and sicknesses were sporadic and gradually got worse over the years.
My truth is – that I will never be 100%, I will always have to stay away from mold, I will always be susceptible to mold and my journey will always continue, but at least now I understand it and how to cope with it.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Harford County resident, Kelly Wagner and her daughter, Danielle Fraunhoffer followed their mission and dreams of opening Harford County’s first Himalayan Salt Therapy and Wellness Spa in 2018, making them the third facility in Maryland to provide Salt Therapy to their community and with their concern for kids’ health in today’s lifestyle Serenity Salt Spa offers the only salt room dedicated to kids ages 3 months to 12 years old in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
It’s been said, that Serenity Salt Spa is a “hidden gem” that provides the community with a tranquil one-stop wellness spa where people can come relax and rejuvenate their minds and body.
When you visit Serenity Salt Spa you’ll find skincare and body services, massage, energy healing, and these services just to name a few.
Ion Foot Detox – detoxifies the body by removing environmental toxins, and heavy metals boost the immune system, and more.
Medical Massage Chairs – working with pneumatic airbag technology, sessions in the massage chairs, reduce pain, reduces stress, and anxiety, improve sleep problems, circulation, and more.
Lymphatic Drainage Massage – this hands-free service relaxes muscles, increases circulation, reduces swelling, loosens stiff joints, removes toxins, etc.
Oxygen Bar Therapy – increases energy levels, decreases inflammation, improves concentration and athletic performance, reduces stress, and promotes better sleep habits.
Celluma LED Therapy – only FDA-approved form of light therapy that decreased inflammation and pain, accelerates tissue repair, kills bacteria, and improves acne.
Infrared Sauna Cocoon – beneficial for joint pain, stiff aching muscles, whole-body detoxification, increases energy levels, and more. Wellness is achieved when your body is encompassed with healing far infrared rays, gemstones, and magnetic and photon therapy.
PEMF Therapy – enhances the body’s natural recovery process, corrects cellular dysfunction throughout the body, and helps you recover from an injury faster.
Going through my journey has given me the knowledge and experience to help clients with the above services and by understanding how they feel and what wellness services can help them on their journey. And know that obtaining wellness services outside of medical insurance can be expensive, that’s why we are adamant about keeping costs affordable to allow clients the number of treatments they might need, we provide discounted packages and memberships.
In conclusion
We’d like to ask our readers, to think back to when you were young and your mom and dad would tell you, “Try it, you might like it, but you’ll never know unless you do”. The same concept applies to Salt Therapy because I can talk all day about the health benefits it provides and how relaxing a 45-minute session is, but you’ll never know until you try it and experience firsthand how salt therapy will benefit you.
We are confident that once you do, you’re sure to make salt therapy a regular part of your healthcare routine. And to prove it we’re giving all new clients their 1st Salt Therapy Session for FREE.
Book your first session through our website by using the discount code: VOYAGEFREE
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
“This coming July marks the Spas’ 5th anniversary and I couldn’t be prouder because we endured several obstacles that could have shut the spa down, but we as a family stayed strong and fought hard., Kelly said.
It wasn’t an easy journey, it took time and effort to educate the community on a new, improved, and drug-free way that helps people get relief from chronic respiratory problems and skin conditions, in January 2018 Kelly’s dad was diagnosed with cancer, and passed in October, which led to Kelly wanting to put the Spa on the back burner while she dedicated her time to her dad, and in early 2020 COVID. But with hard work and dedication, they were able to overcome the hurdles and add more than 60 new services, allowing Kelly and Danielle to help more clients.
We invite you to join our anniversary celebration on July 22, 2023, from 11 am – 5 pm, there will be live music, food, game, raffles, discounts, vendors, and more.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
In 2017, Kelly Wagner and her daughter, Danielle Fraunhoffer, two long-time residents of Harford County, Maryland, decided to take the risk to open a unique wellness facility that would provide the community with a simpler and more direct way to receive all-natural, drug-free, and alternative wellness services for people to get relief from chronic health issues, and a place to for people in the community to come and de-stress.
When I brought my business idea to Danielle and asked her if she wanted to join me on this journey, she didn’t hesitate to say, “Yes, I’m all in”.
She shares my mission and compassion to provide all-natural, drug-free, and alternative services to the community because not only do I suffer from Mold Toxicity, Dani and her twin sister do as well – genetic HLA types are inherited.
“I would have never even known that mold toxicity was a thing if she didn’t seek out alternative doctors and medicine, but when she finally had a diagnosis all of my problems such as constant back pain, feeling constantly run down, constantly feeling sick made so much sense!”
We knew the journey wouldn’t be an easy one because we were bringing a whole new way of healing to the residents of Harford County, we would have to spend countless hours educating the community and making connections with other businesses, non-profits, community advocates, and similar.
I’m not going to lie, working so closely can be challenging at times because even though we share the same mission, we might not always share the same outlook, but no matter what comes up, we’ll always be there for each other.
Although we might not agree about work all of the time having the same interests and passions allows for meaningful time spent outside of the office. We can become OCD when it comes to animals, especially our companions. Our favorite past times are walking the creeks of Harford County searching and collecting river rocks that have meaning to us. We take annual mother/daughter trips to Florida where you’ll find us on nearby beaches collecting beautiful, special, and hard-to-find seashells.
Kelly’s daughter and partner, Danielle wanted to add to their story
“I’ve seen my mom sit down with clients for what seemed like hours listening and exchanging stories about symptoms, previous diagnosis, but also giving in-depth recommendations of a list of services that we provide that will give the clients relief of their symptoms as well as providing them with doctors that are educated on illness and diseases that are just bypassed by other doctors in western medicine. I’ve also seen my mom suffer for so long and was so excited when she found something that actually helped relieve her pain and saw her dedication to helping others how could I say no to opening a whole business that would do the same”
I saw what her mission was and I definitely came to have the same one and that was helping people better themselves and feel better and we continue to this day (5 years and counting!) to do that.
Our mission for the business wasn’t just going to be people for mold toxicity but for EVERYONE! It was going to be a place where anyone with any health issues or problems could come and we would have something to help them or even people who just wanted to come and just get away from daily life drama and destress and that’s exactly what we did.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.serenitysaltspa.net
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/serenitysalt
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/serenitysaltspallc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@serenitysaltspa8649
Image Credits
Kelly Wagner & Dani Fraunhoffer