Inspired to make a difference: After dealing with their own health issues, sisters determined to help their patients

By Kristine Thomas

Katie and Beverly Rablin believe the pathway to a healthy life requires stepping out their comfort zone and discovering what can transpire.

The sisters – Katie, 30, and Beverly, 28, – are embarking on their own 12-week “get fit challenge” this month and plan to blog about their experience at www.twosistershealing.blogspot.com.

Gregarious with infectious laughs and smiles, Katie and Beverly embody the picture of health. Yet, they both have scars on the left side of their chest that reveals a different story.

It is their own trials and tribulations with health that inspired them to pursue careers where they advocate for helping people obtaining their optimum health.

A licensed registered nurse and massage therapist, Katie has a master’s degree in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland. She treats a variety of conditions such as allergies, body pain, headaches/migraines and insomnia.  She works at Eng Acupuncture in Silverton and part-time at Silverton Health. She has worked at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Beverly is a licensed massage therapist. She has worked in Kauai, Hawaii and Sun Valley, Idaho. She, too, works at Eng Acupuncture.

Growing up in Scotts Mills and while attending Silverton High School, Katie and Beverly spent many hours at Eng Acupuncture where their aunt, Donna Brown, worked.

“We would come here and do our homework,” Katie said. “It was a place to grow up and the women who work here are our inspiration.”

Their individual journeys to discover ­– each learning she had a deadly disease – began when Beverly was 13 years old and Katie was 23.

“From the time I was 13 to when I was 17, I would pass out,” Beverly said. “At first, the doctors thought I was having seizures and there were times I almost died before I was brought back to life. Because my stepmom kept pestering the doctors for an answer, I finally learned I had a heart arrhythmia and had a defibrillator installed.”

Because Long QT Syndrome is heredity, Katie was tested but the results came back negative.

Living and working in Kauai as a massage therapist and attending nursing school, Katie was 23 years old when her heart stopped while she was sleeping. Fortunately, she said, her then boyfriend realized what was happening, performed CPR and called 911. She was taken to the hospital where she learned she also has a heart arrhythmia and a defibrillator was installed.

“I was gone,” Katie said of her near death experience. “I was in a spacious void. When my heart stopped, I was going to school for my nursing degree and surfing and hiking. I thought I was healthy.”

Both women have no qualms about proudly showing their scars where their individual defibrillators were placed. The defibrillator listens for irregular rhythms and corrects them.

Confronting their own health situations  has allowed both women to connect with their patients. Instead of treating a symptom, they want to know what the root of it is and explore options for treatment.

Always eager to learn, a new avenue both women are exploring is to provide Holistic Pelvic Care for their female patients.

“In my work I have found that many women seek treatment for reproductive health, fertility, pelvic pain and pelvic congestion,” Katie said.

“Beverly has also heard women express frustrations about post-partum recovery, urinary issues and other pelvic floor signs and symptoms during massage sessions.”

Experiencing pain after childbirth, Beverly decided to seek training with Tami Kent MSPT who wrote the book Wild Feminine and developed a technique called Holistic Pelvic Care, which restores balance to the pelvic floor of the female body.

“I decided to take the plunge and try it,” Beverly said. “I trained in the practice because I wanted to learn how I could help women.”

Sharing what she learned with Katie, both women now treat women for pelvic health.

“This is work that every woman can receive for general pelvic health maintenance,” Katie said. “It’s safe, gentle, and done with the utmost respect for the female body, mind and spirit.”

And that is the philosophy both women adhere to – respect for their patients.

Describing themselves as best friends who can’t live in the same house but can have houses on the same property near Silver Falls State Park, Katie and Beverly believe in the importance of creating balance in life.

They know how stress can take a toll on the body. They realize the importance of intertwining the practices of Western and Eastern medicine to best serve their patients. They know the body can hold secrets that often aren’t discovered until it becomes a crisis.

And they know what happens when a person ignores her health or the signals her body is sending.

Katie was 22 and Beverly was 20 when a family member died of cirrhosis.

“The body can sense deep sorrow and know when something is wrong,” Beverly said.

From their work, they are amazed how many people are dealing with pain – both physical and mental – yet keep walking around with it – ignoring it. They want to encourage people to seek treatment and explore their health options.

“In life, you know there are times that you want to make a change. It takes courage to make that change,” Katie said.

After working outside of Oregon, they both knew it was time to return to Silverton and give back to “the incredible community” that has given so much to them.

“I think our heart condition has made us more sensitive and we have the ability to really listen and we have a deep compassion for helping people,” Katie said.

“We want to support people to get where they want to be in their lives,” Beverly added.