Far Right: Orenda physicians helping physicians. Orenda came to me through a
patient. I was amazed by the physical and emotional changes I observed.
A Closer Look
Dr. Shanhong Lu MD, PhD New Orenda Senior Director
“The problems we face will not be solved by the minds that created them. In order for things to change, we must change ... ” - Unknown
My story starts in Beijing, China where I grew up with two traditions of
medicine. From the Eastern tradition, my grandmother was a midwife who practiced Chinese medicine and believed strongly in nature’s ability to heal. On the other hand, my mother, one of the first top female cardiologists and a clinical professor, is firmly rooted in the science and rescuing power of Western medicine. I have seen the beauty and power in both traditions, and I have made it my craft to integrate the wisdom of the East with the science of the West. I completed six years of medical school, five years of graduate school, three years of postdoctoral fellowship, and three years of residency in internal medicine. During my 14 years of study and research, I absorbed information from some of the best health programs in the world, including the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of California San Francisco. I later studied the science of anti-aging and regenerative medicine. I am certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. In 1998 I opened a private internal medicine practice in the small community of Mt. Shasta, nestled in the mountains of northern California. I love living in Mt. Shasta, where people come to know you by your actions and your heart. I have seen some of the most complicated patients in my professional years of practice. I asked myself: why are so many people taking so many pills, often suffering from the side effects of the various treatments, and yet so few people seem to be enjoying a good quality of life? Why are so many living between their different doctors’ offices? I began implementing natural products in my practice and dedicating any spare time I had to ensure that I was offering the highest quality and the most researched products on the market. Orenda came to me through a patient. I was amazed by the physical and emotional changes I observed in her in such a short time. I soaked in the science and quickly recognized that Orenda’s products have the four qualities I believe to be the most important: they are natural to the body, safe, simple to use, and highly effective. They address what I believe are the two greatest hazards in our modern human life: stress and environmental toxins. The many powerful benefits of Orenda Products have been nothing short of a miracle for me and my patients. Little did I know, the Orenda business would be as well. Right now, this is an extremely challenging world for health care professionals of all disciplines. Many doctors - from all specialties - are actually leaving their professions because they do not believe that there ever will be a light at the end of the tunnel. The net reimbursement per patient, after all the expenses are paid, is simply too little for doctors to ever reach financial security, never mind financial freedom. Many physicians are feeling burnt out and are forced to work longer and longer hours on endless paper work. Almost all of us are struggling from overhead expenses, lack of time to provide quality care to our patients, and no time off for ourselves, our loved ones, or our own health and continuing education.
Far Left: Dr. Lu and her mother in Beijing, 2007 Left: Family vacation in Hawaii Top Right: Tandem bike touring in Oregon Right: Summiting Mt. Shasta in the 2008 Climb Against
Odds for the Breast Cancer Fund dedicated to
eliminating environmental causes of cancers
Far Right: Orenda physicians helping physicians
As I worried about my patients and my practice back in March 2006, I also began to worry about myself. I was struggling under a huge burden of debt from my education and from running a private practice. I found myself taking on more work - running between the hospital, the skilled nursing home, and my clinic. Many times, I had to borrow money just to pay my staff and myself. My breaking point came the day when I received a check for One Penny from an insurance company. After 8 years of solo practice, I knew I could no longer cling to the unsustainable system and I could no longer be apathetic. For my own sake and the sake of my patients, I had no choice but to change. I am so glad that I did. Within one year, Orenda gave me the financial strength to make the transition away from insurance companies and bureaucracy and freed me from the financial burden I had been carrying for so long. Within 2 years I paid off my huge credit card debt and opened my dream practice, Mt. Shasta Integrative Medicine Center. For the first time, I have the confidence for “no limits” financially and “no limits” in the number of people I can help. I have regained control of my health and my life. The biggest joy I have found through my Orenda business is to be able to enjoy the supportive and loving environment Orenda provides for its Partners’ ongoing emotional and spiritual growth. I am so happy that I found a powerful vehicle to bring not only excellent products and financial freedom, but also HOPE in a seemingly chaotic world. Orenda taught me one simple thing: the only way to reach greatness is to serve and help as many people as possible. My Orenda business vehicle allows me to become a part of a bigger family of people lifting people and physicians helping physicians. I know in my heart that choosing Orenda was right for me. I am grateful and blessed every day for such a unique gift. My Orenda business is not only economically sustainable and financially and spiritually rewarding, it also encourages me to do the hard work of improving myself and of helping others to do the same. The biggest obstacle to happiness and success in life is ourselves. Orenda empowers people to set goals that are bigger than ourselves, and to overcome them. Eventually there will be no more obstacles and blocks. People cannot give what they don’t have. If we don’t have health, we cannot teach people how to be healthy; if we are broke, we cannot donate money to causes in which we believe; if we have no time, we cannot volunteer or spend quality time with people we love. Before Orenda, my health was being threatened by the stress of my workload and I had no financial reserve for any emergency expenses. I had no time or energy to spare for my community. I was feeling alone in my struggle for my professional and personal happiness. Now I can share health and wellness both in my medical practice and with the incredible people I meet through my Orenda team. And finally, I am able to donate money and time to charitable activities and give back to the community. For that, I must thank Co-Founders Bob and George Hall for providing the best and the most unique to their people so we can provide only the best to ours. Thank you for your tireless and continuous open mindedness of making Orenda such a great place for people to strive and grow, for your big hearts in treating everyone as equal and rewarding in the most generous way to hard work and leadership; and for bringing in Michael and Kindra for the future of Orenda, generation after generation.
Left: Shanhong and Sean at the Mount Everest Base Camp in Tibet, with Mount Everest in the background Below: Speaking at Leadership School, January 2007
I want to thank Anne Herrick and Dr. Dienel, as you opened my eyes to possibilities and helped me, step-by-step, to be a better person and to empower my team. Thank you, also, Nina and Dr. John Golden for your insight in the science, clinical experience and expertise with the Orenda products. Thank you to all of my customers, friends, family and patients, for trusting me and loving me the way I am. I want to congratulate all of you on the changes you’ve made in your lives. To my whole team and my Orenda families and every hard working staff, I am deeply grateful for your incredible support, courage and compassion towards people you love and for your trust in me as your business partner and friend. And I love you and I want to tell you that you have become my closest friends. Let’s do this together! Thank you to my mom for setting the best example of an independent woman and a good doctor, keeping the best interest of the patient first. Thank you to my father for taking Orenda and being so compliant and looking younger every year. Thank you to my brother for being one of my first partners. Thank you to my boyfriend, Sean, for being an incredible man with a beautiful big heart for life and strong belief in hard working, for your unconditional love of the whole person I am, and for sharing your wisdom and your life with me. Thank you, to my little friends Mary and Zoe, for teaching me so many things in life, especially living in the now, taking life as it is, being patient and having fun. I have my family heritage and my professional training to thank for my skill as a doctor, but that skill was not enough to let me serve our people, our community and myself the way I desire. Since I found Orenda, my life is forever changed. I want everyone to know that this opportunity is waiting for you; ready to free you from your health and financial burdens. Life is sweet and short. Don’t postpone joy.
“When it becomes more difficult to suffer than change … you will change.” – Dr. Robert Anthony
Above: Dr. Lu and Carol Vallaire in front of their successful dream practice Right: Dr. Lu breaks through at Gold School in May, 2008
This story is a reflection of the experience of this individual and may not be applicable to everyone.
