19/10/2025
Wow! 5 years since I started my own Reiki Attunement Journey! It feels like only yesterday.
Today feels like the perfect day to share my journey through Reiki. A story I recently submitted to Reiki NZ for their upcoming summer issue.
From Misdiagnosis to Miracles: A Journey Through Pain, Awakening, and the Healing Light of Reiki
By Angelah Rose — Reiki Master Teacher, Intuitive Healer, and Advocate for Holistic Wellness
The Collapse
In 2015, my life came to an abrupt halt.
I was twenty-five years old, active, and full of dreams, when my body began to betray me. It started with pain — deep, searing pain radiating from my hips down to my legs. Within weeks, I couldn’t walk. Literally pulling my self to the bathroom on my elbows. The pain was so intense that it felt like knives twisting through my muscles, like fire burning beneath my skin. I was admitted to hospital, terrified, and desperate for answers.
Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months.
And still, no one knew what was wrong with me.
Instead of answers, I was met with doubt. Doctors told me my pain was psychosomatic — “all in my head.” Their reasoning? My history. When I was younger, I went through a difficult period that left lasting marks on how I was seen within the medical system. Certain labels began to follow me, quietly shaping the way professionals approached my care. So when I arrived at the hospital one day, unable to walk and in unbearable pain, they didn’t see a person in need — they saw a history, a file, a story already written. I was sent away more than once, until my mother insisted they finally listen.
For 3 months, I lay in a hospital bed, dismissed, unheard, and disbelieved. My body continued to deteriorate. I was slipping away.
Finally, after months of suffering, someone discovered the truth: I had hyponatremia — a severe sodium deficiency. Ironically, I’ve always been someone who loves salt, and yet my body was critically deprived of it. Hyponatremia is rare and can be deadly when left untreated. I was told that most people in my condition don’t survive long.
By that point, I had already slipped into a coma multiple times. My family came from all over New Zealand to be by my side, preparing for the worst. Against all odds, I survived. I came out of that hospital six months later, frail, underweight, and barely recognisable — but alive.
Living in Pain
Survival, however, came at a cost.
I was left with a chronic pain condition that doctors couldn’t name or understand. They called it “nerve pain” or “chronic pain syndrome,” but really, they had no answers. The first doctor I saw told me I would need to “learn to live with it” and that I would likely be on an invalid’s benefit for the rest of my life.
That sentence broke something inside me — but it also lit a fire.
I refused to accept that my life was over at 25.
I refused to believe that I would live the rest of my days in agony.
So I changed doctors. I found one who looked at me not as a case, but as a human being.
This new doctor was an integrative practitioner, someone who believed in getting to the root cause rather than simply managing symptoms. The first time we met, he did something that no one else had done before — he asked me about my story. He asked what my first memory of pain was. What my first memory of fear was.
That question alone changed everything.
As I sat in his office, my mind travelled back to when I was two years old. Early memories surfaced — ones I had buried deep within me. He gently told me that what I was describing sounded like Complex PTSD (CPTSD) — a condition caused by prolonged trauma, not the Misdiagnosis id been given years before. For the first time, someone named what had been hiding beneath my pain. It made sense.
Understanding My Body
Together, we began to explore how trauma had shaped my nervous system and my body. He suggested running a genetic DNA test, something I now believe every person should do at least once in their life.
The results were eye-opening.
They revealed how my body processed certain foods, what types of exercise best suited my physiology, how my liver metabolised, and even my tolerance for alcohol and stress. It turned out that my body was genetically better suited to slow, gentle movement — walking, stretching, dance — not high-intensity exercise.
For the first time, I had a blueprint of my biology.
I began changing my diet, supporting my liver, and aligning my lifestyle to match what my genes — and my intuition — were telling me.
But the pain still lingered.
I was referred to a pain management centre, where I learned mindfulness tools and techniques to dull the edge of the pain. It helped, but it didn’t heal. I started counselling alongside it — this time with a kind, patient psychotherapist who didn’t treat me like a diagnosis. She listened. She asked what had happened to me, not what was “wrong” with me.
Week by week, I unravelled the layers of trauma that had been trapped in my body. I learned how to regulate my emotions, to ground myself, and to sleep again. Slowly, I began to feel life returning to my body — but something was still missing.
The Day Everything Changed
During this time, I was studying makeup artistry and business management — trying to rebuild my new life and identity. One day, I was invited to do makeup for a local author’s photoshoot. I remember meeting her — radiant, confident, full of purpose. Afterward, she offered me a ride home.
When I stepped into her car, I immediately noticed the crystals. The energy was warm, familiar, alive. We began talking about spirituality, healing, and intuition, and before I knew it, she was offering me a Reiki session.
At that stage, I had never experienced Reiki before. I had dabbled in many other modalities of spirituality- meditation, affirmations, and energy music, manifestation but I had never received direct energy healing. I was open — desperate even — to try anything that might ease my pain.
When I arrived for the session, she welcomed me with open arms. Her space was serene — soft light, gentle music, the scent of incense in the air. Crystals surrounded the treatment table. I lay down, nervous but trusting.
She began by calling in my angels, guides, and ancestors. I could feel them — truly feel them — circling around me. The air thickened with warmth and presence. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. Visuals and sensations!
Then the Reiki began.
Waves of emotion rose up through me. My body trembled. I saw flashes of light and colour. I could feel energy moving through my body — old pain, old memories, being lifted and released.
At one point, I had a vision of a person who had hurt me deeply in my teenage years. In that moment, something shifted. I saw them not as the person who harmed me, but as someone broken, too. I forgave them. Then I turned inward — and forgave myself.
Tears streamed down my face, but they weren’t tears of sadness. They were tears of release. Of relief. Of freedom.
When the session ended, I felt different — clearer, lighter, grounded.
For the first time in years, my pain was quiet.
A Miracle
As I was leaving, the practitioner smiled and said,
“Be careful — you might get pregnant.”
I laughed. But 48 hours later, I was.
I hadn’t been able to conceive for years. My doctors had told me that my body was too weak, my weight too low, my hormones too disrupted. Yet here I was, pregnant — and 60% of my chronic pain was gone.
It was miraculous.
Although I later chose not to continue the pregnancy, the experience was profound. It felt like a spiritual sign — the rebirth of my body, the awakening of life force energy within me. Afterward, my health improved even more rapidly. My energy returned. My body healed.
When I told my doctor about the Reiki session, I was nervous. I expected disbelief. But instead, he listened. He smiled and said, “That makes sense. What do you think has happened?".
I told him that I believed I'd come in to alignment - healing must occur on all four levels — mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual — and that the Reiki session had been the missing piece that brought everything into balance. He looked at me smiled and agreed. This doctor later retired and when he shook my hand and said goodbye he said congratulations and that I was one of his patients that he was most proud of.
The Calling
Years later, when my health had stabilised, I began waking up every morning with a whisper in my ear:
“You need to give Reiki.”
At first, I ignored it. Then it got louder. For two weeks straight, I heard it every day — this inner knowing, this call from Spirit. Eventually, it became impossible to ignore.
I found a Reiki Master and began my training. From the moment I received my first attunement, I felt like I had come home. There was a deep remembering — as though my soul already knew this work.
Reiki felt like a language I had always spoken but forgotten. It reawakened the healer within me.
I went on to complete Reiki II, then my Master level, and eventually became a Reiki Master Teacher. Now, I have the immense privilege of sharing this beautiful modality with others — of helping them reconnect with their bodies, their spirit, and the energy of unconditional love that flows through all things.
Coming Full Circle
Reiki transformed my life from one of pain and survival to one of purpose and connection.
It gave me back my body. It gave me back my peace. It gave me back my faith in myself and in something greater than me.
I believe that every family should have at least one Reiki practitioner — someone who can hold space, channel light, and bring balance back into their home.
If you’ve been thinking about trying Reiki, or if you feel called to learn it yourself — follow that pull.
That’s your soul speaking.
The world needs more healers.
The world needs you.
Go well.
About the Author
Angelah Rose is a Reiki Master Teacher, intuitive healer, and celebrant based in Aotearoa, New Zealand. A multi-passionate creative, she weaves spirituality, healing, and artistry through her many offerings — from Reiki sessions and attunements to sacred circles, weddings, and intuitive guidance.
After her own journey from chronic illness and trauma to full-body healing, Angelah is devoted to empowering others to rediscover their light, reconnect with love, and awaken their innate capacity to heal.
You can connect with her at
Photo of myself and another student after my Reiki 1 attunement with Dorine Hooykaas 💗
