Life was different for everyone in 1990 – but for Laura Olson of Restore Hyper Wellness in Mountain Brook, it was vastly different. Living in Birmingham along with her husband Steve, Laura was “quite ill,” as she recalls, initially with mononucleosis, and then, doctors diagnosed her with lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease, plus fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. To further complicate matters, she was a new mother with a toddler son, and soon the family would be welcoming their second son.
After a year of being wheelchair-bound and struggling to maintain adequate energy to take care of herself and her children, Laura and Steve sensed God had plans to heal her. “I did not believe I was meant to have lupus,” she says. “The God of miracles removed the antibodies associated with lupus from my body through prayer; the blood tests are always negative, and no signs of even the mono now.”
However, Laura’s symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome continued. A self-described “outside the box thinker,” she turned to natural, holistic wellness treatments. By this point, the family had moved away from the Magic City (they would return later), and Laura sought integrative wellness practitioners in places like St. Louis, Missouri and Bethany, Oklahoma. “The doctor in St. Louis recommended IV therapy, homeopathy and cold showers to alleviate pain and fatigue,” she recalls. “He was from Europe, where they’ve been using classical homeopathy and wellness therapies for ages.”
“I believe we are more than our physical bodies,” she adds. “You have to look at the whole person — mental, emotional, spiritual and physical. I like wellness that takes all that into consideration.”
Eventually, the Olsons returned to Birmingham and opened Restore Hyper Wellness, a cutting-edge wellness boutique where Laura is a living testament to the possibilities of holistic health and wellness treatments. Even Steve, who admits he was skeptical at first, can no longer deny the effects these elements had on his entire family — and now, his customers.
“Ninety-seven percent of the cost for health care in America starts after people get sick or injured,” Steve notes. “But what if we were more proactive? What if we can help people boost their health and wellness and help them recover faster from injuries or illness?”
At Restore, Laura and Steve take pride in welcoming customers and educating them about Hyper Wellness. They insist skeptics are welcome; after all, they were once skeptics themselves, and they look forward to showing how Restore’s services and modalities may benefit almost anyone. Compression therapy, for example, may enhance circulation and mobility; cryotherapy may relieve pain and swelling and boost overall mood; red light therapy, also, may boost energy and optimize sleep.
“Our services pair well together — for example, some customers do red light therapy and whole-body cryotherapy back-to-back — and can be in and out in 20 minutes,” Steve points out.
Most of all, the Olsons are passionate about their mission: to help others discover a healthier, better life, using natural elements to empower their bodies.
“This is a business, and we hope it’s profitable, but that’s not the reason we’re doing it,” Steve says. “It is the opportunity to bring a new category of care to Birmingham — to help people recover or improve their health and wellness so they can do more of what they love to do.”