Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Wick.
Jessica, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Finding a Path Forward
I think a lot of my life has been about helping people find a path forward.
I just didn’t always know that’s what I was doing.
It started with our son.
He was hyper, emotional and struggled with focus. Personal space and social boundaries were difficult for him. He had a lot of energy, big reactions and didn’t always pick up on the social cues that seemed to come naturally to other kids.
I’ve always understood children who struggle. I’ve always been able to see beyond the behavior to the child underneath it.
With our son, I could see how hard some things were for him, and I wanted to understand why.
More than anything, I wanted to know how to help.
That search brought Brain Balance into our family’s life. We weren’t looking for a business. We were parents looking for answers and hoping to make things easier for our son.
We had no idea then where that path would eventually take us.
Years later, I became the one who needed help.
My health began to unravel.
It started with severe mouth and jaw pain and overwhelming fatigue. Then came joint pain, brain fog, dizziness and nausea. Eventually, the pain seemed to be everywhere.
At my worst, I couldn’t walk.
I needed a wheelchair and spent roughly a year and a half largely bedbound.
It’s hard to explain what happens when the life you know suddenly becomes a life you don’t recognize.
There were days when getting through the day was enough.
I went from doctor to doctor and specialist to specialist trying to understand what was happening to my body. There were tests, appointments, different opinions and different explanations.
Eventually, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and other tick borne infections.
Having an answer didn’t mean I suddenly had my life back.
Healing became a journey of its own.
There were treatments, medications, supplements, dietary changes, physical therapy and a tremendous amount of learning along the way.
There were days when I looked sick.
There were also days when you could look at me and have absolutely no idea what was happening inside my body.
That experience stays with me.
My son’s challenges and my illness are two very different stories, and I don’t try to make them the same.
But both taught me something about how much can be happening beneath the surface.
And both became part of the direction my life would eventually take.
Kris and I became the owners of Brain Balance of Jacksonville because Brain Balance was already personal to our family.
We knew what it was like to be the parents trying to figure out how to help their child.
Today, Kris and I continue to run Brain Balance of Jacksonville together.
When a parent sits across from me worried about their child, I don’t just understand that professionally.
I understand it as a mom.
I’ve sat on their side of the table.
I’ve wondered what the next step should be for my own child.
And I know how much it matters to feel like there is a path forward.
My own health journey has taken me down another path as well.
It led me to create Tick Talk Tuesday, my podcast.
I wanted a place to have conversations about Lyme and the things I wish I had known when I was sick, overwhelmed and trying to make sense of everything.
It’s a way for me to share pieces of my experience, learn from others and create conversations that might help someone else feel a little less alone in their own search.
But I don’t want to stop at sharing my story.
I want to use what I’ve lived through to help others.
I’m almost finished with my training to become a holistic practitioner, and I’m slowly building the vision for Wick Wellness.
Wick Wellness hasn’t fully launched yet.
I’m still healing myself, and I’m still learning.
I’m okay saying that.
My goal isn’t to position myself as someone who has every answer. If anything, my experience taught me how complicated health can be and how different one person’s journey can be from another’s.
What I want to do is help people navigate a path forward.
I know what it feels like to be overwhelmed by information.
I know what it feels like to wonder who to call, what questions to ask or what direction to go next.
And I know what it feels like to simply want someone to help you make sense of the road in front of you.
When I look at everything now, I don’t see a collection of unrelated businesses or projects.
I see pieces of one story.
Brain Balance came into our lives because we wanted to help our son.
My health journey forced me to learn how to advocate and search for myself.
Tick Talk Tuesday gives me a place to turn some of what I’ve experienced into conversations that may help others.
And Wick Wellness is the next piece I’m slowly building. It is a way to combine my experience with my education and help people navigate their own path forward.
Today, Kris and I continue to run Brain Balance of Jacksonville together, and we are deeply committed to the families we serve and to continuing to grow the center.
Brain Balance is a huge part of our family’s story and our future.
At the same time, I’m continuing to heal and finding new ways to use what I’ve experienced to help others.
I’m finishing my training as a holistic practitioner, growing Tick Talk Tuesday and slowly developing the vision for Wick Wellness.
To me, all of these things are connected by the same purpose: helping people find a path forward.
I want the parent who is worried about their child to feel understood.
I want the person who is struggling with their health to feel understood too.
And I want to use what I’ve lived through, not as the definition of who I am, but as part of what I can give.
Kris and I are still building Brain Balance of Jacksonville.
I’m still healing.
I’m still learning.
And there is still so much more I want to do.
I think I’m just getting started.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road.
There have been struggles in different seasons of my life. First, there was watching our son struggle with focus, big emotions, hyperactivity, personal space and social boundaries. As a parent, it was hard to see how difficult some things were for him and not always know how to help.
Then my own health changed dramatically. I went from living a normal, active life to dealing with severe pain, overwhelming fatigue, brain fog, dizziness and other symptoms that eventually left me unable to walk. I needed a wheelchair and spent roughly a year and a half largely bedbound.
One of the hardest parts was not knowing what was happening to me. I went from doctor to doctor and specialist to specialist, through testing, different opinions and different diagnoses, before eventually being diagnosed with Lyme disease and other tick borne infections.
Even after getting answers, healing wasn’t immediate. It has taken time, treatment, lifestyle changes, patience and a lot of learning. I’m still healing today.
At the same time, life didn’t stop. Kris and I became the owners of Brain Balance of Jacksonville, and together we’ve continued building something that means so much to our family while navigating the realities of my health.
The road hasn’t been easy, but I think the difficult parts have shaped what matters to me now. They’ve given me an even greater desire to help people who feel overwhelmed and don’t know what direction to go next.
That’s part of why I started the Tick Talk Tuesday podcast, why I’m finishing my training as a holistic practitioner, and why I’m developing Wick Wellness.
I know what it feels like to need a path forward.
Now I want to help others find theirs.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Brain Balance of Jacksonville is personal to us because our connection to Brain Balance began as parents. We first came to the program while looking for ways to help our own son, so when Kris and I became owners, we brought that experience with us.
We work with children and families who are struggling with things like focus, attention, emotional regulation, behavior, social skills, learning and other developmental challenges. Our approach looks beyond the behavior itself and focuses on understanding the whole child and the areas that may be making everyday life more difficult.
What sets us apart is that families aren’t just walking into a business we own. They’re walking into a place we deeply believe in because we’ve been parents searching for answers too.
We know how overwhelming it can feel when you know your child is capable of more, but something is getting in the way. We also know parents don’t need judgment or another person telling them what their child is doing wrong. They need someone willing to listen, understand their concerns and help them determine a path forward.
I’m most proud of the relationships we’ve built with our families and the community we’ve created at Brain Balance of Jacksonville. Every child who walks through our doors is someone’s whole world, and we never want to lose sight of that.
Kris and I continue to run and grow Brain Balance of Jacksonville together, and we are incredibly proud of what it has become.
For us, Brain Balance isn’t simply what we do.
It’s part of our family’s story, and helping other families has become part of that story too.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something people may not know is that I never set out to own a Brain Balance center.
Brain Balance came into our lives because of our son. We experienced it as parents first, long before Kris and I became the owners of Brain Balance of Jacksonville.
I also think people are sometimes surprised to learn how established Brain Balance is. Brain Balance has been around for more than 20 years, has helped more than 60,000 children, and has centers across the country.
So while Brain Balance of Jacksonville is very personal and local to us, we’re also part of a much larger network with decades of experience working with children and families.
For me, though, it will always be personal.
When a parent calls us worried about their child, I understand that they aren’t just calling a business. They’re trusting us with someone who means everything to them.
I know what it feels like to be the parent asking questions, wondering what could help and wanting someone to really understand your child.
That’s probably the part of Brain Balance I’m most protective of as an owner. No matter how much we grow, I never want us to lose the personal side of what we do.
We were a Brain Balance family before we were Brain Balance owners.
I think that’s what makes our Jacksonville center special. We have the experience and resources of a program that has helped tens of thousands of children across the country, but when you walk through our doors, you’re still walking into a center run by a family who has sat on the other side of the table.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/locations/florida/jacksonville
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainbalancejacksonville/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrainBalanceJacksonville/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/73231418/admin/dashboard/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brainbalancecenterofjackso2025 and https://www.youtube.com/@TickTalkTuesdays
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brain-balance-center-of-jacksonville-saint-johns-3
- Other: https://wickwellness.co/ | https://sotellus.com/reviews/brain-balance-of-jacksonville/
