Our Passion
Mercy and I share a passion, the passion of bringing people closer to the radiant health we all deserve.
Our Story
Joyce Choe, MD
Dr. Joyce Choe is a board-certified ophthalmologist living in the Pacific Northwest and a devout Seventh Day Adventist Christian. Her experience with chronic illness all began in 1998 after severe adverse reactions to a fluoroquinolone antibiotic called Trovafloxacin. As a result her energy levels plummeted and by 2011 it was severe enough to threaten her livelihood as an ophthalmologist.
Around this time she was referred to a functional medicine healthcare provider who diagnosed her with leaky gut and this is was eye opening for her.
She began a plant-based elimination diet and over time her symptoms began to diminish. This lasted until 2015 when she reintroduced corn, soy, and wheat back into her diet, and her health began to collapse again.
This continued until she heard about a lifestyle center run by an energetic woman who had a detox program in the mountains of Northern California. The sermon Dr. Joyce was listening to gave her a glowing recommendation and with her curiosity piqued, she decided to reach out to the person who would quickly become both family and her steadfast business partner – Mercy Ballard.
In January of 2016 Dr. Joyce visited Years Restored for the first time and was amazed by the program that Mercy had put together. On the third day of the detox program she no longer felt the pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath that had been plaguing her for a full year. This led to the partnership that created The Autoimmune Recovery Plan.
Mercy Ballard, RN
Mercy is the founder of Years Restored Lifestyle Center and a Seventh Day Adventist Christian who believes strongly in a whole-food plant-based diet for lasting health. Mercy went to medical school in Mexico and has worked as an IV infusion nurse in the US for over two decades. When Mercy developed severe anemia and unusual symptoms of celiac disease in 2004, health care professionals could not find any lasting solutions to her health issues, so she embarked on her own journey for answers.
This is what prompted her to begin what would become a life-long study of nutrition, alternative therapies, natural remedies, and beyond. One day, by providence, a co-worker of hers introduced her to a laboratory that specialized in diagnosing food sensitivities and she was shocked to discover she had developed strong antibodies to gluten and numerous other foods she had been consuming regularly. Once she began to eliminate these foods and completely overhaul her diet and lifestyle, she immediately began to reverse her illness until she fully regained all the health and energy she had previously known.
This illness that almost took Mercy’s life turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it was the impetus that inspired her to continue her education of plant-based nutrition, natural remedies, and other natural healing modalities leading to the creation of the Years
Restored Lifestyle Center. Since 2013, the plant-based protocol and menus used at Years Restored have helped hundreds of clients find remission and healing.
