Illumination Laser Medical Associates

Illumination Laser Medical Associates uses state of the art technology to make a bride look & feel her very best

Interviewing Katherine Flitton & Dr. Jodie Wang of Illumination Laser Medical Associates

 

Knowing you’re going to be in the spotlight your entire wedding day, you might be considering something a little fun and special for yourself in order to look and feel your best. So, whether it’s hair removal, body contouring, or improving wrinkles and fine lines, the professionals at Illumination Laser Medical Associates can help you with a number of personal treatment options. Staff at The Ring spoke with Illumination Laser Medical Associates’ Dr. Jodie Wang, Medical Director, and Katherine Flitton, Business Manager, about how their comfortable, inviting atmosphere, fully trained staff (using state-of-the-art technology) and bridal registry program can help you look amazing on the day that lasts a lifetime… and throughout the honeymoon as well!

 

More than a medical office

The Illumination Laser Medical Associates (ILMA) office is as beautiful and homey as it is medically sound and supervised. Located in Kitchener at the corner of Westmount and Victoria above the Urgent Care Clinic, it feels more like being in someone’s home or a spa than a medical office. You are immediately greeted with a warm, smiling face and offered coffee, tea, water, or juice and a chocolate treat while you wait by the fire place. ILMA is a true medi-spa supervised by medical professionals. The entire team at ILMA is friendly, personable, bubbly and down-to-earth.

 

Dr. Wang is a fully trained and licensed physician who has been practicing since 1989. She graduated from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine and then completed her Family Medicine Residency at the University of Western Ontario. She’s been working with Dermatology Associates in Cambridge since 1994. All treatments are done by Dr. Wang, an RN or RPN, or a specially trained technician.

 

When you go into ILMA, you may deal with Katherine or Jenny as well, who will provide you with detailed information, take you on a tour of the facility and answer questions while you wait for Dr. Wang.

 

Meeting Dr. Wang 

“Come in and meet me, and find out what’s right for you,” says Dr. Wang, who you’ll consult with in order to discuss your wants, needs, options, and realistic expectations. “I want to know what brought you here, what the most important thing to you is, and what bothers you the most,” she says. Initial consultations at ILMA are free and you won’t be signing up anything until you’ve decided to go ahead. For Dr. Wang, it’s all about building your happiness and confidence. There may be several treatments available to you based on your age, skin type and health, all of which Dr. Wang will explain. An initial consultation lasts approximately 30 minutes.

 

As part of your free consultation they can even do a photo skin care analysis, which is a tool to diagnose acne, bacteria level, dehydration, volume loss, and tightening.

 

Catering to brides 

ILMA will host a free bridal shower for you and your friends, complete with wine, fruit and cheese. “It’s a great opportunity to find out more about our services and what treatments might be available to you,” says Katherine.

 

ILMA’s bridal registry program is also great if you know you want to indulge in yourself for your big day. You can register for the treatments you’d like to have and your guests can contribute if they like. On top of that, their bridal registry includes a free microderm abrasion for the bride and her attendants, 15% off for all of the wedding party and the parents of the bride and groom, and a package from Sun Magic Tanning Salon that includes a free Mystic tan for the bride, 50% off a membership for the couple, and 15% off a membership for the wedding party. All because you’re a bride!

 

Popular procedures 

The goal of Dr. Wang and ILMA is to help you create a good canvas for your day and produce maximum results with minimum down time and little to no pain. They first try everything before they are willing to offer it to their clients, and have rejected many procedures because of the procedure’s discomfort. Their procedures address texture, tone, wrinkles, lines and acne (face, back, chest, arms).

 

They will also educate you on all services available, focusing on those relevant to you. “The most popular procedures for both men and women of all ages are Botox and Filler,” explains Dr. Wang. “The artistry and volume improvement for lips and cheeks helps create the person you want to be.” Botox can also be used as a preventative measure when lines and wrinkles are just starting to form. Botox and Fillers can be done on the spot, especially if you’re from out of town, but you may need to book an appointment to return for other procedures.

 

Losing the lines 

Dr. Wang is the only person who does the Botox injections. She injects a small amount into the muscle beneath the problem area and there’s minimal pain (similar to a bug bite). The Botox relaxes the muscles that cause the dynamic wrinkles giving your face a more refreshed appearance. “It’s not about looking like you’re 18 again,” says Dr. Wang. “It’s about looking fabulous for your age.” Injections generally last about four months, but can last much longer with repeated treatments. Frown lines between eyebrows typically cost $300 to $600 depending on the depth of the lines, or else it’s $10 per unit with other procedures or $12 if you’re only doing Botox.

 

Teosyal™ is a dermal filler treatment that has an immediate volumizing effect by filling in hollow cheeks, plumping lips, and re-sculpting facial contours of the chin, jaw line, eyes and forehead. “It looks and feels natural,” says Dr. Wang. “We use a thin needle to minimize pain, so there’s little or no discomfort.” The treatment lasts approximately twelve months and has a packaged price of $2200 for 6 vials and $3000 for 8.

 

Cutera & Samuel Lederman, MD

Taking care of hair 

Aside from Botox and Fillers, Dr. Wang says another popular treatment for women and men is hair removal. ILMA uses a Cutera CoolGlide Laser head - a sophisticated laser with copper and gold alloy head. “Unlike other types of laser hair removal, Cutera doesn’t damage dark skin pigment along with the hair pigment,” says Dr. Wang. “It provides pre- and post-cooling of the targeted area for a more comfortable treatment, and to prevent burning and limit redness.” It works on all skin types and colours, but it doesn’t work on grey hair because once it has lost its pigment there’s nothing they can do to help with removal.

 

Laser hair removal might be of interest to those brides who want to look great for their new husband on their wedding night. The cool glide tip is great for sensitive areas like your bikini line.

 

Hair removal usually takes three to six treatments for most areas, depending on hair thickness, the area treated, and the growth cycle. There are typically three phases to hair removal: growth, regression and resting. “You should wait six to eight weeks between sessions,” explains Dr. Wang, “So start early because it can take some time.” There are different packages available.

 

Get into shape 

ILMA is happy to introduce UltraShape, a popular new technology that gets rid of unwanted fat on your abdomen, love handles, inner and outer thighs. UltraShape’s non-invasive fat reduction and body contouring procedure may help those brides looking to fit into their dream wedding dress.

“UltraShape is the first Health Canada approved ultrasound technology to remove fat cells without surgery,” explains Katherine. “It destroys only the fat cells in the treatment area, so there’s no damage to nerves, blood vessels or skin.”

 

 

UltraShape’s state-of-the-art tracking system ensures smooth, uniform results and doesn’t leave dimpling or contour irregularities. There’s no bruising, swelling or post-treatment discomfort. “Sometimes one treatment is all you need per area, although clinical trials show that up to three treatments may be needed,” says Dr. Wang. “The fat doesn’t come back. Just lead a healthy lifestyle and enjoy the long-lasting effects.” This particular procedure takes between 90 to 180 minutes and costs $850 per treatment. If you require three treatments in the same area, take 10% off the total price. ILMA is the only medi-spa in Southwestern Ontario to have this technology.

 

Cutera & David Goldberg, MD

Go for better skin 

The Cutera laser has many other applications, including Titan for skin tightening and Laser Genesis for pore reduction and skin texture improvement. “It’s great for rosacea, red and brown spots and sun damage,” says Dr. Wang. “Titan and Laser Genesis gently warms the skin to stimulate collagen formation.” It’s pain-free and brighter skin reduces the need for make-up, which might make getting yourself ready for your wedding a lot easier. Each Laser Genesis session costs $500 or you can get three for a discounted price of $1200.

 

A microderm abrasion is another skin care treatment option. “Diamond crystals on the head of the microderm abrasion wand gently remove the top layer of the epidermis, and together with adjustable suction control simultaneously stimulate the rebuilding of collagen and elastin for firmer, healthier and younger looking skin,” Dr. Wang told us. Microderm abrasions can treat sun damage, acne and trauma scars, congested skin, blackheads and whiteheads, oily skin, ingrown hairs, crow’s feet, cellulite, stretch marks, age spots, uneven skin texture and glow, blemishes and minimizes fine lines and wrinkles, giving you healthier looking skin on your wedding day. The cost is $100 per session, or $240 for three, and you can repeat this procedure as often as you like.

 

Vivier Medical Peels are the most popular chemical peel treatments for those under the age of 30 and are great for eliminating acne scarring. Each session takes approximately an hour and an on-site nurse applies the treatment. ILMA has custom designed peels for your skin needs, pore size, acne and age spots. “Our goal is for a pain-free treatment with only mild discomfort,” says Katherine. “There’s very little down time because you need to get on with life, so we make sure you can.” There are typically five different treatments. Each treatment is $175 each or you can do five for $420.

 

Making payments 

If your treatment is under $1000, the entire amount is due at the first treatment. If it’s over $2000, then half is due at first treatment with two separate payments of 25% due at the following treatments. ILMA also offers payment plans through CreditMedical. “Based on your credit, you can be approved for payment plans from six to twenty-four months,” says Katherine.

 

Taking complete care of you

ILMA will take before and after pictures for any treatment in order to show your progress, but those pictures are not for public use, and your appointments are always confidential and private. Guests may or may not notice how you treated yourself for your wedding day, but you will definitely know and feel the difference!

 

In other words…

“I was new to the province and was unaware of specific physicians and or clinics that offered the particular services that I was looking to continue with after I relocated to Ontario. Prior to relocating, my professional background was a nurse at a cosmetic dermatology clinic, hence I was very particular in choosing a reputable physician to provide the quality I was accustomed to. I continued to inquire with various individuals in a variety of industries and I found that Illumination Laser Medical Associates became a common referral that people trusted with their wide array of treatments. The service options that I have used to date include Botox …and Teosymal, a filler… I am so pleased with the results and the services that I plan to arrange for other treatments that are offered… photo facials, tighten and laser hair removal in the future!

My experience dealing with the clinic and their staff was pleasant from the moment I walked in the door. The atmosphere is very inviting and comfortable. Large comfortable couches, interesting reading material, coffee/tea if desired and generally an ambience very unlike [the] typical setting for this industry. The staff are professional, consistently efficient and friendly. They provide excellent pre- and post-treatment information and appropriately follow up after. I would highly recommend Illumination Laser Associates. Dr. Wang and her staff are fabulous. No question is too big or too small. They are approachable and truly make you feel like you are right at home.” - Marcie Baird
 

 

 

 

detailsdetailsdetails

• Sign up for the Bridal Registry a few months before your wedding so that your guests get a chance to help you towards that procedure you’re dying to do!

• Enjoy a free bridal shower, thrown by ILMA, chock full of goodies

• Botox procedures start at $300 and Filler procedures start at $500

• Skin treatments range from $100 each session to $4000 multiple-session packages

• For a total over $2000, you can pay 50% at the first treatment, then 25% each treatment after, or ask ILMA about CreditMedical for other payment plans

• For a total under $2000, the total amount is due at treatment

 

Starting your beauty process…

Get in touch with Katherine or Dr. Jodie during business hours at their location at 751 Victoria St S in Kitchener. Drop-ins are welcomed, however an appointment will give you Illumination Laser Medical Associates’ undivided attention. To book one, call them at 519-578-2828 (or 1-877-578-2820 for out-of-towners), or email them at illuminationmedical@bellnet.ca and they’ll be happy to help you out. For more product and procedure information, check out www.illuminationlasermed.com.

 

- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca

* Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of Illumination Laser Medical Associates. *Photos are used with permission from Illumination Laser Medical Associates (& Cutera

Dave:  Today we have with us again Dr. Jodie Wang of Illumination Laser Medical Associates in Kitchener.  Thanks for joining us today, Dr. Jodie! Dr.

J: My pleasure, Dave, it is great to be back on 570 NEWS!

Dave: And today we are going to be talking with Dr. Jodie about a topic which is on everyone’s mind these days, and that is SUN SAFETY!  Dr. J: That’s right, and here we are in the middle of a sunny July weekend, so it is something which every body is concerned about.  We hear a lot about the sun and its harmful rays, but then we also hear about vitamin D and how Canadians are all deficient in this because we don’t get enough sunlight, and we are all alarmed about global warming and the ozone layer, so there is a lot to untangle in the next hour!  

Dave:  Absolutely, I know that we are hearing about these issues a lot in the media, and kids are learning about it in school, and everybody is a bit scared of the sun.

Dr. Jodie:  And yet by the same token, here we are in a country which is cold a lot of the year, here in this part of Ontario we have a lot of grey winter days and a lot of smoggy summer days when we CAN’T get outside, so it is just not reasonable to think that we are all going to sit indoors when we have a beautiful summer day in front of us.

Dave: We all love the beach!

Dr. Jodie: Of course we do, and I love the beach too.  You know the oldest 6 of my 9 kids play hockey, and we clocked 530 ice times in an arena this past season, so you’d better believe that I love it when I can get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine and sand instead of sitting on a frozen bleacher huddled under a blanket!   

Dave: I can’t even imagine! 

Dr. Jodie:  well, so what I want to let people know about is how to enjoy the sun in a safe manner.   As you know, I have worked alongside a dermatologist for 13 years now, and I can completely appreciate that skin cancers are definitely common in our community, and in fact, they remain the most common type of cancers diagnosed in Canadians.  In one generation alone, skin cancer has increased by 200 percent in the Canadian population!   Every year Canadian doctors diagnose about 72,500 cases of skin cancer alone! 

Dave: That is scary!  And all of these are dangerous types of cancer? 

Dr. Jodie: The number one type is Basal cell carcinoma, and that is not an aggressive cancer but is rather a slow growing, localized cancer which grows in areas where the body has had long-standing sun damage.  The ears, the nose, and the neck are really common locations for this type of cancer, and so are the forearms and hands.  It definitely needs removal and treatment, but it is not a kind that will spread internally. 

Dave: so in a sense, it is a GOOD cancer to get!

Dr. Jodie: that’s right Dave, if you had to choose a type of cancer to get, that would be a good choice, because it is slow-growing, easy to diagnose, and removing it completely treats it.  

Dave: but there are other types of skin cancer also?

Dr. Jodie:  There is another type of skin cancer called squamous cell cancer, and that is more dangerous because on occasion it does spread to the internal organs:  in those cases it can be fatal.  It would be about as dangerous as breast cancer, so you can appreciate that it is pretty serious. 

Dave: that is pretty sobering! Dr. Jodie: and then the skin cancer that we definitely are seeing more of, and that we see in young people, is Malignant Melanoma. 

Dave: and that is a bad type of skin cancer, right?

Dr. Jodie: definitely a very, very serious disease.  It is the kind that usually, but not always, evolves in moles.  And in contrast to the other two types of skin cancer, it is not related to long-standing, chronic sun damage, but more to short intense bursts of sun, like we get when we take a winter getaway or a cruise.  

Dave: So how do we protect ourselves against these types of cancer? 

Dr. Jodie: well, the first thing is to be smart about the sun, and these are all things we have heard about before.  Try to avoid the sun and stay indoors or in the shade between 11 and 2! 

Dave: that’s pretty hard with kids!

Dr. Jodie: well, we work it out that we have lunch inside or on our shaded deck at that time, and our kids may take a break and watch a video or play a bit of hockey in our basement.  After all, just cause it’s summer doesn’t mean that Canadians take a break from hockey! 

Dave: I guess you’re right there! 

Dr. Jodie: Another rule is to try your best to be good about sunscreen.  The lowest recommended SPF from Health Canada is 15, but you won’t find many doctors in the skin care field who will let you wear anything less than a 30.  Bruce Abbey, who is the dermatologist I have worked alongside for twelve years, makes all his patients wear a 30 SPF year round, even in the winter! 

Dave: Isn’t it hard to get kids, and adults too, for that matter, to always keep putting on sunscreen?

Dr. Jodie: Well, Dave, it’s all a matter of training.  Remember when you and I were kids, no one wore a bike helmet, seat belts were optional, and there was Guy Lafleur and all those NHL guys on our TV screens zooming up and down the ice with their hair flying!  Today none of us would dream of letting our kids play hockey or go biking without a helmet, so it is all a matter of getting into a good habit. 

Dave:  I find it a bit baffling, when I go to the store, seeing all the varieties of sunscreen on the shelves.  What do all those numbers mean, and how do we make a good choice of sunscreen?  

Dr. Jodie:  Sunscreens in Canada are only labeled with regards to how much UVB rays they block out.  The number means how many minutes with the product it will take you to get one minute’s worth of sun damage if you went out with bare skin.  So an SPF of 15 means that it will take you 15 min to get one minute of UV damage.  And an SPF of 60 means you will need an hour to get that minute of sun damage.  

Dave: So the higher the number, the better? 

Dr. Jodie: absolutely, Dave, but it is also important to look for UVA coverage on the label.  Canadian regulations don’t require UVA to be mentioned, but while UVB rays cause the more serious cancer risk, the UVA rays contribute to premature skin aging and do also have a hand in long term skin damage and cancer risk.    A good idea is to check the label for a little symbol from the Canadian Dermatology Association , meaning it is a safe choice with both adequate UVA and UVB protection. 

Dave:  Are there other ways to protect ourselves, if we are going to be out during those peak hours, and we won’t be in the shade? 

Dr. Jodie: there sure are.  Make sure that you reapply sunscreen frequently, and use adequate amounts.  A lot of people don’t use enough, or put it on frequently enough.  Some people feel that because they put on a SPF 60 first thing in the morning, it will protect them all day, and that is just not adequate!  Every 90 min or so it should be reapplied, even if you have not been in the water, as we sweat it off and rub it off. 

Dave:  What about clothing?

Dr. Jodie: The more we are covered up, obviously the better protected we are.  There are a lot of types of clothing which cover our skin but can be in light, breezy fabrics, and they can certainly cut down on the UV that we are getting.  And a hat is always a good idea, and by that I don’t mean a baseball cap, I mean a nice gardening type hat with a wide brim.  We shouldn’t forget about our eyes, either, Dave, and should always pop on those sunglasses which have been rated for both UVA and UVB protection. 

Dave: And on those cloudy, smoggy days, do we need to worry as much? 

Dr. Jodie: Unfortunately, Dave, we do need to worry, as clouds only block about 15 percent of the UV radiation, not enough to help protect us in a significant way. 

Dave: What about the statement you always hear, “I’m getting a tan to help protect my skin against the sun?”  You hear people say that before they are going down south in the winter.  Isn’t it true that darker skin does have better protection against ultraviolet?  

Dr. : If you are going to tan, make sure you go to a salon or spa that will help you protect your skin. Getting a tan in the sun is dangerous. A tan will give you about the equivalent of an SPF 2 or 4, so not enough to give you significant protection.   Even people with Asian or African skin can get burned, and even get melanomas. 

Dave: Isn’t it true that we need a certain amount of sun for our skin to make vitamin D? 

Dr. Jodie: We certainly do, but we synthesize enough vitamin D just from the bits of skin we typically forget to sunscreen, like the backs of our neck and our hands.  Health Canada has recently recommended that we all supplement our diets with 1000 IU of vitamin D per day, but no one is suggesting that we cook ourselves more in the sun.  The damage would far outweigh any benefit we might get from an increase in vitamin D systhesis, so don’t be misled!  

Dave: That’s a good point! So if our listeners have already spent a lot of time in the sun, as many of us have, what should we be looking for?

Dr. Jodie: It is a good idea to check your skin regularly, and have a partner or friend look at our backs, and the backs of our necks and legs, and our scalp, to check for any abnormalities.

Dave: And what kinds of things should we be looking for?

Dr. Jodie:  Anything that bleeds, or any sore that doesn’t heal in a reasonable time period.  Any patch of skin which looks or feels rough, or looks different from the surrounding skin. Any mole which has changed. We also have a little acronym called ABCDE which helps doctors evaluate moles to see if they are dangerous.   A is for Asymmetry, meaning the shape is not symmetrical; B for border, meaning the border is uneven or bumpy, or the pigment looks like it has spilled over the edge of the mole; C is for color, and by that we are looking for a variance in color, meaning one part of the mole is darker, lighter, or a different color than the rest: D is for diameter, and we would say anything over 5-6 mm, or anything which has grown and increased its diameter; and E is for evolution, and by that we look especially closely at any lesion which has changed in any one or more of those ways.  

Dave: so what would be the next step if we find something worrisome?

Dr. Jodie: anything on our skin which we are not sure about we should have evaluated by a physician.  If you doctor has any concerns, he or she would normally refer you to a dermatologist or sometimes a plastic surgeon to have a biopsy done.  That way any suspicious lesions can be thoroughly evaluated.  

Dave: Aside from actual skin cancers, what are signs that we have damaged our skin from the sun?

Dr. Jodie: the number one indicator that we have done permanent damage to our skin is the premature aging to our skin, which may cause fine lines and wrinkles, a crepey texture to our skin, that bumpy chicken-skin texture which is especially common on the neck, and sun spots which are brown discolored splotches on the face or arms or any sun-damaged areas. 

Dave: So once you have that damage, you are stuck with it? 

Dr. Jodie: Fortunately, no!  Laser technology has advanced in the past few years and has come up with some remarkable remedies to help skin reverse photo aging.  For example, IPL is a common procedure, which stands for Intense Pulsed Light, which uses a flashlamp with a very short wavelength to remove the superficial sun spots, in a quick procedure which is very comfortable and takes 10 to 15 mins for each of 3 procedures which are done 2 to 4 weeks apart.  

Dave: And what about the wrinkles and lines and damaged texture?

Dr. Jodie: We approach that with a procedure called Laser Genesis, which takes about 45 min and we use the laser light to penetrate into the second layer of the skin, the superficial dermis, and the laser gently stimulates new collagen to grow.  This helps plump up the skin and give it a fuller texture, lessens wrinkles, and gives it a further protection against aging.  That procedure is similar to IPL in that it can be done every 2 to 4 weeks for a session of 3 treatments, and the two can be very successfully combined into one appointment in which we are helping to reverse the photo aging which has happened to the skin. 
Dave: It sounds pretty high tech!

Dr. Jodie: Well, it is very advanced technology, and we are very proud at Illumination Laser Medical Associates to be the first providers of the world-class Cutera laser system to Waterloo Region.   All of our procedures are carried out by myself as the physician or my Registered Nurse, and it is very important that something as potentially serious as sun damage be treated by medical professionals who can also evaluate the skin for any signs of early skin cancer.  

Dave:  It would be a great idea to have a physician evaluate your skin before a treatment.

Dr. Jodie: Absolutely, and at Illumination Laser I personally see and evaluate every client before any treatment of sun damage starts, so anything suspicious is immediately referred on to a dermatologist for further evaluation.

Dave: And are there other things we can do for damaged skin?

Dr. Jodie: There are advanced medical grade cosmeceuticals which we carry in our office, which help from the surface in fighting aging and reversing the signs of sun damage.  They can be used alone, but of course work best when combined with treatments with the laser, which give a more powerful approach as the skin is being treated topically while also being stimulated to regenerate from the dermal layer.  The results people get are really remarkable, and our clients are really pleased.    

Dave:  Is there anything that this new technology can offer to older people who have really severely damaged their skin over the years?

Dr. Jodie: we are able to offer our clients a state of the art treatment called Levulan therapy, which is a well-documented treatment for a condition called Actinic Keratoses, in which many years of sun damage have left multiple little areas of pre-cancerous skin cells on sun exposed areas.  In the past all we had to offer these patients was to burn the lesions off with electrocautery or freeze them off with liquid nitrogen, but now we can treat the face and affected areas with a chemical called levulan which sits on the skin for an hour while the client reads a magazine or relaxes, then we activate the chemical with the IPL light and it works ove

How Does She Do It?
May 2008 - Lori Fellner

It’s a work day and I’ve slept late… again. I jump quickly out of bed and as I scramble to find something to wear that doesn’t need ironing, I glance at the clock: 7:45 and none of my three “lambs of God” (a.k.a. my children) are up. I quicken my step down the hall and try to suppress my frustration and sound cheerful as I call out, “Time to get up!” No one moves (no surprise there, given they don’t go to bed on time… but don’t get me started on that).

 

I survey each room of the house quickly as I get ready; I can’t walk in a straight line without stepping on clothes, books, assorted school work, candy wrappers, and empty juice boxes. The garbage on the floor makes my blood pressure climb and, as I repeat my mantra to stay calm and unaffected, I make a note to bring this issue up later.

There’s no time now because I need to make lunches, deal with Lenny, my dopey dog, and try to find a pair of panty hose without runs. As I fashion my hair into a ponytail and dab concealer under my eyes to hide the dark circles, I think about the day ahead and the litany of things to do. I glance around my “lived-in” bathroom (a nice way of saying “cluttered”), and the headline from a magazine jumps off the page: “More time for you.” I actually laugh out loud. Did someone finally figure out how to add a couple more hours to the day? Curiosity gets the better of me and I flip through the pages to find the usual tips for healthy dinners in 15 minutes or less, how to organize your wardrobe to mix and match, therefore minimizing the time you spend deciding what to wear, and household fix-ups that are supposed to save you time. Blah, blah, blah. I toss the magazine to the floor and add another item to my to-do list: sort and recycle old magazines.

I don’t think my typical day is all that unusual. In fact, I’d be willing to bet it’s pretty much the norm for most of us juggling career and family responsibilities and trying not to lose ourselves in the process. But I have much to learn about this balancing act that defines my life, and even before I meet Jodie Wang, I know enough about her to realize I may have found a mentor.

Jodie and her husband, David, have nine children: Yo, 15, Yi, 14, Maggie, 13, Maddie, 11, Michelle, 10, Johnny, 8, James, 6, Monica, 5, Jordan 3 and a Sheltie named Raymond. Whew! I have to wonder how Jodie does it, because I have three children and can barely keep up. She explains it this way: “Whether you have nine kids or one, there are only so many hours in a day and you manage. All working moms – regardless of how many kids they have – are in the same boat. There’s always something that needs to be done, and a lot of jobs are only partially complete.”

She didn’t always view things so pragmatically and, although the family had a nanny when the kids were small, she admits to a time when she obsessed about neatness. It would take her all morning to make the beds and tidy rooms, and then she realized she had to change. “I’ve had to loosen up a lot and become more relaxed. Now I’m numb to it all,” she laughs.

Of course, it’s easier now that the children are older and more self-sufficient, and everyone pitches in. The older ones do their own laundry and can make simple meals, and even three-year-old Jordan helps out.

Managing the Wang household sounds like a full-time job itself, and yet Jodie is a physician, running a cosmetic medical clinic, and works in urgent care and at a nursing home. She says she thrives on the variety in her practice and says she wouldn’t do it any other way. “I love the people I work with and the fact that every day is different. That’s the beauty of medicine.”

If that weren’t enough to have me teetering over the brink, I learn that the Wangs home-school their children. It was a decision made to simplify their lives. Simpify? Did I hear her correctly? But Jodie says that driving to and from schools, with evenings tied up with homework, was taxing on them all, so they experimented with home-schooling six years ago and haven’t looked back. A university student helps Jodie teach three mornings a week and her husband also helps the older children with their work when he gets home from work. Jodie says the children manage to complete all their assignments during the day so the evenings are freed up for sports and family time.

But I have to wonder if home-schooling is isolating for the children. I ask if they miss out on opportunities to meet other children and develop social networks and life skills that come from integrating with diverse groups. Jodie is quick to point out that the children have friendships outside of the family, but they’re also best friends for each other. She believes it’s the relationships they cultivate within the family that are most important. “When your world crashes and you need someone, it’s not your friend from Grade 5 who will be there for you, it’s your brother or sister. They are going to drop everything to help pick up the pieces of your life when it falls apart.”

Six of the Wang children play hockey, both competitive and house league, and Jodie says that she and David look forward to the nights they can watch the games together. She recognizes that finding time to be together as a couple, as well as her own personal time, is vitally important. So they go out for lunch at least once a week, and enjoy early mornings working out in their home gym before David heads to the University of Waterloo where he’s a professor in the Faculty of Engineering. “I should also tell you,” says Jodie, sheepishly, “that David serves me breakfast in bed every morning.” Is she joking? I’m taking meticulous notes now; I need to get on this schedule! Beaming from ear to ear, Jodie tells me she wouldn’t have her life any other way. “I feel so blessed. Everything in my life brings me so

Hello Clients!

We have started a blog to post interesting information and create a dialoge for our clients. Already loaded in is the article about Dr. Jodie Wang from the Real Women magazine, May 2008. Lori Fellner came to visit us and find out more about our dear doctor and her business life. I hope you enjoy the read.