MacDonell Family Physiotherapy
Kristen MacDonell realized the dream of opening her own family physiotherapy practice in August 2022. Located at 812 Pitt Street (Unit 41), MacDonell’s clinic is a welcoming space where people of all ages can go to heal and get back to living their best life.
MacDonell, who has fourteen years in the field, graduated with a Master of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Toronto in 2009. She has since worked in world-renowned hospitals such as Princess Margaret Cancer Center and University Health Network.
“Back when I was around 8, my dad had played hockey and hurt himself. He had to go to physiotherapy and back then it was covered so he’d go a lot. I would go with him, and I just loved it,” MacDonell told Seaway News, “At first, I just sat there and then I started doing the ice packs and the gel and I got all involved. I like how dynamic it is, you can work in 100 different fields and different areas.”
After living in Toronto for over a decade, MacDonell returned to Cornwall just before the Covid-19 pandemic. While she enjoyed the perks of big city life, it was time to be close to family, get a dog (an adorable wiener dog named Copper!), and trade her condo for a house.
“Cornwall is a nice community; everyone is quite friendly and that’s what I found with opening a business. People are incredible supportive and encouraging,” said MacDonell.
Over the years, MacDonell developed several areas of special interest, including neurological conditions (ALS, MS, stroke, Parkinson’s, after brain injuries) and a special passion and interest for working with cancer patients. Since coming to Cornwall, MacDonell has supported women with breast cancer through treatment and awareness. She also founded a networking support healing group for women with cancer that meets at the clinic every other month.
“These women really appreciate the opportunity to talk to people who have gone through it,” she explained, “Maybe even not a similar diagnosis, but the themes are very much the same. Dealing with spouse and children, returning to work, dealing with the unknown.”
In addition to these areas of special interest, MacDonell treats patients of all ages in all areas of physiotherapy such as orthopedic, sports injuries, preventative, acupuncture, cupping, gua sha, soft tissue and manual therapy exercise.
Elite Lizzard Publishing Company
If you or your children are looking for some great reads this summer, check out Elite Lizzard Publishing Company! Owner Elizabeth Campbell opened her Cornwall-based home publishing business in April 2022 and is passionate about publishing books with meaning.
“What initiated me to start the whole thing is that I used to do pet portrait paintings back in the day,” Campbell shared, “Somebody came up to me and said, ‘Can you do my children’s book? I really like your art,’ and I said, ‘OK,’ and that kind of started the whole thing going.”
Campbell fell in love with making children’s books. She worked for Pen It! Publications, LLC. for four and a half years, learning the ins and outs of the business and published a few books of her own. After taking a college course in book formatting, she decided to open her own company to have full control over her works.
Within three months of opening in 2022, Campbell published her first book by another author.
Her company has been growing ever since, with several titles already released this summer including novel Gold Among the Trees by Ottawa author Peter King and poetry book Thread and Needle by Ontario-based Kilayla Pilon.
Cambell also recently signed first time Cornwall author Victoria Harrop who will be publishing her book of poetry, Pieces of Me, about grief and the healing journey after losing a loved one at the end of July.
“These books are not just ordinary. They have pertinent messages for kids about believing in themselves, anything to do with communication, manners, things dealing with mental health,” Campbell told Seaway News, “There is a wide variety of books that I’m publishing that are educational. The Professor Puddles books go into detail and give information on various parts of the world and history and folklore.”
Elite Lizzard Publishing Company offers both traditional publishing as well as self-publishing services. Campbell prides herself on being flexible and encourages anyone with questions about becoming an author or publishing to reach out.
“I think people get a little confused about what I do because I am a traditional publisher, but I do offer self-publishing services as well,” explained Campbell, “If you submit to me and want to be with traditional publishing there’s no fees. If you want to do your own self-publishing then I offer illustrations, editing, book formatting, covers, whatever you need to get up and running.”
Campbell hopes to host a backyard book fair soon to introduce the community to the wide variety of books she has published, enjoy some refreshments, and learn more about her publishing business.
For more information, visit the Elite Lizzard Publishing Company website.
The Nourish Market
The Nourish Market is a Cornwall-based, all-natural protein powder business co-owned by nutritionists Kylie Jurchuk and Josée Filion (part owner of Caveman Strong).
Both women are passionate about using nutrition and exercise to help others optimize their health. Jurchuk and Filion were seeing nutrition clients through the gym, going virtual like many other businesses when the pandemic hit. At the time, they were recommending a high-quality protein powder, but it was not perfect, and they struggled to keep it stocked during the pandemic.
“One of the biggest struggles for women (specifically women, but almost everybody) is getting enough protein in their diet. That’s a root cause of a lot of the issues that we were seeing hormonally,” said Filion.
Hormone imbalances, macro nutrient deficiency (which also impacts cortisol, the stress hormone) and muscle mass can all be impacted by inadequate protein intake. Not eating enough quality protein during the day can also lead to more snacking at night. These issues prompted the duo to start the process of creating their own protein powder at the beginning of the pandemic.
“Kylie was working out with us when she was around 14. She was one of our clients and she just really took to training,” shared Filion, “Whenever it was time for her to go to College or University, she decided to take a nutrition program so she could keep working in a gym setting. When I had this idea to start a protein powder company, she was the first person that I ran to.”
While the process took longer than expected, the owners of The Nourish Market were able to source superior beef protein through a company in California, knowing how important it is for their clients to have access to a quality protein powder when life gets really busy.
Currently, The Nourish Market has chocolate and vanilla protein powders. While they are looking at expanding their line in the future, Filion shared that the focus will remain on keeping the ingredients list small and natural. Customers who are interested in different flavors are encouraged to add natural ingredients, like real organic strawberries to vanilla protein powder to add variety. The Nourish Market also has a recipe section on their website. https://thenourishmarket.ca/blogs/recipes
