Gary's Story: An Aromatherapy Miracle

Gary Young, founder of Young Living Essential Oils

My name is D. Gary Young.

I am the founder and president of Young Living Essential Oils.

Let me tell you my story.

I was raised on a ranch in the central mountains of Idaho, with no indoor plumbing or electricity.  Learning at an early age how to survive off the land, I left home at age 17 to seek my fortune in the Canadian wilderness.

A moment that changed my life forever

I homesteaded 320 acres, and began building a sizable ranching and logging operation.  It was there that, on February 8, 1973, at the age of 24, I was in a serious logging accident.  It very nearly killed me.  As it was, it left me in a coma for three weeks, and in intensive care for another four months.  As a result of my injuries, I was paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, and in constant pain.

According to my doctors, I would be in this condition for life.

As you might imagine, I was devastated.  Not just physically, but emotionally, as well.

For the next two years, I suffered intense pain; but the depression was even worse.  I thought my life was over; that the crippled shell of my life was worthless, and attempted suicide three times.  Since my doctors had given me no cause for hope, I had just given up.

The turning point in my life

But then, somehow, I resolved to regain control of my life.  If my doctors could offer me no hope, I resolved to find an answer somewhere else.

I returned to school with the idea of learning a new vocation; but my studies led me into the fields of nutrition, herbology, naturopathy, lymphology, hematology and the research of degenerative diseases.  My hope was to find an answer for my own health problems, and be able to restore my body to a normal condition.  In the process, I earned a Master's Degree in nutrition and a doctorate and naturopathy.

This study — which eventually became a worldwide investigation of alternative, natural medicine — changed my life forever, transforming me both physically and emotionally.  As it has turned out, it would eventually impact the lives of countless people in ways I could have never imagined.

Initial steps toward recovery

As a result of my research, I decided that I should fast on juice and water (the Master Cleanse, found in the Essential Oils Desk Reference, 4th Edition).  I did this for almost a year.  By the end of this period, I had regained sensation in my toes; and over a 13-year period, I graduated from a wheelchair to a walker to crutches to being able to walk normally.  But, this was still only the beginning of a long and painful road toward recovery.

Though I had miraculously regained my mobility, I continued to experience intense pain, so my search for solutions continued.  It was this pain that eventually led me to discover the potential of a powerful, but little-known, form of natural medicine: essential oils.

Education and Research: Looking for answers.

In 1981, I opened an alternative health and research clinical in La Mesa, Mexico, specializing in the treatment of degenerative diseases, using the techniques I had learned.  There, I conducted cutting-edge research in many areas of natural healing.

In 1983, I began to study tea tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia), but early results were disappointing.  It was then I learned that there are many grades of essential oils, and that most essential oils available in the U.S. are of the lowest grade and quality.

However, when I began using a pure, therapeutic-grade tea tree oil in my clinic, I began to see significant results.  In 1985, I started working with 13 other oils, conducting research and doing various blood studies on lab animals, as well as a few human patients, and I was amazed by the results I saw.

But, because of the limited quantity of good essential oils available for me to work with, I never used them on myself.

That was all about to change.

The Part of Essential Oils in My Dramatic Improvement.

One day, my duties at the clinic necessitated my working around the clock.  As a result, the pain I had been suffering all along became so intense, I needed to do something dramatic.  So, I tried the oils for the first time.

It was utterly amazing.

In no time, I finally cast off the pain I had borne for almost 13 years.  And in 1986, I was able to run a half-marathon, finishing 60th out of 970 participants.  Since then, I've gotten into body building, doing quite well in competitions I've entered.  I've worked a little in the martial arts, and have recently started competing in Medieval jousting tournaments.

Young Living: the next step of this journey

After seeing the number of herb farms that were going out of business in France and Egypt, I was concerned that the day would come when quality essential oils would be difficult to obtain.  Motivated by this, I felt that I needed to locate virgin farmland, begin cultivating my own crops, and start my own distillation operation.  In 1993, I purchased land in Utah and Idaho, and began cultivating lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), peppermint, melissa (lemon balm), clary sage and many other herbs.  I used distillers that I designed, and a proprietary distillation process that preserves the integrity of essential oils, making it the largest, most technologically-advanced distillery for the production of essential oils in North America.  I did this in order to guarantee a supply of quality essential oils.  This was the beginning of Young Living Essential Oils.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Thankfulness to God for the things given with the pain

Looking back now, and seeing the benefits Young Living has brought to so many people, I just have to thank my Father in Heaven for my accident.  The pain and suffering that I've been through, as a result of my logging accident, and my experimenting with different things over the years, trying to overcome these problems, enabled me to finally find a combination of things that have helped me so much.  If not for all of this — which, at the time seemed like such an unbearable burden — I wouldn't have the information to share with others, to relieve their suffering and change their lives.

Yes; I'm thankful.  It has all been worthwhile.

For years, I never thought that I would ever be grateful for that accident that took so much (as I thought at that time) of my life away from me.  But, I tell you this: God never takes anything away from you that He does not replace it with something of equal or greater value.  If we're willing to leave ourselves in His hands to receive that.

In my case, He has given me a thousand times more value than I had before my accident.  And, I am able to truly be thankful for that, and have gratitude for that experience.

I share this to encourage those of you who carry grief in your heart, that you can look beyond that and recognize that, one day, when you are ready, that grief will be replaced with greater blessings than you will ever be able to count.  As long as you keep a grateful heart to the Father for having life.  It truly will be a great blessing.

I know that, at the moment these things happen, it's hard to look at them as blessings, because we get so caught up in the emotion of it all.  But, they truly are gifts.  And, those gifts are given to us so we can grow, and become better and stronger each and every day.

I'm grateful to my Creator for giving me a second chance at life, and for the blessing of being able to walk again.  I desire to share with others what I have discovered through my own healing.

I firmly believe that essential oils have already transformed the way we deal with illness and aging, and they are continuing to revolutionize natural medicine.

— D. Gary Young,
Founder and President of Young Living Essential Oils