At the heart of Doctor Greg Eckel's joyful, loving practice is aiding the adult brain in healing itself, a mission born of his most painful experience, the death of his wife Sarieah from a rare neurodegenerative disease. "The doctors told us, 'There is nothing you can do,'" the cofounder of Energy4Life Centers on Prospector remembers. "Within weeks, she could not speak, feed herself, or move without assistance." Since then, "I've devoted my life to finding solutions" for diseases like dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinsons, and ALS, the naturopath and acupuncturist says.
Beginning life anew, Greg gravitated from Portland to Park City to be near family and friends. At a healing event, he met Kitty Stoneburner, and the soon-married pair commuted between Park City and Portland before settling here in 2023.
"Park City's welcoming people and closeness to nature made it the obvious choice" for he and Kitty to start Energy4Life, offering customized IV therapy, ketamine and hormone treatments, HBOT, ozone and stem cell therapy, guiding the brain toward healing. "It's why I got into medicine in the first place," Greg says. "It's humbling to be part of someone's healthcare team."
Embracing Utah's mountain life, Greg's PNW roots still show. "I speak spotted owl," he laughs of his time with the Forest Service on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. In true Portland style, his first business involved selling handmade kaleidoscopes and hand-blown marbles at Portland's Saturday market. "I still love live music, playing guitar and singing with others," Greg says of his PC lifestyle today. Active in the Egyptian Theatre's Pharaoh Club, he and Kitty love great conversation around a full dinner table.
Breathwork and meditation help Greg "find a connection to God," and he credits Kitty's creativity with spurring new approaches to their work together. "She is so open to dreaming big," he smiles. "Since I'm a radical optimist, I love hanging out with her and people who are up to big things."