Trial by Water: Orlando judge dismisses fears with New Dimensions Wellness
By: Josh Thomas
30+ years of embedded fear was sweeping over her. She had been scuba certified in Japan, dove the Great Barrier Reef and lived on a lake, each and every time fighting back crippling dread. This terror was inserting itself into moments that were otherwise beautiful memories. She decided enough was enough.
It was time to take her life back. She decided to seek out the help of New Dimensions Wellness Club.
Gibson was no stranger to being around water, growing up with a father that was in the Navy. Born in Oklahoma, she spent her entire life as a Navy brat and her family moved when she was just two months old. She also spent time in Alaska, California, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida and Japan.
“Our life was a grand adventure,” Gibson said. “My parents are Florida residents and I wanted to go to law school in Florida because I also wanted to be a resident. I felt a deep connection to Florida, specifically Orlando.”
Gibson’s Florida roots went back to before she was born, with her parents being raised in the Panhandle. Her mother’s first teaching job was in Central Florida, bringing them to Orlando. Her father was also stationed in the area around the time Gibson was in high school, so she graduated and started college at the University of Central Florida.
“My dad was then stationed in Japan. I had scholarships to UCF and the plan had been to graduate there,” Gibson said. “My dad called me one night from Japan and said I should consider taking a year off to see the country. I said ‘Okay!’.”
While in Japan, Gibson realized she could graduate in two and a half years rather than four. The University of Maryland had a satellite campus overseas and Gibson completed her bachelor’s degree there. Despite her journey taking her all over the globe, Gibson’s end goal never changed.
“I knew from the time I was 12 that I wanted to be an attorney and a judge,” Gibson said. “There’s a picture in my high school yearbook for senior superlatives. I got ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ and I took the picture in a long black robe because Little Elizabeth wanted to be on the Supreme Court.”
After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Elizabeth then graduated from law school at the University of Florida. She went on to be an attorney for 16 years before ultimately becoming a judge, which she has done for the last two years.
Enter New Dimensions Wellness and that day in the water.
“I was an attorney before I ever swam in a pool by myself. I was never comfortable or at ease,” Gibson said. “I wanted to surf and enjoy the lake with my friends and one of my best friends told me I needed to go see New Dimensions for a neuro emotional technique session. We worked through my fear of water! I went out and had a friend videotape me jumping in the water and I was fine. I couldn’t believe it. It changed my life.”
However, this wasn’t the only obstacle Gibson would face. In 2015, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“I had my thyroid removed. From 2015 to 2016, I gained 50 pounds. The next year, I gained another 10. No doctor could give me any answers. One doctor said to me ‘You’re going to keep gaining weight, there’s nothing we can do.’. I tried everything. I tried other gyms, other workouts. I couldn’t lose weight and I never felt good.”
Gibson began training at New Dimensions and everything changed.
“I started training under the New Dimensions system and fell in love with it. Gaining so much weight and having nothing I did help it, that effected not just my physical state but my emotional well-being,” Gibson said. “Coming to New Dimensions helped me address all of that. I went five days a week and worked with New Dimensions nutritionist Dana DiStefano and lost 30 pounds. It was the first time I saw anything significant progress. I didn’t starve myself. There was no crash diet. It was how I needed to focus on my whole body to get healthy.”
It wasn’t as if she didn’t have initial reservations.
“At first I saw it as a place for elite, professional athletes but New Dimensions was able to tell me things about my body that I couldn’t believe they could know,” Gibson said. “They spoke to me not as a pro athlete and they met me on my level. They explained everything in ways I could easily understand.”
With thyroid cancer, Gibson didn’t realize all of the residual effects that would take its toll. By utilizing New Dimensions’ unique blend of nutrition, advanced health therapies like the hyperbaric chamber and infrared sauna and her training sessions, Gibson reclaimed her body and spirit.
Her cancer went into complete remission.
Gibson quickly became a building block of the New Dimensions community. Her work ethic and infectious spirit seeped into everyone who interacted with her.
“The progress I’ve seen Elizabeth make from when she first started coming in to now is like no other,” DiStefano said. “She’s a leader in classes and it’s a transformation both physically and mentally. We are so proud of her and her ability to balance her crazy schedule.”
“Elizabeth brings the sparkle to New Dimensions,” cofounder Justin Cobb said. “Some of the things I’ve seen her accomplish here are nothing short of a miracle. It’s been an honor to know and work alongside someone like her. She’s always willing to help others and inspires us in the work we do. She is family.”
It’s been a long journey from Oklahoma to Japan down to Florida. As she enters the upcoming 2022 Primary Election for Orange County Judge Group 17 on August 23rd, Gibson looks to approach the process with the same positivity and energy as she has with so many of the events in her past.
Her New Dimensions family is with her every step of the way.
“New Dimensions has made a profound impact on me. I work hard because I want to serve. The community has helped me be mindful. They give me support and advice that helps me balance,” Gibson said.
“More than once, I’ve needed community and friendship. New Dimensions will always be there for me.”