ZEPHYR

Since 2012, Zephyr has been supporting infants in the

NICU to integrate trauma, settle, and sleep. Zephyr has

worked with infants ranging in age from hours old to six months old,

and born as early as 24 weeks gestational age through full-term.

Medical conditions have included awaiting mother’s recovery from

birth, fever at birth, reflux, Down’s syndrome, Patau syndrome,

prematurity – need for lung and brain development and weight

gain, birth during seizures from eclampsia, esophageal atresia,

difficulty latching or sucking, inability to keep food in as with

pyloric stenosis, gastroschisis, born without heartbeat, exposure

to drugs in utero, in withdrawal from drugs, cleft palate, injury

from vacuum birth, and hydrocephaly.

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Zephyr is familiar with medical interventions and works

with infants while on a ventilator, with a peripherally-inserted central

catheter (PICC line) or intravenous (IV) line, with an ostomy bag, on

bubble continuous positive airway pressure (BCPAP), with a nasogastric

(NG) tube, gastric (G) tube, orogastric (OG) tube, or jejunostomy (J) tube; 

while isolated in an incubator, and during withdrawal management

including methadone and morphine protocols.

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Zephyr is a certified graduate of Ray Castellino’s Prenatal and Birth Therapy 

Foundation Training, a certified graduate of Anna and John Chitty’s Biodynamic

Craniosacral Therapy Training, and has supported infants in the neonatal intensive

care unit since 2012.

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The arc of Zephyr's journey has been graced by the extraordinary gifts of

Douglas Daher, Martin Weiner, Marion Woodman, Victoria Sloan, Ray Castellino,

and Harvey Ruderian. Over the past twenty-three years, Zephyr has studied under

Raymond Castellino, Mary Jackson, Tara Blasco, John Chitty, Anna Chitty,

Mary Louise Muller, Debra Bochinski, Hugh Milne, Scott Zamurut, Dr. Susie Ludington,

Marion Woodman, Michael Meade, and Robert Bly. The breadth of Zephyr’s

perspective manifests in the wonder and gratitude they feel for the beauty

of each soul met in this profound work.

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Zephyr holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering and

construction management from Stanford University. They have lived five years in Africa –

Libya, Ghana, and Tanzania – and worked thirty-five years in construction, public works,

development, and relief work. Under the nom de plume, Melissa Fischer, Zephyr has

published a work of literary fiction, The Advocacy, an environmental justice novel set in Ghana.