Our Story

The heart behind Peace Pad -

Meet Kelly - Founder & CEO.

When I was a little girl, I learned what chaos felt like long before I understood what healing was. I witnessed addiction, abuse, loneliness, grief, and survival at an early age. Growing up, I hated myself more than I hated my circumstances. Yet somehow, even in the middle of my own pain, I deeply loved other people. I wanted to help them. I wanted to save everyone around me while quietly drowning myself. For years, that became my pattern: pouring into others while abandoning myself. Eventually, my body began speaking the pain my heart had carried for years. I developed autoimmune issues and struggled with addictions of my own. Habits and coping mechanisms that slowly stole pieces of my strength, identity, confidence, and spirit. I was exhausted.

Mentally. Emotionally. Physically.

Somewhere deep down, I knew there had to be a better way to heal and certainly a better way to live.  I became determined to build a life rooted in purpose. I thought nursing would be that path. At 18 years old, I became a CNA with dreams of helping people heal and improving the lives of those around me. But the deeper I got into healthcare, the more I realized something felt incomplete. I felt like I was helping people survive, not truly thrive. The truth is, I wanted to thrive, too.

After leaving CNA work to protect my own mental and emotional health, I took a housekeeping job. It didn’t take long to realize that scrubbing toilet stains and pulling strangers’ hair from shower drains was not exactly my calling. But life has a funny way of opening doors when you’re finally desperate enough to walk through them. One day, I came across a simple opportunity posted in Chinookville, a local community group. To anyone else, it may have looked small. To me, it felt like the answer to a prayer. Massage therapy. I jumped in headfirst—and it was hard. There were four-hour commutes to school. A house that constantly felt like it was falling apart. Skipped meals. Sleepless nights. Studying with a baby on my hip. Thousands of dollars spent on gas. Emotional breakdowns. Self-doubt. Moments where quitting would have been easier than continuing. But I kept going. Because for the first time in my life, I found something that didn’t just help others heal..  It helped me heal, too.

Massage therapy transformed my understanding of the human body, the nervous system, trauma, stress, chronic pain, and what it truly means to feel safe in your own skin. It taught me that healing isn’t just physical. It’s emotional. Mental. Spiritual. Relational. It’s learning how to come home to yourself. I started from the ground up.

Twenty-five-dollar massages. Barely keeping a dollar to my name. Then came another opportunity. Then another.

Eighty-five dollars an hour. One hundred dollars an hour. More experience. More growth. More confidence. More belief in myself.

Until finally, in 2023, I took the biggest leap of all and opened the doors to Peace Pad Wellness. Now known as Peace Pad Spa & Wellness. 

I didn’t start with wealth, investors, or perfect circumstances. I started with knowledge. Passion. Character. Hope.

And a dream to create the kind of place I once desperately needed myself. A sanctuary where healing felt safe. A space where people could exhale. A place where wellness became more than a luxury. It became a lifestyle.

Now, in 2026, Peace Pad is evolving into something far greater than I ever imagined. I’ve been imagining this moment for over ten years.

What began as one woman searching for healing has grown into a movement centered around nervous system wellness, intentional living, restoration, community, and genuine human connection. Peace Pad was built from lived experience. From heartbreak. From resilience.

From countless moments when giving up would have been easier. And from the unwavering belief that healing is possible for all of us.

There is a reason our slogan says:

“You’re Home. Healing Begins Here.”

Because Peace Pad isn’t just a spa. It’s a reminder that healing doesn’t require perfection. It requires safety. Support. Compassion. And the willingness to begin.

We are deeply rooted in transformation and purpose. We are equally committed to giving back. Our story is connected to experiences with addiction recovery, foster care, surviving abuse, trauma healing, and rebuilding life after hardship. Those lived experiences shape the compassion behind everything we create and every person who walks through our doors. As Peace Pad grows, so does our commitment to supporting others walking through difficult seasons of their own. Whether someone is carrying stress, grief, trauma, burnout, physical pain, or simply the weight of everyday life, we want them to know they don’t have to carry it alone.

Our mission is simple: To help people feel seen. To help people feel safe. To help people feel supported. To help people remember that healing is possible.

“Because when one person heals, families heal. Communities heal. And eventually, the world heals too.”

This is only the beginning. Peace Pad is more than a business. It’s a vision. A calling. A movement. A place where people can reconnect with themselves and rediscover what it feels like to truly live well. Welcome. I hope you’ll make yourself at home here. I hope you’ll find the peace you’ve been seeking all this time. And most importantly, I hope you’ll remember that no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve walked through, healing is always possible.

With love,

Kelly Wheeler

Founder & CEO

Peace Pad Spa & Wellness