By Barry Wise Smith
Photo by Erica Dortch Photography
Virginia Brady received her first autoimmune disorder diagnosis when she was in just fourth grade. In middle school, she got another autoimmune diagnosis, and “it just seemed to cascade from there,” Brady says. “It was a never-ending string of autoimmune diagnoses.” Brady was born and raised in Mountain Brook, graduated from Mountain Brook High School and went to the University of Alabama where she graduated with a degree in psychology and went on to obtain her master’s degree in counseling from Regent University. “I always had a passion for health and wellness due to my own personal journey,” she says.
In dealing with her own health issues, after seeing numerous doctors, Brady decided to take ownership of her health and went to see a functional medicine doctor who, “I felt like was the first person who saw me, heard me and was willing to help on a deeper level to get my health under control,” she says. Brady began studying integrative medicine and implemented lifestyle changes “that felt overwhelming at the time. It took a lot of time and research to implement a sustainable lifestyle change that was doable and workable for me.”
As Brady continued to see therapy clients, she realized that much of what her clients were struggling with were the same issues that she had dealt with. “I felt like I was missing a vital piece of the puzzle in helping my clients, and I knew from my own journey how much it helped to have someone walking me through those lifestyle steps and how much it would help to set people up for success,” she recalls.
Brady got certified as a health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and added that layer to her counseling clients. As her health coaching business grew, Brady transitioned to Brady Wellness Solutions, adding pharmacist and functional medicine practitioner Dr. Derek Dean to her team.
Today, Brady, who had her first child last year, serves as a full-time health coach working with clients virtually to develop health and wellness protocols based on testing that Dr. Dean performs. Brady focuses on holistic wellness addressing her clients’ lifestyle, mental, physical, and emotional health. “We do a deep dive with our clients and provide accountability, sustainable lifestyle change and functional practices for everyday health,” she says. “I have seen people make significant changes and have amazing testimonies from people changing their health and their lives.”
Virginia Wahlheim
Virginia Wahlheim also grew up in Mountain Brook—several years behind Brady—and also went to the University of Alabama where she majored in PR and Communications. “I’ve always been drawn to people-centered work,” Wahlheim says.
Unlike Brady, Wahlheim had never had so much as a stomachache. But after graduating from UA in 2023, she went to work in medical sales, a job that meant extensive travel and training. “It was a very intense transition and one of the most challenging times of my life,” she recalls.
By Fall 2023, Wahlheim began experiencing symptoms like unexplained rashes, inflammation, bloating, headaches and fatigue. Chalking it up to the stress of her job and her constant travel, Wahlheim tried to manage. But by summer 2024, “my symptoms were out of control.” Wahlheim saw doctors who just couldn’t seem to understand her symptoms and how to manage them.
Then Wahlheim’s father, who worked with Brady’s father at a Birmingham law firm, suggested that Wahlheim might want to talk to Brady about what was going on with her. Wahlheim became a Brady Wellness Solutions client and after six months, Wahlheim declares her results as, “lifechanging. It was almost immediate. I started working with her (Brady) in September 2024, and I felt significant relief by the next month.”
Wahlheim continues, “That experience gave me the clarity I had been looking for and propelled me into a deeper dive into functional medicine.” She enrolled in the Integrative Health Practitioner Institute and was certified in October 2025. “I want to help women the same way Virginia helped me,” she says.
After receiving her certification in October, Wahlheim joined Brady in helping clients through Brady Wellness Solutions. Through their virtual coaching platform Practice Better, Brady and Wahlheim offer their clients bio-individual support with gut health, hormone health, nutrition, weight loss, exercise and more. “We use our personal experience to help our clients,” Brady says. “We get to know our clients very well and use our own experience to bring them results.”
For more information, visit bradywellnesssolutions.com.
