Get Well Stay Well America - Victoria Bidwell's Program

Get Well Stay Well America is a SCAM! My daughter who is in her early 20’s and a vegan wanted to participate in a water fast. Please forgive me, my reaction was that I would not consider or condone the idea of my child living on nothing but water for six weeks. My daughter provided me with extensive reading material that educated me on the benefits of fasting. After she had my approval, she found a retreat called “Get Well Stay Well America, A Homestead in the Woods”!!!! I gave my daughter my blessing and told her to make the call to this retreat. A lady by the name of Victoria Bidwell returned my daughter’s call. As I thought about the process of the water fast, I still had a pit in my stomach. Although my daughter is a legal adult, it was a natural reaction for me as a mother to be apprehensive. I spoke directly to Victoria. She was very friendly and assured me that my daughter would be safe. Victoria portrayed herself as an educated, nurturing individual with leadership skills. Although my daughter has traveled extensively, I did not want her to travel by bus from Seattle to Concrete, Washington. When I spoke to Victoria, I inquired about arranging transportation for a private car for my daughter to get from Seattle to Concrete. Victoria replied that she would pick my daughter up at the airport for an additional $150. This gave me peace to know that my daughter would not be on a bus. One day prior to my daughter’s departure, Victoria contacted my daughter that she would not be able to pick her up at the airport. She gave her explicit instructions how to catch a bus. This raised a red flag for me! I contacted Victoria about the arrangements that we discussed. She stated that there were some “crazy” guests at the “retreat” the week prior that posted negative reviews online. She stated that she was stressed out and was trying to take care of the situation. Victoria offered to give my daughter $150 worth of massages rather than the airport transfer. As a business owner myself, I empathized with Victoria that her customers had taken advantage of her. After carefully researching the bus arrangements, I knew that my daughter would be safe and agreed to the bus transportation rather than a private transfer. It was human nature for me to go online and read the negative review that was posted about Victoria Bidwell. The review was so bizarre that I trusted it was not truthful. The author spoke of Victoria being out of shape. I did an image search online for Victoria Bidwell. She looked like a picture of health in her photos for a woman her age. I felt confident that my daughter would be safe at the “retreat”. Upon my daughter’s arrival at the bus station, she was greeted by a woman who is extremely overweight with ripples of fat down her legs. My daughter was shocked that this was Victoria Bidwell. She looks nothing like her photos online. With all due respect to the general public, I do not judge you for whatever the current status is of your health condition. However, if one is promoting a health retreat, please practice what you promote. Victoria took my daughter to Java Juice and told her to order whatever she wanted including dairy. My daughter questioned her suggestion. According to Victoria’s book, dairy should not have been an option. My daughter opted for orange juice. After the trip to Java Juice, Victoria took my daughter to a park with mountains. She kept her there for hours and talked about her ex-husband and how she should have stayed with him because he had money. He could have fulfilled her dream of having horses. She talked for hours about past guests at the retreat. The stories that she told my daughter were inappropriate and should not have been discussed. Victoria spoke of a man that contacted her and could not afford her program. She accepted him a guest and made him sleep in his truck. She said that she taught him gratitude by making him beg for food and say please and thank you when he broke his fast. Another very inappropriate story was talk of a woman who didn’t have the money to stay the entire time. Victoria claims that this woman touched her inappropriately. After a long visit that was a burden to my daughter, Victoria suggested to my daughter that she walk down the mountain. Victoria stated that she is so out of shape that it takes a while for her to walk to her car. She told my daughter that she would pick her up. As it was getting dark, my daughter saw Victoria speed by her with no acknowledgement. Later, Victoria came back and stated that she couldn’t find my daughter and was worried that she took a wrong turn and was lost. When my daughter made her reservation, Victoria told her that she would assign her the newest cabin at the retreat named “the Bear Cabin”. Once my daughter arrived, she discovered “the Bear Cabin” is a shed with doors that do not lock. There is no ventilation, electricity or running water. This is not an appropriate setting for a person participating in a water fast. The accommodations are dreadful. On the first day of my daughter’s fast, there was no distilled water. My daughter questioned Victoria about this. As per Victoria’s book, it is extremely important to only drink distilled water during the fast. Victoria told my daughter to drink bottled water out of plastic bottles and to expect distilled water the next day. The next day there was still no distilled water. When my daughter phoned Victoria to advise, Victoria told her to drink water out of the tap and read the bible for two hours. This is completely going against what Victoria describes in her book. My daughter arrived on a Friday afternoon and kicked off the water fast that evening. As of the next day at 8:00pm, Victoria had not made an appearance at the “retreat”. Approximately 24 hours after my daughter arrived, she knew that ‘Get Well Stay Well America” is a complete train wreck. Although she did not want to look at this as a personal failure, she was strong enough to place a call to me and admit to me that the “retreat” is a very dangerous place and did not want to participate in the program or witness a fatality. After speaking to my daughter, I contacted Victoria to advise that my daughter would be checking out and traveling home. Victoria tried to convince me that my daughter is a naïve 20 year old. Her angle was for my daughter to stay and “stick it out”. I am not sure what most young adults would have done under those horrible circumstances. Thankfully, my daughter was strong enough to make a mature decision. During my telephone conversation with Victoria, she laughed and asked me if I knew how expensive a one way ticket from Seattle would cost. I replied to her that my husband and I had the means to pay for the ticket. She was evasive about making sure she would get my daughter to the bus on time. I told her that I was going to call the police. Immediately, she changed her tone and assured me that she would take my daughter to the appropriate place. Thankfully, my daughter did not have to be alone with Victoria during the hour long car ride. Another guest that arrived the same day as my daughter decided to check out and return home as well. I cannot and will not speak for the other guest why she only stayed one night. During the hour long car ride, Victoria tried to discuss our finances with my daughter. She asked if we had money. The subject of our “money” was brought up by Victoria numerous times followed by inappropriate questions. At one point, Victoria pulled into a parking lot and wrote checks to my daughter and the other lady for partial refunds. Victoria expressed that she did not think she needed to refund any of my daughter’s stay since her parents have “money”. Victoria told my daughter that her mother is “crazy” and laughed. She said the only reason she offered a refund is because she didn’t want my daughter’s “crazy” mother to have a deputy show up at her door. Victoria even went as far as to tell my daughter that she could have had a lot of fun with her mother who is very easily agitated. Victoria thrives on telling stories about guests that cannot afford her program. This concerns me a great deal. Those people don't have the means to escape. My husband and I thank God every day that our daughter was intelligent enough and strong enough that she was able to recognize that “Get Well Stay Well America, A Homestead in the Woods” is not a healthy place, both physically and mentally. Approximately two weeks after my daughter returned home, Victoria sent her an email advising that she was going to send the rest of her refund less the funds for gas money and “4 hours of intense counseling”. It is comical that Victoria spent four hours gossiping about past guests and talking about her ex-husband and referred to this time in the email as “4 hours of intense counseling”. My daughter accepted Victoria’s partial refund and chalked it up to a life experience. In this same email, Victoria offered to have a conversation with my daughter and get her on a program. She stated in the email, “It will be between you and me”!!! My daughter forwarded the insane email to me and asked me if I would contact Victoria and request that she never contact her again. This review is not to personally attack Victoria Bidwell. I hope that she gets the help that she needs. This review is to create awareness for anyone who is considering participating in a water fast. Make sure that you do your research and enroll in a healthy program at an adequate facility.