Tom is a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach (FMCHC) and 2023 graduate of the one-year Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (FMCA). He previously earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1985 and a Juris Doctorate degree from Baylor University School of Law in 1995. He also completed a year of graduate theology and Bible exposition courses at Grace School of Theology where he served as COO/CFO & General Counsel for 12 years before joining Hope for Healing full time as the COO/CFO & General Counsel in addition to his role as a Health Coach.After serving in the first Gulf War, Tom married Paula Kruppstadt MD (“Dr. K”) while they were both U.S. Army captains in El Paso, Texas. Tom began his functional medicine health journey when Dr. K (CEO of Hope for Healing) enrolled in the certification program of the Institute for Functional Medicine in 2015. Having struggled with “eczema,” seasonal allergies, and chronic sinus & upper respiratory infections since he was a child, Tom had accepted conventional medicine “wisdom” that his only remedies were steroids, antibiotics and other prescription pharmaceutical band-aids. Through functional medicine, he made early break-throughs by discovering several food sensitivities via elimination dieting and nutrigenomic testing and analysis. Avoiding these foods (gluten, dairy, and corn) and adding nutritional supplementation suggested by nutrigenomics gave him a whole new lease on life.Diving deeper into his environmental history and upbringing as well as undergoing specialized testing, Tom learned he had a genetic susceptibility to mold illness that was triggered early in his childhood and exacerbated by continuing exposures to moldy building environments. Consequently, he recently began his recovery journey from CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome).Tom’s genetics also revealed his susceptibility to heart disease which was corroborated by family history including his father’s near-fatal heart attack at age 64 and his brother’s near-fatal heart attack also when he was 64. Tom is now in his 60s and acutely interested in cardiovascular health and fitness in his quest to both avoid a heart attack and to live long and well into the 100s should the Lord delay His return.Tom enjoys coaching all kinds of functional medicine patients in their journeys to recovery and optimal wellness, but he is especially interested in helping people optimize their cardiovascular health and fitness, CIRS recovery, and weight loss.