Dance On!

I saw my doc two weeks ago and although it was a day when I was having an episode of Malaria/Babesia (we’ve decide to call it that since no test so far has been conclusive of either, but I never had these symptoms until I came home from India in 2005), he was greatly encouraged. In fact he said something that nearly blew my socks right off …..he told me that I was his healthiest patient!!!! Wow. That’s incredible news. He loves it when I come in. I’m just not your typical patient. I’ve thought through everything clearly and I’ve taken notes to bring with me. I go over my blood work with a fine tooth comb…at least as much as I can understand. I ask questions and have logical discussions. I’m always thinking outside the box. I’m telling you, I’m the kind of person who asks, “what do I have to do to be healed”, and I do it!

I’m going to digress here for something that has been near to my heart on this journey to healing. It’s the story of the crippled man from Bethesda as chronicled in the Bible.

Jesus asked him “What is it you want me to do for you?” Seems pretty obvious, huh? The man said, “Heal me.” What Jesus wanted to know was if the man really wanted to be healed. Or did he enjoy the sympathy and attention that being crippled got him. I had to face this exact question one day back in 2006. The Lord really confronted me with the question, “What is it you want me to do for you?” That’s when I made the decision to do whatever it takes. To live well and not cheat. To practice what I preached. To listen to His leading. To ask for His leading. And that’s what you have to do. I can tell you everything I’ve done to get where I am, but you have to decide what it is God has for you. We are not all the same, so my supplement regime wouldn’t necessarily be yours. My infections and symptoms are surely different than yours, so you have to gear your regime to fit you. I can tell you that diet is vital. And that Dr Zhang’s herbs work! Listen to the Lord and listen to your body. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and take a step of faith on this road of healing.

Now back to my other thoughts.

We don’t know if one of my infections is Malaria or Babesia. Either way they are treated the same. My natural choice has been Dr Zhang’s Artemisea. My doc offers me choices. Then I always steal his thunder by saying the right thing. Like I told him I didn’t think it was wise to take Malarone or any other Rx for the Malaria/Babesia, due to the fact that my liver enzymes are still elevated. That’s where he was going with it, but he wanted to know what I wanted. Then he asked if I was ready for something really different. I said sure.

He went over all my supp’s and herbs and said that I couldn’t be doing a better job at killing the infections and supporting my body. He told me that I couldn’t be living a better lifestyle with diet and environmental issues. We went through my history again from age 20.

He’s been trying a new therapy for a while and thought we ought to go a new direction in our approach. My doc believes that anyone of us can carry Lyme and it’s co-infections or even cancer for that matter, around in our bodies for a very, very long time with no symptoms. Then BAM! Something happens like the birth of a child. A job loss. A death. An accident or a surgery. Something stressful or traumatic. Something that may leave a scar, both literal and figuratively. And it, the infections becomes active. For myself, I’ve gone in and out of the symptoms for years. The most recent in 2005 being the most severe ever.

My doc is also a licensed acupuncturist. And I’ve had him give me a few treatments for back pain and foot pain. It works like magic every time. I understand the principles behind acupuncture. And I understand in a limited way that our bodies are full of energy. Thus we have nerves and energy flowing through us constantly. And they can get blocked by scar tissue. A nerve that is cut or cut close to can take yrs and yrs to recover. AND suppose it’s scarring that is keeping me from reaching that next level of healing.

That new therapy he’s been working with is, Scar Therapy. See I have a ton of scars. The first, on my chin when I cut it open on barbed wire when I was two. The next came in 1984 & 1988 from episiotomies when having my two children. Then I had 8 surgeries in 6 yrs on my arms and hands from an auto accident in 1993. I think that’s it. (One doc told me never to stop taking 1,000 mg of Vit C daily due to all the x-rays I’ve had in my lifetime. X-rays have been proven to be a link to cancer.) The strange thing my doc has seen is that sometimes a scarring incident can be all it takes to send you into a spiral. It did with me. After my second child and consequently my second episiotomy I crashed. After 8 surgeries on my arms and hands I crashed.

I’m not saying I understand it all. I’m just willing to try something new. I’ve already made tremendous progress so why not see if I can improve even more.

I started taking a homeopathic treatment to dissolve scar tissue, which still ridals me. Now I’ll chart everything and see if anything changes. The idea is to open pathways of healing so I can rise further above this mess. (I’m back after starting this a few weeks ago.) I’ve been taking the Scar Therapy for two weeks. It’s amazing, I squirt 8 sprays in my mouth 3 times a day. The scar on my chin from when I was 2 yrs old is itching for the first time ever. The scars on my hands are itching like crazy. This stuff is working. After the first week I experienced a lot of pain in my hands which are covered in scars from all the surgeries and investigative surgeries. I have no less than 6 little X’s on the top of my hands and wrists from the telescopic surgery to find the problem. Then I have a incision that is about 8-10″ long on each arm where my ulna’s were shortened. Each opened multiple times.

So for now, I know that something is breaking loose from the inside. I’ll let you know how it goes.

We also talked about the the moon and it’s cycles. A lot of Lyme patients believe they see a worsening of symptoms when there is a full moon. I’m not sure. But interestingly enough I did have two very bad Malaria/Babesia episodes at the first quarter of the moon just in the last few months. So, it’s just another thing to chart and keep track of. This month I saw an entire week of on again and off again issues during the week from the 1st quarter to the full moon. AND this full moon was one of the closest we’ve had in years. Do you remember it? It was so close to the earth, it looked like you could touch it. After the night of the full moon, nothing. I’ve been fine.

I’m sharing this so that you can be aware of new approaches to healing. Step out of the box! And allow Jesus to ask you, “What is it you want me to do for you?” Can you say, “I REALLY WANT TO BE HEALED!” That means taking full responsibility and making no more excuses. Dancing to your hearts content!

Photo Credit:Flickr.com

The Storms of Life

I’ve really been struggling to get my head around this new diagnosis. I guess it’s more dire than any I’ve really faced before. If I don’t stop the destruction of my red blood cells, then…. But we plan to stop it. I drank my raw liver and carrot juice this AM. Hey, it won’t kill me, but this crappy disease will! It didn’t taste too bad. It wasn’t great, and I could definitely taste the liver, but it was downable.

As I face this storm in my life, I’ll continue to praise the One who can deliver me. It’s times like this when you think your faith is shaken that you find if it’s built on the ROCK. Mine is. I’m really glad it’s not built upon the ability of a man to use what little knowledge he has to heal me.

The funny thing is, it was this disease in 1971, that brought me to faith in Christ. No one knew then what was wrong with me. We went from doctor to doctor with no diagnosis. Blood test after blood test. I was undiagnosable. That was the first year that Lyme Disease was discovered in Lyme, Connecticut.

It was then that God sent a pastor from a small country church to visit me. He knew I was sick and he knew that I might die. I didn’t grow up hearing of Jesus or of His death on the cross. I didn’t know about the free gift of salvation. I didn’t know that I was a sinner and forgiveness was free of my asking. I didn’t know that by asking God to forgive me and become Lord and Saviour of my life that I would never be the same again.

I prayed that night in March of 1972.

My life has never been the same.

It’s not a perfect life. As you can see, I face the same challenges of life, just like anyone else. It isn’t a free ride. It’s a choice I made to give my life and my all to the only ONE who gave me His life and His all.

Because Hope To Heal is based upon much more than a recipe or a protocol, I’m really glad that I can face this challenge with friends and family who love and care for me. Because I know I’m not alone. And I hope you find in this place, that you are not alone.

The verse that brought me comfort this AM, was from Isaiah 40:11

“He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.”