To Make a Long Story Short...

The past month has been very eventful, and I know it's been a long time since I posted - shame on me! I thought it would be a good idea to give you an update on my life and health. Inquiring minds want to know, apparently. Where to begin? Well...it all began in the spring when a friend of a Facebook friend contacted me and referred me to this website. With all my health issues, the one thing I thought was under control was my thyroid disease. But I soon learned that I, like hundreds of thousands of thyroid patients, was on the wrong medication. I found a doctor in my area who prescribes natural thyroid hormone and also believes in taking elimination of symptoms into consideration when adjusting medication levels, rather than just thyroid lab tests. After 8 consecutive months of gaining up to 10lbs/month, I immediately stopped gaining weight. My new doc also started me on natural progesterone to treat my Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD).

Over the next few months, my doctor continued to monitor my symptoms and my hormone levels, adjusting my medicines accordingly. I almost immediately saw a major reduction in two symptoms I'd been plagued with for years: excessive sweating and severe digestive problems. However, I did develop some new heart symptoms which included an elevated heart rate, chest pain, and sudden drops in my blood pressure that caused me to pass out or fall down. I saw a cardiologist and had several tests done to determine the cause of this. We're still not 100% sure of the cause of these symptoms, and I continue to have episodes with my heart from time to time. I'm told there is nothing wrong with my heart, but that I have another condition that is affecting the functioning of my heart.

In August, a friend and I began following The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin, which is a way of eating that follows biblical principles concerning food. I lost a few pounds doing this but nothing major. But then, at the urging of my mom, I started watching a television show called "Know the Cause" on the Christian Television Network. The host, Doug Kaufmann, teaches that most diseases actually come from fungus, mold, and mildew rather than bacteria and viruses. He has authored several books on the subject and also has a website: www.knowthecause.com. The more information I heard and saw, the more I believed that this concept made a LOT of sense. I had been urging my doctors for years to find a commonality among all my diagnoses, believing firmly that one person could not have so many separate diseases without them being somehow related. I wanted to "know the cause" instead of just treating the symptoms with drugs, drugs, and more drugs. So I began the Phase One antifungal diet on September 1st.

In the past several weeks I have lost 25 pounds, I have gotten off 4 medications, and I have seen a reduction in the severity and frequency of my heart symptoms and my cataplexy attacks. This is a miracle! For the first time in my adult life I feel like I am getting better! I can see actual tangible evidence of an improvement in my health. That's not to say that I am cured, by any means. I have a LONG way to go before I could ever consider referring to myself as healthy. And there are still serious health issues involving my heart and liver that need to be addressed. But I believe I am on the right path. And that includes continuing to rid my body of mold, mildew, and fungus; getting off as many pharmaceutical drugs as possible, putting only the purest, natural substances into my body - whether it be food, beauty products, cleaning products, etc.; and supplementing with high quality vitamins and nutritional supplements, tailored to my particular conditions and symptoms.

This is absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I am convinced that I am doing the right thing. And I believe that anyone dealing with a chronic health issue can benefit from the information at Know the Cause and from Doug Kaufmann. Please continue to keep me and my husband in your prayers as this continues to be one of the most difficult times in our lives.

This I can say with 100% assurance, though: God's promises are true, and He is faithful. Take Him up on His offers:

"Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things,which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

Unexpected Worship

When we think of worship, what usually comes to mind is a church service or singing in a church service. But there are many ways to worship God. I love to worship God by spending time looking at all the beautiful things He has created - the stars that shine so brightly in the sky at our house in the country, the birds that flock to our birdhouses or come to pick off the fish from our pond, and the beautiful plants and flowers that grow all around our property. Music is also a big part of worship for me. Often a song has the unique power to touch my spirit and bring me to a place of worship where God can speak just the right Words to me. But until I attended Freedom Fest at Trinity the other night, I had never before experienced worship through fireworks.

I'll admit it: I really didn't want to go to the festival. I mean, I can see the appeal for most people. There are TONS of attractions to ride and see, LOTS of food vendors, a live jazz/swing band, and of course, the fireworks show. But when you have trouble walking because of cataplexy, your health condition and medications give you an intolerance for heat, and you're doing your best to stay off carbs, a 5-hour festival on Trinity's large campus in the Florida sun and humidity amid a crowd of people eating ice cream is not the most comfortable place to be. I did ride my motorized chair which helped with the walking, and my husband set me up with a golf umbrella to keep out of the sun (I was already sunburned from 2 1/2 hours in the pool the day before), but I was absolutely sweltering. Also, having that big umbrella over me didn't exactly make me very approachable for people to talk to or even see who I was. It was nice to catch up with my mother-in-law and my husband's grandmother and also a few friends from Trinity that found me for a chat. But after a few hours, I was beat. I didn't want to ruin it for anyone else by leaving before the show, so when my husband suggested I sit out in the air-conditioned truck until the fireworks started, I thought that idea was very appealing.

When he came back to get me, I was sitting in a truck with steam-covered windows, pumping the A/C and listening to the radio. I had dried off, cooled off, re-fixed my hair, and had gotten a chance to recharge my battery from the effort it takes to just be around people and stay upbeat and friendly. When I opened the door to step outside I realized that although the sun had gone down, you could almost cut the humidity with a knife. I wasn't looking forward to being out in that again and almost told my husband to go ahead without me. But I went. After a somewhat unusual version of our national anthem was sung, the fireworks began exploding in synch with some very powerful Christian music selections. As I gazed up at the breathtaking array with Jeremy Camp's "There Will Be a Day" playing in the background, my heart swelled with love for a God Whose beauty and majesty far surpasses even that magnificent presentation. Everything inside me just wanted to stand up, lift my hands toward heaven and shout praise to Him! And through my tears of exhilarating joy I smiled to myself and to my King for allowing me to experience worship in such an unexpected way.