Reclaiming Health ~ No Matter What

I recently learned that i’m suffering from an auto-immune disorder. Autoimmune diseases — a group of about 100 conditions in which the body’s immune system turns on the body itself — are  unsurprisingly reaching epidemic proportions. But more on that later. 

I’m convinced that my ongoing health issues is the Universe’s way of helping me earn a nutrition degree. After all the medical mishaps I’ve endured, I’ve had no choice but take Health into my own hands. Thank goodness for alternative medicine and the fact that I am a persistent & resourceful bee-atch.  

To paraphrase Gabrielle Roth, the wounded healer knows that healing comes from the ability to empower body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit once again, bringing them into vital unity.  Spiritual healing means taking responsibility for being a whole person, unlike western medicine that tends to compartmentalize things. 

Fight or Fright 

It all started at the age of 29 with the Pedestrian VS Motorist collision. While negotiating a crosswalk, a Ford Explorer plowed into me at 40 miles an hour. As a result I broke my left femur, five broken ribs, a vertebrae, my tailbone, and I suffered a smashed up spirit. 

I morphed into an overly-sensitive creature, and bitter one at that. I lost trust in life. 

When I awoke from surgery, I had a titanium rod inside my leg. I’d also developed super-nasal powers. Suddently, I could break down scents and decipher top, middle and base notes. The male nurse coming down the hall for instance was a strange mixture of Tide detergent, nicotine with a hint of sweat. I was a modern rendition of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. 

Next, I realized that in order to sleep I now needed to wear an eye mask and ear plugs. Any inkling of sunlight or sound woke me up.   

And because of the overwhelming trauma and stress, my body got stuck in Flight or Fright or what that Fight or Flight?

A year later, I developed allergies to wheat, gluten, sugar and dairy plus a cluster of other foods that I regularly ate like egg whites, almonds and spinach. Here I learned about Candida Albicans , the candida diet, Celiac Disease, digestive enzymes, gluten-free diets, colon cleanses, raw food, Caprylic Acid, and the power of probiotics. But not before I underwent a colonoscopy & panicked and stressed and obsessed for months at the sight of my swollen tummy.  I had no idea what was going on. 

And then around the same time I woke up one morning and never properly went back to sleep. Yup I got insomnia and became a bonafide member of the Zzzz-less club. The prolonged stress had manifested into post-traumatic stress disorder. Here I learned about the Whole Food’s nutrition aisles, theanine, circadian rhythm disorder, sleep hygiene, hypnosis, fried adrenals, the perils of Ambien sleeping pills, low serotonin levels, neurotransmitters, chamomile tea, tryptophan, Yoga Nidra, Melatonin, Kava Kava, stinky Valerian, and how I was one of the 15 % who couldn’t take stinky Valarian because it actually energized me further. (I am what they call a Contrarian).

It was one shitty thing after the other.

When I landed a job doing development work on a show for the BBC, they placed me in an inappropriately ventilated office. Exposed to mold, I developed walking pneumonia within days. Surprise — prolonged stress results in chronic suppression of the immune system, leaving the body open to infections. I was hospitalized and placed on several hardcore antibiotics. I learned that my doctor was a schmuck for thinking my mold theory was nuts, I learned about Cordecyps, lung meridian points, the ill consequences of antibiotics like hemorrhoids, and the real meaning of a compromised immune system. 

Hardware Removal

There were days when I wanted to stab my own skin to get the metal out. I couldn’t stand living with a foreign object inside of me. It was ‘toggling’ inside my bone and causing deferred pain to my chin bone. Pain every day for three years. The titanium changed my entire chemistry.

Typically hardware stays inside once it’s installed. But could I remove it? Well you try getting an answer to that one. Fat chance getting an orthopedic surgeon on the horn. Unless of course you own a press card.

So I decided to write an article about hardware. I unearthed some of the top ortheopedics around the nation and took my own poll. There was a good chance the bone would break once they used the rubber hammer to dislodge the metal, but i had to get it out. 

When i removed the 14-inch titanium rod, most of my pain went away. Along with my string of bad luck.

Cultivating Gratitude

Thanks to physical pain and the honeybees, I’ve learned so much about our inner and outer eco-systems. Truth be told, I love learning about nutrition. I was going to go to nutrition school before the bees flew in to my life. For me perusing aisles for nutritional supplements is akin to most ladies’ love of shopping for shoes or clothing. 

We must be vigilant about what we put into our systems. Food is thy medicine but in this day and age of soil-depleted, genetically modified, chemically-laced grown food, it can also be thy poison.  

… to be continued…