Jesus is for the Wounded

Treatment Update: The Beasts Within

Published on August 31, 2017August 31, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

If you follow as many of the various functional medicine forums as I do, you probably have noticed the topic of parasites coming up more often these days. In fact, there is a free “Parasite Summit” coming up in September. This topic became a personal one for me within the past month. Allow me to explain.

A friend and her sister were receiving some complex treatments for serious health issues that they have been battling most of their lives. Shortly after their focus turned to testing and treatment remedies from outside the United States, my friend suggested I look into parasites as the potential cause of the seizure attacks I have been battling for over 5 years. I looked into it. Their provider would not be for me yet the topic launched me into some new research about the time my hubby and I were set to leave on an extended vacation. Imagine realizing during your first day away from home that you have a new infection that requires attention IMMEDIATELY! Yeah, well when your bum itches making you crazy insane, ya gotta fix it FAST!

So right before heading out to my River Bear’s kayaking nationals 2 States away, wifey-poo requests hubby-poo stop at a local drug store for an over-the-counter medication. Thank the Lord he said yes! My symptoms diminished within hours! The problem was not a yeast infection but a nasty pinworm/parasite infestation! How did I get it? Who knows?! Pinworms are highly contagious and you can pick them up almost anywhere. The big shocker was that the seizure attacks virtually disappeared for the next 24 hours after treatment! I wasn’t expecting that! No episodes falling asleep or waking up; barely a little tic-zip broke through here or there. What was going on?

Three weeks have now passed and I have repeated the OTC remedy a couple of times. I found that clove essential oil with coconut oil provides some topical relief with the added benefit of killing the parasite eggs. Who knew? And now my Functional Medicine Doc is testing me a couple of different ways with a couple of different lab tests to see if we can capture all the critters that may be wreaking havoc “down there,” in my body, and brain. Yes: in my brain. Parasites can move to any tissue in the body once they hit the bloodstream or lymphatic system. My MRI and CT scans have been negative for typical markers that would suggest Central Nervous System involvement, however, allergies to contrast dyes have prevented use of same in diagnosis. In the end it really doesn’t matter to me if tests show anything or not. The idea of parasites just makes sense to me.

Simply stated, parasites develop a symbiotic relationship with their human “host.” They can actually help the body by balancing blood sugars or harboring heavy metals/toxic chemicals (that would be toxic if left to circulate freely). Parasites are not a good thingy though. They can also harbor infectious elements (some have suggested Lyme disease bacteria) setting up resistance to treatment, to eradicating the infections. And I thought it was the cysts and biofilms that were the biggest issues in treatment resistance! As they continue to live in our bodies, they drain nutrition and mineral resources in addition to creating a host of negative symptoms that mimic a wide range of diseases. Gut dysbiosis is a big example to which I can relate: my Doc wonders if parasites are causing my belly pain which has not changed much after two different treatment protocols for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. He says that worms/flukes/bugs can favor the right lower quadrant and where the trouble lies for me.

But the Palo Alto Toxoplasmosis Serology Lab testing was negative. Pinworms don’t typically cause neurological problems. Stool testing hasn’t found anything in the past even when I put a WORM in the sample cup! Oy vey! Maybe these two new tests will yield something useful? In the meantime, I am taking lots of anti-parasitic herbal formulas with a concoction of binders with gratitude that neither trigger seizure episodes as they have in the past. Lord willing, I am going to get well! Indeed there are parts of days where I feel some positive changes for the better as a result of these additions to my care.

If you have followed this blog for awhile then you know I am always looking for answers, for hope. I do hope to get well and am working every day towards that goal. Overriding everything however is this guiding principle: that my true hope is in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who will one day make me whole, here with you or when we meet in heaven. Nothing will change that. He is gracious and good to me even on my worst of days. I am so humbled to feel His presence on my bed of sickness as well as the moments where I can have a little fun here and there. Speaking of fun, did I tell you about white water rafting 2 weeks ago? Yeah, you heard me!

Stay tuned Gentle Reader. Pictures and more stories to follow that will blow your socks off . . . or at least get them a little cold and wet! The Snake River is about 60 degrees even in August dontcha know! More on that one next time. Gotta take some stuff and get to bed.

Take care, JJ

white water rafting, Snake River, white water, rapids, Class II, Class III, raft,trip, Mad River, living, in the moment, one day at a time, break, chronic illness, fun — Snake River, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Being married to me

Published on August 8, 2017August 8, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Must be tough being married to me

A kiss can turn into a nightmare, intimacy much worse

When the beast of illness rears its ugly head

And convulsive episodes ensue and last and last . . .

You never really know when

Some sweetness will turn to black

Your affections will turn to caretaking

Yielding another failed remedy instead of a back rub . . .

No partner by your side

Others asking about the phantom wife

Does she really exist out there somewhere

Or is it just on paper and within her cage of the home?

She cooks alright and keeps the house afloat

But complains every time you call

Of this dire affliction or that when he’s at work

Helpless, other-directed, and burdened under the strain . . .

Months turned into years

As life tried to move on so we

Try to celebrate this or that, have a nice meal

Only to have her collapse at the kitchen table again . . .

He has gotten stronger

From carrying her burdened frame

To the toilet, the bed, the couch, off the floor

Rolling her over in bed, lifting her up to drink . . .

He has had to adjust to this abnormalcy of life

Never mentioning it unless another asks

For the pain of the story isn’t worth the awkward moment

A thousand times told, untold a bit later . . .

Tis the Lord’s will

The believer in Christ must contend

Yet are we not commanded to fight

For good, for answers, for more faith when tears flow?

Altogether lovely

He remains strong

Goes to work and play

To cope with the madness . . .

She waits at home

What choice does she have?

Her calling different from his

Or is it when bound by love?

There is no right way

To navigate a life gone off the rails

Except to breathe daily in prayer

When being married to me. JJ

Finding the music you love

Published on August 5, 2017August 5, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Songs of the 70’s hold a special passion for me, perhaps because it’s when I came into adulthood. Put a swoony love song next to some old fashioned rock-n-roll and I had music to cover the range of emotions of a young adult woman coming into bloom. Then my taste got lost. What happened?

It almost doesn’t matter. I lived a bit of a double life for about a decade after graduating high school: college student/working professional by day and party girl with friends on the weekends. The latter covered everything with a disco beat anyways as my personal life unraveled. Then I got saved. What happened next left me lost on the radio dial. Which songs was I supposed to listen to now?

The answer to that question took another half of a lifetime to answer. Amy Grant was the artist for my first Christian CD followed by Russ Taff and others. Christmas recordings were easy to select since well, the popular and Christian music are really o.k. no matter where or who you are with most of the time. Then I started working out. The worship or pop hits with clean lyrics just didn’t get me moving. What to listen to was a question I struggled to resolved as I flipped between my old and my new music discs.

This year I started listening to the noon radio news program for the American Center for Law and Justice. The host often plays classic rock played and recorded from his namesake, the Jay Sekulow Band. I love it! Suddenly my dilemma has now been solved! I know many believers in Jesus Christ stop listening to secular music when it compromises their thinking and I agree: we must use discernment to not recite lyrics that dishonor God, His Word, and His creation. And guess what? There is quite a bit of toe-tapping, electric guitar music out there that does just that while simply expressing the topics of life in song. In addition, these days Christian music has come into it’s own with better production, sound, lyrics, and vocal styles to keep me interested. I’ll end with two examples in just a moment.

So when ya just gotta move to a tune that gets ya going, do a theme check and PLAY IT LOUD SISTA! Our dog might hide out in the back bathroom until the bass stops rattling the windows or my husband rescues her to send her outside for a run in the yard. Tuff beans, pup. Chasing a tennis ball just doesn’t do anything for me like it does for you! I need my music.

Anyone else know what I mean? JJ

Network Marketers Never Die

Published on July 27, 2017July 27, 2017 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Network marketers never really die . . . they just change companies!

Have you ever been approached by a friend who wants you to take a look at something he or she has just discovered? The opportunity surely will change the world, help you lose weight, create and earn an extra $500 per month in income all while working from home in your pajamas! Well I have. My run with one particular network marketing company lasted over a decade.

At first my friend called me one day in 1998 because she thought that I needed the products. I was experiencing severe pain after an auto accident which was preventing me from returning to work. So-and-so had gotten tremendous benefits from this new company’s products and I could learn all about it on a 3-way phone call. Before long, Donna was at my house providing a product demonstration (called a “roll out”) and loaning me a Japanese magnetic mattress pad. It made sense to me that a product that helped lower “physical discomfort” and improve sleep would have the potential to help me. I trusted her and bought a smaller product and eventually the full mattress pad plus insoles for my shoes. Impressed by what I saw, she invited me to a Wellness Preview where I took a closer look at the business.

Network marketing (NWM) is simply a means of distributing goods or services via a network of individual representatives who sign up with the company. They are not employees but a sort of independent sales associate. Instead of selling products via a store front, or now-a-days via ecommerce, the hierarchical matrix of Wellness Consultants (or whatever title is given) finds the customers and makes the sales. If one Consultant finds another to do the same thing then the first person will receive an override, bonus, etc. according to a set compensation plan. The concept made sense to me in 1998 and still does. I researched the difference between NWM and pyramid schemes: the latter usually collect some kind of large fee without any goods or services being provided. Pyramid or ponzi schemes are illegal. Network marketing is legal.

My sleep did improve and my pain went down some. Oh how much I have learned about my health since then (!) yet I did receive some benefits. This was enough to have a big “product experience” when those benefits helped me to return to work, thus providing me with a conversation-starter with my own new prospects. Unfortunately I lost a year or more analyzing the products instead of sharing more of what they did for people. My research background gave me a bit of analysis paralysis trying to understand the science behind the innovative technologies crafted into wellness products. This over-thinking of things actually ended up stalling my ability to help more people; you can reach more people if you focus on building a business instead of, well, trying to “help people” with the products. “Sell the sizzle,” they say.

In due time, I did achieve the first level of leadership: Silver Independent Wellness Consultants. In a single month, with the help of my friend and my downline organization (i.e. those whom I brought into the business), we generated $20,000 in sales plus met some additional criteria. My organization and the local consultants we ran with held product and business-oriented events, nearly a hundred Wellness Previews, trainings, booths at job fairs, product demonstrations at wellness fairs and markets, and really tried to make a go of things. I even presented Nikken at the Illinois Occupational Therapy Association State Conference with a physical therapist friend in the business. Along the way I met some amazing people, some of whom I still chat with occasionally today. You do develop a special bond with fellow Distributors who are smiling, positive, and trying to make a difference in his or her sphere of influence in the world! Sure was more happiness there than in my traditional job in healthcare or “sick care” as we used to call it.

Yesterday a gal called me whom I had not talked to in over 10 years and since I had moved away from our circle of distributors in the Chicago suburbs. She said she came across my business card and wondered how I was doing? Sure was nice catching up with her for the first few moments. Quickly she launched into an unusual discussion of two new companies, one familiar to me, that a friend was trying to get her involved in but she did not want to sell whitening toothpaste! Not sure if she was complaining or prospecting? Anyhoo, we are both occupational therapists which is probably what attracted both of us to Nikken’s “5 Pillars of Health” philosophy and wellness technologies. Yet at some point we all need toothpaste so why not buy it from a friend? [These are my words, not hers. Based upon my own practice of recommending favorite products via affiliate programs. Check out Julie’s Favorites below. ;)]

Pat’s call was one of two prospecting calls this past week. The first one was actually from a third gal who wanted me to look at a FitBit-type of personal monitoring device that had a special germanium plate that was supposed to block electromagnetic frequency radiation (aka EMFs). Oh dear. I asked for research evidence of its effectiveness and ended up watching a video on the product benefits. Below this YouTube listing was a video on the company’s compensation plan! Perhaps I need to warn future network marketers who come a-calling: I came into this industry as a skeptic and left it as a certified network marketer. Yes, there was a program sponsored by the University of Illinois for persons of many different companies, given by a marketing professor and gaga-millionaire from the skin care company who now sells whitening toothpaste. You gotta do better than this to snatch my attention gals . . . Still love ya hon!

So I say: Network marketers never die they just switch companies! While I have seen this over and over again with my former Nikken buddies, all of us still use their products. They are great and we are still sold on them. There’s a KenkoAir purifier in our bedroom as I write this and our home, even this many years later, would still certify as a Nikken Wellness Home. That also means that I bought-into and bought a lot of products . . . to support my health, of course . . . to demonstrate while enjoying the benefits . . . should I ever get back into the business . . . oh dear ones, I really don’t think that is going to happen anytime soon.

But I tell ya Gentle Reader, I will incorporate the concepts of leverage and word-of-mouth advertising (now called social media) should the Lord allow me to develop my company, Two Step Solutions, LLC. My experience in network marketing definitely tapped into the entrepreneurial spirit that led to two other home businesses: the Living Safely Program and Trinity Jewelry by Design. I guess there is just something in me that loves to create new things. Call it “humans being more?”

Hmmmm, I am getting a little happy feeling just thinking about it!