mercury – Page 5 – Jesus is for the Wounded

Breakfast of Champions

Published on November 11, 2014November 11, 2014 by Jesus is for the Wounded3 Comments

Keeping it real today: it was the best breakfast I’d had in a long time. Held me over for hours. Can you believe it?

The ingredients were: gluten-free oats, coconut/almond milk, ghee butter, lactose-free whey powder, 2 walnuts, and bacon! Gee I often wonder if I need a ketogenic diet (KD) since I feel so much better after eating ghee butter and red palm oil spread by the tablespoonsful! I’d like to try the KD when I can find the medical professionals I’d need to calculate ketones and monitor cholesterol levels in this middle-aged frame. Otherwise it’s probably not a good idea long-term. Until then, just please pass the avocado oil for my coconut cream and blueberry smoothie!

The “champion” this morning was not me, however. My beloved Stevers was my hero as I was unable to move without eliciting seizure attacks in bed. So he fed me. Spoonful by spoonful of rich bliss came to me with breaks in between bites to catch my breath. I was so depleted from another hellish night dontcha know that I needed to rest often. And then I revived enough to take myself to the bathroom and return to bed for more sleep. A brief noxious episode ensued, an indeterminate amount of sleep, and waking convulsions on the other side. Holy cow!

My other hero today who kept me company when I awoke sometime in the afternoon was our pup, Elle. She often watches over me these days, sleeping within view of the bed. Next to Jesus Christ, I love having a friend nearby with fur-on. That is true only if my friend with skin-on has to go to work! My beloved got there 2 hours later today for having taken care of me this morning. I am so grateful for his care and hope his boss understands . . .

The afternoon was slow-going as I progressed from being beat-up to stable. I recovered quickly from a brief afternoon replay of this morning. I am glad that thereafter I was able to finish the Fall clean-up for Winter and gather some anise hyssop seeds for a friend before lopping off the last of the spent garden beauties. Then I plopped myself down in front of the computer for a few hours and was able to do nothing else. My sewing project 2 feet behind me, due in 2 weeks, will wait once again. Such is life in the preparatory stages of mercury chelation. Working on kidney detox to aid the chelation pathway for inorganic mercury. Hmmm. Sure hope I clear before Thanksgiving . . . sure would like to travel to see some friends and family . . .

My heart is heavy with all of this. Knowing my brother may be stuck in a nursing home for more months is a burden too. His Social Security Disability Income will likely take awhile to be awarded even though the left side of his body remains quite debilitated from the stroke in April. I am glad that he was able to go “home” with his fiancé for a few hours yesterday: the first time since this all happened. Finally! Sish. The occupational therapist in me has been frustrated more than once by the whole ordeal. Therapy is on hold again for Mike due to Medicaid paperwork delays. So life in a better nursing home is where he will be indefinitely. Kinda sad, really.

In case this is sounding like a pity party I will end it right here. Just keeping it real. I still have that joy in my heart that I wrote about this past weekend. I still have hope that I will be restored to health and probably land in an even better place a couple of years from now when the mercury chelation process has succeeded. I still am grateful for so many blessings that were never in my life even one year ago. I have a plan for recovery! I still look forward to the simple pleasures that make life so sweet. Ah yes, here comes our German shepherd wagging her tail from having played with my hubby in the front yard since arriving home from work.

It’s late. It’s time for the dinner of champions, Steve and me. And it’s a good thing I saved a little bacon for us too. I mean who doesn’t love bacon? JJ

This could start simply or really complicated

Published on November 3, 2014November 3, 2014 by Jesus is for the Wounded4 Comments

The short story:

The next step in my treatment of ongoing illness will be a “pre-tox” protocol before actual mercury chelation. Methylmercury is chelated through the liver and gut; inorganic mercury is chelated through the kidneys. Since I am hypersensitive to every approach attempted thus far, my doctor recommends beginning treatment with remedies to open up these elimination pathways before beginning chelation. I’ll probably start with one of the five products recommended by Quicksilver Scientific: the company that invented mercury speciation testing and this more targeted method of detoxification.

The long story:

After my doctor’s office losing my test results, my pleading with the company to email them directly to me, hand delivering the report to my doctor’s office in the middle of their move from one building to another, cancelling an appointment in favor of a personal phone call on Saturday, and fretting until getting that call with the results on Sunday night, a plan is now in place for me! We will need to progress slowly since EVERY TREATMENT I have attempted thus far has resulted in increased seizure attacks and convulsions. It makes sense to attempt to open up the chelation pathways first for these two types of mercury since I rank very high in both forms. It also makes sense for me to complete some additional testing of systemic metals to clarify the clinical picture and avoid further toxicity as we proceed.

So I began to research the initial products needed for this “pre-tox” protocol and lo and behold I take issue with four of them! Three are homeopathic remedies from a very New Age German company that directly conflicts with my Christian world view. I decided over twenty years ago not to use homeopathic remedies: why do we need alchemy and weirdness for substances God created in this world for our health and well being? I have never felt good on any of these products! I need to pray about this for sure. And the fifth substance in the pre-tox program is made with an ionic solution of marine plankton. Does anyone recall that I got deathly ill with viral hepatitis at the beginning of this hell from cyanobacteria aka blue green algae? Let’s hope that they are not the same thing? Maybe one is a fish and the other is a plant? I am frightfully aware of the negative consequences of any biotoxin in my weakened frame . . .

The one product NOT in question is IMD 30x. While a homeopathic-like preparation, the main ingredient is a proprietary thiol-functionalized silica. No problemmo. I can even pronounce the ingredients! Too bad the company states that it’s best taken with the green water stuff! Sigh. You know I’m just a little weary after 3 years, tens of thousands of dollars, prayers, submission, and getting up to struggle through another day until zapped into a painful place . . .

The end of this story for now:

I will pray about this. I will consult with my husband. I will talk to our compounding pharmacist about this (who gratefully is a God-fearing man). I will call the manufacturer of the Quinton Isotonic Marine Plasma about the purity of its product and review their extensive website further. Maybe I’ll be o.k. with two of the five products after all? Then I’ll add another specific nutritional supplement before I begin the actual chelation process in about 3 months. With ongoing experimentation of zeolite and activated charcoal plus ending all consumption of fish, I should be well on my way to a better place early next year. Lord willing, that is! JJ

Who God Is

Published on October 23, 2014October 24, 2014 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

Love this post from a Calvary Chapel pastor, Joe Mann. He gave me permission to share this from his Facebook posting yesterday. Here is a great reminder of who God is paradoxically from the perspective of what He cannot do.

10 Things God Can’t Do:
1. God can’t get tired.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.—Isaiah 40:28
2. God can’t take on a job he can’t handle.
Ah, Lord God! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you.—Jeremiah 32:17…
3. God can’t be unholy.
And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”—Isaiah 6:3
4. God can’t be prejudiced.
In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him.—Acts 10:34-35
5. God can’t break a promise.
My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips.—Psalm 89:34
6. God can’t remember sins he’s chosen to forget.
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.—Isaiah 43:25
7. God can’t make a loser.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ.—2 Corinthians 2:14
8. God can’t abandon you.
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.—Deuteronomy 31:6
9. God can’t stop thinking about you.
How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with you.—Psalm 139:17-18
10. God can’t stop loving you.
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.—Jeremiah 31:3

These words bring me comfort today. I hope they do for you too, Gentle Reader. JJ

The leopard print scarf in the bed

Published on October 10, 2014October 10, 2014 by Jesus is for the Wounded1 Comment

Perhaps it is the sheerness of the fabric that adds allure to the leopard print scarf in the bed with me this evening? After all the fine braided fringe is as delicate as it is a bit racy draped from my waist, a little off to one side. Yeah that was fun while I was upright earlier today! I accepted the compliment from the only homo sapiens of the female genre that saw it. Oh how I love a great twist on the ol’ oblong scarf look!

But this look continued long after bedtime and not for any reason other than I was not in any shape to return it to the scarf organizer. So after a wretched series of breakthrough convulsive episodes I finally had the fine motor skills to untie the knot and remove it. I rather like it draped around my neck in the wee hours of the morning as I sit here blogging in my partial day-wear, partial night-wear. That’s in style, right? The ultra casual look of pajama-like fabrics with a twist of animalistic flair? Sigh. O.k. It’s just plain weird, I know . . .

The part of the evening that went extraordinarily well was our new Skype Bible Prayer Group. I am blessed to join a couple of lovely ladies, fellow bloggers for a bit of gaggle, scripture, prayer, and more gaggle. It’s almost like having them over for a cup of bullet-proof coffee-n-coconut cream (my fav!). If you too are largely homebound or isolated and want to join a couple of gals on Thursday nights who love the Lord, please contact me via this blog. We are praying for the gals who may join us in the future; could it be you? I will also help put together a gentlemen’s group if there is interest then bow out. Please don’t sit there alone if there’s a tug on your heart to get back into some uplifting fellowship, k?

So some things are a little wild around here as I tweak a new treatment plan for mercury toxicity. Steve and I are hopeful, really hopeful. Healing crises are often in the mix of these kinds of things so we will hold on to the promises and cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ as we proceed. Who knows? I may even start a new bedtime fashion trend in the meantime! Who says leopard prints are only for daywear anyways? Tee hee. Now I know where your mind just went and I’ll bet your beloved would agree to join you there. Maybe it’s time for a little spice in this journey too? Hmmmmm. JJ

Keeping the faith!

Published on October 10, 2014October 10, 2014 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

When texting with a fellow sister in Christ today, I’m hoping that the Lord graciously encouraged her with these words. If you are hurting in any way, I hope they encourage you too. Jesus loves you! JJ

We can do this my dear sister! Cling to that cross with your baby fingernails and hold on!

When facing death so many times when my breathing stopped I asked Him if this was the end? How could I possibly go on? I feared going to bed every night because the episodes were worse at night. They hurt my frame. They hurt Steve. They hurt our marriage. And one day the Lord spoke gently only the words that I would not die. He made His presence known at my darkest points of personal hell. Then things got worse. And my measure of life became only the fact that my eyes were open! With this I learned to live in the wonder of the moment and He sustained me with just enough grace to get to the next one . . . Then after 3 years time, some answers and the beginning of restoration have come into view. Whoa.

I am sad for your suffering! I was hoping you had more relief by now. I know God is showing up to do the things you cannot do alone in your weakened frame. Reaching out to others when you have big needs? And so much more. Whoa. Yeah God!

I pray He will speak to your heart today. Like letting down our swords and shields and letting Him gird you gently with His truth. And He “speaks” that truth of in so many ways doesn’t He? I know He loves you and cares for these needs, grieves for your suffering.

When someone asks me how I am doing I have often replied, “hanging tough.” My brother Mike taught me a better answer, “keeping the faith.” Yes indeed. Love you, Julie