Breakfast of Champions

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

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I am sure of it

 

Multitasking cartoon

Unlike the brain fog of this cartoon, I am going to get well.  I am sure of it!

The second week into the use of an atypical chelating agent (Zeolite by Zeo Health)  for very high mercury levels has brought more moments of mental clarity than I can ever remember in my entire life.  Oh sure there are ongoing seizure attack episodes yet they are generally 50% improved overall!!!!!!  I could not say this after any other treatment protocol attempted these past 3 years.  I could not say this even after the initial relief from high CBD hemp oil (the industrial hemp counterpart to cannabis oil).  I could not say this after antibiotics or Rife treatment with the Beam Ray.  I did not say this after (27) IV infusions of magnesium last Fall.  I could not say this after extensive and expensive mold remediation in 2013.  Even after aggressive treatment for candida over 2 years, I could not say this.  But I will say it again:

I AM GOING TO GET WELL!!!!!!

There is only one person to thank for this new direction:  the Lord, Jesus Christ.  At a time when multiple factors have come together at last, the path has cleared and hope is restored over here because of His mercy and grace.  A key factor in this process is humility.  More on that in a moment.  I also want to thank my chiropractor:  Dr. Lee Nagel at DeKalb Chiropractic Center in Waterloo, Indiana.  He had a hunch early on in my care that I was suffering from mercury poisoning.  After all, two hair analysis tests revealed mercury and other heavy metal toxicity in the year 2000 and again in 2011 but both times my respective Family Practice Physician (FPP) minimized the results.  Both times the Dr. thought I would be unable to tolerate a special type of detoxification protocol called chelation that would be required to remove heavy metals.  So off we went each time in another direction instead until my life of hell began with viral hepatitis October 11, 2011 and escalated into daily seizures beginning in March of 2012.

Dr. Nagle had high mercury levels discovered by his cardiologist.  His health improved after treatment thus placing mercury issues on his clinical radar.  Dr. Nagle, father of three, is one of the most adventurist and athletic people I have ever met (behind my beloved Stevers of course!).  His chiropractic practice rarely includes medical testing but he made an exception with me.  Thank you!  It took a month to get the testing protocol right then the results revealed the shocking reality of a probable root cause of illness for me:  very high mercury levels.  (Please refer to this excellent summary to learn more about this devastating substance.  Original citation available upon request.)  After a false starts with a quack-y Dr. who claimed to provide chelation, my current FPP is guiding me in the use of chelation and increasing other gentle methods of detoxification that have worked well for me.  By the way, my FPP has also recovered from mercury poisoning that almost took his life!

All of this is very humbling after 3 wretched years of illness and 23 years of chronic pain aka fibromyalgia.  While I do recognize that I have a new, long course of treatment ahead of me, I am exceedingly grateful to discover a root cause of much of my suffering.  Holy cow!  A successful outcome could help more than the seizures.  Yeah God!  Both Steve and I are really hopeful this time.  And it is with mental clarity at 4:30 in the morning that I write this to you!  So grateful for the 3-hour nap earlier tonight.  Yeah, the weird sleep schedule continues a bit!

And now about humility.  These entire three years have presented challenges requiring me to trust God for everything up to my next breath.  I submitted to the loving care of my gracious husband as he needed to carry me to the toilet a hundred times; help me to shower, feed or dress me when I could not about once per week; carry me to bed often so he would be near as he tried to catch some sleep before work,  rush me off the emergency room FIVE TIMES, and so much more.   Oh Gentle Reader, have you sensed that I am a recovering Type A personality?  A first born of my siblings in my family of origin?  That I started working when I was 16 years old with babysitting jobs before then?  That I am capable of taking care of myself thank you very much?  This is the longest and most extreme period of need that I have ever experienced.  I have had to let go of everything during these past three years.  At another time I will write about facing death when my breathing would freeze multiple times during seizure attack episodes.  And with all of this, I did not die of embarrassment or lack of oxygen.  My Heavenly Father and earthly husband have carried me through to this next season of recovery.  I AM HUMBLED!  Thank you seems too small.  I love you both!

Briefly, there were two other tasks I believe needed to be completed during this time:  1) learning to depend completely upon my husband for material needs and 2) realizing that the little activities I got to do here and there would become new skills, new relationships, and new activities that would become my future.  Both were tasks that probably would not have come without grounding in Jesus Christ or needing to cope with the crises of severe illness.  I probably would not have seen so clearly and (hopefully) fully submitted to the incredible character strengths of my beloved had I not become so broken.  Steve is my spiritual leader and head of household and I am grateful.  Long before we met I know what it took when my life fell apart in 2003 to soften me into the kind of woman that my beloved would choose to love.  I now see more clearly what kind of man the Lord has provided for me to love in return.  I AM EXCEEDINGLY BLESSED!

So join me, if you will, for an amazing adventure of recovery from serious illness.  IT IS HAPPENING!  So much fun awaits!  Thank you for riding along with me.  May we both praise the Lord for the good that is here now.

Hope is a good thing, eh?  I am sure of it.  JJ

Psalm 62:5-8 (NIV)

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.

 

And then I got up

It was the most horrific of reactions:  writhing and such.

Even our pup could not make guttural sounds like me in my muck.

Earlier I sensed a reaction soon was a’comin’ . . .

And lo on the way home the tics started showin.’

So we showered once home, throwing our clothes in the wash

In case you think romance followed I’ll tell ya that was ‘nash —

Not the way it came down I say as I leaped into bed

Barely dried off and with a wet towel flung from my head.

An hour many would not survive followed me in there

I marveled as my lungs, heart, and mind would again persevere.

My beloved raised me in his arms to feed me some water

Then with more wimpers and smaller jolts he sensed the cause of the matter:

An older building, became soiled with everything one could imagine

‘Twas cosmetically upgraded with bright lights and smiles on everyone.

It was hard to tell during a visit as important as this

That there would be hell to pay later for pursuing a visit.

But that’s the way it goes when your brother finally gets the care he needs

In a 4-star nursing home upgraded from one he survived where they could subtract at least 3.

We chatted, we laughed and the pupster Elle provided all the charm

The rekindling of family love, fulfilled with treats from my oven still warm.

Then came the gift from my bro when Mike let me play O.T.

And minister to his contracted frame, providing hope to both him and me.

My skills were still there and his muscle memory someday could return

Lord willing we shall see His purpose and be grateful for this wild ‘journ.

So how can I complain that some new treatment of my own did not hold

When I just started 2 days ago then walked into a fiery test a bit too bold.

‘Cause long after the last jolt, the last choreathetoid seize

I was able to get up and make myself something to eat.

Now sitting here listening to my slumbering beloved who works in the ‘morn

I am grateful for so much although tonight so much is yet unknown.

“When will this crap end?” I ask myself and the darkened night air

“In just a little while,” responds the Lover of my soul Who holds my life in His care.

So even in this I will trust in the God Who has promised

That all things will be good.  Get back to bed.  Good golly it’s almost (morning)!

JJ

Mike and Julie at Medilodge in Michigan
Mike and Julie at Medilodge in Michigan

 

Oh What A Night

What a date we had tonight.

Dinner:  Parkview Hospital 24-hour grill.

Movie:  HGTV on the ER Suite flat screen.

Drinks:  Bottled beverages and 1114 cc fluids for me.

And a whole lot of shaking going on:  3 hours of seizure attacks, non-stop.

It’s as I have heard it said that life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.

I am feeling much better now.  I love IV fluids!  (Weird, I know.)

We are sleepy!

Seizures and Mercury: Unlikely Bedfellows