Day 6

Bella and I were excited to get back to the Hansa Center this morning. Right off the bat I had my appointment with Dr. Jowdy. We talked a lot about our sluggishness over the weekend, and he explained things the same way I had figured them to be. We are putting our bodies through rigorous methods of detoxification, redirecting energy pathways, and basically retraining them on how to function. All of these things can be taxing on us, and it's very common to see this sort of thing. I did mention to him that I had not been totally faithful to my gluten-free diet and ate a piece of cake on Friday night, and I attributed some of my symptoms to that. So he decided that we would focus on my food sensitivities today.

I tested sensitive to many foods (as I have in the past) - but the biggest being wheat, followed by dairy, soy, sugar, alcohol, and corn.

But the most exciting part of this is that Dr. Jowdy told me about his own prior food issues, and that now he can eat whatever he wants because he retrained the body on how to react to the foods. So this is what we are going to do with me.

If you know me, you know that I watch what I eat like a hawk. It would be great if I didn't have to be such a food nazi, so I'm looking forward to what this aspect of the treatment holds. When you have a chronic illness in combination with food sensitivities, it's a big deal. It's hard enough for your immune system to hold the illness at bay, but when you consume foods that are toxic to your body on top of that, the symptoms are magnified. That is why I've learned to avoid things that are going to impede my body's ability to overcome Lyme Disease. This method of treatment, however, will allow my body to stop focusing on the foods that are hurting me, and put that energy into healing.

Sounds like a plan to me!!

We also worked on my right shoulder, which has been injured for over 3 months now. I've been very limited on what I can do as far as lifting weights or physical training, which bums me out immensely. After 3 months of physical therapy, it was really no better than when I started. I would get some improvement, and then it would flare back up again. Anyway, he was able to give me more relief in 15 minutes than 3 months of PT. He used a special tape - kinesio tape, which is part of a rehabilitative taping technique that is designed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints. I am excited to see what results I get with my shoulder, because I am itching to play tennis and lift weights again!

Bella, too had a productive day. I requested that we work on her food sensitivities, too, and Dr. Jernigan told us a story about how his wife was unable to eat a slew of foods when they were dating. He was able to fix her on the spot, and now she can eat foods that she previously had anaphylactic reactions to. We thought that would be pretty nice, and Bella was totally on board with not having to be gluten-free anymore, so we now both have remedies to treat those allergies. Good stuff.

Dr. Jernigan also worked more on my legs, which were becoming painful again. And he was able to get the pain to stop - again. I know that it's possible and I know that the healing is mine. Now my body just needs to let go of its old ways of function to allow the correction to stay. And it will. My body has been sick for 20+ years with this pathogen, which has deeply imbedded itself into every working part of it. And I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel :)

The best part of our day, though, was when we saw a fellow patient for the first time since the weekend. He actually has a tumor in his sinus that has caused one of his eyes to bulge. He told me that his doctor wanted to remove about half of his face with the tumor, and then do radiation.  

But he decided to have treatment at the clinic, and today, the tumor was so obviously shrunken that Bella and I were in shock. How amazing! His body was given a chance to help heal itself, and it is working.

Again, we are so encouraged by this, and our faith was given a big boost at the sight of this healing taking place right in front of us.

So after our long day at the clinic, we came back to our hotel and made gluten-free banana pancakes with pure maple syrup, as well as cage free organic hard boiled eggs. We are supposed to avoid the foods that we're sensitive to for now, so we were good tonight.

So with a full belly, I am calling it a day. Goodnight, and thanks for checking in :)