Welcome to 'Lyme to wellness',
My intention in writing about my journey to health and wellness is to share insights, wisdom, resources and a caring heart to those who are searching and looking for connection and support and to become more vibrant and healthy.
2018.
I believe that everything that happens to us in life gives us an opportunity to learn and grow and even more so when we are being challenged. So I now find myself needing to test my belief as I am up against the greatest health challenge of my life.
When I was diagnosed with Lyme disease I was shocked but at the same time relieved as I had been getting frustrated with ongoing doctors visits and diagnostic tests for the last three years and getting nowhere.
When I was diagnosed in February 2018 I was very positive and thought, “no problem, it’s not that bad and I’ll do whatever it takes to get over this”.
Well, it wasn’t that simple, after 12 months of detoxing, refining my diet, immune enhancing supplements, infrared saunas, detox baths and so the list goes on, but unfortunately not much changed.
As time went on I noticed a deterioration of my symptoms, even though I was actively following my healing regime.
This was a very scary and lonely time as Lyme disease is not recognized in Australia and there is minimal medical support and understanding within our community.
Just when I was giving up hope and feeling like I was on a downward spiral, the Universe turned the tables and sent me answers and hope – I met two beautiful people who had Lyme (husband and wife) who had recently returned from a clinic in the United States and were on their way back to nearly full recovery.
Meeting them and having detailed discussions led me to researching the Sophia Health Institute in Seattle in Washington state, and soon after I had a Skype appointment with them and booked in for my treatment.
Fast forward a couple of months and here I am busily packing and preparing for a month in America. With only two days until we board the plane for Seattle, I feel like I am embarking on a journey of transformation; it’s almost a deep knowing that something positive and life enhancing will come out of this experience.
The last time I felt this way was just before I took my first steps on the 800 km pilgrimage across Spain on the Camino de Santiago – it was challenging, hard work and the body and feet complained a lot. However it was absolutely amazing and both transformational and life enhancing. So feeling like this again helps me to move beyond my fears and concerns and the ““what if it doesn’t work” and other negative chatter.
I believe to heal and be healthy and well we need to have awareness of our attitudes and beliefs. To understand the link between our health and wellness and our mindset we need to understand the area of epigenetic‘s.
Epigenetics is the study of cellular and physiological traits, or the external and environmental factors that turn our genes on and off, and in turn, define how our cells actually read those genes. It works to see the true potential of the human mind and the cells in our body.
Dr Bruce Lipton, a scientist and cellular biologist is a leader in the area of epigenetic’s. He states “our lifestyle can change our genetic activity and outcomes and it has been shown that it’s not our genes that controls us. What controls us is our thoughts, our beliefs and our attitudes. How we think is turned into chemistry and then changes and genes.”
As a part of my treatment I will be reflecting on my attitudes and beliefs and working on this to allow my genes to be expressed in a positive way .
If you would like to gain further understanding in this area I recommend Bruce’s book – Biology of Belief or watch one of his video’s here
I start treatment at Sofia clinic on May 28 when I shall share my experiences and insights as I go along.
May 28th 2019 – And so the journey continues
My first day at the clinic today – I had such mixed feelings….excited to get started yet apprehensive of what lay ahead, however, despite my initial anxiety I relaxed and let go of control knowing I was in safe hands. As I entered the clinic doors I received a big welcome and tour of their facilities which thankfully made me feel at home. Next came a 2 hour consult and diagnostic overview with my Doctor – such a lovely warm and caring person and so knowledgeable.
My lunch break gave me time to process all the information I had received and got me ready for treatment. As a nurse I was fascinated and impressed by all their unique diagnostic techniques and treatment regimes. It started with a scan to check for heavy metals and then injections, IV therapy – involving taking my blood, adding ozone and then passing through a machine with ultraviolet light and injecting it back into my body. Onto another interesting machine that increased my micro-circulation. Colonics and an ionic foot bath finished off the day.
The clinic’s approach is quite different from western medicine in that they have a very holistic approach and their premise is to detox and build the bodies immune system and general health to start the healing process and eliminate disease.
Day 3 at the clinic – yes day 2 did happen but I’d rather let that day pass. I started the day with a headache that progressively got worse and after a full day of treatments and not finishing until 6pm I felt like a had been hit by a mack truck – emotionally and physically depleted as my body was adjusting to the treatments and detoxing.
Thank goodness on day 3 I woke up feeling much better and a gentler day of treatments even though there were still injections and IV’s I did get to have lymphatic drainage massage and body work and finished the day feeling an improvement.
The saving grace that gets you through the challenging days is the wonderful staff and Doctors. The picture above is hanging in the waiting area of the clinic and very much describes the people working here – inspirational, intuitive, incredible and all of the others stated……I love the days that I get to see Dr Christine because at the end of our session I get a great big hug and words of care and inspiration, how healing is that??? It reminds me of how we can make someone feel so much better by letting them know we care (even if we are not unwell) through a caring hug and kind words.
Day 4 at the clinic:
The last couple of days have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride with feeling good and then crashing after some of the treatments. I was told to be aware of this so its all a part of the healing journey. I am also interested to see some of the new treatment protocols – I ended my first week with an IV laser light frequency therapy where they inserted an IV cannula and then used 3 different light frequencies to create cellular regeneration. It was fascinating to watch the coloured laser as it illuminated the tissues. And to top it off I am laying on a Bemer Mat (see left hand photo) which increases micro circulation so I’m getting healing on all levels.
On the challenging days when I’m not feeling well I remember what Doctor Christine told me “the only way out is through”, so sometimes to get to the other side of something we need to move through the discomfort, so in short, the moral to the story is “hang in there”.
Week 2 at the clinic- June 3rd 2019
We had a wonderful weekend escape to Orcas Island just North of Seattle. It was so relaxing and therapeutic to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and the daily focus of therapies and treatments and relax in the natural beauty of the island, watching Orca’s and chilling out. After a great break it was time to start the second week of my treatment at Sophia HI.
The week started with a consult with Dr Christine to see what had been happening over the last few days and what treatments needed adjusting. And of course ending our session with a mandatory hug – such a lovely person and health care professional.
My next session was a lymphatic drainage massage – very relaxing and then onto the ionic foot bath for a detox. Next, into the IV room for high dose IV Vitamin C therapy – 25 gms to be exact. I think I’d like this daily as I went home feeling really good!!
Having time to reflect over the weekend, I realised that it was time to let go of how my life used to be. I had my mental health assessment last week and it revealed moderate stress and anxiety which I was not at all surprised. I was constantly thinking that I had to get healthy so I could get my old life back and I was so angry that this Lyme disease had tipped my life upside down and all my plans for the future were gone. However, when I came across the quote above, I realised that while I was stressing myself out by wanting my old life back, that I was not allowing opportunities and new possibilities to come into my life. I know of many people in my life through nursing and wellness coaching that had transformed their life following a significant health challenge. So maybe a lesson for all of us is to let go of the past and be open and positive to what is yet to be revealed to us.
June 5th – Who needs food when you have all this to take morning and night!!!! It takes a bit of organisation to coordinate my nutritional and herbal supplements (and this is not all of them!!) so Pete made me up a spreadsheet(as a good accountant would:) ) to help me keep on track to know what and when to take each day. Its all worth it as I am starting to feel an improvement and feel like I am heading in the right direction.
Another session with Dr Christine revealed how my body is responding and what else is required for healing. Today I had another treatment of neural therapy – superficial injections of Procaine into scars and over painful areas in the body to open up blood supply, increase lymphatic drainage and increase healing. Thank goodness Pete was there as I needed a strong hand to squeeze!!! Ouch!