An alternative view of illness

I'm so grateful that my 10 year old got sick last night. Grateful? Yes, I know, based on our society's current view of illness, that does seem strange statement to make. After all, doesn't it seem as though our body is betraying us? We are laid low, miserable, usually drowning in self pity, our lives grind to a sneezing, coughing halt. But the reality is, we betray our bodies everyday. With the foods we eat, the liquids we drink, the choices we freely make. And yet, despite all of the harsh, unkind treatments we dole out, our bodies continue to serve us. The heart goes on beating, blood continues flowing, our organs keep pace with the rhythm of life... right? I'm in awe of the human body now, and its amazing capacity to bounce back. In many cases it may appear to be functioning at a high level, but there are indicators everywhere that things are amiss. Acne, aches, pains, ulcers, tooth decay, headaches, name an ailment, and it's your body speaking to you. Sometimes we pretend that it's in a foreign language, after all, if you're craving a candy bar, you don't want to hear that that isn't "good" for you. We don't want to 'deny' ourselves anything, so you turn a deaf ear, and shovel in that sticky sweet bar as fast as you can before you think twice about it. And life moves on. Until the day your body has reached a toxic overload and needs to restore balance. Enter the common cold. Or the flu.

I've always wondered why it is that among a family, 3 out of 5 can succummb to the illness, while the other 2 escape unscathed. After reading a book a couple of years ago,it finally became clear. Those 2 don't need the sickness. They don't need the mechanisms of the body to fire up and dump toxins. They may need it next week, but right now their body is holding its own. A book called Cancer is not a Disease, it's a Survival Mechanism by Andreas Moritz explained this the most clearly to me, and things finally began to make sense. You see, I'm one of those people who won't just accept things that are spoken to me as truth unless I either A. have researched and verified it for myself, or B. I have a knowing. I easily and deeply trust my intuitions and I can feel the truth of certain things. They usually answer questions I've carried around forever. So, after reading this book, things finally began to make sense. Your body wasn't staging a mutiny, it was staging a recovery. It is attempting to right the wrongs inflicted on it everyday. Such an ingenious system. When we get sick we are forced to rest, take it easy, sleep. That's why we never cover up a sickness in my home. I don't even own aspirin. I've always felt the body knows what it is doing, and does it better without my interference. Are you aware of the reason behind fevers (we learned this in school a couple of years back)? When the temperature of your body rises, this enables the white blood cells (the germbusters) of the body to function better and reproduce quicker, thus healing you quicker. Why on Earth would you want to make this disappear? Okay, I know why, but why?

As with many of my discoveries over the last several years, I've learned that that most everything is not what it seems, we have in fact labeled things 'wrong' or 'bad' when in fact they are not. Let me begin by saying I believe in perfect health. I know it exists and that is a major part of my journey this time around. I have chosen to leave most of the medical profession to others, having found that they weren't generally interested in finding out the "why", but instead interested in covering up the symptoms, usually with drugs. If we can't see it, it mustn't be there... ;) This is not a rant against conventional medicine, it just wasn't the answers I was looking for. I had ventured down an alternative route several years ago, and was more satisfied with my homeopath, until one day he uttered the words "the mythical state of perfect health". Well, you guessed it. I think that was the last time I graced his office. I was on a quest of perfect physical and mental health, and I didn't need any doubting Thomases infecting their negativity into my vision.

I've changed so many aspects of my life over the last several years that I am no longer recognizable as the same person. I am a strict and happy organic vegan. I have embarked on a series of liver flushes that have released over 4000 stones from my liver. I practice daily meditation. I have released judgements and opinons of others, knowing I can only decide what is best for me and no one else. I will only use VOC free paint in my home. I do what brings me joy. We recently made a huge health investment and purchased organic cotton mattresses for our beds. All of these things are bits and pieces I've found along the way, all pointers to that state of perfect health.

Several years back I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a typical companion of panic disorder. The doctors gave me very little hope of release from this pain except through dangerous muscle relaxants (that may or may not work) or "when you've gotten rid of the panic disorder (thorugh yet more drugs), the IBS will resolve itself". Not good enough. After the first liver flush, I haven't had an excruicitating episode since. My body was speaking to me, and I listened.

Another example: My oldest daughter's hands had been a mess for quite some time. In reality they no longer resembled hands, they were cracked, oozing claws. She couldn't even straighten her fingers, she had no cuticles and her nails were deeply pitted and scarred. Eczema, at its worst. I knew the doctors would prescribe creams and ointments, maybe even steroids. That would never lead me to the why of it all. If this flared up again in two years, I still wouldn't have any idea where it was stemming from. Her body was telling us something, and we set about trying to understand. It wasn't a quick fix. She embarked on the liver flushes with me. Her hands were in fact the first bit of evidence I found to support this new sickenss/balance idea. Her hands were horrific and she was struck down with the flu. She was hit hard, her body in desperate need of detoxing (as her hands were already telling us), and for a week she didn't really leave her bed. I figured that if what I had read was indeed true, after this illness passed, her hands should improve some. Maybe a lot. I watched and waited... and guess what? They did improve, and looked better than they had in years. They didn't stay this way,of course, but it gave us hope that we were on the right track. Happily, a year or so later, her hands are 99.9% healed. There's a dry spot or two, others would just call it the dry hands of winter, but we know better. What was her body trying to communicate? She had a Candida imbalance. She has now been on a Candida diet for 4 months or so, just a temporary adjustment. This means avoiding sugars so as to starve the Candida (yeast) imbalance in her body. We don't eat sugar anyway, but this meant even fruit sugars until her body's balance has been restored. Lately she has been experimenting with fruit a little bit. She quite happily devoured some blueberry pie I recently baked, with no repurcussions. Fingers crossed that we're at the point where she can begin to add fruits back in, her hands will tell the story.

What happens if your body speaks and speaks and speaks and you refuse to listen? That imbalance will change appearance some, it will appear as disease, in one of it's many forms. I choose not to go there. There is so much that I want to enjoy during this lifetime, so many joys to be had. I have no problem "denying" myself that candy bar, when the rewards are so much sweeter. I won't be held back by a body that can no longer function with ease. It's my companion, and I'll treat it with as much love and care as I would any other valuable possession. It will repay me in kind.

P.S. In case you're wondering, Riley bounced back with amazing agility. She got up this morning, ate a full breakfast and is now playing games with her sister and full of energy. She told us all the she "felt GREAT" this morning. Her body did its 'spring cleaning' I guess! :)