Conversation

She discussed how she first got involved in an alternative healing strategy. Her husband had been much more health conscious than she was prior to her illness. When she got sick he and others brought her books and tapes on alternative healing and she decide that was the way to go. She was diagnosed is October of '99 and became transfusion independent 19 months later. I was diagnosed in January of 2001 and became transfusion independent in May of 2002. (15 months, but I tried conventional treatments first - I really think of my effort starting in July of 2002 when I went to the EHCF in Dallas, so it is more like 9 months on a program.)

As Marla, says you don't have to worry about offending us. Your questioning of our approach is actually welcome for all of us to learn. We're not perfect and may not have considered certain things. It would be great if we could get more people discussing their approaches so that we could all learn from each other and research other stragegies. There are very likely many aspects we have not yet considered. We both come from a background that encourages open dialogue and would like to see more of it on the web site.

For example we had a brief discussion about coffee enemas and to quote Dr. Rogers "Ugh! How disgusting! I don't do enemas, so I'll skip this section." She had heard about them very early on but had reservations. She had heard they're addictive and that the coffee goes into our system as if we were drinking it, etc. But, discussing it a bit allowed her to reconsider. (She'll probably try it too because she had been seriously trying to find a good liver cleanse program which looks safe and reasonable.) Again, as Dr. Roger says "I've heard every negative there is regarding enemas. But even more frequently, I have heard folks chastise themselves for not doing the detox enema sooner. If you have not purchased the book "Pain Free in 6 Weeks" by Dr. Sherry A. Rogers, I highly recommend you do so. You can order it from http://amazon.com or http://prestigepublishing.com. She describes the entire detoxification process and I for one can tell you that it all works.

We are all still learning and have made many changes throughout this whole ordeal. so we would hate to say that we are absolutely right. The points we discussed represent things that appear to be working for us right now or represent our current understanding and things that appear to make sense, but we are constantly adding to our knowledge and experimenting with various approaches.

We discussed the fact that I became transfusion independent faster than Marla and possible reasons for this phenomenon. Marla thinks the program she followed was by nature slower than mine, i.e. she did not use any specific detoxification program as I am doing (Sauna, colon cleansing, etc.) She Speculated that weekly antigen shots, daily cortisone use for more than 30 years and having three children which uses up lots of nutrients in a person who has a junk diet and lifestyle resulted in slower progress (I took her about 109 months to get transfusion independent and me just under a year. We have both read many conflicting diet programs and are still trying to determine what is best for our own personal situation. She was completely vegetarian at one time but has now re-introduced organically raised meats and wild caught fish. I vacillate between no meat at all and a rotational choice.

I am absolutely committed to the sauna and detoxification program discussed elsewhere, believe in daily exercise and managing stress out of my life. The diet is important, but it is only one element of the holistic healing program I have adapted.

She started out with a hit and miss strategy and I followed the macrobiotic program prescribed by Dr. Rogers followed by a rotational diet recommended by Dr. Rea. I now use a combination of the two. We both believe in natural healing, but each person has different circumstances so their approach should be tailored. This is why others must be active and learn, learn, learn. Pay attention to what's working and toss what's not.

We agreed that an advocate is extremely important - Marla's husband was very health conscious before she was diagnosed and helped her get started - Sue was also very much aware of the Sherry Roger's approach and initially recommended and then when I would not listen, insisted that I try it. I have never in my life seen her so passionate in her belief. "I believe with every fiber in my body that this will work for you and that you will die if you do not try it"

Needles to say, that got me off the dime and although I was very skeptical during the process I have beome a firm believer now that it appears to be working for me.

We agree that rather than a deciding on a definite timeframe that you will expect to see counts rising, you would be better to look for small signs of progress - We both began to notice small improvements. We stopped bleeding into our mouth and throat at night. Wounds healed a little quicker. We had smaller and fewer petechia. My stamina improved and continues to every day. I am now walking up and down stairs for exercise and running up and every once in a while I catch myself running up two at a time like in the past.

It is important to adapt a very basic diet in the beginning either vegan or macrobiotic or something that helps you clean out your system - the initial detoxification process and allowing your immune system to begin healing itself. Then you can work on specific issues - Why is my hemoglobin still low - should I re-introduce meats or fish? Iron is still high? - Why? Marls also suggested that patients takescare not to over eat as that will tax the body even more while it's trying to regain control. (No binging.)

It requires a tremendous effort and a lot of time, but from what we have seen the BMT, ATG, and other treatments take just as long if not longer and they are much more debilitating and dangerous. We certainly understand that ome patients have recovered quickly many have not. The natural strategy may also appeal to those who have already run the gamut, but are still struggling.

Marla and I have ultimately arrived at a fairly similar diet from two different directions. As I have said before, I am practicing a modified/rotational macrobiotic diet which is the combination of Dr. Rogers' Grains, Greens & Beans and Dr. Rea's rotational diet where you try rotate food groups every four days. It is working and I am making significant progress and I feel great!

Organically raised foods is absolutely critical. Free range chicken, wild caught fish, organically grazed beef, etc. The hormones and antibiotics in supermarket beef is very bad for our immune systems.

Marla resolved early in the process that she was not going to do the conventional toxic treatments. Even if she had to be transfusion dependent for a long time, she was going to follow a natural approach. This commitment is important. I took longer to get there and would not have done it without Sue's prodding, but once I made the commitment, my whole approach started to change.

We discussed several books that we have both read and others that we recommended. She is reading older books that document various experiments by earlier doctor's that have gotten lost in the modern medical community. I completely missed the Soil and Health Book but will read it now. If you have not done so, check out the book list. Please add books you have read or are reading.

"After debating the question--Why disease? Why not health?--again and again with my fellow students, I slowly, before I qualified, came to a further question--Why was it that as students we were always presented with sick or convalescent people for our teaching and never with the ultra-healthy? Why were we only taught disease? Why was it presumed that we knew all about health in its fullness? The teaching was wholly one-sided. Moreover, the basis of our teaching upon disease was pathology, namely, the appearance of that which is dead from disease."

Marla commented that it is important for each patient to be comfortable with their own decisions. Try not to make decisions out of fear or bullying, but rather think it out. Do what makes sense to you after doing your own independent research and deciding what you (and your advocate) are capable of doing. Any healing process, be it natural or the more conventional way, requires a long, determined approach.

We are both working on trying to improve our digestive system. Many people believe that illness begins with the digestive system. So, we're trying to learn more about digestive wellness--obtaining optimal intestinal flora which is necessary for proper digestion and nourishment. For it is through the digestive system that our whole body is nourished to stay strong and healthy.

Marla has had two phlebotomies (where they withdraw blood) - It worked - Her counts had gotten a little whacky and improved after the phlebotomies.

Sue, Marla and Bruce Discuss Alternative Healing