For her musculoskeletal problems, I used my approach of building strength and health with injuries present: through corrective exercises and staying under the threshold of pain. As I often say, you can’t heal if you keep “picking the scab”. Bets’ back pain is now stable and is only a minor bother after things like yard work and pulling weeds. Her knees are stable (i.e., not getting worse) and we have found many ways to work around her mobility intolerances. As muscles have been built up, her posture has improved and her hands bother her most with kitchen work. If she did not make the effort to build her body up, she would likely be very stooped over and possibly have multiple joints replaced by now. To date, no surgeries have been needed.
For her other conditions I put on my health coaching hat and helped her navigate diet, supplements, and getting to several doctors that could help her out. It took a lot of time and hard work but after years of trying her efforts paid off. It was a big journey. For diets she tried low FODMAPs, keto, paleo autoimmune protocol, the Plant Paradox diet, and more! Road trip anyone? Bets traveled to the Mayo Clinic, Elements Natural Medicine, consulted the SIBO clinic in Portland Oregon, she consulted with Steven Sandberg-Lewis, Dr. Cynthia Rudert, Dr. Daniel Amen’s clinic, and more. It was all worth it. Bets’ gut issues are resolved about 90%. One major area this changed is that she can now eat about 20-30 foods instead of the same old 4-6 foods every day. This is great victory and only people who have gone through the experience of food being harmful can appreciate this gain. It was very rewarding to help guide her through this process as a health coach. I kept her moving and motivated to keep finding more pieces of the puzzle.
DISASTER STRIKES: I AM NOT PREGNANT…I HAVE ASCITES.
Journeys back to health are not always straight and easy. I couple years into training Bets got hit by a condition called ascites. This is when fluid builds up in the abdominal cavity. It makes a person look like they are pregnant. This condition is typically caused by liver problems. If diuretics don’t work (and the liver starts working harder), this is a fatal condition. In good faith, Bets went to get the standard diuretic treatment, but it didn’t work. Instead, they started drawing the fluids out with needles but this did not treat the underlying cause. The fluid accumulation continued. Bets was stuck in this limbo for weeks and the local hospital had no idea what to do. Luckily, her son had a friend who became a doctor. This doctor friend just so happened to have experience with this condition and he knew a great treatment for it. His treatment approach was based on building a healthier liver. This was done by giving the liver its favorite food: choline. Eggs are very high in choline. Therefore, Bet was put on a diet of 10 eggs a day for months to save her life. It worked! Her health was restored and she entered a new season of health.
NEVER GIVE UP: CANCER
A storm showed up in Bet’s life again in the form of cancer. It was hard to believe that she had another life-threatening issue to overcome. Really!? After all she has been through….now cancer. Luckily with the support of both a holistic physician AND a holistic cancer center she did very well with her various treatments for cancer. With the best of both Western and Eastern Medicine (supplements, herbs, etc.) she did well. Throughout this whole process she barely missed a strength training session and she committed to walking daily. Bets firmly believes this profound truth: exercise is medicine.
