Of Lyme and Healing...

I have been asked by quite a few people to share some things I've learned during my daughter's bout with Lyme. While she is still recovering, we are seeing major progress and are so very thankful! Truly we are frail and need the Lord every single day He gives us breath.

When she was first diagnosed in August 2014, I was devastated. I have alot of experience with helping people to find wellness from preventable/reversible diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer but I was not at all familiar with infectious diseases. I felt very much at a loss to know where to turn, as there seem to be (in the words of my husband's aunt) a thousand and one ways to treat Lyme.

I started with my plant-based doctor friend, Dr. John McDougall. I highly value his advice and all the stuff I've learned from him over the years about the power of whole plant foods to heal the body. His answer to my inquiry burns in my heart to this day: "Lyme Disease is an infectious disease that cannot be cured with diet." I sat staring at that email and felt very, very much at a loss to know what to do next.

I knew I did not want to put my daughter through a long round of antibiotics, if at all possible. Plus, it seemed to me that those who were treating Lyme with antibiotics did not stay well. I wanted to know if Lyme could actually be completely healed.

So I did what I always do when I am stumped. I started praying for wisdom, and I started reading. And reading. And comparing notes with those whose journeys are published on the good old internet.

What helps for me in these situations is to start at the bottom and work my way up to what I need to know. I learned first of all WHAT Lyme disease is and HOW it affects the body.

In layman's terms (forgive me, I am a simple girl): Lyme is bacteria (with many friends who come along sometimes!) from a tick bite (there are varying opinions that also include Lyme coming from mosquito bites, other people, etc but I don't know for sure if these are confirmed or just rumor). That bacteria burrows into your cells, creating its own biofilm around itself, preventing the immune system from destroying the bacteria. This goes on sometimes many years undetected, with odd symptoms cropping up here and there (my daughter had heart palpitations, then she had tingling hands and feet, then she had a sore jaw, then it was a tonsil that didn't heal, then it was fatigue, over the course of 7 years.) Eventually, this reproducing bacteria takes over a person's life and health. There can be severe joint pain for some and neurological problems for others.

So...what to do about this evil stuff floating around in my daughter's body?! I kept praying and asking for wisdom. I learned about Lyme bullets. For those who lead busy lives and don't mind using essential oils, this looks like a positive protocol. But I was not interested in just  putting the Lyme into remission. I wanted it gone!

A naturopathic doctor friend told me that if you find a protocol that actively tears away the biofilm and kills the bacteria, it takes a year to totally get rid of it. Hope leaped in my heart! So we CAN actually take care of this stuff completely! I am excited about this!

Then a friend told me about her experience with a product that has been giving people with Lyme some very good results. It's made from coconut (made sense to me, because coconut is so highly antibacterial, etc) and there is a product from plants that goes with it to tear away the biofilm to expose the Lyme bacteria.

So we decided to check it out. Monolaurin and Biofibrin are the products we started using in September. Information about them can be found on the company website: www.inspirednutrition.com. There is alot of info on there, and if you have any more questions, I'm told their customer service is very good.

Angela started taking Monolaurin and Biofibrin in September. For the first three months, we went through alot of emotional struggle as the Lyme die off created alot of emotional and physical struggles for awhile. It seemed to go in two week cycles: emotionally weak, physically spent, and then a few days of rest and almost normal energy, etc before it started over again.

In January, we saw very marked improvement. Thanks to the prayers of many of God's people who were beginning to understand that we were going through a really major thing, we saw a huge leap of improvement, and we are thankful.

Ever since that point, Angela has been improving. She has more energy, is not so emotionally challenged and is beginning to sing and work like her normal self. She is more involved in family activities again and we are so very, very thankful.

I can only report on things to this date. She is not finished yet. We know she is not completely well yet, but we feel that what we are doing, coupled with the prayers of God's people has been a good decision so far.

Based on what we have experienced, and what I've learned from others so far, I would suggest these things when dealing with Lyme:

1. Juice Plus. This is a good fruit and vegetable boost from whole plants that is so important to take for the immune system.

2. A good probiotic. Your stomach is like your second brain, say some experts, The probiotic seems to  help Angela's stomach to feel well, and digest her food easier. I don't know why all this is, but perhaps the lauric acid from the coconut (the main ingredient of Monolaurin), caused her stomach some distress. We chose a probiotic from Hallelujah Acres, since we were familiar with that company and feel they are trustworthy. I'm told not all probiotics are the same quality and that some of the sources for ingredients are not of good repute. Do your homework.

3. Monolaurin for killing the Lyme and Biofibrin for tearing away the biofilm.

4. Plant strong eating. I feel this is so important for everyone, but especially someone struggling with a disease. We eat alot of whole plant foods, poor man's fare, if you will. Again, an internet search will give you good information on this, if you want to know more.

5. Lots of rest. Let the patient off the hook from regular household chores, inviting them to help where they can, but letting them rest and telling them it's ok!

6. Lots of prayer.

7. Much understanding and love from the family for the one dealing with Lyme. It is a hard thing to understand, but God's love covers a multitude of faults (and a Lyme patient does not always even know they have extra large faults during their time of healing).

8. Trust in God. There were times I wondered how in the world I could stand to see my child struggle, and I wept many tears in my bedroom! But trusting the Lord with our children's health is so important to our own health and sanity.

9. Learn to be ok to say no to responsibility if you must, so that you can deal with the 'halt' that comes  to life when Lyme affects your family. It is ok to say no. It is a must sometimes to say no. Again, ask the Lord for wisdom to know what to do.

10. Don't be swayed by the multitude. Just ask the Lord how to deal with things, be careful who you talk to about these things (unless you don't mind an onslaught of advice, some knowledgeable and some not), and be humble. God will show you what to do.

11. Exercise. Angela started exercising  minutes a day, and noticed almost immediate improvement. She now exercises regularly, 15-20 minutes of various cardio and strength training exercises. Exercise helps the body to move toxins out and keeps depression at bay.

I wish that this would all be over already and that I could say that we are totally out of the woods. But we are not. I am excited to see what the Lord will do in the next six months, and hopefully I'll be able to share with you then what the second half year of treatment looked like.

Until then, we are trusting God and thanking Him for the healing we have already seen.