How to get well sooner

I was scared I might have terminal cancer last year. The doctors and holistic practitioners gave me herbs, X-rays, blood tests and a maze of treatments. My body wasn’t well. I was either plugged up or letting go. (You know what I mean.) I’ll spare you the details.

I went to physicians and nutritionists. I took citrate magnesium (which definitely cleared up my colon — at all hours of the day or night.) I went to practitioners wanting to put something up me or down me.

Finally one day I was exhausted and blown away in more ways than one. I blurted out my problems to everyone I could find, hoping for something besides a terrible diagnosis. One day my friend in Arizona mentioned that when she got “all stopped up” or her stomach hurt, she drank a blender drink with celery, flaxseed, parsley and plenty of water.

I thought, “Well, try everything once. Doctors aren’t the only cure.”

I was fine the day after downing that celery drink. But, the one thing I learned after that escapade was that community has a wealth of information. Healing isn’t always “cut and dried.” You just have to persevere and try things. Sometimes a cure is right around the next corner.

And there can be surprises. One woman I read about lived a long and happy life. Her son wrote about it: “My mother-in-law recently passed away. While clearing her house, we came across her co-op order: eight pounds of sugar every week. She died at 98.” Perhaps all that sugar preserved her.

Really, you never know. The medical establishment can be as mixed up as the Trump administration. I went to my doctor last week to find a sign on the door, “gone due to emergency.” Really? What about me? I wondered.

The health system is pretty mixed up these days. Good doctors try to help and thank God one saved me this winter at our emergency hospital with a scary flu bug. But doctors can misdiagnose us or offer tremendous relief — as long as we can afford it.

Anyway, with high levels of toxins, and higher healthcare expenses, getting well takes a village. Like the other day, I ran into a neighbor walking his dog. He said the pooch almost died last month of cancer but they put him on special foods, including organic apples. The dog is now galloping along. Amazing how wellness can arise when we remove poisoned sprays and GMOs.

I am sure these days we all have health stories. I never thought I’d be having conversations the way my parents used to, about creaky body parts, ills and medicine.

But here we are.

So, one more story: I was in agony with back pain so the doctor gave me morphine. It turned out I was allergic to the drug. (My luck.) I tried everything. I was anxious about the hospital because I know people can drop dead there from infections. I went to physical therapy and tried everything else, laying in the backseat of the car while people drove me places. What happened?

A friend dropped off an article by Dr. Sarno in New York. My back pain was gone the next day. I was fine again – went walking, gardening and dancing. Just like a rabbit! Well, not quite, but hopping happily.

Another woman with a diagnosis of death from cancer took turkey tail mushroom capsules. Six months later her tumors disappeared. She is now approaching 92, cancer free.

It’s the same thing with mental health. Sometimes just the right idea or an unlikely bit of wisdom can change your life. I used to chase unavailable men until one therapist told me, “Stop it.” I thought she was dumb, but damn, it worked.

So, keep the faith if you feel ill and listen to odd and unexpected ideas for healing. You might be cured by doctors, or wild and weird alternatives. You never know.