^{Part Three of Four}

I want to say that it was the morning after connecting with my mom that I woke up and looked around my room and for the first time I thought to myself – I think I’m in the hospital.  And when Jim got there that day, we had a conversation where I was asking him why I was there?  And he would answer with statements like, “I would tell you if I could” or “we don’t know why this is happening”.  Both very appropriate answers for the question I asked.  However, you must understand that I was coming out of this blackness with very little recollection of the past weeks and my world was not how I remembered it.  A better answer from my husband would have been something like, “I came home from work and you weren’t yourself, we came to the hospital to check you out and we have been trying to figure it out for the past weeks.  Do you remember any of that?”

This exchange is one that I...

_{Part Two of Four}

So began my five weeks and one day stay at St Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. During the early weeks that I was in the hospital I remember bits and pieces.  It was as though I would come in and out of times of awareness but as far as wanting to communicate with anyone that was a no-brainer.  I didn’t have the energy or the desire to let others in.  They tell me I stopped talking completely.  I was even diagnosed at one point as being catatonic because all I would do throughout the day was sit there and not speak to anyone.  I had no malicious intent by not speaking, in my mind I just needed a moment of quiet, of peace, some stillness to just take a breath.

During those first few weeks they were doing their doctorly thing and running every test they could think of trying to figure out what was going on.  I wasn’t really communicating with anyone at that time.  I underwent constant blood work....

_{Part One of Four}

 Come listen to a story ‘bout a woman named Becky

A middle-class professional barley maintaining her sanity

And then one day she was sooo de-energized

That she broke with reality and ended up hospitalized

Five weeks that is, stopped communicating, was in her own world.

Why I started this blog with a little throw back to my youth watching episodes of “The Beverly Hillbillies” I don’t know.  Or maybe I do.  Stay tuned.

You know people talk about those life altering events?  Well, this was mine.  The year was 2014, February 21^st.  We had just gotten dumped with snow.  Plows were out doing their thing.  I got up to get ready for my day ahead seeing only one client that day.  Usually, I don’t hold office hours on Friday.  But this particular day I had made an exception.  My husband had worked a night shift so when he got home that morning around 8am he found me wandering...

Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits near the front of your throat.  In a healthy individual you would never really notice it being there.  Its job is to create hormones that help to regulate your body's metabolism.  It also plays a role in your immune function, affecting levels of sex hormones in your system, energy levels and much more.

Many of us have heard about the autoimmune disorders called Hashimoto's disease and Graves' disease.  Both are the result of a thyroid gland that is either not working hard enough or working too hard, respectively.  It all has to do with how much thyroid hormone is being produced.  Not enough leads to Hashimoto's (hypothyroidism) and too much leads to Graves' (hyperthyroidism).

A third condition that can develop in the thyroid gland is Goiter.  This is a non-cancerous enlargement of the thyroid gland because of insufficient iodine in the diet.  Sources of iodine in the diet could include...

Bibliotherapy is the use of books to encourage healing, improve emotional wellness and treat mental disorders. The concept is not new. In ancient Greece, the library of Thebes was considered “a healing place for the soul.”

In 1916, Atlantic Monthly published an article called “A Literary Clinic” where the author shares a conversation with friend, Bagster, who ran “Bibliopathic Institute: Book Treatment by Competent Specialists.” Bagster explained that not all books have a therapeutic effect, but some he considered “stimulants” which “do not so much furnish us with thoughts as set us thinking. They awaken faculties which we had allowed to be dormant. After reading them we actually feel differently and frequently we act differently. The book is a spiritual event.” 

Johns Hopkins University School of Education indicates that bibliotherapy applies to using fiction, but Welsh psychiatrist Neil Frude expands that...

I went through my life believing that the empathy I felt for people in challenging situations was enough for me to know what they were going through.  Boy…was I wrong!

I felt sympathy for many of my friends and family members when they lost a parent or a sibling.  I understood that life would be tough for a while, but then they would move on and life would continue.  After losing my mother in 2010, I gained a much deeper understanding of what it was to lose a parent.  And then again in 2015 I was presented with the emotional roller-coaster of losing a sibling. 

Now I am facing a new challenge…caring for my aging father.  I’m not in it alone.  My two sisters and I lean on each other and are always trying to do what is right and best for my daddy.  But we do have our struggles. 

Two and one-half years ago, my dad was diagnosed with dementia.  He has his good days and his bad days.  Then add in the year we have...

We did it!  We made it through the year 2020, we made it through the holidays, and now we are on to tackling 2021.  During the past year I would often hear people talking about getting back to “normal”.  Well, I’d like to invite you, dear reader, to entertain the idea of moving forward to a better, bolder, new way of living in a new world!

What gift will you give yourself this year?  For me, I am creating a healthier lifestyle.  Goals that I have for myself include trying my hand at a vegetable garden again this year, being mindful of the things that go into my body – foods, drinks, body care products, and expanding my spiritual health through meditation and other practices.

I know…it sounds like a pretty typical list of new year resolutions doesn’t it.  But for some reason they are resonating differently for me.  Maybe it is because of some things I learned over the past year, things I was reminded of, or maybe...

I believe that while you can't change the strength of an infection, you can change the strength of your immune system.  Here are 10 things you can do today to boost your immune system:

1. Practice good hygiene.  Of course, hand washing is a key to stopping the spread of bacteria and viruses.  The CDC recommends scrubbing your hands for 20 seconds with soap and warm water.  Some less obvious good hygiene practices include replacing your toothbrush, washing your pillowcases and sanitizing your phone.
2. Mineralize your water.  It's important to stay hydrated on any day, but especially during cold and flu season and the pandemic we're currently experiencing.  I recommend no less than 48-60 oz of clean water per  day.  Your body also needs minerals.  By adding pH Concentrated Minerals, you get a daily dose of absorbable minerals necessary for an optimally functioning immune system.
3. Cut out sugar.   Sugar is one of the most inflammatory...