Do I know? Do you know? What do you think? What do I think? Go up or down? Go right or left? Should I stay or should I go? Stem cell or no stem cell? Stay home or go out? Go home or stay out? I DONT KNOW!!! All these questions keep stirring around in my head. 6 months is plenty...I have experienced so much. 6 months is nothing...there is so much more to experience. The stem cell procedure has lots of data and is well researched. The stem cell procedure is so new; no one has even heard about it....
....So just thought I'd let you all know the latest answer in my decision making processes is....I DON'T KNOW.
What I do know is that it's late and I'm headed to bed. Good night Jody!....which means to all of you on the other side of the globe in America, Good Morning!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
A Day in the Life of Dr. Jody...
Got a 'memo' last night that I needed to arrive to work 30 minutes early today. (Okay, it was an 'email,' but for some reason I just felt like pretending it was the pre-email era of say 1983.) "Photo shoot with journalists." Okay. Whatever that means.
I arrived to work 30 minutes early and actually put a little make-up on (not part of this nature girl's normal daily routine but hey, why not). There were about 5 people in my office setting up lights, cameras...The hosts of some U.S. cable show called 'Spa Seekers' were visiting the resort for 3 days shooting a piece highlighting our resort...and I had been chosen to be their health consultant. What does that mean? That means that for the next 2 hours, I repeated the same 5 sentences of health advice over and over and over...with the camera to my right, to my left, focusing on the 2 young female hosts, focusing on me, focusing on my finger pointing at the brochure....Needless to say, any dreams I've ever had about becoming a famous movie star quickly evaporated into thin air when I quite swiftly learned how incredibly boring and monotonous it is to shoot probably what will end up being a 30 second clip! Anyway, it will air in the US on the Cable Vision channel in Jan '09....I suppose you could say it will be my 30 seconds of fame....Well no, I don't think so. That will be when I'm on Oprah talking about stem cell therapy...
Noon arrived. Lunch time. Headed out of my air conditioned office into the hot, humid air... that I truly love. (I have been cold in Seattle for years...sometimes even when the sun is out I was cold. Not here! The air warms me to my bones! I am sitting in my bedroom right now and its 80. I love it.) Anyway, walked the 3 minute stroll down the back alley that runs along the outer border of the resort into the staff cafeteria. Remember back in junior high, when you'd walk into the cafeteria and take a quick scan looking for perhaps 'the cool' table, or trying to decide which group of your friends to sit with? Well, when you walk into a cafeteria full of Thais speaking Thai, and then there is one little table of white skinned people speaking English, there really isn't much of a debate about where you're going to sit. I could sit at one of the two outside tables on the tiny little deck....with the smokers. So I got my food and went to have a seat at 'my' table.
My dear colleague Will was having a discussion about one of his morning patients. She fully acknowledged that she was obese and an alcoholic, that she wanted to do nothing about it, and that she was deeply happy with her life. Will stated what a load of bs that is because when one is a slave to an addiction, freedom and full contentment cannot coexist within that state of slavery. What followed was an excellent discussion. "There are many different levels to the human psyche," I said. "What if she was truly a slave in her earlier years and now she is free? Happiness is a relative thing. Perhaps being a slave was the most horrible experience she could ever dream of and now that she is free, she's elated. What was once just a dream, is now her reality." "But she doesn't see that she is not free. She is still a slave....now to her addiction." "Sure, she is an addict. But pain is also relative. Your pain, her pain, my pain... can never be measured apples to apples. The entirety of ones life's circumstances determine how one views life. It is never the event that is good or bad....only what each individual's take on it is real. Perfect example: movies. One person hates it. You love it.... it's always less about the movie than about how each person chooses to look at it. Such is true with everything in life.... Furthermore, defense mechanisms are powerful realities...so powerful that they can make people believe even the most absurd lies. Pain? What pain? I am blissfully happy....And so it is." The clock hit 12:50 and back to our little air conditioned offices we went.
Ring. Ring. "Jody, your next client is here." I walk down the hallway and greet, let's call her Susan (patient confidentiality...can't use real names). Susan has come to see me for a nutrition consultation. "I must lose 20 kilograms. I hate this (as she points to her body). Tell me what to eat. Tell me what to do for exercise. What tea should I drink? How do I get rid of cellulite? What massages should I get? How often? What else do I need to do? This body isn't me. I must lose 20 kilograms." I take a deep breath and assess the situation. The counseling side of me is coming up with a lot of ideas of how to proceed. Yet, I must realize that I have 50 minutes with this woman whom I will likely never see again. If she was a patient in MY practice, that would be one thing....I'd have much more time to work with the deeper issue at hand...of perhaps self hatred and fear. But in a ritzy resort, a lot of people wont be happy unless they, "just lose this weight!" Working here has been an excellent exercise in learning to work with patients where they are at. They have an agenda. I have an agenda. The art is finding out where the middle is....
With Susan, I just focused on answering her questions. "More fruits and vegetables is a good start. Here is a list of low and high sugar vegetables..." "Pumpkin is high sugar?! THAT is why I am fat! I eat pumpkin all the time!" "Well, Susan, 'high sugar' vegetables doesn't mean that you can never eat them. What it means is.....And as for this list of fruit, if you are having blood sugar level issues, you should probably limit your fruit intake to no more than 2-3 fruits a day." "Watermelon is on this list! I love watermelon! So I get to eat the whole watermelon as one fruit?!" "Well, actually sorry to make this confusing but no...." "My body doesn't feel good when I eat wheat so I only eat whole grain bread." "Well, Susan, 'whole grain' doesnt mean it doesnt contain wheat. 'Whole grain' just means that the wheat hasn't been refined...." Does anyone else see the humor in these basic, basic nutrition questions?!
It was a fun day. :-)
I arrived to work 30 minutes early and actually put a little make-up on (not part of this nature girl's normal daily routine but hey, why not). There were about 5 people in my office setting up lights, cameras...The hosts of some U.S. cable show called 'Spa Seekers' were visiting the resort for 3 days shooting a piece highlighting our resort...and I had been chosen to be their health consultant. What does that mean? That means that for the next 2 hours, I repeated the same 5 sentences of health advice over and over and over...with the camera to my right, to my left, focusing on the 2 young female hosts, focusing on me, focusing on my finger pointing at the brochure....Needless to say, any dreams I've ever had about becoming a famous movie star quickly evaporated into thin air when I quite swiftly learned how incredibly boring and monotonous it is to shoot probably what will end up being a 30 second clip! Anyway, it will air in the US on the Cable Vision channel in Jan '09....I suppose you could say it will be my 30 seconds of fame....Well no, I don't think so. That will be when I'm on Oprah talking about stem cell therapy...
Noon arrived. Lunch time. Headed out of my air conditioned office into the hot, humid air... that I truly love. (I have been cold in Seattle for years...sometimes even when the sun is out I was cold. Not here! The air warms me to my bones! I am sitting in my bedroom right now and its 80. I love it.) Anyway, walked the 3 minute stroll down the back alley that runs along the outer border of the resort into the staff cafeteria. Remember back in junior high, when you'd walk into the cafeteria and take a quick scan looking for perhaps 'the cool' table, or trying to decide which group of your friends to sit with? Well, when you walk into a cafeteria full of Thais speaking Thai, and then there is one little table of white skinned people speaking English, there really isn't much of a debate about where you're going to sit. I could sit at one of the two outside tables on the tiny little deck....with the smokers. So I got my food and went to have a seat at 'my' table.
My dear colleague Will was having a discussion about one of his morning patients. She fully acknowledged that she was obese and an alcoholic, that she wanted to do nothing about it, and that she was deeply happy with her life. Will stated what a load of bs that is because when one is a slave to an addiction, freedom and full contentment cannot coexist within that state of slavery. What followed was an excellent discussion. "There are many different levels to the human psyche," I said. "What if she was truly a slave in her earlier years and now she is free? Happiness is a relative thing. Perhaps being a slave was the most horrible experience she could ever dream of and now that she is free, she's elated. What was once just a dream, is now her reality." "But she doesn't see that she is not free. She is still a slave....now to her addiction." "Sure, she is an addict. But pain is also relative. Your pain, her pain, my pain... can never be measured apples to apples. The entirety of ones life's circumstances determine how one views life. It is never the event that is good or bad....only what each individual's take on it is real. Perfect example: movies. One person hates it. You love it.... it's always less about the movie than about how each person chooses to look at it. Such is true with everything in life.... Furthermore, defense mechanisms are powerful realities...so powerful that they can make people believe even the most absurd lies. Pain? What pain? I am blissfully happy....And so it is." The clock hit 12:50 and back to our little air conditioned offices we went.
Ring. Ring. "Jody, your next client is here." I walk down the hallway and greet, let's call her Susan (patient confidentiality...can't use real names). Susan has come to see me for a nutrition consultation. "I must lose 20 kilograms. I hate this (as she points to her body). Tell me what to eat. Tell me what to do for exercise. What tea should I drink? How do I get rid of cellulite? What massages should I get? How often? What else do I need to do? This body isn't me. I must lose 20 kilograms." I take a deep breath and assess the situation. The counseling side of me is coming up with a lot of ideas of how to proceed. Yet, I must realize that I have 50 minutes with this woman whom I will likely never see again. If she was a patient in MY practice, that would be one thing....I'd have much more time to work with the deeper issue at hand...of perhaps self hatred and fear. But in a ritzy resort, a lot of people wont be happy unless they, "just lose this weight!" Working here has been an excellent exercise in learning to work with patients where they are at. They have an agenda. I have an agenda. The art is finding out where the middle is....
With Susan, I just focused on answering her questions. "More fruits and vegetables is a good start. Here is a list of low and high sugar vegetables..." "Pumpkin is high sugar?! THAT is why I am fat! I eat pumpkin all the time!" "Well, Susan, 'high sugar' vegetables doesn't mean that you can never eat them. What it means is.....And as for this list of fruit, if you are having blood sugar level issues, you should probably limit your fruit intake to no more than 2-3 fruits a day." "Watermelon is on this list! I love watermelon! So I get to eat the whole watermelon as one fruit?!" "Well, actually sorry to make this confusing but no...." "My body doesn't feel good when I eat wheat so I only eat whole grain bread." "Well, Susan, 'whole grain' doesnt mean it doesnt contain wheat. 'Whole grain' just means that the wheat hasn't been refined...." Does anyone else see the humor in these basic, basic nutrition questions?!
It was a fun day. :-)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Should I Stay? Or Should I Go?
Becoming ill in a foreign country has a way of making one think that the only answer to the situation is to return home....which is exactly where I was last week. Feeling horrible for one week....and then another, made my head swell with reasons as to why NOW was an excellent time to come home; to return to the familiar, to the good ole USA, where doctors and all others around me actually understand me when I speak. After a round of blood tests, which came out normal, and a return to being able to get through my day without a profound need to lay down on the floor of my office periodically in hopes of gaining a bit of energy, I am now left with the memories of the absolute convinced position that it was time for me to go, versus the resurfaced opinions as to why I love it here. So the questions that remain, tossing back and forth like a tennis match in my head are, "Should I stay? Or should I go?"
Should I stay? I'll answer that one first. The sun! It shines brightly EVERYDAY. Being from Seattle, there isn't a single minute of the sunshine that I take for granted. The ocean waves dance for me all day long, right out my back door...Living by the beach is something I've always dreamed about. Meeting people from all over the world...Australia, England, Germany, India, Japan, China, Malaysia, Dubai, Ireland...(that's my list from just the past 2 weeks)...is fascinating. Helping people improve their health is what I've always wanted to do...and I'm getting lots of great feedback from my patients that I do it well. Living in another culture is interesting and helps me appreciate my American life even deeper. I have all my meals prepared for me. I am saving probably 90% of the money that I'm making. I dont have to buy gas (which I heard is now $4/ gallon?! Ekk!). I have no bills. Being here is a great resume builder. And truly, one of my most compelling reasons...I get at least one massage a week...and it costs me $9 for an hour....and that includes the tip.
Should I go? I haven't felt energetic for so many years I can't count; I'm sick of pushing myself through the day...I have money in the bank and open doors with open arms of love to stay at my mom's if I choose to return home. It would be a great time to put everything else on the back burner and put taking care of my health my absolute and only priority. I have great skills. I can take them anywhere. I will get another job. Better yet, I'll create my own job. What am I trying to prove by staying any longer? I have been here 5 months. It's been a great experience. Why should I stay longer? Just for 'more?' More money? More time? More experience? Why do I always push myself to 'do more?' Is 'more' really necessary? Or healthy? I think my new favorite word is, 'enough.'
Family and friends are the most important thing to me in my life. Community. Connection. I dont have much here. I certainly have no interest in planting roots in Asia. I would like to be married someday...ideally to someone who can pronounce my name correctly and speak English. Well let me tell ya, not many men fit that profile here. Sure, big wig rich guys walk into my office everyday...and their wives accompany them. My day off comes and I hang out by myself. I have been doing that for 5 months now. Enough, I say! Summer in Seattle is approaching... what a great time for renewal. It's been a great experience. I think I've had 'enough.'
So, you see, I think I have found my answer...I have been watching this tennis match in my head for about 2 weeks now...wanting to be sure it wasn't just "day 3 of summer camp," as one of my friends here kindly pointed out to me...that point where home sounds a lot better, but the fun hasn't started yet. Nope, its not day 3 of summer camp...I vividly remember hitting that around week 6 of being here. I've been patiently watching this tennis match in my head, wanting to be sure that going home wasn't because of any knee jerk reaction from not wanting to return to work after being on vacation; nor for wanting to run home because I was feeling sick. What I know for sure is that I'm sick of feeling sick. That's what's real to me. More money, more time, more resume building, more 'more'...none of it matters to me any longer.
But, not so fast...there's a catch. (There's always gotta be a catch, right?) I received an email this week. It was one of those, 'Wow, this is big,' emails...one that arrives in your inbox, oh lets say, maybe only a few times a year, if at all. It was from the stem cell company that I met in Bangkok two months ago. They offered me....the stem cell therapy ....for free. **&^%$#%^**&^#%!!!! That is to express my feelings for which there are no words for. And now I need to leave some blank space to represent more feelings for which there are not words for...
(......
..............)
Thanks to me, they are in negotiations with my resort to add the procedure to the list of our many treatment offerings for our guests (for its anti-aging benefits...see the previous blog entry "The Microsoft of Medical Advancements" for the full explanation of the procedure). Because the amount of time necessary for any decision at this resort to be made makes watching paint dry seem like an activity that goes so fast you wonder where the time went, waiting until the resort makes that decision....I might be 40 by then. So, what is under consideration right now is that the doctors fly out here to demo the procedure to the decision makers....and have ME as the patient. Yep. Me as THE patient. I think I need to leave some more blank space...
(......
................)
Should I do this?! Should I really do this?! This is the new tennis match in my head now. I have some time though before the winning thought must be declared, because before any of this happens, the following must occur: #1) our chairman needs to agree to find time in his schedule to meet with the doctors, #2) that time must coordinate with when the doctors can be here, #3) all parties must agree to allow the demo to take place here, #4) all parties need to agree to have ME be the patient, and last but not least, #5) I've got to decide if I really want to do this. Am I excited? Well, I'm sure I am somewhere inside this complex matrix of emotions that I have. But right now, to be honest, I'm mostly numb. How about fear? For any of you with some of that, please take a look at the following links:
http://www.stemcellguidance.com/
http://returninghope.inetasiapreview.com/treatment/Condition7.html
And with that, just some more blank space ...............................................
Should I stay? I'll answer that one first. The sun! It shines brightly EVERYDAY. Being from Seattle, there isn't a single minute of the sunshine that I take for granted. The ocean waves dance for me all day long, right out my back door...Living by the beach is something I've always dreamed about. Meeting people from all over the world...Australia, England, Germany, India, Japan, China, Malaysia, Dubai, Ireland...(that's my list from just the past 2 weeks)...is fascinating. Helping people improve their health is what I've always wanted to do...and I'm getting lots of great feedback from my patients that I do it well. Living in another culture is interesting and helps me appreciate my American life even deeper. I have all my meals prepared for me. I am saving probably 90% of the money that I'm making. I dont have to buy gas (which I heard is now $4/ gallon?! Ekk!). I have no bills. Being here is a great resume builder. And truly, one of my most compelling reasons...I get at least one massage a week...and it costs me $9 for an hour....and that includes the tip.
Should I go? I haven't felt energetic for so many years I can't count; I'm sick of pushing myself through the day...I have money in the bank and open doors with open arms of love to stay at my mom's if I choose to return home. It would be a great time to put everything else on the back burner and put taking care of my health my absolute and only priority. I have great skills. I can take them anywhere. I will get another job. Better yet, I'll create my own job. What am I trying to prove by staying any longer? I have been here 5 months. It's been a great experience. Why should I stay longer? Just for 'more?' More money? More time? More experience? Why do I always push myself to 'do more?' Is 'more' really necessary? Or healthy? I think my new favorite word is, 'enough.'
Family and friends are the most important thing to me in my life. Community. Connection. I dont have much here. I certainly have no interest in planting roots in Asia. I would like to be married someday...ideally to someone who can pronounce my name correctly and speak English. Well let me tell ya, not many men fit that profile here. Sure, big wig rich guys walk into my office everyday...and their wives accompany them. My day off comes and I hang out by myself. I have been doing that for 5 months now. Enough, I say! Summer in Seattle is approaching... what a great time for renewal. It's been a great experience. I think I've had 'enough.'
So, you see, I think I have found my answer...I have been watching this tennis match in my head for about 2 weeks now...wanting to be sure it wasn't just "day 3 of summer camp," as one of my friends here kindly pointed out to me...that point where home sounds a lot better, but the fun hasn't started yet. Nope, its not day 3 of summer camp...I vividly remember hitting that around week 6 of being here. I've been patiently watching this tennis match in my head, wanting to be sure that going home wasn't because of any knee jerk reaction from not wanting to return to work after being on vacation; nor for wanting to run home because I was feeling sick. What I know for sure is that I'm sick of feeling sick. That's what's real to me. More money, more time, more resume building, more 'more'...none of it matters to me any longer.
But, not so fast...there's a catch. (There's always gotta be a catch, right?) I received an email this week. It was one of those, 'Wow, this is big,' emails...one that arrives in your inbox, oh lets say, maybe only a few times a year, if at all. It was from the stem cell company that I met in Bangkok two months ago. They offered me....the stem cell therapy ....for free. **&^%$#%^**&^#%!!!! That is to express my feelings for which there are no words for. And now I need to leave some blank space to represent more feelings for which there are not words for...
(......
..............)
Thanks to me, they are in negotiations with my resort to add the procedure to the list of our many treatment offerings for our guests (for its anti-aging benefits...see the previous blog entry "The Microsoft of Medical Advancements" for the full explanation of the procedure). Because the amount of time necessary for any decision at this resort to be made makes watching paint dry seem like an activity that goes so fast you wonder where the time went, waiting until the resort makes that decision....I might be 40 by then. So, what is under consideration right now is that the doctors fly out here to demo the procedure to the decision makers....and have ME as the patient. Yep. Me as THE patient. I think I need to leave some more blank space...
(......
................)
Should I do this?! Should I really do this?! This is the new tennis match in my head now. I have some time though before the winning thought must be declared, because before any of this happens, the following must occur: #1) our chairman needs to agree to find time in his schedule to meet with the doctors, #2) that time must coordinate with when the doctors can be here, #3) all parties must agree to allow the demo to take place here, #4) all parties need to agree to have ME be the patient, and last but not least, #5) I've got to decide if I really want to do this. Am I excited? Well, I'm sure I am somewhere inside this complex matrix of emotions that I have. But right now, to be honest, I'm mostly numb. How about fear? For any of you with some of that, please take a look at the following links:
http://www.stemcellguidance.com/
http://returninghope.inetasiapreview.com/treatment/Condition7.html
And with that, just some more blank space ...............................................
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Born as a Risk Taker
I'm a risk taker. Risk takers, well, they take a lot of risks. Some decisions turn out great. Some don't. That's just the way it goes (...and that, as we all know is true for everyone in life, risk takers or not). But the more risks one takes, the more chances for success, adventure, and whatever other exciting direction it might lead to. And of course, the more chances for falling on ones face in failure as well.
After reading my last few blogs, some of you might be thinking, "Why the heck did she go to that horrible place?! and why did Jody send all this personal info out?! What was she thinking?!" Well, even I am asking those questions myself today, wondering if I made the right decisions...wondering if there is a lesson for me to learn in this.
Why did I go to that place? Well, because I didn't think it was going to be horrible of course. I took a risk. In my circle of naturopathic medicine, lots of people do 'detox' programs and generally they feel great afterwards. The physical place itself was quite beautiful....little bungalows on a secluded beach. I didn't know I was not going to be able to swim. I didn't know I was going to feel so horrible. I took a risk. Did it turn out good? or bad? Both, I guess. I'm a risk taker. I love taking risks. I get bored with life if I don't. So I guess it was good.
Why did I expose all that personal info? Well, because being real, telling the truth with nothing to hide, answering the question, "how are you today?" honestly...these are all things that I hold to be important in my life. They are a core part of who I am...and I think why many people love me...because I'm real. I speak my truth. I am bold. I don't hold back. Now, these traits might be the same traits as to why some people don't like me. "She's obnoxious. Why does she act that way? That is so inappropriate." So what do I do, be someone else to try to please everybody? Well, we all know that is never possible. So, I just choose to be me, love the people who love me, and let go of people who don't. Having said that, I also strive to be open...open to feedback, open to learning from my mistakes, open to apologizing when I need to apologize....Because being bold carries its risks. Being a bold risk taker is not the 'safe' way to go through life....but I sure have a lot of fun. :-)
After reading my last few blogs, some of you might be thinking, "Why the heck did she go to that horrible place?! and why did Jody send all this personal info out?! What was she thinking?!" Well, even I am asking those questions myself today, wondering if I made the right decisions...wondering if there is a lesson for me to learn in this.
Why did I go to that place? Well, because I didn't think it was going to be horrible of course. I took a risk. In my circle of naturopathic medicine, lots of people do 'detox' programs and generally they feel great afterwards. The physical place itself was quite beautiful....little bungalows on a secluded beach. I didn't know I was not going to be able to swim. I didn't know I was going to feel so horrible. I took a risk. Did it turn out good? or bad? Both, I guess. I'm a risk taker. I love taking risks. I get bored with life if I don't. So I guess it was good.
Why did I expose all that personal info? Well, because being real, telling the truth with nothing to hide, answering the question, "how are you today?" honestly...these are all things that I hold to be important in my life. They are a core part of who I am...and I think why many people love me...because I'm real. I speak my truth. I am bold. I don't hold back. Now, these traits might be the same traits as to why some people don't like me. "She's obnoxious. Why does she act that way? That is so inappropriate." So what do I do, be someone else to try to please everybody? Well, we all know that is never possible. So, I just choose to be me, love the people who love me, and let go of people who don't. Having said that, I also strive to be open...open to feedback, open to learning from my mistakes, open to apologizing when I need to apologize....Because being bold carries its risks. Being a bold risk taker is not the 'safe' way to go through life....but I sure have a lot of fun. :-)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
My Present Moment
written May 13, 2008
At this very moment, I am sitting at a beachside restaurant. My table and thus also my feet are in the sand. There is a palm tree immediately to my left, thus providing some shade, although its already a bit cloudy today. The clouds don’t mean its cold, of course. They just mean its less hot. The boat taxi from Koh Phangan, the island I’ve been on for my detox vacation over the past week, just dropped me off here about 20 minutes ago. No pier…we just pulled up right on the sand, and stepped off into the gently flowing waves.
This island I am now on, Koh Samui, is a famously beautiful island in Thailand; one of the top vacation spots in the country. This beach that I’m looking at right now stretches about a mile or two in each direction. Along its edge sits many other open-air, thatched roof restaurants and numerous quaint little bungalows, which probably cost around $30 per night. The town stretches out behind me. Light tan colored sand. Clear blue water. Various other dots of islands visible in the distance. A cruise ship far down to my right. Some small pleasure boats and taxi boats anchored right in front of me. I’m here because this is where the airport is located in order to fly to Bangkok, and then catch a two hour shuttle back to my ‘home’ in Hua Hin. My trip down here last week was much more arduous…overnight bus ride followed by a 4 hour bumpy boat ride. So after feeling as horrible as I have been, I knew I needed to give myself the gift of an airplane ride home instead! I have a few hours before I need to head to the airport, so I thought I’d take this moment to do a little writing….my new favorite hobby.
This past week of detoxing was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I can honestly say that I have never felt so horrible for an entire week in my entire life. But yes, I’m very glad I did it. It might have changed my life. Today I feel more clear-headed than I’ve ever felt. My stomach is flatter than it’s ever been. One key thing I learned (or I suppose I should say, was reminded of first hand because I already learned this in school…) was that the western lifestyle…high stress, pollutants in our foods, eating wrong foods, eating too much, etc…creates a very acidic environment in the body. Some of the biggest acid producing foods are red meat, alcohol, coffee, and sugar. Simply eating on the go, regardless if its healthy food or not, does not send the signal to the stomach to create the needed acid for digestion. That signal is only sent when we are in a relaxed state, the condition in which nature intended for us to eat. The body was not built to digest food and at the same time, be active.
So our western lifestyle…stress, improper foods, polluted foods, eating on the go…raises the acid level throughout the body. But acid’s very nature is one of destruction. Imagine pouring acid on your skin, on your cells. The only place we want high acid in our body is in our stomach. The acid properly serves there to breakdown our food in order for the nutrient’s to become available to our body. It also acts to kill any unwanted bacteria that enter our body from food, when we put our fingers in our mouth, from kissing, old toothbrushes, breath in someone else’s coughed out germs… When our stomach turns down its acid production, this unwanted bacteria get a free ticket to live in our body. Well, when a lifestyle is already creating an acidic environment throughout the body, the body certainly doesn’t want to continue creating its own acid. So it drastically shuts this process down.
What does this mean? It means that the nutrient levels in our body drop dramatically due to insufficient digestion and it means that unwanted bacteria are allowed to start living in the body. As for your intestinal lining, it needs to protect itself from this improper food stuffs entering into it, so it starts creating a mucous barrier along its surface. This further worsens the insufficient digestion problem because many digestive enzymes are located along this intestinal lining…but if food never comes into contact with them, it doesn’t get digested. Furthermore, this mucous lining becomes a perfect breeding ground for unwanted bacteria, parasites, and fungus. Hmm, where have we heard about this problem before?
Now, there is much debate amongst health professionals about this ‘mucoid plaque’ that may or may not form inside of our digestive tracts. So I can’t say this theory is sound but it’s an interesting theory nonetheless. What I can say is that we DO need acid in our stomach…to thoroughly digest our food and to kill unwanted bacteria, parasites and fungus that happen to enter our body via our mouth. Stress suppresses acid production….and thus the domino effect of poorly absorbed nutrients and the risk of bugs thriving in the body occurs.
Dating all the way back to the time of Hippocrates, the father of medicine, many wise doctors have said, “Disease starts in the digestive tract.” The nutrients, or lack there of, that every cell in our body is dependent on, originate from our digestive tract. Smoking kills. Drugs and alcohol kill. Everyone knows that. The great masked villain that everyone has come to accept so readily in our society is STRESS. What can you do today to take a break, put your feet up, and smile at how relaxed and peaceful you feel. Every cell in your body will thank you for it. I have a bunch more I want to write about but I’m going to take my own advice and go take a dip in the ocean. Ahhhhh. Bye for now!
At this very moment, I am sitting at a beachside restaurant. My table and thus also my feet are in the sand. There is a palm tree immediately to my left, thus providing some shade, although its already a bit cloudy today. The clouds don’t mean its cold, of course. They just mean its less hot. The boat taxi from Koh Phangan, the island I’ve been on for my detox vacation over the past week, just dropped me off here about 20 minutes ago. No pier…we just pulled up right on the sand, and stepped off into the gently flowing waves.
This island I am now on, Koh Samui, is a famously beautiful island in Thailand; one of the top vacation spots in the country. This beach that I’m looking at right now stretches about a mile or two in each direction. Along its edge sits many other open-air, thatched roof restaurants and numerous quaint little bungalows, which probably cost around $30 per night. The town stretches out behind me. Light tan colored sand. Clear blue water. Various other dots of islands visible in the distance. A cruise ship far down to my right. Some small pleasure boats and taxi boats anchored right in front of me. I’m here because this is where the airport is located in order to fly to Bangkok, and then catch a two hour shuttle back to my ‘home’ in Hua Hin. My trip down here last week was much more arduous…overnight bus ride followed by a 4 hour bumpy boat ride. So after feeling as horrible as I have been, I knew I needed to give myself the gift of an airplane ride home instead! I have a few hours before I need to head to the airport, so I thought I’d take this moment to do a little writing….my new favorite hobby.
This past week of detoxing was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I can honestly say that I have never felt so horrible for an entire week in my entire life. But yes, I’m very glad I did it. It might have changed my life. Today I feel more clear-headed than I’ve ever felt. My stomach is flatter than it’s ever been. One key thing I learned (or I suppose I should say, was reminded of first hand because I already learned this in school…) was that the western lifestyle…high stress, pollutants in our foods, eating wrong foods, eating too much, etc…creates a very acidic environment in the body. Some of the biggest acid producing foods are red meat, alcohol, coffee, and sugar. Simply eating on the go, regardless if its healthy food or not, does not send the signal to the stomach to create the needed acid for digestion. That signal is only sent when we are in a relaxed state, the condition in which nature intended for us to eat. The body was not built to digest food and at the same time, be active.
So our western lifestyle…stress, improper foods, polluted foods, eating on the go…raises the acid level throughout the body. But acid’s very nature is one of destruction. Imagine pouring acid on your skin, on your cells. The only place we want high acid in our body is in our stomach. The acid properly serves there to breakdown our food in order for the nutrient’s to become available to our body. It also acts to kill any unwanted bacteria that enter our body from food, when we put our fingers in our mouth, from kissing, old toothbrushes, breath in someone else’s coughed out germs… When our stomach turns down its acid production, this unwanted bacteria get a free ticket to live in our body. Well, when a lifestyle is already creating an acidic environment throughout the body, the body certainly doesn’t want to continue creating its own acid. So it drastically shuts this process down.
What does this mean? It means that the nutrient levels in our body drop dramatically due to insufficient digestion and it means that unwanted bacteria are allowed to start living in the body. As for your intestinal lining, it needs to protect itself from this improper food stuffs entering into it, so it starts creating a mucous barrier along its surface. This further worsens the insufficient digestion problem because many digestive enzymes are located along this intestinal lining…but if food never comes into contact with them, it doesn’t get digested. Furthermore, this mucous lining becomes a perfect breeding ground for unwanted bacteria, parasites, and fungus. Hmm, where have we heard about this problem before?
Now, there is much debate amongst health professionals about this ‘mucoid plaque’ that may or may not form inside of our digestive tracts. So I can’t say this theory is sound but it’s an interesting theory nonetheless. What I can say is that we DO need acid in our stomach…to thoroughly digest our food and to kill unwanted bacteria, parasites and fungus that happen to enter our body via our mouth. Stress suppresses acid production….and thus the domino effect of poorly absorbed nutrients and the risk of bugs thriving in the body occurs.
Dating all the way back to the time of Hippocrates, the father of medicine, many wise doctors have said, “Disease starts in the digestive tract.” The nutrients, or lack there of, that every cell in our body is dependent on, originate from our digestive tract. Smoking kills. Drugs and alcohol kill. Everyone knows that. The great masked villain that everyone has come to accept so readily in our society is STRESS. What can you do today to take a break, put your feet up, and smile at how relaxed and peaceful you feel. Every cell in your body will thank you for it. I have a bunch more I want to write about but I’m going to take my own advice and go take a dip in the ocean. Ahhhhh. Bye for now!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A New Direction in My Life? Hmmm....
May 11, 2008
Woke up on day 6 of my ‘tropical vacation’, still extremely nauseated like I’ve been since day 2, wondering how the heck I was going to make it through another day of feeling so relentlessly horrible. Thank God, at about 11am, the nausea lifted. Amen! The lack of desire to walk any further than 10 feet still remains (it’s day 7 now), but at least I can just relax in my hammock all day and enjoy the beautiful sights of the jungle. Since it’s the weekend, I’m assuming that I have not heard back yet from the doctor/author who I sent an email to (explained in my previous entry) so I haven’t checked. Also, I’m so excited to hear back, that I don’t want to be disappointed if there is no reply. So if I wait until Monday, there’s a greater chance that I’ll have received a reply. But you guys know me, I’m not giving up until I get an answer. I’ll find her.
So I’ve almost completed 7 days of this ‘total body cleanse’ and given that I still feel horrible (meaning that my body is still fighting to get rid of whatever I have inside that doesn’t belong there) my drive and determination to meet with this, “The cause of all disease is pollutants and parasites” doctor just keeps getting stronger. Perhaps she needs an intern? Perhaps I could study with her for a year or two? I’ve already thought of the endless list of people I could help. My dad’s friend and my aunt with their bizarre digestive issues for decades which have never been solved. The people I know with chronic depression. Maybe even those with high blood pressure or debilitating arthritis. It even gives the most interesting explanation for addictions I’ve ever heard.
There are so many conditions that people are chronically suffering from which the medical community of today has no answers to….just pain killers, anti-inflammatories…an endless list of expensive drugs that just suppress symptoms and attempt to make living with the issue more bearable. Show me one of them that finds and treats the cause. The parasite thing makes sense to me. Think about the dramatic decline in the quality of meat production in the past 20 years. Cows that live locked up in a cell their entire lives, never seeing sunlight or a green pasture on which to roam. Mad-cow disease. Cattle farms doing all they can to cut costs and feeding the cattle who-knows-what to save money…dead infected fellow cows in some cases.
And think about all the chemicals in our world today. None of these existed throughout the millions of years of human evolution until just the past 100 or so years. What’s in your toothpaste that you put in your mouth everyday? How about all the chemicals in soaps and detergents that we wash our hands, our clothes, our sheets, our dishes and even our silverware with? Don’t you love that ‘new car smell?’ Well, you’re inhaling a bunch of chemicals. Same thing is true for ‘air fresheners’ and scented candles. Got carpet in your house? It is one of the worst pollutants in your home, off-gassing its chemicals for up to 10 years. Pesticides are sprayed on your food. If you eat food out of a package, bottle, or can (which means its spent a good chunk of its life in a dirty manufacturing plant), you’re likely eating a mouthful of chemicals with every bite.
All I know is that I strongly feel a need to pursue learning more about the wisdom I have found in this book. The answers she gives to the causes of my various chronic ailments makes more sense to me than anything I’ve ever discovered. If its wisdom is sound, I just keep thinking of the amazing impact I could make on 100’s of people’s lives. Maybe I’ll be a key person to do so. Maybe discovering this is why I’ve come to Thailand. Or maybe, all has yet to be revealed…only time will tell.
…So another week has passed. I am home now. This doctor’s name is Dr. Hulda Clark. She now only treats seriously ill…mostly cancer and AIDS. I have called but no luck getting through. Her clinic is in Tijuana. Red flag! Right? To me, its not a red flag. I have a deep seated mis-trust in the true motives of our government/health care system. The pharmaceutical companies are in bed with the politicians. The amount of money Americans spend on pharmaceutical drugs is one of THE top drivers of the US economy. Any finding that threatens the ‘health’ of our economy by improving OUR health via a non-drug protocol is surely not going to be welcomed in this country, in my opinion.…especially if it is a major finding with potentially far reaching benefits. The bigger it’s potential, the greater the likelihood its findings will be smashed, suppressed, and all evidence sent away. I am definitely not a glass half-empty person. But sorry, in this case I have ZERO hope that a major medical finding, if it threatens the massive use of pharmaceutical drugs in any way, would be released in the US….ZERO chance.
There are practitioners all around the world that use ‘Dr. Clark’s protocols.’ She is even quite forthcoming with how she treats patients. Here is an interesting quote I found:
“The number of microscopic and non-microscopic invaders that are in the human body on a regular basis is truly astounding! What's even more astounding, though, is the fact that the medical establishment seems to be completely oblivious to their presence. The damage they do, however, is very real and is a major source of suffering for an almost completely unsuspecting public. The World Health Organization and other knowledgeable health groups around the world have stated that parasite infestation is the number one health problem in the world. Yet your friendly, local doctor is unaware for the most part. Or it may be that he is simply unwilling to spend time trying to convince people of the problem. In the United States we seem to believe that parasites are only problems for poor people from some third world country. We are too clean and civilized to ever have parasite problems. Think again! Recent studies published in major medical journals state that the average American is carrying around two pounds of parasites in their body. If you think you are immune to the problem, all I can say is ignorance may be bliss, but denial is the worst kind of stupidity. I don't mean to be too pushy or preachy here, but most people simple refuse to believe what is going on, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. And it's costing the American public dearly.”…Dennis Harwood.
Here’s the website: http://www.toolsforhealing.com/CD/Articles/D/DifferencesBetweenZappers.html It also talks about a device Dr. Clark uses that if I attempt to explain, I’m sure I’ll lose all of you to your own skepticism. Well, I’m going to buy one. She also uses a very well known list of anti-parasitic herbs, which I have ordered. So that’s my plan. I’m going to use “Dr. Clark’s anti-parasitic protocol’ and see how it goes. Stay tuned.
Woke up on day 6 of my ‘tropical vacation’, still extremely nauseated like I’ve been since day 2, wondering how the heck I was going to make it through another day of feeling so relentlessly horrible. Thank God, at about 11am, the nausea lifted. Amen! The lack of desire to walk any further than 10 feet still remains (it’s day 7 now), but at least I can just relax in my hammock all day and enjoy the beautiful sights of the jungle. Since it’s the weekend, I’m assuming that I have not heard back yet from the doctor/author who I sent an email to (explained in my previous entry) so I haven’t checked. Also, I’m so excited to hear back, that I don’t want to be disappointed if there is no reply. So if I wait until Monday, there’s a greater chance that I’ll have received a reply. But you guys know me, I’m not giving up until I get an answer. I’ll find her.
So I’ve almost completed 7 days of this ‘total body cleanse’ and given that I still feel horrible (meaning that my body is still fighting to get rid of whatever I have inside that doesn’t belong there) my drive and determination to meet with this, “The cause of all disease is pollutants and parasites” doctor just keeps getting stronger. Perhaps she needs an intern? Perhaps I could study with her for a year or two? I’ve already thought of the endless list of people I could help. My dad’s friend and my aunt with their bizarre digestive issues for decades which have never been solved. The people I know with chronic depression. Maybe even those with high blood pressure or debilitating arthritis. It even gives the most interesting explanation for addictions I’ve ever heard.
There are so many conditions that people are chronically suffering from which the medical community of today has no answers to….just pain killers, anti-inflammatories…an endless list of expensive drugs that just suppress symptoms and attempt to make living with the issue more bearable. Show me one of them that finds and treats the cause. The parasite thing makes sense to me. Think about the dramatic decline in the quality of meat production in the past 20 years. Cows that live locked up in a cell their entire lives, never seeing sunlight or a green pasture on which to roam. Mad-cow disease. Cattle farms doing all they can to cut costs and feeding the cattle who-knows-what to save money…dead infected fellow cows in some cases.
And think about all the chemicals in our world today. None of these existed throughout the millions of years of human evolution until just the past 100 or so years. What’s in your toothpaste that you put in your mouth everyday? How about all the chemicals in soaps and detergents that we wash our hands, our clothes, our sheets, our dishes and even our silverware with? Don’t you love that ‘new car smell?’ Well, you’re inhaling a bunch of chemicals. Same thing is true for ‘air fresheners’ and scented candles. Got carpet in your house? It is one of the worst pollutants in your home, off-gassing its chemicals for up to 10 years. Pesticides are sprayed on your food. If you eat food out of a package, bottle, or can (which means its spent a good chunk of its life in a dirty manufacturing plant), you’re likely eating a mouthful of chemicals with every bite.
All I know is that I strongly feel a need to pursue learning more about the wisdom I have found in this book. The answers she gives to the causes of my various chronic ailments makes more sense to me than anything I’ve ever discovered. If its wisdom is sound, I just keep thinking of the amazing impact I could make on 100’s of people’s lives. Maybe I’ll be a key person to do so. Maybe discovering this is why I’ve come to Thailand. Or maybe, all has yet to be revealed…only time will tell.
…So another week has passed. I am home now. This doctor’s name is Dr. Hulda Clark. She now only treats seriously ill…mostly cancer and AIDS. I have called but no luck getting through. Her clinic is in Tijuana. Red flag! Right? To me, its not a red flag. I have a deep seated mis-trust in the true motives of our government/health care system. The pharmaceutical companies are in bed with the politicians. The amount of money Americans spend on pharmaceutical drugs is one of THE top drivers of the US economy. Any finding that threatens the ‘health’ of our economy by improving OUR health via a non-drug protocol is surely not going to be welcomed in this country, in my opinion.…especially if it is a major finding with potentially far reaching benefits. The bigger it’s potential, the greater the likelihood its findings will be smashed, suppressed, and all evidence sent away. I am definitely not a glass half-empty person. But sorry, in this case I have ZERO hope that a major medical finding, if it threatens the massive use of pharmaceutical drugs in any way, would be released in the US….ZERO chance.
There are practitioners all around the world that use ‘Dr. Clark’s protocols.’ She is even quite forthcoming with how she treats patients. Here is an interesting quote I found:
“The number of microscopic and non-microscopic invaders that are in the human body on a regular basis is truly astounding! What's even more astounding, though, is the fact that the medical establishment seems to be completely oblivious to their presence. The damage they do, however, is very real and is a major source of suffering for an almost completely unsuspecting public. The World Health Organization and other knowledgeable health groups around the world have stated that parasite infestation is the number one health problem in the world. Yet your friendly, local doctor is unaware for the most part. Or it may be that he is simply unwilling to spend time trying to convince people of the problem. In the United States we seem to believe that parasites are only problems for poor people from some third world country. We are too clean and civilized to ever have parasite problems. Think again! Recent studies published in major medical journals state that the average American is carrying around two pounds of parasites in their body. If you think you are immune to the problem, all I can say is ignorance may be bliss, but denial is the worst kind of stupidity. I don't mean to be too pushy or preachy here, but most people simple refuse to believe what is going on, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. And it's costing the American public dearly.”…Dennis Harwood.
Here’s the website: http://www.toolsforhealing.com/CD/Articles/D/DifferencesBetweenZappers.html It also talks about a device Dr. Clark uses that if I attempt to explain, I’m sure I’ll lose all of you to your own skepticism. Well, I’m going to buy one. She also uses a very well known list of anti-parasitic herbs, which I have ordered. So that’s my plan. I’m going to use “Dr. Clark’s anti-parasitic protocol’ and see how it goes. Stay tuned.
My Week in The Jungle
May 4th, 2008
The all night bus ride was not exactly relaxing. Nor was the three hour bumpy boat ride where the shipmates were walking around handing out plastic bags and paper towels to those passengers looking a bit green…myself included. (Never needed it though, luckily.) The boat dropped me off at a busy pier on this little tropical island called Koh Phangan. I jump on a motorbike taxi and for the next 20 minutes, get a fantastic tour of the island. The sights are right out of a movie shot on a quintessential tropical island…The lushness of the jungle, the rock formations along the beach, the crystal blue water…and man is it hilly. I didn’t think this little motor bike was going to make it up some of the hills. They made the hills of downtown Seattle look flat. But I made it.
I arrive at the next town called Had Rien, home of the world famous Full Moon Party. For some reason, the beach here is one of the best places in the world to see the full moon. For years now, Had Rien has been the home to this monthly “Full Moon Party.” The entire beach becomes packed with partiers…musicians, fire dancers, tourists, locals…dancing all night long….From what I can grasp, it becomes like a mini-Burning Man festival. This party has become so popular and famous that they had to start a ‘Half-Moon Party’…and then a ‘Quarter-Moon Party’…thus now there is a party every weekend. And with as many tourists as there are in Thailand, its packed week after week, all year round.
But I’m not here for the Full Moon Party, nor the ‘Half’ or ‘Quarter’ for that matter. I jump onto one of the taxi boats, similar in shape and size to the gondolas of Venice, and head to my destination over on the next bay which is only accessible by boat, The Sanctuary….and that is exactly what it is.
The private little beach curves inward with huge rock formations at both ends creating a feeling of being cradled into its presence. The lush jungle reaches all the way to the beach. The resort is literally built into the hillside amongst the flora of the jungle. I am taken to my little stand alone bungalow on its four stilts, with my own deck. The hammock is perfectly situated for admiring the huge hibiscus plant with its gorgeous red blossoms right in front of my bungalow. I’m in heaven…kind of.
This place is a detox center…detox not in the terms of coming off drugs or alcohol…but ‘detox’ in terms of taking a break from all the chemicals, dirty air, busyness, less than ideal foods…that have become the norm in life for most of the world today. Some of you may be thinking, “Jody, you are the picture of health. You exercise all the time. You eat healthfully. You’re the last person in the world to need a ‘detox’ vacation.” Well, truth be told, I haven’t felt really vibrant for years. Med school exhausted me….day after day I had to keep telling myself, “Keep going Jody, you will graduate eventually…just keep going.” I used to love to go out but going to bed has felt like the more attractive option for years. Additionally, I have been constipated since I have been here. I have up-ed the veggies, up-ed the water, I exercise regularly…but no regular BMs, truth be told. Its really been worrisome for me. So here I am, ‘detoxing’ in the jungle.
Today is day 4 and this is what I’ve been doing: I drink 4 betonite clay + psyllium husk shakes a day. Take a veggie juice everyday at 3. Herbal nutrition and intestinal cleaner 5 times a day. Yoga everyday at 10 (missed it this morning though because getting out of bed felt like a feat in itself). Veggie broth for dinner every night at 7. And of course the best part, a massage or body scrub or lymph brush or facial everyday…which I’m off to go do right now! So, I’ll be back in a bit!
The all night bus ride was not exactly relaxing. Nor was the three hour bumpy boat ride where the shipmates were walking around handing out plastic bags and paper towels to those passengers looking a bit green…myself included. (Never needed it though, luckily.) The boat dropped me off at a busy pier on this little tropical island called Koh Phangan. I jump on a motorbike taxi and for the next 20 minutes, get a fantastic tour of the island. The sights are right out of a movie shot on a quintessential tropical island…The lushness of the jungle, the rock formations along the beach, the crystal blue water…and man is it hilly. I didn’t think this little motor bike was going to make it up some of the hills. They made the hills of downtown Seattle look flat. But I made it.
I arrive at the next town called Had Rien, home of the world famous Full Moon Party. For some reason, the beach here is one of the best places in the world to see the full moon. For years now, Had Rien has been the home to this monthly “Full Moon Party.” The entire beach becomes packed with partiers…musicians, fire dancers, tourists, locals…dancing all night long….From what I can grasp, it becomes like a mini-Burning Man festival. This party has become so popular and famous that they had to start a ‘Half-Moon Party’…and then a ‘Quarter-Moon Party’…thus now there is a party every weekend. And with as many tourists as there are in Thailand, its packed week after week, all year round.
But I’m not here for the Full Moon Party, nor the ‘Half’ or ‘Quarter’ for that matter. I jump onto one of the taxi boats, similar in shape and size to the gondolas of Venice, and head to my destination over on the next bay which is only accessible by boat, The Sanctuary….and that is exactly what it is.
The private little beach curves inward with huge rock formations at both ends creating a feeling of being cradled into its presence. The lush jungle reaches all the way to the beach. The resort is literally built into the hillside amongst the flora of the jungle. I am taken to my little stand alone bungalow on its four stilts, with my own deck. The hammock is perfectly situated for admiring the huge hibiscus plant with its gorgeous red blossoms right in front of my bungalow. I’m in heaven…kind of.
This place is a detox center…detox not in the terms of coming off drugs or alcohol…but ‘detox’ in terms of taking a break from all the chemicals, dirty air, busyness, less than ideal foods…that have become the norm in life for most of the world today. Some of you may be thinking, “Jody, you are the picture of health. You exercise all the time. You eat healthfully. You’re the last person in the world to need a ‘detox’ vacation.” Well, truth be told, I haven’t felt really vibrant for years. Med school exhausted me….day after day I had to keep telling myself, “Keep going Jody, you will graduate eventually…just keep going.” I used to love to go out but going to bed has felt like the more attractive option for years. Additionally, I have been constipated since I have been here. I have up-ed the veggies, up-ed the water, I exercise regularly…but no regular BMs, truth be told. Its really been worrisome for me. So here I am, ‘detoxing’ in the jungle.
Today is day 4 and this is what I’ve been doing: I drink 4 betonite clay + psyllium husk shakes a day. Take a veggie juice everyday at 3. Herbal nutrition and intestinal cleaner 5 times a day. Yoga everyday at 10 (missed it this morning though because getting out of bed felt like a feat in itself). Veggie broth for dinner every night at 7. And of course the best part, a massage or body scrub or lymph brush or facial everyday…which I’m off to go do right now! So, I’ll be back in a bit!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The 'Microsoft' of Medical Advancements
Some random day, early 1970’s: A young boy, by the name of Bill Gates is sitting at a table with his friend, Steve, and few others. They are discussing this ‘thingy’ they want to create…
Bill: Its like a typewriter but bigger, faster.
Always-negative friend: Why would you want something bigger than a typewriter?
Bill: It can hold lots of info, maybe even more than an entire volume of an encyclopedia. You could use it to write a book, to write a letter, to save any written document you could ever dream of wanting to save…all in this one ‘thingy.’ It will even be able to do math if you want it to.
One of much doubt: If it’s like all other machines, it will break down and the math wont be accurate.
Bill: It will be able to double check itself. It will even be able to tell you if you spelled something rong.
Skeptical voice: Operating it will be incredibly complicated. Nobody would be able to handle it.
Steve: Anyone will be able to use it. All ages. Students will need it. Retirees will want to play with it. And everyone else, everyone will have one.
Naysayer friend: Well then, even if that is true, which it’s not, you certainly wouldn’t be able to produce enough to keep up with the demand.
Steve: That wont be an issue. Production will take care of itself…because we will be using ‘it’ to run everything. Businesses will be able to organize all of their operations with it…they will eventually not be able to survive without one.
Naysayer friend: Don’t be ridiculous. That’s thinking a bit too big, don’t you think?
Bill: Nope. It’s going to be huge…. change the world. And anything you naysayers have to say, go ahead. Just watch me…
One of much doubt: rolls his eyes… “ Lunch, anyone?”
Fast forward to April 8th, 2008. I, Dr. Jody Stanislaw, am sitting at an elegant table in an executive boardroom in one of Bangkok’s many 5 star hotels. I am accompanied by four other men. Brian Dardzinski is the man I just serendipitously met last week in Hua Hin (the town I now call home), when I happened to mention I have diabetes. He then tells me he is involved in stem cell research and invites me to join him in Bangkok next week to meet some of the doctors he works with. Brian introduces me to the other three men. Dr. Bill Paspaliaris is a pharmacist. James is the the guy with the money, aka the investor. John is the marketing guy. The three have an office in Hong Kong and in the Philippines. Being that Thailand is fast becoming the hot spot in the world for medical tourism, they have come to Bangkok for a few days in hopes of bringing their work here.
When I was invited, I had no idea really what to expect. Brian’s sister died of type 1 Diabetes so I knew he had a soft spot for helping other diabetics. I figured I’d just be having coffee or lunch with the doctors…just 30 minutes or so to pick their brains to find out what’s going on with stem cell research and its potential for curing diabetes. And hey, it’s a good excuse to take the three hour drive up to Bangkok to check out what “One Night in Bangkok, and the World’s Your Oyster…” that I’ve heard about for decades, is all about.
So, I arrive in this elegant boardroom…not exactly the coffee shop or lunch spot I was expecting. All the men are in proper business attire….I’m in a t-shirt and baseball hat. “Okay, just be yourself Jody. No big deal.” I was a bit embarrassed, to say the least. Oh well. After the introductions, they pull down the movie screen and for the next TWO hours, we have a discussion about this new process called, “Autologous Adipose Tissue Stem Cell Transplantation.”
I will do my best to give you the bottom line of our discussion but before I do, let me explain to you a bit of human biology. You are a body of cells. In every moment throughout your lifetime, cells are dying and new ones are born. This phenomenon only ceases once ultimate death arrives. Even our ‘solid’ bone tissue continually undergoes this process. So, it makes sense that stem cells exist all throughout our bodies. How does a broken bone heal? Stem cells become activated and new bone is made. Have you ever thought about how your skin heals after you get a cut? Stem cells housed in the skin are activated. Anytime there is damage in the body, the damaged cells send out chemical messengers to activate stem cells to arrive on the scene and create new cells.
Embryonic stem cells have been a topic of great debate because these cells are almost totally ‘undifferentiated,’ which means they have the potential to turn into almost any cell in the body. Once cells mature, their potential becomes narrower and narrower as to the range of cell type that they can turn into. Yet new sources of stem cells are being discovered in the body….so hopefully the never ending debate…is it ethical to use stem cells from embryos or not…will hopefully soon be a thing of the past.
Everyone has heard of bone marrow being a rich source of stem cells. Well scientists from around the world have been dabbling in experiments using another healthy source: adipose tissue, or more commonly referred to as, FAT. And that is exactly what I learned all about, while I was sitting in my t-shirt and baseball hat in an elegant boardroom in Bangkok last weekend…
To explain the procedure is a very simple task…because the procedure itself is simple. Fat is removed via liposuction, which is a simple in-patient procedure using local anesthetic. The fat is dissolved and the stem cells are purified (takes about an hour). Protein peptides are then added to them to turn them from dormant cells into ‘activated’ cells (takes about another hour). The activated cells are then put back into the body using a simple IV into the arm. The activated stem cells are then drawn to wherever there is damage in the body (because, as I explained earlier, damaged cells secrete chemical messengers that say to the body, “come help and fix me please”).
They have data on almost 200 people over the last two years….two with MS, one with cerebral palsy, parkinsons….37 type 2 diabetes, and (drum roll please) 3 type 1 diabetics. The 37 type 2s have all had significant drops in their blood sugar levels…the same is true for the type 1’s. I am in the process of getting the contact info for these three…because all I know so far is that they have cut back on their insulin. Two big questions arise. The first is, having had diabetes for almost 30 years, is there an adequate amount of chemical messengers still being secreted from my pancreas to direct the activated stem cells to arrive there and make new insulin producing cells? The second is, the whole reason why I have diabetes in the first place is because my immune system thinks its supposed to kill my insulin producing cells….which it was activated to do 27 years ago….so will it do it again? Well the doctor said ‘yes’ to the first question and had an answer for this later question…a procedure in which he explained the immune system can be retrained to accept the new cells and not attack them….but that is a much more complicated story that I’ll save for another time.
However, in the meantime, if this really works, I don’t care if my immune system eventually kills my new cells….being able to live as a non-diabetic and just have two shots of new stem cells a year (or whatever the amount needed to keep some working insulin producing cells in me) sure beats 10 shots a day and all the other headaches, literally and figuratively, involved with this disease!
So you might also be asking, ‘Why did these docs want to spend two hours with me?” That’s exactly what I was asking too! Well you see, if relatively healthy people get this procedure done, they experience all the anti-aging benefit that hmm, perhaps the guests where I work would like….improved energy, decreased blood pressure, improved skin tone, regrowth of hair for men, increased sex drive, loss of weight….So of course, when they heard I worked at one of the best spas in Asia, they were just as eager to meet me as I were to meet them. A great win-win you could say! Well, sure enough, I’ve already set up a meeting for them to meet with my boss, who is already sold on the idea of stem cell therapy for anti-aging. So what I envision is that my resort signs on with this company, thus the docs will need to come out and do some training….and need subjects to work on. Hello!
So for those of you who are like Bill Gates’s skeptical and always-negative friends, I have lots of info for you to check out to show you the legitimacy of this procedure. Click on … www.cytoritx.com to read about a company that is traded on the NASDAQ that uses this same procedure. And google “ Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation” for more.
One last note….a week has passed since starting to write this entry and I’ve already spoken with one of the type 1’s who’s had this procedure. He is the nephew of the main doc who does the procedure in the Philippines. He is 23 and has had diabetes for 7 years. He had the procedure done about 3 months ago and his insulin needs have dropped by over 50%...and continue to do so. He had nothing but positive things to say about his experience. The procedure was simple. He felt safe with every aspect of it. And although the answer of if he will reach the point where no insulin is needed….and for who knows how long…has yet to be answered, he sees nothing but benefit from it thus far.
How do I end entry like this? I have an article dated 1983 (3 years after I was diagnosed) stating that there will be a cure for diabetes in 5 years. I held on to that article for those following 5 years, and the next 5 years, and the next…I still have it in my little silver box with other childhood memorabilia. At first, it made me excited and hopeful. Then somewhere along the way, I became sad and discouraged. Since then, I have built a wall inside myself around any excitement that may arise from word of new advancements promising a cure for this dis-ease that I have lived with everyday of my life for almost 30 years. Yet, this procedure feels more real than anything I’ve read about in the past 27 years. It doesn’t feel like an empty promise with some bs future projection about its potential success. The list of medical conditions that could benefit seems infinite. I think the title, ‘The Microsoft of Medical Advancements,’ is very apropos. Everyone has heard about stem cell therapy. Lost fingers are being regrown. New organs are being made. A man has been cured of his debilitating MS…once in a wheel chair, and now walking like the rest of us. All these stories are growing in number everyday. Just take a look on YouTube. There are a ton of them. Perhaps the next one will be a clip of me giving a lecture….”Hi, my name is Dr. Jody Stanislaw. I used to have Type 1 Diabetes….”
Even as I write this, I am suppressing my excitement. The disappointment of empty promises has been heavy. Instead, I have dealt with my diabetes by thanking it for the life lessons it has taught me…that life isn’t meant to be perfect. That there are gifts in life’s challenges that make us stronger and that make life more meaningful. I thank it for what a fantastic doctor I am. I can relate to other’s illnesses from a core level…not just because I read about it in a text book. But I must say, I have had a deep sense inside myself for about 4 or 5 years now that I WILL know life without diabetes again, just like I did for the first 7 years of my life. Perhaps that time is nearer than I think. “Hi, my name is Dr. Jody Stanislaw. I USED to have Type 1 Diabetes.” Wow, that feels surreal. Does anyone have Oprah’s phone number?
Bill: Its like a typewriter but bigger, faster.
Always-negative friend: Why would you want something bigger than a typewriter?
Bill: It can hold lots of info, maybe even more than an entire volume of an encyclopedia. You could use it to write a book, to write a letter, to save any written document you could ever dream of wanting to save…all in this one ‘thingy.’ It will even be able to do math if you want it to.
One of much doubt: If it’s like all other machines, it will break down and the math wont be accurate.
Bill: It will be able to double check itself. It will even be able to tell you if you spelled something rong.
Skeptical voice: Operating it will be incredibly complicated. Nobody would be able to handle it.
Steve: Anyone will be able to use it. All ages. Students will need it. Retirees will want to play with it. And everyone else, everyone will have one.
Naysayer friend: Well then, even if that is true, which it’s not, you certainly wouldn’t be able to produce enough to keep up with the demand.
Steve: That wont be an issue. Production will take care of itself…because we will be using ‘it’ to run everything. Businesses will be able to organize all of their operations with it…they will eventually not be able to survive without one.
Naysayer friend: Don’t be ridiculous. That’s thinking a bit too big, don’t you think?
Bill: Nope. It’s going to be huge…. change the world. And anything you naysayers have to say, go ahead. Just watch me…
One of much doubt: rolls his eyes… “ Lunch, anyone?”
Fast forward to April 8th, 2008. I, Dr. Jody Stanislaw, am sitting at an elegant table in an executive boardroom in one of Bangkok’s many 5 star hotels. I am accompanied by four other men. Brian Dardzinski is the man I just serendipitously met last week in Hua Hin (the town I now call home), when I happened to mention I have diabetes. He then tells me he is involved in stem cell research and invites me to join him in Bangkok next week to meet some of the doctors he works with. Brian introduces me to the other three men. Dr. Bill Paspaliaris is a pharmacist. James is the the guy with the money, aka the investor. John is the marketing guy. The three have an office in Hong Kong and in the Philippines. Being that Thailand is fast becoming the hot spot in the world for medical tourism, they have come to Bangkok for a few days in hopes of bringing their work here.
When I was invited, I had no idea really what to expect. Brian’s sister died of type 1 Diabetes so I knew he had a soft spot for helping other diabetics. I figured I’d just be having coffee or lunch with the doctors…just 30 minutes or so to pick their brains to find out what’s going on with stem cell research and its potential for curing diabetes. And hey, it’s a good excuse to take the three hour drive up to Bangkok to check out what “One Night in Bangkok, and the World’s Your Oyster…” that I’ve heard about for decades, is all about.
So, I arrive in this elegant boardroom…not exactly the coffee shop or lunch spot I was expecting. All the men are in proper business attire….I’m in a t-shirt and baseball hat. “Okay, just be yourself Jody. No big deal.” I was a bit embarrassed, to say the least. Oh well. After the introductions, they pull down the movie screen and for the next TWO hours, we have a discussion about this new process called, “Autologous Adipose Tissue Stem Cell Transplantation.”
I will do my best to give you the bottom line of our discussion but before I do, let me explain to you a bit of human biology. You are a body of cells. In every moment throughout your lifetime, cells are dying and new ones are born. This phenomenon only ceases once ultimate death arrives. Even our ‘solid’ bone tissue continually undergoes this process. So, it makes sense that stem cells exist all throughout our bodies. How does a broken bone heal? Stem cells become activated and new bone is made. Have you ever thought about how your skin heals after you get a cut? Stem cells housed in the skin are activated. Anytime there is damage in the body, the damaged cells send out chemical messengers to activate stem cells to arrive on the scene and create new cells.
Embryonic stem cells have been a topic of great debate because these cells are almost totally ‘undifferentiated,’ which means they have the potential to turn into almost any cell in the body. Once cells mature, their potential becomes narrower and narrower as to the range of cell type that they can turn into. Yet new sources of stem cells are being discovered in the body….so hopefully the never ending debate…is it ethical to use stem cells from embryos or not…will hopefully soon be a thing of the past.
Everyone has heard of bone marrow being a rich source of stem cells. Well scientists from around the world have been dabbling in experiments using another healthy source: adipose tissue, or more commonly referred to as, FAT. And that is exactly what I learned all about, while I was sitting in my t-shirt and baseball hat in an elegant boardroom in Bangkok last weekend…
To explain the procedure is a very simple task…because the procedure itself is simple. Fat is removed via liposuction, which is a simple in-patient procedure using local anesthetic. The fat is dissolved and the stem cells are purified (takes about an hour). Protein peptides are then added to them to turn them from dormant cells into ‘activated’ cells (takes about another hour). The activated cells are then put back into the body using a simple IV into the arm. The activated stem cells are then drawn to wherever there is damage in the body (because, as I explained earlier, damaged cells secrete chemical messengers that say to the body, “come help and fix me please”).
They have data on almost 200 people over the last two years….two with MS, one with cerebral palsy, parkinsons….37 type 2 diabetes, and (drum roll please) 3 type 1 diabetics. The 37 type 2s have all had significant drops in their blood sugar levels…the same is true for the type 1’s. I am in the process of getting the contact info for these three…because all I know so far is that they have cut back on their insulin. Two big questions arise. The first is, having had diabetes for almost 30 years, is there an adequate amount of chemical messengers still being secreted from my pancreas to direct the activated stem cells to arrive there and make new insulin producing cells? The second is, the whole reason why I have diabetes in the first place is because my immune system thinks its supposed to kill my insulin producing cells….which it was activated to do 27 years ago….so will it do it again? Well the doctor said ‘yes’ to the first question and had an answer for this later question…a procedure in which he explained the immune system can be retrained to accept the new cells and not attack them….but that is a much more complicated story that I’ll save for another time.
However, in the meantime, if this really works, I don’t care if my immune system eventually kills my new cells….being able to live as a non-diabetic and just have two shots of new stem cells a year (or whatever the amount needed to keep some working insulin producing cells in me) sure beats 10 shots a day and all the other headaches, literally and figuratively, involved with this disease!
So you might also be asking, ‘Why did these docs want to spend two hours with me?” That’s exactly what I was asking too! Well you see, if relatively healthy people get this procedure done, they experience all the anti-aging benefit that hmm, perhaps the guests where I work would like….improved energy, decreased blood pressure, improved skin tone, regrowth of hair for men, increased sex drive, loss of weight….So of course, when they heard I worked at one of the best spas in Asia, they were just as eager to meet me as I were to meet them. A great win-win you could say! Well, sure enough, I’ve already set up a meeting for them to meet with my boss, who is already sold on the idea of stem cell therapy for anti-aging. So what I envision is that my resort signs on with this company, thus the docs will need to come out and do some training….and need subjects to work on. Hello!
So for those of you who are like Bill Gates’s skeptical and always-negative friends, I have lots of info for you to check out to show you the legitimacy of this procedure. Click on … www.cytoritx.com to read about a company that is traded on the NASDAQ that uses this same procedure. And google “ Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation” for more.
One last note….a week has passed since starting to write this entry and I’ve already spoken with one of the type 1’s who’s had this procedure. He is the nephew of the main doc who does the procedure in the Philippines. He is 23 and has had diabetes for 7 years. He had the procedure done about 3 months ago and his insulin needs have dropped by over 50%...and continue to do so. He had nothing but positive things to say about his experience. The procedure was simple. He felt safe with every aspect of it. And although the answer of if he will reach the point where no insulin is needed….and for who knows how long…has yet to be answered, he sees nothing but benefit from it thus far.
How do I end entry like this? I have an article dated 1983 (3 years after I was diagnosed) stating that there will be a cure for diabetes in 5 years. I held on to that article for those following 5 years, and the next 5 years, and the next…I still have it in my little silver box with other childhood memorabilia. At first, it made me excited and hopeful. Then somewhere along the way, I became sad and discouraged. Since then, I have built a wall inside myself around any excitement that may arise from word of new advancements promising a cure for this dis-ease that I have lived with everyday of my life for almost 30 years. Yet, this procedure feels more real than anything I’ve read about in the past 27 years. It doesn’t feel like an empty promise with some bs future projection about its potential success. The list of medical conditions that could benefit seems infinite. I think the title, ‘The Microsoft of Medical Advancements,’ is very apropos. Everyone has heard about stem cell therapy. Lost fingers are being regrown. New organs are being made. A man has been cured of his debilitating MS…once in a wheel chair, and now walking like the rest of us. All these stories are growing in number everyday. Just take a look on YouTube. There are a ton of them. Perhaps the next one will be a clip of me giving a lecture….”Hi, my name is Dr. Jody Stanislaw. I used to have Type 1 Diabetes….”
Even as I write this, I am suppressing my excitement. The disappointment of empty promises has been heavy. Instead, I have dealt with my diabetes by thanking it for the life lessons it has taught me…that life isn’t meant to be perfect. That there are gifts in life’s challenges that make us stronger and that make life more meaningful. I thank it for what a fantastic doctor I am. I can relate to other’s illnesses from a core level…not just because I read about it in a text book. But I must say, I have had a deep sense inside myself for about 4 or 5 years now that I WILL know life without diabetes again, just like I did for the first 7 years of my life. Perhaps that time is nearer than I think. “Hi, my name is Dr. Jody Stanislaw. I USED to have Type 1 Diabetes.” Wow, that feels surreal. Does anyone have Oprah’s phone number?
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A Little Heads-Up
Hi all. Well I’ve just returned from my week off and did quite a lot of fabulous writing, if I don’t say so myself. I have about 8 blog entries that I am planning to send out over the next week. I am not going to send them all at once, for fear that people will see how much there is to read, and thus just press delete. So, I’ll just send them one by one, spread out by a few days in between. Some of what I wrote is pretty powerful, so I hope you will find the time to read them. Enjoy. ☺
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