Recent Hospital Stay Blessings!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WOW! I just got out of the hospital again – third time in a year.  I’m making up for a lifetime of perfect health – hee hee.  I learned so much from the experience that I feel compelled to share.  The bottom line is that the doctors initially thought I had a stroke or heart attack.  They ruled those out and then said it must be Parkinson’s, MS,  Alzheimer’s, or a some bizarre combination of the three.  My fingers were literally purple and swollen like sausages and my hands had a slight tremble,  I was walking like a drunken sailor, had difficulty swallowing, and was forgetting so much it was frightening.  It also felt like an elephant had his foot on my chest.  Slightly scary.

But.. I was treated like the Queen of England at the Stanford ER.  Me, who always got “A’s” in everything flunked the Alzheimer’s test.  And me, who has never been drunk in her life and who has a strong yoga practice, also flunked what I call the “drunk driver test.”  You know…where you have to walk a straight line with one foot in front of the other?  I fell.  After exhaustive CT scans, MRIs, chest X-rays, EKGs, and other tests I never heard of, the diagnosis from six dedicated doctors working all night long was Ataxia.

This is what Google has to say about it: “Ataxia is a degenerative disease of the nervous system. Many symptoms of Ataxia mimic those of being drunk, such as slurred speech, stumbling, falling, and incoordination. These symptoms are caused by damage to the cerebellum, the part of the brain that is responsible for coordinating movement.  Ataxia describes a lack of muscle control or coordination of voluntary movements, such as walking or picking up objects. A sign of an underlying condition, Ataxia can affect various movements and create difficulties with speech, eye movement and swallowing.

And the good news is that with the nerve damage I have, it should all be “correctable” with physical therapy – even the memory issues.  That was the scariest part.  (Alzheimer’s runs rampant on my mother’s side of the family.)  The kind doctor told me he was going to give me three words to remember.  Did I think I could do that?  Well, of course, I thought I could.  The three words were:  dog, green, and boat.  When he asked me an hour later, I couldn’t recall them.  But now I do!

In the meantime I have little use of my fingers and toes and have to relearn how to walk properly.  Ironically I have been reading about neuroplasticity.  The dictionary says:  The ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience or following injury.”  One of my New Year’s resolutions, even though I don’t believe in them, was going to be to rewire my brain to consciously think about every thought before I open my mouth.  Now, the physical need to relearn to walk correctly is requiring me to think about every step I take AND it’s now easier for me to monitor my thoughts.  A win-win!

With this incident I couldn’t help thinking about my dear friend and hero, Donna Page.  Donna is truly one of the most joyful people I know.  She is just fun to be around – seemingly all the time.  You would never know she lost her fingers and legs to the devastating flesh eating disease.  She is truly an inspiration to me.   I think of how blessed I am that I still have my fingers and toes and legs and can reprogram them.  Thank you Donna for all the lessons you have taught and continue to teach me!

Another New Year’s resolution (that I don’t believe in) was going to be to eat slower and really chew my food.  My delightful and brilliant friend, Diane Guillory, The Gutsy Lady, has proven to me what a difference it makes when you truly slow down and chew your food.  With my swallowing issues, now I have to do just that.  My sweet mother has been telling me to eat slower my entire life, so this will certainly make her happy!

My 89-year-old mom made me think of Louise Hay.  She wrote the ultra best-seller, You Can Heal Your Life.  In the book you can look up what she calls a “problem” and adjacent to it is a “probable cause” with a suggested “new thought pattern.”  (Here we are with the neuroplasticity again!)   I found all my symptoms in the book and was amazed with the suggestions.  Under “nerves” it says it represents communication and the new thought pattern is, “I communicate with ease and with joy.”  The “index finger” represents ego and fear and the new pattern is, “I am secure.”  Under “neck problems” (my neck is where the nerve damage is), it says “refusing to see other sides of a question – stubbornness – inflexibility.”  The new thought pattern is, “It is with flexibility and ease that I see all sides of an issue.  There are endless ways of doing things and seeing things.  I am safe.”  I certainly resonated with everything and this book turned out to be another blessing.

People have often times told me I am the healthiest person they know and were surprised anything could be physically wrong with me.  I attribute my quick recoveries to my healthy lifestyle and the Arbonne products I have been using for the past 16 years.  I would like to invite you to join me on 30 Days to Healthy Living on January 16, 2021.  Contact me for more information.

My hat is off to all the dedicated staff and doctors at Stanford and all the hospitals.  I was amazed that every single person I met had a smile on their face and caring in their heart.  It was disconcerting being surrounded by COVID patients and even having to sleep with a mask on, but it didn’t seem to phase the health care professionals – and during the holidays no less.  I have a new appreciation for all of them and for my own health.  I wish you a very happy and healthy New Year!

PS  Last month I promised to report on my class, Expand Your Innate Mediumship Skills With Soul-to-Soul Communication with Suzanne Giesemann.  I am positively loving it!  We have a two-week break for the holidays, but stay tuned next month.