OH, the blog, the blog the blog. Why do you mock me? I don’t know why this is so difficult
for me to keep up. I love doing it when I’m doing it and I love sharing the
things that are going on, I just only think of it when I’m in the bed half
asleep! I say to myself, “I’ll do it tomorrow when the girls are at school”,
and then morning comes and life distracts. But here I sit in the hospital
getting my every three weeks treatment and now is as good a time as any! Lots
of time to kill!! So, right, lets get started!
After
my dad left in April and before my trip to Mexico, our niece, Maggie came for a
visit for a month!! It was so amazing. We picked her up at the airport and hit
the road to Amsterdam! We were so so happy to see her, the girls just ran to
her. They were so happy to see one of their cousins. The last cousins they saw
were Macy and Hannah Brooke only for one night over Christmas. They hadn’t seen
any of their other cousins for a year, so it was good for them to be together
again. On the way to Amsterdam, we stopped at Bruges, Belgium. That place was
so beautiful. We had mussels and fries and Belgium beer. The atmosphere was
perfect. Then we took off to Amsterdam. We had a wonderful house that we
rented. We went to the Anne Frank house, the windmills, the Corrie Ten Boom
house (which is about a lady that hid Jews during the war and she was caught,
survived the concentration camp and toured the world talking about healing and
forgiving. Truly the most amazing touring experience I’ve ever been through. She’s
written a book a long time ago called “The Hiding Place” and I totally
recommend it). One of the most fun things we did was rent bikes and ride them
all over the place. We stayed in a place called Haarlem, right outside of
Amsterdam and we biked everywhere. It was a great trip with lots of laughs and
memories. Maggie got to stay for 3 more weeks after that and I took her to the
Royal Ascot and we saw Prince Harry up close and personal! We also saw the
Queen and Prince Charles and Camilla. It was so cool. I think the highlight for
Maggie was seeing Prince Harry (maybe the highlight of the whole trip).
Before
Maggie got here, I went to Mexico as planned and as I mentioned in my last
blog. As I had said before, just
the decision alone really affected my thoughts and had given me peace. Once it
came time to go, I was really nervous. I hate being away from Josh and the
girls and just the unknown was a little daunting. But, off I went anyway. I
stayed in a hotel in San Diego suggested by the clinic (The BioMedical Clinic
or “Hoxsey Clinic”). I put my name on the list for needing a shuttle the next
morning, got something to eat and went to bed. The next morning, I went
downstairs to wait for the shuttle. I was already nervous about what to expect,
the airline had lost my luggage, so I was still in the clothes I had flown in
the whole day, and I was totally jet lagged. The first person I saw waiting for
the shuttle was very very sick looking and his wife was standing there smoking.
I thought to myself, “What have I gotten myself into? Have I pinned my hopes on
something that isn’t what I thought?” Didn’t help my nerves at all. More and
more people started coming around and I started to relax as I started talking
to people. All ages, all types and stages of cancer were present. We all just kind
of jelled into this natural support group. We were all there for the same
reason, we all believed in the same thing and we all hoped for the same
results. I met a great younger than me girl and we clicked right away. Her name
is Kristy and she had breast cancer, but was given the “all clear” by her
oncologist, so she as just at Hoxsey to keep it away. We started sharing
recipes and websites right away. Loved her. The other couple that I met was a
couple from New Mexico and he had early stages of Prostate Cancer. He was in
his 70s and his wife was slightly younger, but she had jumped on the health
train right away and was totally behind fighting her husband’s cancer
naturally. Turns out, Paul was in the Army, a graduate of West Point and served
time in the 82nd Airborne!!! I love it when stuff like that happens.
We all still keep in touch now. The people, as you probably would assume I
would say, were the best part for me. Loved talking to everyone. I even spent
the next day in San Diego with the first person I saw who was smoking waiting
for the shuttle!! Ha.
The
experience was very much what I anticipated. Lots of tests and lots of waiting.
I met with the doctor for a brief consultation and exam. He was very nice and kind. He was the
one on the website that has been at the clinic the longest, so I really was
feeling pretty good at this point. After I met with him and answered all his
questions, I was told to go get something to eat (they have an on site diner)
and wait in the waiting room for the results and to meet with him again. I went
to the diner and it was a very old, no frills restaurant, with a cash register
box on a desk by the door for you to pay for your meal by the honor system. The two women behind the counter were
beautiful Mexican women; one was older than the other. I thought to myself,
“I’m getting ready to get the best Mexican food I’ve ever had”. I was dead
wrong. Everything there was Hoxsey diet approved and totally organic and fresh,
not processed and loads of veggies. There was even beetroot juice!! The menu
and the food choices just didn’t match up with what I was looking at. It made
sense that the food should be like this at the clinic, but it was still a
surprise. The food, indeed, was truly amazing. Best lunch I’ve ever had and it
was about $5.00 and I was stuffed!!!
Off to the waiting room I went. Lots of talking and sharing stories and
recipe swapping. The thing that I appreciated (aside from the awesome lunch)
was that we were all treated differently. We all had different test, we all met
differently with the doctors, we all had different “prescriptions”. I was just
so happy for it to of been individualized that way and I didn’t feel we were
all an “Option A” or “Option B” type patients.
Went
back in to talk with the doc and get all my supplements. He gave me six months
of the tonic and two types of capsules to take three times a day. He also gave
me a list of other supplements to add to it, but I could order them from home.
One of the capsules he gave me was “pacific yew tree needles”. They grind these things up and they
apparently have 8 cancer fighting nutrients in them. I take 9 of those a day.
The other one was a mixture of herbs for bone strengthening purposes. It is
supposed to make them stronger and also repair any damage that the cancer has
done. I take 9 of those a day. I also take 3000 mg of Vitamin C, a liver rescue
supplement, a multi-vitamin, something called Artimininsen, calcium, and turmeric.
I take about 25 pills a day, not such a big deal. I drink the tonic 4 times a
day. The idea behind that is the tonic will detoxify my body of all the crap
that has been put in it and the supplements and healthy eating build up my
immune systems so it can attack the cancer cells. Most immune systems work in
overdrive attacking things that come into the body; cold, virus, etc and it
also works to support your liver which is massively trying to evict all the
toxins we put in our body and are exposed to everyday. So, my immune system was
in crazy overdrive and couldn’t properly fight the cancer. Now, it has a good
shot at it. I’m also trying to reduce the acidity in my blood and raise the
alkaline levels. Cancer doesn’t like a low acidity body. So, all my choices are
made to try and help my immune system.
I
am very happy to report that so far it’s working beautifully. I feel better
than I ever have in my whole entire life. I have no pain what so ever. I had a
good PET scan in May and I talked my doctor out of ordering me one now. He said
that because of the fact that my blood work has leveled out and I have no new
symptoms and I’m feeling so good, we could wait until January to have the next
one, unless there is a reason to have one sooner. I just hate having them and
the stress that they bring. The
most important thing to me, which was something that was causing me a great
deal of angst and worry, is that when something does come around that hurts or
if I start coughing, I can look at it practically, instead of assuming the
worse. If my ribcage starts hurting, I know that I’ve either stretched it too
much in yoga or it’s scar tissue from past surgeries and breaks flaring up.
Easily remedied. Pain goes away. If I start coughing again, I can logically
think, “Okay, all the girls are snotting and sneezing and coughing all over the
place, I have had a small head cold, the cough always follows it and it takes a
little longer to get gone because of the damage the radiation did on my lungs
and the fact that there are a few lingering cancer cells in there. The remedy
for that are essential oils in my diffuser and hot baths and rest. Cough gone,
back to normal. When these things
happen, I don’t go spiraling into a deep scary worried place. That is something
that is life changing for me.
I
still eat well and I haven’t been drinking. That wasn’t as hard for me as I
thought. Sometimes I miss red wine like crazy, but to tell you the truth, I
miss Chick Fil A more. I wish I could say that the diet change is always easy
and it’s truly been an ultimate complete lifestyle change. In some respects, it
has because the choice of eating right or “cheating” has been taken from me. It
100% has to be a lifestyle change for me. I see the results of what it’s done.
Not only has it given me a 50 lb weight loss (which vanity wins out on now, I
actually enjoy being thin), but also I know what it’s doing to my life. Its
given life back to me, to Josh and to my girls. That being said, I do have my
moments of weakness. I have cheated a bit once or twice. But it’s so small in
comparison to how I used to live my life.
After
school was out (which wasn’t until July 21—shortest summer ever!), Josh’s
sister, her boyfriend and her children came for about 8 days. We went to
Stonehenge, Dorset (a wonderful beach with cliffs and a beautiful part of the
English Channel) and to London. It was so much fun to be with them, we hiked
and camped and toured and laughed and laughed and laughed. The kids were in hog
heaven being with their cousins like that. We all cried and cried when they
left. The very next day, we took
off to Venice and met Josh’s mom and step dad and then we set sail on a 7-day
cruise around Greece. This was everything we all needed and more. We needed the
sun, the sea and to relax. It met our expectation and exceeded them. Greece is
so wonderfully beautiful and I was meant to live there! The things we saw and
learned about were amazing. It was fun being with Meg and Don; we played games,
ate and ate and ate, swam in the ocean and did lots of sightseeing. None of us
wanted to leave. It was magical.
Once
we got back to England and did a little more sight seeing with Meg and Don,
they took off back home and we got back into a routine. School started and it’s
off to a very successful start. Abbey and Madeline returned to Naunton Park
Primary School (4th grade and 2nd grade) and they were
happy to meet their new teachers and see their friends. They are both running
in their cross-country club and also doing an after school Art club, which they
both love. Leah started the private school that Genny went to last year called
Cheltenham Prep. She is in 6th grade and she had to make another big
change. It was a new school, lots of responsibility and she knew no one. She
basically had to start over with the friend-making thing, and she had such
wonderful friends from her 5th grade class in Naunton Park, but
everyone scattered for middle school and went different directions. There were
some tears the first week (mainly from me) but she eventually adjusted
beautifully. Now, she’s confident and making friends and feeling better about
the school. She does an art club, runs cross-country, drama club and plays
field hockey. She takes Latin and French, chemistry and physics and biology.
THIS IS 6TH GRADE, PEOPLE!!!!!
All I know is that Aycock Middle school wasn’t’ anything close to this
for me!! Genny moved over from Cheltenham Prep school to Cheltenham College
(which is basically 8th grade to 12th grade). She’s in 8th
grade. She’s happy to be back with her friends and playing hockey. But this is
no ordinary 8th grade.
She goes at 8 in the morning and sometimes I don’t pick her up until 8
at night. She does choir and play practice. Hard core stuff. She thrives in it,
though. She loves it; all the activity and social part of it all. She works
very hard and is very responsible. Not at all like I was at 13. These kids
continually amaze me at what they go through and how well they adapt to it all.
So,
basically, all is very well in the Richardson household. I feel normal. I like
feeling normal. I feel like a normal mom who does normal things and feels a
normal way. I get mad, I get sad, I get scared, I get frustrated. I like
feeling all those things. I just FEEL them, Josh feels them, my kids are
allowed and encouraged to feel these things. It’s just all very normal and
ordinary. I do recognize that we also get to lead an extraordinary life,
though. I’m not crazy enough to think that most people get to go to Greece for
summer break or Scotland or Ireland or Germany. We are very blessed to do that.
But, our everyday life is normal and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Often
people ask me questions about cancer and things that I do as far as supplements
and eating, etc. I promise that I don’t have all the answers, but I have used
great websites, lots of reading and general intuition. The first thing that I read and used to
start all this was “Radical Remission” by Phd Kelly Turner. It’s got great
information on ways to change the way you think. Nine key factors that have
“cured” people of cancer. It started me on the diet change path with great
ideas and scientific information.
It’s filled with hopeful stories and great links to get you started.
Another website is “Chris Beat Cancer”. He’s a young guy who beat cancer 10+
years ago the natural way with diet and supplements. He comes across as super
cocky sometimes, but his website has great interviews with people who have
cured their cancer. That gives you other ideas and paths to take based on what
you have read and heard. Also, “The Truth about Cancer”. That is the website I used that lead me
to the Hoxsey Clinic. It’s a website with lots of information and also a
docu-series where the main guy interviews lots of doctors and people that have
alternative ways to treat cancer. Lots of great articles from this website
comes around that it truly helpful.
The thing that I find common through all these things is they are filled
with hope, hope, and hope. Cancer is a really shitty and scary thing that can
happen to you or to a loved one. Any chance you can look for hope in the
situation; I strongly encourage you to do so. Bottom line is the first thing
you need to do to take care of yourself is change your diet. No refined sugar,
soda (any kind) is terrible for you, low meats, and when you do, lots of lean,
grass fed ones, no white things (pasta, bread, etc), low diary, and lots and
lots and lots of veggies. The more you can get into your body, the better.
Exercise and take care of your personal things. I know it sounds super
hard-it’s challenging, that’s certainly an understatement-but you can do it.
Just one step at a time. So, over the period of a year, I have truly changed my
life-for the better, I might add. I know for a fact that if I can do it, ANYONE
can do it.
Thanks
for all the prayers and concerns you show to me. I can’t ever express how much
that means to me. I appreciate you reading all my blogs. Thanks again for
everything.
Love you:)
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