The Adventure Begins!
June 25, 2017
Well today is finally here! I am on the airplane as we speak flying from Vancouver to LA. It feels super crazy, as I normally have a 6 year old who has demanded the window seat and Im stuck in the middle seat sandwiched in-between him and my husband who's legs don't fit very well.....and so you get the picture! Today I am all by myself in a window seat and was bumped to first class, so Im basically beside myself with comfort! I didn't need to pack awkwardly sized activity books that stuck out of my perfectly organized carry on. Didn't need to store 6 different kinds of snacks, a sippy cup, or download 10 episodes of "Uncle Grandpa" or use up all my Ipad storage with Moana! Its so quiet up here....no husbands spontaneously passing out, leaving me to entertain children who are tired of the one million things I packed so they wouldn't be bored. Nope nope....this time I have my own bag with my own shiz, my own I pad with MY shows, I have leg room for days and I can give zero effs about the person sitting next to me. This all makes up for the fact that just before I was set to go on this trip I come down with the cold of a life time so Im the sniffling, nose blowing, cougher on the flight...just the exact type I usually hate and spend 1/2 the flight secretly spraying with thieves oil and wiping with clorox wipes! YIKES. However the severity of this cold was lessend with the awesome savviness of my sister the hardcore vegan veggie-myster who gave me a cold killing juicer recipe from heaven along with my strange love for raw juiced garlic! Otherwise I may be at home in bed instead of being luxuriously on my way to stem cell treatment.
At first I was a bit nervous to travel without at least Paul which is totally ridiculous seeing as I used to fly all over the states without him, into strange airports in huge cities and rent cars and drive down unfamiliar freeway's without him, but honestly since I contracted lyme Ive lost some of the confidence to do those same things alone. I get confused and anxious, not to mention my sense of direction has always been way off. lol....even before Lyme. Paul's sense of direction is keenly on point so I think Ive become a bit dependent on him for navigating us so perhaps its a good thing I take this fist part of my adventure alone ;)
Ok so down to the meat and potatoes of this here now..... What the heck are stem cells and why do I need them?
Many of you know that I am terrible with the actual science of things I research them until forever and I fully understand all of the info, but Im terrible at explaining it back. So here goes the easy version:
The stem cells they will be using are already in my body. Week one of my treatment I will be receiving a variety of different IV's that will be killing some lyme bacteria as well as boosting my immune system , detoxing my liver, and a bunch of other stuff. There are a few more things we receive that I am not sure of quite yet. Close to the second week they will use a liposuction device to remove fat from my body and retrieve stem cells from it. It gets mixed with a liquid that enables them to replicate. After they have replicated the doctor will inject them back into my body. All these healthy happy cells will tell the bad unhealthy cells that "you are healthy now, and so are you and you too!" The stem cells heal the body and straighten out your immune system who has basically been on a bender and totally not doing his job for a long time....what a slacker! j/k Its totally not his fault...he just went down a wrong road. Anyway this brings him back and teaches him how to keep lyme bacteria and other things at bay instead of letting them party and take over. This process of sorting out the immune system can take a long time....sometimes a year or 2. The most intense part of the healing takes place for most within the first 100 days. I have heard from a few others that they were better even during treatment and just kept getting better from there on. I have decided that will be me. So my body better be on notice ;)
Now personally I have done a lot of treatments over the past few years that have been working on exactly what I mentioned....killing lyme and building immune, and Im so happy that I did it this way. I had a very decent quality of life while treating slowly with herbs and natural treatments only. I have a wonderful naturopath who has guided me with her expertise to this point. However I have gotten to a place where I felt I was ready to make a leap and take a risk in hopes of getting the rest of the way to remission. There was several different clinics with a variety of treatments I could have chosen, but this resonated with me the most because it wasn't promoting harsh treatments that knocked the whole system down first. Many talked of inducing fevers, major antibiotics and just an over all poor quality of life for a while. I have a 6 year old and husband that need me so that didn't seem feasible. Don't get me wrong, this treatment doesn't have you walking out like wonder women on Day 14 most times, but it seems so much more strengthening then weakening and thats basically been my mantra on this whole journey with Lyme....yes kill the lyme, but build up the body so it can properly do its job.
I am looking forward to seeing how this all plays out, and in the meantime I hope I can help other people with their lyme or bring more awareness so others don't contract it.
This is realz life man....shit happens...its suppose to....the cool part is how we go about conquering it.
RLM Over and Out
Well today is finally here! I am on the airplane as we speak flying from Vancouver to LA. It feels super crazy, as I normally have a 6 year old who has demanded the window seat and Im stuck in the middle seat sandwiched in-between him and my husband who's legs don't fit very well.....and so you get the picture! Today I am all by myself in a window seat and was bumped to first class, so Im basically beside myself with comfort! I didn't need to pack awkwardly sized activity books that stuck out of my perfectly organized carry on. Didn't need to store 6 different kinds of snacks, a sippy cup, or download 10 episodes of "Uncle Grandpa" or use up all my Ipad storage with Moana! Its so quiet up here....no husbands spontaneously passing out, leaving me to entertain children who are tired of the one million things I packed so they wouldn't be bored. Nope nope....this time I have my own bag with my own shiz, my own I pad with MY shows, I have leg room for days and I can give zero effs about the person sitting next to me. This all makes up for the fact that just before I was set to go on this trip I come down with the cold of a life time so Im the sniffling, nose blowing, cougher on the flight...just the exact type I usually hate and spend 1/2 the flight secretly spraying with thieves oil and wiping with clorox wipes! YIKES. However the severity of this cold was lessend with the awesome savviness of my sister the hardcore vegan veggie-myster who gave me a cold killing juicer recipe from heaven along with my strange love for raw juiced garlic! Otherwise I may be at home in bed instead of being luxuriously on my way to stem cell treatment.
At first I was a bit nervous to travel without at least Paul which is totally ridiculous seeing as I used to fly all over the states without him, into strange airports in huge cities and rent cars and drive down unfamiliar freeway's without him, but honestly since I contracted lyme Ive lost some of the confidence to do those same things alone. I get confused and anxious, not to mention my sense of direction has always been way off. lol....even before Lyme. Paul's sense of direction is keenly on point so I think Ive become a bit dependent on him for navigating us so perhaps its a good thing I take this fist part of my adventure alone ;)
Ok so down to the meat and potatoes of this here now..... What the heck are stem cells and why do I need them?
Many of you know that I am terrible with the actual science of things I research them until forever and I fully understand all of the info, but Im terrible at explaining it back. So here goes the easy version:
The stem cells they will be using are already in my body. Week one of my treatment I will be receiving a variety of different IV's that will be killing some lyme bacteria as well as boosting my immune system , detoxing my liver, and a bunch of other stuff. There are a few more things we receive that I am not sure of quite yet. Close to the second week they will use a liposuction device to remove fat from my body and retrieve stem cells from it. It gets mixed with a liquid that enables them to replicate. After they have replicated the doctor will inject them back into my body. All these healthy happy cells will tell the bad unhealthy cells that "you are healthy now, and so are you and you too!" The stem cells heal the body and straighten out your immune system who has basically been on a bender and totally not doing his job for a long time....what a slacker! j/k Its totally not his fault...he just went down a wrong road. Anyway this brings him back and teaches him how to keep lyme bacteria and other things at bay instead of letting them party and take over. This process of sorting out the immune system can take a long time....sometimes a year or 2. The most intense part of the healing takes place for most within the first 100 days. I have heard from a few others that they were better even during treatment and just kept getting better from there on. I have decided that will be me. So my body better be on notice ;)
Now personally I have done a lot of treatments over the past few years that have been working on exactly what I mentioned....killing lyme and building immune, and Im so happy that I did it this way. I had a very decent quality of life while treating slowly with herbs and natural treatments only. I have a wonderful naturopath who has guided me with her expertise to this point. However I have gotten to a place where I felt I was ready to make a leap and take a risk in hopes of getting the rest of the way to remission. There was several different clinics with a variety of treatments I could have chosen, but this resonated with me the most because it wasn't promoting harsh treatments that knocked the whole system down first. Many talked of inducing fevers, major antibiotics and just an over all poor quality of life for a while. I have a 6 year old and husband that need me so that didn't seem feasible. Don't get me wrong, this treatment doesn't have you walking out like wonder women on Day 14 most times, but it seems so much more strengthening then weakening and thats basically been my mantra on this whole journey with Lyme....yes kill the lyme, but build up the body so it can properly do its job.
I am looking forward to seeing how this all plays out, and in the meantime I hope I can help other people with their lyme or bring more awareness so others don't contract it.
This is realz life man....shit happens...its suppose to....the cool part is how we go about conquering it.
RLM Over and Out
I think it is super inspiring how you are taking matters into your own hands by being so proactive and open minded on your healing journey, but at the same time choosing therapies that are holistic and integrative and not harsh, quick fix type treatments that shock and traumatize the body. It's also great you are blogging this whole procedure so others can benefit. It takes real bravery and a willingness to be vulnerable when sharing the healing process -- not easy. I also love your positivity! Can't wait for your next instalment. xoxoxoxoxoxo Sissy
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