Tom was heading back to NZ after an amazing conference. He was excited having connected with “greats” and his head was filled with big thoughts.
The next day he felt off colour. Things got progressively worse as he battled with a viral illness. He had no energy, his body ached, and his thinking was foggy. He was sure it would pass, but as the days rolled into weeks there was little change. Each day was an effort, and life had lost its shine. Some days he could barely get out of bed.
He was well-connected in the medical world, and he consulted with some of the best doctors, undergoing a barrage of tests. The diagnoses ranged from post-viral syndrome to fibromyalgia to Parkinson’s, to Lyme’s disease to MS. The one that made him chuckle was “This is part of the aging process; you just have to accept it”.
He would not accept it, nor would he take the well-meaning offers of steroids, anti-depressants and other medications. He researched each of them and was appalled. He had a firm belief in the body’s ability to heal itself.
When we saw Tom, he was looking for a diagnosis. I told him I did not do diagnoses. Diagnoses are just names that drive you to a drug response. I work with imbalances in the body that give rise to symptoms. His symptoms were low energy, severe joint pain, gut dysfunction, insomnia, and foggy brain. We carried out a series of tests, using a combination of conventional and integrated tests. There were so many imbalances, but we decided to deal with energy and pain first.
Tom was keen to fight to get his life back, but he was faced with a wall of negativity. His GP, his friends and even his children urged him to accept the symptoms as part of the aging process, take the drugs, be compliant. I thought that Tom would succumb, but he did not. One day he told me “Clive, before the conference, I could squat with 100kg for 6 repetitions, I could cycle 20 kms, I could walk up Mt Clevedon. Now, I can only squat with a bar. I cannot ride or walk. I want this back. I need it back”.
So many of us have our health beliefs shaped by others. We accept that we will have pain/immobility/constipation/… as we age. We happily take the drugs prescribed, even though hardly any of them treat causes, only symptoms and place a toxic burden on the body, which can lead to other issues. Then we take more drugs to deal with the side effects of the original drugs. Meanwhile, the body is crying out for what it needs.
How long was your last appointment with your doctor? Did s/he ask you about what happened leading up to your symptoms? Your diet? Lifestyle? Stresses? Toxicities? Sleep? Genetic SNPs? Etc. If so, hang on to her/him. You have found a rare gem. Anyone been to Middlemore lately? What was your wait time and experience?
Most NZers have the mentality that the government will provide. I wish that was true, but it is not. Your wellness is your responsibility. We are living in the most toxic of times, when our food has the least nutrient content and the highest toxic content.
Tom appreciates how precious life is, but not only life, quality of life. He did much and in return got much. He changed his diet, took supplements, improved his digestion, reduced toxic exposure, enhanced his detoxification system, supported his energy system, reduced his heavy metal load, and more. With each intervention he got better.
Tom was keen to know which therapy had done the most good. Was it the supplements, the diet, the therapies…? We will never know for sure, but what we do know is that no one thing will defeat your body. It is usually a collection of things. There may be one thing that drove the body over the edge, like the virus in Tom’s case, but it was the combination of imbalances that contributed to his symptoms and by addressing his imbalances, Tom got his body back.
I received a call from an elated voice, “Clive, just squatted with 90Kg”.
“Hmm, well done Tom, now call me back when you get back to 100kg”.
Life is precious. Quality life is more precious.