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8/20/00 Positive Steps From:
Rob Payne <rob@everydayisprecious.com>
Marcy is in better spirits than I've seen in our entire marriage. Instead of dying of a disease, she is living to fight it. She is an inspiration to everyone she talks with. It is all based in her faith that God has a plan for her and she is keeping attuned to His will. Many ideas are sparked by a book she's reading - "Hope Springs Eternal" - by a man who has reversed the progress of his ALS. There are many Bible verses quoted in his book, but there are also some treatments that the medical community doesn't recognize. Basically, it involves mild (battery produced) electrical impulses to stimulate the nerves into talking with the muscles again. We've talked with the author and some of the other people he has helped. We've also ordered the equipment he used - it should arrive Wednesday or Thursday this week. That's not the only avenue we are pursuing. We are wait listed with 3 traditional medical leaders in ALS. We have emailed all of Marcy's test results to date to other doctors as well. We are hoping the one in Charlotte, North Carolina will be the first to see us. He leads one of the 17 MDS ALS clinics in the country, his office has been the most compassionate to us on the telephone, he is the same doctor the author of "Hope Springs Eternal" used, and he is approved for our insurance - both the HMO we use currently and the PPO to which we are switching 9/1. We
have also explored and acted on other alternative health care routes.
We met Thursday with nutritionists who are experts in macro
biotics. They worked with us for 4 hours getting us on a road
to better nutrition. We are now eating whole grains, beans, vegetables,
seaweed, fruits, vitamin supplements and very, very little meat.
We are eating no processed foods, cooking with spring water, and
Marcy has even stopped wearing make up and thrown out all of her
air fresheners. Also, I've seen more that a few of the scientific web sites that say even though no one knows what causes ALS, some believe it is caused by toxins in the body. There is even one site by a man in Nevada who says he has survived ALS for 38 years by perfecting blood tests that measure his body toxins and adjusting vitamins to fight them. We are still investigating him - it sounds a little too scientific and precise to not be recognized by the medical community. And he requires patients to come to Nevada before sharing much more information. Last, but not least, and to complete the circle, we travel to the Evangelical Institute of Greenville (SC) this Wednesday and Thursday for help in improving our faith even more. My parents are helping us connect with these people. We pitched a tent in our basement Friday night and had a family camp in. We told the kids that Mommy is fighting a very bad disease that some people die from. It didn't really sink in with Matthew or Darcy. I guess it's like when astronomers tell us that our sun is going to die in the next x million years. It's a time frame that is hard for us to fathom and it's not a sure thing even if we could grasp it. Anyway, let's live in the present. I believe that God helps those who help themselves. If you see ways we could be helping ourselves more, please let me know. I hate receiving long emails like this one, but I'll send more unless I hear from you. If you don't want these email updates, email back to me saying "enough already." When talking with Marcy, please relay only positive feedback, news, and stories. We will help keep her up. If you have concerns, doubts, worries, etc., please send those to me. Thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We are both already better people. Rob |