You’ve all heard the saying, “Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures”. Throughout this illness and recovery, this was a lesson I learned all too well. The times were desperate, especially towards the end of 2006. I just seemed to be getting sicker every day, no one had answers, doctors hadn’t a clue of what was going on with me or why.
I was desperate; I was starving for everything, literally. I was starving for answers, for direction, for help and starving for food. My body was just so toxic, so overloaded, that I reacted to everything. Since everything made my throat swell, I was eating foods by the teaspoon throughout the day in hopes I wouldn’t react. My main staple of food was organic brown rice cakes. I could also eat cottage cheese, apples, raisins, lettuce, tuna, pasta (plain), eggs, celery and hamburger. It was a short list, but the list was a lot longer than some other people I now know. I tried to be grateful for what I could eat, but I was hungry all the time, and with having to rotate those foods and eat them in such small amounts, I was getting bored with what I could eat, and nutritionally was not getting what my body needed to thrive. I lost weight fast, my hair was falling out, and the circles under my eyes were getting darker. I was constantly sick.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Since no one knew what was going on I started researching online. I spent countless hours trying to find answers. All I can say is God bless Dr. Sherry Rogers and Dr. Gloria Gilbere; their books for me were the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew there were answers, I knew there was help. I knew I could get better, but I had to do the work. I had to be constantly proactive in my own healthcare routine. This is not a quick fix illness, whether the symptoms were the result of small gradual exposures over time, or just one significant exposure, doesn’t really matter….you won’t get better overnight. Along with everything else, this is an illness that requires patience, persistence and prayer. It is an illness that tests you beyond what you believe you are capable of overcoming, but you can overcome it.
If you’re in the midst of the challenge, you may not be able to see the blessing in disguise. But the truth is desperation forces change, forces growth, forces a new perspective, because you simply have no other choice. You must make the changes or you simply will not progress in your journey to health.
So as I look back on the journey, what did desperation teach me?
Desperation drove me to find answers about my health.
Desperation drove me to open my mind and try new things.
Desperation drove me to educate myself.
Desperation drove me to change what I eat.
Desperation drove me to change what I cleaned my home with.
Desperation drove me to change how I lived.
Desperation drove me to be persistent.
Desperation drove me to be patient.
Desperation drove me to pray.
Desperation drove me to try.
Desperation drove me to find the best in everything.
Desperation drove me to stand up for myself.
Desperation drove me to put my health first.
Desperation gave me a voice.
Desperation taught me to let go of what I can’t control.
Desperation taught me to let go of what people may think of this illness.
Desperation taught me that sometimes being forced to change, can actually push you to a higher level of health.
Desperation taught me to become more self sufficient.
Desperation taught me not to look to others for answers, but to look within.
Desperation taught me to listen to my body and to trust myself.
Desperation taught me to see small victories.
In the end it was desperation that changed my life, which drove me to change every single factor in my daily routine. Through desperation, I learned that persistence and patience would get me through this illness. When my progress was painfully slow, and I questioned whether such miniscule amounts of wheatgrass or supplements would ever do me any good, I had to remember that there was a time when I couldn’t take anything at all. I held on to the small victories in hopes of even greater ones.
In the end it was desperation that freed me from my poor lifestyle choices. It was desperation that brought me to where I am…… in an every upward spiral towards complete healing and health. Are their setbacks? Absolutely, but I have seen the view from the mountaintop and I have no intention of going back to where I was.
To Your Health!
Elisha
