I'M ALIVE!

This will be a long post.  I have felt impressed for a while now to give an update and assure all of you readers that my absence has been because I AM ALIVE.  That means I am BACK! I love being back.
I can finally be a complete mom, wife, friend and functioning part of society.

Since that day 2 1/2 years ago when I did the "happy-dance" in my kitchen, shouting, "I feel good-na na na na na na naa", I have only had 2 minor setbacks requiring treatment.

I've been in "remission" from Late Stage Disseminated Lyme Disease now and various co-infections and disorders for about a year and a half.  What that means is symptom free for 1 1/2 years...

Don't be fooled by the face of Lyme Disease!  If you'll recall, the picture I first posted of me when I had full-on Lyme symptoms is for all intense purposes the picture of health (from the outside).  Lyme disease victims often look well, but are dying on the inside.

The last symptom to leave me was eye pain. You might be thinking- okay.. I could deal with that.  Eye pain with Lyme is the feeling of having your thumbs pushed firmly on your eye balls.  Try it for 10 seconds and then live it 24/7.  Not fun.

Symptoms I still get now and again:
Fleeting numbness on my face and pelvic floor, occasional numbness in my legs, arms and hands and  headaches.  My diagnosis of  Lyme was Neurological- so even though I know the bugs are still around, I expect them to show up where they left off.

Consider that since the end of 2006 I was chasing daily infections like a wildfire throughout my body- UTI's, ear infections, headaches, severe exhaustion (after a full nights sleep and 3 hour nap), stuttering, unable to sustain my weight, unable to walk without holding on, confusion, dizziness, no appetite, numbness. With no diagnosis, I was left to continuing chasing and chasing bugs.

How do I know I have turned a corner?
While there are no guarantees with a disease like Lyme, last weekend, I was on my feet for 8 hours making and serving 20 batches of homemade soup for a large function of 200!  No nap. No rest time. No symptoms.  I did this two weeks in a row for 2 separate functions!  Although I had wonderful helpers at the functions, two years ago, I couldn't have made even a small meal for my family of 6.  I couldn't walk to the edge of my driveway to get the mail.  I was just too tired and weak to do it.  I have also been walking again. I am up to about 15 miles a week or 3-4 miles every other day.

What have I done now that works? 
My regimen now consists of a "small" pile of supplements in the morning including:
Thyroid-prescription
2000mg Vitamin C
5000mg Vitamin D
probiotic
Max Gxl-product I distribute:  www.max.com/255092
Cellgevity-product I distribute
ADR- Pure Encapsulations
Eating healthier
Sleeping better
Taking a personal inventory daily

At bedtime I take an even smaller "pile" of supplements:
Calcium
1000mg Vitamin C
HRT
primrose oil

What I wish I had done and sooner:  
I have an amazing doctor!  Dr. Dee is patient and listens to her patients.  So much so that stubborn me got away with "doing it my way" until symptoms I had spun almost out of control. The number one thing I wish I would have done: start Lyme treatment sooner. I could have been better sooner and avoided a lot of cost and time.

What has contributed to my wellness:

• Sleep:  I finally allowed myself adequate rest- daily.  I slept in as long as my body needed it and took an afternoon nap for as long as my body needed it.  Sleep is key to wellness from Chronic Fatigue, EBV, Adrenal issues and of course Lyme.
• Daily Hydro-therapy: Hot showers followed by cold compresses, hydrogen peroxide baths, Epsom salt baths, saunas. CAUTION: DO NOT USE THIS THERAPY unless you have consulted with your physician.  Hydrotherapy is a fantastic detoxification method- so much so that you may not be prepared for the "die-off".
• Supplements: take what your body needs, but be reminded that Lyme is a tricky and will suddenly and without warning disregard what "has always worked".  Be flexible.  the 2 supplements that I continue to take that WORK are Max Gxl and ADR.
• IV Therapy:  Had I not started IV therapy at the aggressive rate, when I did, I can't say that I would be alive today.  My body was just not responding to the supplements that I was taking.  I wasn't getting better.  IV therapy- 4 days a week worked.  I did this for 6 months.  I was also taking 6 oral antibiotics at the same time.You really have to flood those bugs!   AGAIN-  YOU MUST CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR before trying any of these therapy methods.  

While in IV therapy, 2 of my dear IV- friends passed away.  Lyme disease is destructive.  It kills a person from the inside out.  Cells have no power because Lyme takes them over in populations that flood the body.

I am alive!  I love my Life!  I love my family for believing in my ability to recover when I had lost all faith.  

I love them for supporting me when I didn't "look" sick, but couldn't get dressed for the day or brush my hair because it took too much energy.  ( I used to sit on the edge of the bathtub to dry my hair because standing took the breath out of me!)

When your body and mind are sick, my advice to you:

1. Get a doctor: One you can trust.  One that will listen to you.  Do what they say. Don't be stubborn.  Be patient and get on the path to wellness.
2. Patient means: willing to drop everything from your plate of "to-do" to get well.  I mean everything!  YOU are your first priority. (Ya- try telling that to a type A person!) That's why I didn't get better sooner!
3. Find a support group- if you have the strength to attend.  
4. Keep up with friends and  family. You will be well again, my friend.  You will need them again, and they will need you.
5. Accept help- housecleaning, meals, running errands, taking care of kids.  This is no time to be a martyr.
6. Be True to yourself and recognize your limitations.  That's all I need to say about that.
7. Pray- Keep up your faith.  God will help you .  Trust in Him.

I have my life back.  Not sure how long it will last, but I am back.  I am full of gratitude.  I can honestly say, I did not anticipate ever recovering to the extent that I have.  It is a miracle to me.

Lyme Disease is mysterious.  It affects people differently and there is no 100% guarantee that any methods will cure you.  I know that I still have residual Lyme Disease, but I am so on it.  

Bye bye Lyme.  I hope I never see you again.

Rants, Raves and Things of Import

• On Rants...........

I am a Conservative Republican. Now, don't be too quick to press the delete button or 'unfriend' me.  I happen to like that label.   A lot.  I am a news junkie and a political follower... on BOTH sides of the line.  Strictly speaking of the Conservative side, however, my rant today is with my fellow Conservative Republican party.  Sheesh.  It's like this folks... Remember 9-11?  Remember Todd Beamer? What an incredible man he was! We didn't know much about him until after he died, but when push came to shove in that airplane, well, he did the right thing.  Well, we have a Todd Beamer right now running for the office of the president that is in the cabin of the plane trying to do his best to keep the plane from plowing into the ground.  He's a nice guy. Honorable and integral as much as we know.  Lives a clean life.  Married for 40 some years.  Raised a great family. And He LOVES America!  He is leading in the polls. He has won primaries in 2 states,  so why not rally behind him and stop this nonsense of nit-picking, and raise him to the top!  We need a candidate that will stand up to our president and defeat him.  Romney will.

• On Raves.......

Last weekend my hubby and I dropped our oldest daughter off to college.  Okay, that was the HARDEST thing I have ever done.  BUT she is in the best hands ever!  She is studying at BYU-Idaho. The feeling there is purely celestial. While listening to the President of the University the spirit was penetrable.  The campus is smallish, but sits up on the hillside with an amazing view of the valley.  My favorite building is the Spori building! When I hugged my daughter goodbye, the lump in my throat got tighter and the tears wet my cheeks.  Bye bye my sweet girl until Spring.

• On Things of Import.....

Raves and things of import kind of flow into each other.  When I was a young woman a hundred years ago it seems, on the night before having my first baby, I sat on the bed and cried.  I was ending an era in my life.  My life with my husband all to myself.  It was super painful and selfish and I remember it feeling like standing behind a page in a chapter book not knowing what the rest of the story would look like. In some ways, it was the hardest thing I had ever done!  Fast forward 18 1/2 chapter years, and saying goodbye to the baby that became is now the hardest thing I've ever done.  I started thinking about difficult passages and realized that there will be a time that my baby girl that is all grown up will be a momma someday.  She will have the same semi-selfish thing happen to her, and I will tell her it's okay-- "Someday you will have to do something even harder, and that is to let your baby go."  Before my daughter left for school, I wrote her a letter.  In the letter I told her:   

No one ever told me when you were born how it would feel to say goodbye when it was time.  No one told me that no matter what, you have to hold your head up high with grace and let it happen, because it’s the right thing to do.  No one told me how it would feel like being socked in the stomach, that your heart would break in half and that your eyes would sting for hours from crying.  No one told me. I should’ve known it would feel this way.  I’ve been psyching myself out the past couple months thinking that I would be okay.  It would be okay.  And, really, it is- okay.  It’s what it’s supposed to be like.  If it didn’t feel painful and miserable and sad, there would be something wrong for sure.  But it’s the right thing, and it feels good, even though it feels awful. 

So for now, these are things of import:  Love your babies, because soon they will grow up and leave you, and it's okay.  That's the way it's suppose to be.

The end.

12 More Reasons to Love My Husband

Over the Christmas break I watched one of my all time favorite movies: You've Got Mail.  I love the scene when Kathleen Kelly (Shopgirl) and Joe Fox (NY152) are at the outdoor market shooting off  ideas for the meaning of the NY152 email handle...  

He comes up with, " ..He's a hundred and fifty-two years old. He's had one hundred and fifty-two moles removed, so now he's got one hundred fifty-two pock marks on his... on his face... Mr. 152 Felony indictments. "

Her thoughts are, " ...The number of people who think he looks like Clark Gable. Mr. 152 insights into my soul." 

I especially love the ending scene after the two have spent the afternoon together as Joe and Kathleen and she is preparing to meet NY152 for the 'first' time.  It is a struggle because Shopgirl can't imagine wanting to meet anyone other than Joe Fox, with whom she has spent the last week with as a result of NY152's 'Tweeking'. Anyway, there are at least 152 more reasons that I think it is a lovely story.

And thus it brings me to the Sweet ending to the 12-Days of Christmas treasure trove of 2011.  12 Drummers Drumming turned out to be a CD with 12 handpicked songs with the titles beginning with You're the Inspiration, Crazy, Best Was Yet to Come, Somewhere Down the Road, The Cello's song, Will You Still Love Me, Faithfully, Somewhere Somehow, Madrona, Who Needs to Dream, After All these Years, and One More Day.  All meaningful to my journey with my husband over the last 25 years. 

All in all, for me,  it was just 12 more reasons to love my husband.  What an amazing Christmas it has been!

With these Treats comes a Price....

It's the price everyone pays during the holidays...  a little more heft around the waistline.  So, needless to say I have gained 5 pounds this week!  Number eight just added to it.  Number 9- helped take it away.... 

Eight Maids a Milking:  I had to wait all day for this one, but it was worth it.  There is a milkshake that I love from Burgerville that comes around in January/February.  Chocolate Hazelnut.  It's the BEST!  Our family has come up with a close rendition of the milkshake using hazelnut syrup, Ferrero Rocher chocolates, chocolate sauce and ice cream.  (Think:... a billion calories).  So for this surprise, I was treated with a Wallis Hazelnut chocolate shake surrounded by 8 Ferrero Rocher chocolates with toothpicks sticking out the center with little princess head stickers.  They looked like little maids with big skirts!  So clever.  So fattening! So delicious!

Nine Ladies Dancing:  I have to say that this has been one of my favorites so far.  I have been so impressed with these surprises, that I am really speechless when they are presented.  Last night I received the traditional index card that states:  On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me.... 9 ladies dancing.  There was a card underneath the index card and on the front of the card were miniature pictures of nine ladies dancing.  Above each picture there is a small hole punch circle with a number- so 9 numbers... right?  Inside the card it says:  This is no ordinary card; it is a special "Nine Ladies Dancing" card.  It is good for 9 special dances with your True Love.  Only one dance is redeemable each month, so you can enjoy the dancing throughout the coming months.  After each dance, I will hole punch your dance card until you my lovely lady, have had nine dances.  Awwwww. 

I redeemed the first one right then.  We danced to Michael Buble's- 'Everything'.  The End.

Seven Swans a Swimming in My Bathtub

You might think what I thought seeing 7 paper oragami swans  floating on cardboard pedestals in my bathtub. Ooooh, how absoluted beautiful and sweet. There are 7 Swans of Swimming in my Bathtub.  My husband leaned over my shoulder and asked me to pick one up.  As I reached down to grab the paper swan, I noticed that not just one swan, but all of the swans were made out of gift certificates!  There were 7 gift certificates for Lovely Nails nail salon floating on cardboard pedestals in my bathtub!  Now that takes thought. And Love.  Thank you honey for making my day! grin

Christmas Surprises

I love surprises. I love them so much that once on my 30th birthday, my husband surprised me with a weekend Get away.  I was told what to pack, but not where we were going. I thought we might be heading out the Gorge or to the San Juan Islands,  afterall, I knew it wouldn't be too far from home as I had a 6 month old nursing baby at home!  When we turned into the Portland Airport parking garage, my heart skipped a dozen beats and I began panicking all at the same time at the thought of leaving my baby a 2 hour flight behind and praying I'd packed the breast pump! 

Imagine my thrill at receiving a 'love-letter' upon waking on the 14th of December.  Not just any old love letter, but rather an old fashioned love letter with a homemade rendition of the 12-days of Christmas.  This week has been one surprise after another.

Day 1: I received a glass blown partridge with a white flowing feather tail, perched in a miniature white wire tree with paper pears dangling from each branch.
Day 2: A yummy box of Carmel pecan Turtles and a bottle of Dove body wash
Day 3: 3 French Crullers with paper hens poking out of the tops
Day 4:  A phone call from my hubby and a Christmas bouquet with 4 Birds of Paradise
Day 5: Five Gold Presidential $1 coins
Day 6: A 6 egg quiche delivered while laying in bed.

Tomorrow is Day 7.  Any guesses what 7 Swans of swimming will be??

Priceless Pieces and other Valuable Nuggets...

I found an exquisite vase at a garage sale recently.  It was marked $1 and I thought- what the heck?  If I get sick of it, I could always sell it and perhaps make a little profit.  Upon returning home, curiousity got the best of me. I looked at the artists signature at the bottom of the vase. Was it Tillin or Rillin or Nillin?  I couldn't be sure.

Imagine my surprise when my little vase with the lovely dancing ladies popped up on a search.  Turns out it was created by artist Polia Pillin (1909-1992).  Born in Poland, Pillin immigrated to the US and made a successful career as an artist.  Her art today fetches a great deal and the value of my vase neighbors in the market of $1200-1800. 

What a find!

Isn't it interesting the values we place on our stuff?  Moreover, I marvel at how much stuff we actually acquire! There are some things in life that you just can't put a price on however. I've listed my top 3. 

My priceless stuff:
1. My faith
2. My family
3. My Health
...(and down the list somewhere, in some silly way, I might add my little Pillin vase)
 
May you and yours have a joyous Thanksgiving holiday!
To Wellness,
Maryalice


As the holidays sneak upon us, let us all take 5 seconds (or more) to think upon the things we place values on... even the stuff that we value priceless...

Lyme Bites and other Sad Tales and Farewells

• I walked into my doctor's clinic today only to receive the bad news. Johnny died. No Not Johnny, I thought.  So unfair.  I recently wrote about him in my blog- We were IV roommates.  Lyme really bites. When I left the clinic the words that came to my mind were- "Johnny goes marching home."  I know that without a shadow of a doubt that Johnny will be welcomed home and will talk and walk again.  Bless you Johnny.  You will be missed.   

• Other sad news- my sweet friend Sarah passed away on Friday.  A more amazing woman would be hard to find.  She suffered for the last 2 years with Multiple Myeloma. Her wonderful husband and 6 beautiful children will be most at a loss not seeing her smiling face and feeling her daily courage.  I will miss my dear friend and I have a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes just thinking about her. Good bye sweet Sarah.  The Heaven's welcome you and you are now in our Father's arms.

• Even though I am in treatment again, I know it will only be a short time.  I have been blessed.  I thank my Father in Heaven daily for my life, for my family and friends. 

• One of the things I am most thankful for is Max.  It has given me a chance to live again.  Please have the courage to try it for yourself. www.max.com/255092 

  

Blessings to you for a marvelous day.  It's a great day to be alive!
To Wellness,
Maryalice
 

 

AWWW, TO BE A MOM, NOW THAT IS SOMETHING!

" I love my children sir, and the thought of living without them is like living without air." 
Mrs. Doubtfire

When i was a little girl, i knew exactly what i wanted to do when i grew up.  i would travel to far away places, go to college to be smarter, and find a way to be successful.  well, i have traveled here and there, gone to college, and been successful in many things.  the thing that makes most sense to me though is something that i never really put much thought into.  being a mom.  being a mom to me is the most amazing gift.  it is like Christmas every day.  it is better than fame, fortune and even ice cream!  i am so humbled that God would grant me, little ol' me, the blessing to be the Wallis kids' mom.  who knew?  in all of the details that our Father in Heaven orchestrated, how truly humbled i am that he found favor in me, and gave unto me the most incredible children under Heaven.  Amen.