Knocked Down a Couple of Notches

I was feeling great a couple of days ago and posted about it. I still feel great in my mind because I know what great is supposed to feel like. My body, however, is another story, with aches and pains back in full force.

Colson and I are still in Michigan and having a fantastic time with my parents, sister's family and brother. My new nephew (5 weeeks old) is BEAUTIFUL! Lots of fun, laughter and conversation that I wouldn't trade for anything.

The food front is another story. The food Colson and I have been eating tastes good, but it is taking a toll on me. The ice cream cake for Colson's third birthday party, for example, was fantastic. The cake, combined with the bread and other anti-nutrients that we have been eating daily, has caused inflamation in my body.

• My right shoulder, which hurt for over five years and then magically quit last November after eating the GAPS way for a few months, is hurting sharply. Last night I could not sleep on it.
• My formerly fractured back, which quit hurting last November, is aching when I bend over.
• My muscles are spasming slightly.
• The body odor that I experienced after our Washington D.C. trip last week disappeared after a few days, but it is back worse than ever now that we are in Michigan.

Colson seems to be fine with the food, but I think that is because he has no injuries to be troubled by it. He did have a weird, unprecedented energy high after his Grandpa bought him his first waffle ice cream cone. I was not there to moderate this purchase. That was a lot of ice cream (it was from Cold Stone - YUM), and he loved every bit of it!

I knew that I would have some sort of reaction to the food, and I know that it will not last long once I get home and into my routine. The human body is forgiving and resilient. I am amazed at the science experiment that I have  become.

What is most frustrating is how society views Ryan, Colson and me. We are considered pretty kooky and fringe for avoiding foods that cause disease. I have been free of pain for five months, after 14 years of pain that began with my back fracture. Ryan has been free of ADD for about three months, after a lifetime of frustration. Colson had lost his sneezies, which have returned during our visit to Michigan. Why on earth would we seek to regain these things? Yet society pushes us to.

In one fashion or another I have been criticized for my "ignorance." Ignorance is "deadly" two people have told me. One of those people is fighting for her life, struggling with lymphoma, and she will ultimately lose. Hers has been a very sad decline, in which I believe her eating habits played a role. It is my "ignorance" that will most likely keep me from having to one day share her experience.

Today we will find out if my mother-in-law has pancreatic cancer. If it is cancer, two of my loved ones will have been diagnosed with cancer in the last four months. I am amazed at the growing number of people who suffer because of poor food and health choices. Cancer strikes approximately one in three people, and the rate is going up. Cancer rates in children are appalling. Odds are pretty good that you or someone you know will have cancer. 

In a few days I will leave my family in Michigan. I moved away 21 years ago, and I cry every time I end a visit. My family is great and I love them like crazy. I will return to a wonderful husband and begin to heal my resurging pain. This visit has heightened my need to stay true to my food journey, and in a week I plan to feel incredible again.

Comments

[Erica]

Isn't it sad that sometimes we have to get away from the people who love us most in order to be healthy? It bugs the heck out of me when people poo-poo my rules for not eating certain foods when those are the very things that keep me from being healthy and alive. I've learned to say that I have food allergies because it seems easier for people to accept that I really can't eat those foods.

[R. Combs]

I miss you like crazy Cutie! That was a great post.