Moving Strongly Forward

New Political Party – The Canary Party

The Canary Party is worth checking out, and the timing couldn’t be better! I have spent the last two weeks lobbying a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) health care bill in the North Carolina legislature. The power of the North Carolina Medical Society (aka MDs) to mess in the CAM world couldn’t be clearer.

People need a political party that really and truly (yes, I said really and truly and meant it) is not beholden to big business and all the injury and death it brings. The Canary Party might actually achieve this. One of its founding members is Dr. Sherri Tennpenny, MD, a champion for vigorous health and leading opponent to America’s currently embraced disease paradigm.

Big Pharma is happy that industrialized food is making us sick – they can treat us and keep us alive long enough to make a profit. And western medicine…don’t get me started. I know some amazingly awesome MDs, but most are automatons, blindly following Big Pharma and standard care that sickens many people. But that is ok with Big Pharma, because the poor souls who get caught in the western medicine Treatment Trap continue to generate more money for the industry.

If you are ready for something new, bold, and positive, it might be worth a few minutes to read about The Canary Party and consider joining their efforts.

Update - School District Contest Potential Cover Up

I reported that there may be a cover up regarding the number of people speaking out about this contest: Take Action: Vaccine Contest in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – A Cover Up? I finally had some time on Friday to follow up and figure out what is happening, and how only 19 people could have written given the huge amount of coverage that the contest received.

I called the school district’s Assistant Superintendent for Community Relations and questioned her regarding the 19 complaints and why there weren’t more reported by NPR. I learned through a combination of the phone call and an email that NPR apparently did not wait for her to gather all of the complaints and only mentioned in their news story the 19 she had readily available (she reports that she did not have access to the individual school board members’ email, only a central, aggregating email where 19 complaints were submitted). I am waiting to hear back from NPR regarding their side of the story.

The school district is tallying up the complaints and will send me the numbers.

In addition to that discussion, the Assistant Superintendent tried to distance the school district from the contest, which I would not let her do. Below is a portion of the email that I sent to her, documenting our phone discussion and my objection to her position that the school district isn’t responsible for the contest:

Finally, I am appalled that in our discussion you tried to push this contest off on the Health Department and distance the schools. The school district’s own announcement states that the school nurse is involved, and that the Superintendent or another administrator will present the prizes and take pictures with the winning children. Further, per the school district announcement, if there are questions, people are supposed to call the school nurse or the health department. Do you mean to tell me that the school district has no power to keep such a contest out of the schools when approached by the Health Department?

In response to underreporting of complaints, my friend Mandy created this petition: http://signon.org/sign/nc-school-system-offers. Please take a moment to sign. Now that we know the truth, that reporting of the opposition to the contest was suppressed, this petition is more important than ever. Thank you!

Finally, we must be making some progress, because according to strongly pro-vax school board member, “In contrast, there have been several supportive emails including one signed by 67 infectious disease physicians who live and work in this area.” I wonder on whose payroll they are? I think I need a copy of that letter.

Thank you to all of you who have been following along and making your voices heard. All we can do is try. It make take years for the public to shift its views, but the truth is the truth and all we can do is live and speak it.

Dr. Palevsky VAX Talk in Chapel Hill UPDATE!

Last week I posted about this awesome upcoming talk: Dr. Palevsky to Speak in Chapel Hill about VAX. There has been an exciting new development. Because of all the furor around the school vaccine contest in Chapel Hill (see Take Action: Vaccine Contest in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – A Cover Up?) and the need to bring information to the community, the talk is being offered at a greatly reduced rate of as little as $10. If you can’t afford that, feel free to contact Lynne to make other arrangements at lynne24@gmail.com. Nobody should miss this talk because of financial hardship!

Take Action: Vaccine Contest in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – A Cover Up?

The Issue

National Public Radio reports that the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school district has been contacted by only 19 people who have expressed their concern about the vaccine contest: Vaccination Incentive Program Draws Fire. I find that incredibly hard to believe given the huge number of people that the alert has reached through my blog: Vaccine Action Alert – Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools Vaccine Contest, through Natural News: NC school district to give away iPod, laptop to children who ..., the Holistic Moms Network members and through so many autism groups, vaccine awareness groups, complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and their clients, and many others. The Take Action alert on my blog alone has been viewed at least 1,800 times. Yet apparently there have been only 19 people who took the time to write.

I know 7 of those 19 people. That means that the worldwide attention brought to the issue has generated 12 additional people writing according to the school district.

What You Can Do

If you have written to express your opposition to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school district vaccination contest, please write to them again to make sure that they received your email. You can get the Superintendent’s and the School Board Member’s contact information here: Vaccine Action Alert – Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools Vaccine Contest Please cc: the NPR reporter so that he knows that you have written: wmichaels@wunc.org.

If only 19 people really have written, then that speaks to the level of concern around this issue. If, however, more people have written and the numbers are being underreported, the truth needs to be brought to light and those suppressing the public need to be held accountable.

If you are moved to write and express your concern, please do so before May 19 when the school board meets again.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Food Drive!

I mentioned in this post that I felt a bit sad writing about food and health over the last couple of years when so many people don’t really have any: Gut/Brain Connection – No Denying It. Ryan and I have been through the wringer financially due to layoffs and the housing market crash and I have blogged about it here and there. Yet we were still able to hang on and pay for our healing, nutrient dense foods.

With this most recent and powerful reflection, it is clearly time for us to do something to help others in need of food. Today we made a donation to Heifer International. It wasn’t much, but it was something and we will continue to do more as we are able.

There are many charities doing great work feeding people. I wonder how many people the readers of this blog will help? If you are moved to donate and have the resources to do so, please leave a comment here regarding the charity you chose – it will be great fun! The synergy of a community making a difference is always so powerful and uplifting!!

Gut/Brain Connection – No Denying It

Dr. Joe Mercola has written an excellent article on the gut/brain connection: Even if You Eat "Perfectly", Not Knowing This Could Leave You Depressed.

What I like about my health journey is that no matter how many times I hear things, I often make a new connection. Today’s knew connection is the acceptance that different people need to eat in different ways. Dr. Mercola has been saying this for years, but I have been rejecting it in favor of Sally Fallon’s broad brush approach that eating healthy, nutrient dense food is good enough for most people.

I agree that Sally’s nutrient dense food approach would cure so much of American’s illnesses, but it isn’t the final step. Eating according to your nutritional type is the empowering next step. In addition to his own opinions, Dr. Mercola discusses Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez’s nutritional protocols used to treat cancer patients. I heard Dr. Gonzalez speak at the Weston Price conference in 2010, and the stories he told of cancer and how it reacted to different nutritional emphases were amazing. You can read more about his talk here: WAP Conference – Nick Gonzalez, MD and Cancer. My notes from another WAP talk may also be helpful: WAP Conference – Nutrition and Mental Health.

My bottom line – listen to my body. I wasn’t able to hear my body speak for most of my life because it was so toxic; it couldn’t respond loudly enough through all of the chaos it experienced thanks to my poor food choices. I can hear it loud and clear now. I can’t imagine what those on the autism spectrum experience, with their messed up guts and bodies.

Remember, if you are alive there is always hope for improvement, and if you or someone you know can prepare food, you have all of the tools at hand. Are you ready to start an amazing journey of physical, mental and emotional recovery?

P.S. As an aside I feel a bit sad writing this article and reflecting on the last 2.5 years I have spent writing about food. There are people who are unable to prepare food, as they simply have none. If you have a moment to donate and are able to do so, please contribute to a charity such as Heifer International.

Ice Cream Monster Again (and thoughts on ingredient labels)!

So you would think we would have learned about too much ice cream by now. It is kind of a funny story, though. I was writing an article for Uncommon Childhood (UC) when I needed to do some research on Ben and Jerry’s ingredients. They don’t post their ingredients on their website, which meant I had to go to the store and read the labels. Which meant I had to buy the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Which meant that Ryan, Colson and I each ate a pint in two days. Which meant that Ryan developed significant back spasms and a headache, which he always does when he eats that much ice cream. Which means that I can write this same post about every six months.

Below is the article that I sent to Uncommon Childhood. I highly encourage you to check UC out, because it is a fantastic resource for creative thinking when it comes to our kids and ourselves.

Read Those Food Ingredients and Personal Care Product Labels!

It has become more important than ever to understand what we are putting in our bodies and the bodies of our kids. With autism spectrum disorders rampant and growing, along with diabetes, heart disease and cancer, understanding what we use to fuel ourselves is more important than ever.

None of us will eat perfectly, and that is ok. We just need to do our best and realize that “our best” isn’t everyone else’s best. Food is such a personal thing and people are very defensive about it. Still, if folks took the time to understand their food, their lives may change for the better.

Below are a couple of examples of the importance of labels and what they mean for you.

Tonic Water

Let’s start with a funny one. I told my husband, Ryan, that he needed to stop purchasing beer because we are avoiding gluten. We aren’t big alcohol drinkers, but Ryan likes a beer here and there and I join him sometimes. So what does Ryan do, funny guy that he is? He comes home with Vodka, tonic and limes! Seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? He makes us each a drink and we are about half-way through it when our eight year old son, Colson, comes up, reads the tonic label and says “Oh my gosh! The second ingredient in tonic water is high fructose corn syrup!” Ryan and I are both gacking and in shock. High fructose corn syrup in my house?! NEVER!! Well, apparently sometimes, because we didn’t read the label.

If you aren’t familiar with high fructose corn syrup, you can learn more about it and the efforts to rename it so you continue to drink it unwittingly here: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream

My family really, really likes ice cream. We stick to Ben and Jerry’s because the ice cream is made with rBGH-free milk…and I met Jerry back in the mid-90s at the Boston Scooper Bowl. Me, a spoon and 50 flavors of ice cream - does it get any better?  It does when you are there chatting with Jerry while eating your ice cream.  

So, what is in this premium, fairly expensive Ben and Jerry’s ice cream anyway? Before I get into that, I know that some of you are going to want to give me grief for eating sugar, especially since I wrote about it on Uncommon Childhood. It is a tough world out there, and we all have our weaknesses or indulgences and we just keep doing our best, but feel free to let me have it anyway.  

Ben and Jerry's does not reveal their ingredients on their website and they make a lot of claims about the goodness of their ingredients, which is odd because so many companies have their ingredients electronically available. Off to the food store I went to get a list of ingredients for some of our favorite flavors: Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream, Mud Pie and Mint Chocolate Chunk. Of course we bought them, and here is what we found:

• Sugar is a huge component of B&J across the board. Sugar is a culprit in all disease.

• Mint Chocolate Chunk has nothing objectionable

• Americone Dream has two objectionable ingredients: corn syrup and soy

• Mud Pie has three objectionable ingredients: canola oil, wheat flour and soy

I will take on the problems with canola oil, corn syrup and soy in another article. As ice creams go, B&J is pretty darn healthy, but as a food or treat itself it is still a terrible choice due to the sugar and a few other ingredients.

What to eat besides Ben and Jerry’s to avoid the sugar? So Delicious coconut cream based ice cream is now my preferred ice cream because there is no sugar and it tastes really good! We tripped upon it while trying to avoid dairy as a test to see if that affected Colson’s allergies. You can learn more about the ice cream and what sweetens it here: Coconut Milk Ice Cream You Can Buy (and it is comparatively healthy). Be sure to read the comments on the article, too.

McDonald’s Hamburger

If you are wondering what is in McDonalds food, you can learn more here: Ingredients. Actually, I prefer Wendys nutrition listing. All the fast food restaurants should have listings available such as these. The “food” is absolutely frightening. How much hydrogenation, soy, margarine, salt, preservatives and more can be packed into food? I haven’t had fast food in over 15 years, and Colson never has. It is anathema to us and the basis for many of America’s sicknesses.

Personal Care Products

We don’t just ingest toxins through our mouths, they also come in through our skin. In some ways the skin is a worse point of entry because the toxins aren’t sent to our liver for filtering. My family is very careful about what we put on our skin via soap, shampoo, deodorant (actually we make our own and only use it when needed – we are pretty darn healthy and don’t have too much body odor). If you want to learn about your personal care products and the toxins they contain, check out the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Tools and Resources in the right hand column.

Guiding Purchasing Principals

1. Avoid processed foods. At least if you make it yourself you know what is in there.

2. Check the EWG database for any personal care products. If you are shopping and don’t have access to the database, avoid anything with long chemical names and added fragrances.

Remember, this is a continual learning process, and we are all going to stumble along the way. It is the stumbles that help us to learn and make us stronger. What next step are you going to take?

Vax Contest - Julia Harrison Vaxed Prior to Dying from Meningococcal Disease

Last week I started the effort to stop a vaccine contest in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School District: Vaccine Action Alert – Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools Vaccine Contest. I learned of the contest through a friend. Now I learn from a reader of my blog that Julia Harrison, the woman who tragically contracted Meningococcal Disease and died from it, and in whose memory this vaccine contest is being promoted, was vaccinated against the disease “a few years prior” to contracting it. You can read more from her mother’s bio on the National Meningitis Associations’ web page: http://www.nmaus.org/awareness/pdf/cora_harrison.pdf.

I sent the following message to the school board members and superintendent:

I am writing to follow up on my email below. It has come to my attention that Julia Harrison had been vaxed for Meningococcal Disease a few years before tragically contracting the fatal disease. You can read about it in her mother’s bio posted on the National Meningitis Association’s web page: http://www.nmaus.org/awareness/pdf/cora_harrison.pdf.

I find this information most distressing. Julia was vaxed, she contracted this disease anyway and died. Now there is a mass effort/contest to vax the children in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school district, when vax didn’t offer any protection to Julia, and the current vax contest exceeds the disease that broke the Harrison’s heart. This vax contest simply makes no sense and I hope that you stop the contest today.

Sincerely,

Laura Combs

I continue to be amazed by the power of community. Without each other, we can't make the world a healthier and safer place. Thank you, everyone!

Vaccine Action Alert – Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools Vaccine Contest

Hot on the heels of the announcement that preeminent vaccine educator and medical doctor Larry Palevsky is coming to Chapel Hill (see Dr. Palevsky to Speak in Chapel Hill about VAX), I learn from a friend about a Vaccine Contest sponsored by the Chapel Hill/Carrboro public schools. This blew my mind. If it blows your mind too and you want to take action, please keep reading.

THE ISSUE:

Dr. Neil Pederson, Superintendent of Chapel Hill/Carrboro Schools, has endorsed and promoted a contest encouraging adolescents to vaccinate. You can read about his goals and the contest he is promoting here: http://www2.chccs.k12.nc.us/education/components/board/default.php?sectiondetailid=73134&threadid=7650

Here is some information directly from his website:

“There are 3 vaccines that are especially recommended for adolescents.  

•   Meningococcal Vaccine is recommended at 11-12 years of age and again at 16-18 (the second dose is a new recommendation).   If not received at age 11-12, 13-18 year olds should receive a dose at the first opportunity.

•   Tdap (tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis) Vaccine is required for all students who will be entering the 6th grade unless they have had a Td (tetanus/diphtheria) vaccine in the last 5 years. Tdap is recommended for all other adolescents.

•   HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) Vaccine (3 doses) is recommended for any student 9 years of age or older who has never been vaccinated. 

“NOW…about the contest… To be eligible for the contest, a student will need to receive at least one vaccine, meningococcal vaccine, between 4-1-11 and 5-31-11. The student will need to take proof of the meningococcal vaccine received to the school nurse by 10:00 AM on 6-1-11.  The school nurse will then enter the student in the contest.  The student will have 2 entries for having received the meningococcal vaccine.

“Additionally, if the student receives a Tdap and/or a HPV vaccine between 4-1-11 and 5-31-11, he/she would receive one entry for each when the record is provided to the school nurse.  A student receiving all 3 vaccines would be entered 4 times.” 

And what would the winners of the contest receive? And I-pod or laptop computer. 

In essence, Dr. Pederson and the school district are bribing children and their families to become vaccinated (even the HPV vax, a non-mandatory vax, is included). These children are not fully informed of the possible risks of vaccination, are underage, and are being bribed to take actions that will possibly injure them. This scenario, while almost certainly not foreseen by Dr. Pederson, but it is still unconscionable and must be stopped. 

WHY HAVE THIS CONTEST? 

According to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools website: 

“This contest is made possible by a donation from Cora and Paul Harrison in memory and honor of their daughter, Julia, who died of meningococcal disease. The family has chosen to honor Julia's memory by promoting adolescent vaccinations in the hope that no other family will lose a child to a vaccine-preventable disease. Please help honor Julia by making sure your child is fully vaccinated!” 

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT 

While it is tragic that Julia died and we honor the parent’s motives to protect children from disease, the approach being taken by Superintendent Pederson is completely wrong. Risks of vaccine injury are significant, which is why the federal government created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. With the number of vaccine injuries so high, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have shielded vaccine manufacturers from legal action. 

Bribing children and parents with toys such as ipods and laptops so that they will vaccinate and risk potentially life-altering or lethal results without full disclosure of the risks is unconscionable. This mass bribery and vaccination effort has let a new genie out of the bottle, opened a new Pandora’s box, and it must be stopped. Please take a moment to contact Superintendent Pederson and make your voices heard. 

TALKING/EMAIL POINTS 

1. Thank you for your many years of service to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school system. I appreciate your many accomplishments and improvements. I am writing, however, to express my extreme concern about the vaccination contest that was launched on April 26, 2011. 

2. While it is tragic that Julia died and I honor the parent’s motives to protect children from disease, the contest approach is completely unacceptable. Risks of vaccine injury are significant, which is why the federal government created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/. With the number of vaccine injuries so high, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have shielded vaccine manufacturers from legal action. 

3. Bribing children and parents with toys/educational tools such as ipods and laptops so that they will vaccinate and risk potentially life-altering or lethal results without full disclosure of the risks is unconscionable. Further, encouraging 16 year old children to make these decisions without the input of their parents is completely unacceptable and it appears to be pandering to the drug companies. 

4. There are numerous reports of vaccine-related injury and death and many incidents that are unreported. A simple Internet search will lead to many of the reports. While vaccine manufacturers and government agencies deny the links, they did create the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, and Congress shielded manufacturers from liability. If there truly is no link between vaccination and injury and death, there would be no need to shield anyone from liability, and the number of parents believing that their children are vaccine injured would not continue to grow. 

5. As an example of our concerns, please consider these statistics about the HPV vaccine from the Vaccine Adverse Reaction Reporting System (VAERS). VAERS reports that there have been 21,724 adverse incidents, with 77 deaths through March 11, 2011. Further, the U.S. Government website Women's Health states that: 

“Human papillomavirus (pap-uh-LOH-muh-veye-ruhss), or HPV, is the name for a group of viruses that includes more than 100 types. More than 40 types of HPV can be passed through sexual contact. 

The types of HPV that infect the genital area are called genital HPV. Over half of sexually active people will have HPV at some point in their lives. But most people never know it. This is because HPV most often has no symptoms and goes away on its own.” 

Dr. Diane Harper, developer of the HPV vaccine, is clearly on the record with her strong concerns about the vaccine. Women need to be made aware that the risk from HPV is minimal and the risk of injury or death from vaccination is significant. 

6. Risks from Meningococcal disease, a very tragic disease, are also very small, with an average of 1,500 people infected each year from 1998 – 2007. Of those 1,500, 11 percent or 165 people will die (National Meningitis Association). The CDC VAERS database shows that 10,275 people have had adverse vaccine reactions, with 29 deaths through March 22, 2011. 

7. For religious reasons, people choose not to vaccinate. This contest discriminates against those whose religion prevents them from vaccinating. 

8. Please end the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school district vaccination contest program. There is certainly enough effort put into vaccinating children, and bribery should not be used. 

9. If you do not end this program, please make parents and children 16 years of age and older aware of the risks of vaccination. 

• Please provide them information about the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and the statistics from the CDC VAERS database, and please let them know that vaccine injury is greatly underreported.

• Please let them know that the vaccine manufacturers are immune from legal action if people do become injured or die.

• Please provide them the efficacy of the vaccinations (many of the vaccinated still contract the disease, such as whooping cough, measles, chicken pox).

• Please provide them with the vaccine ingredients. 

Fully informed decisions by children and their parents are a must. 

Thank you for your consideration of these concerns. 

Sincerely, 

YOUR NAME, CITY and STATE 

DR. PEDERSON’S CONTACT INFORMATION: 

Email: npedersen@chccs.k12.nc.us 

Phone: 919-967-8219 x 28226 

PLEASE CC: THE SCHOOL BOARD ON YOUR EMAILS: 

jbedford@chccs.k12.nc.us

mburroughs@chccs.k12.nc.us

mbrownstein@chccs.k12.nc.us

jhamilton@chccs.k12.nc.us

mkelley@chccs.k12.nc.us

gmcelveen@chccs.k12.nc.us

astreater@chccs.k12.nc.us

Dr. Palevsky to Speak in Chapel Hill about VAX

I wish, I wish, I wish I could go to this event! Alas, it is Colson's soccer tournament.

If you can, check it out! Here are the details:

Go here to register: http://www.exhibiteye.com/

May 21^st from 9:00 am – 12:00pm at UNC, Chapel Hill.  Our first speaker will be Dr. Lawrence Palevsky, a renowned board certified pediatrician, sought-after lecturer, and published author. Dr. Palevsky utilizes a holistic approach to children’s wellness and illness. He will be giving a talk entitled,  “Are Vaccines Safe and Effective.”

In this workshop you will hear the latest discussions in vaccine science:

• What is the current vaccine science and who is funding and doing it?

• How do vaccines work, and have they done, and do they do what we are told they do?

• What role do vaccine ingredients play when injected into infants and children?

• What do the ingredients do to our children once they’re injected?

• Do vaccines contribute to the development of chronic illnesses in children?

• How do your children get into school if they’re not vaccinated?

• How does the immune system work in babies and children? 

Attendees will hear some of the answers to these questions, along with research that questions whether vaccines are safe and effective, and whether the scientific process is even at work to prove the answers to these questions. Attendees will also be asked to look at the issues that drive us to make the decisions we make, many of which come to us through fear, bullying, uncertainty, and a lack of knowledge, and to perhaps think alternatively about how illnesses occur and disappear. 

Dr. Palevsky received his medical degree from the NYU School of Medicine in 1987. He completed a pediatric residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, and a fellowship at Bellevue Hospital-NYU School of Medicine in the pediatric outpatient department and emergency room by 1991. 

Dr. Palevsky began his career working as a pediatrician in the emergency room of Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center in the Bronx, NY from 1991-1995. He served as the Chief of the Pediatric Acute Care Unit at NYC’s Lenox Hill Hospital from 1995-1998, and continued on in the Department of Pediatrics at Lenox Hill until March 2000. In April 2000, Dr. Palevsky began his practice as the holistic integrative pediatrician for the Center for Health & Healing, an integrative and complementary care medical facility affiliated with the Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC. 

Since 1991, Dr. Palevsky’s clinical practice experience includes pediatric emergency and intensive care medicine, in-patient and out-patient pediatric medicine, neonatal intensive care medicine, newborn and delivery room medicine, and conventional, holistic and integrative pediatric private practice in NYC. 

Dr. Palevsky is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Past – President of the American Holistic Medical Association, co-founder and President of the Holistic Pediatric Association, a Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine, and a medical advisory board member to the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food & Health in New York City,Developmental Delay Resources and the National Vaccine Information Center.

Damn Vibram Shoes (aka OUCH!)

My epic Vibram (barefoot shoe) injury saga continues almost one year later. Unbelievable. You can read about my initial injury and outcome here: Barefoot v. Vibrams…the Vibrams Lose. Then I tweaked it again in January, but didn’t blog about it because it didn’t last long. I was in the Vibrams and walking the dog while Colson and his friend were riding bikes. I didn’t want them to have to stop and start while waiting for me over and over to catch up, so I jogged back in my Vibrams. Big mistake!! But not so bad.

I was jogging in regular running shoes in preparation for the Rugged Maniac Race, and all was great. Ryan had a lung illness, ran the race anyway, and became sicker, which left me with walking the dog every morning for two weeks. Because I was running so well and enjoying it, I ran (in my running shoes NOT Vibrams) most days. On the last day I ran, I had terrible pain in both ankles (no signs prior). Damn Vibram injury from a year ago!! Ryan was able to massage the pain out of the left ankle, but the right has persisted. The right ankle pain hurts so much that I can barely limp around the block with the dog some days.

I hadn’t walked in over a week when I took Colson to Feldenkrais physical therapy (long story, but he is working on proper use of his legs because his outer leg bones grew too quickly throwing off his skeletal structure. It has been corrected with chiropractic, but his leg muscles are rebelling because they have not been properly used ever. Both the PT and the chiropractor are brilliant and Colson is improving lightening quick). The PT says that I have injured my tibialis posterior and if I keep on going I will shred it, need surgery and take a year to recover.

I couldn’t keep going if I wanted to. I rested a few more days, massaged it and iced it (it likes ice!) and things got better a little bit. I tried taking the homeopathic Arnica, but that didn’t help. So, I emailed my incredible Homeopath, Hart Matthews. He said that since it likes ice and Arnica isn’t working, I should take Ledum 30C. I took the Ledum and the next day the pain was gone. With the pain gone that meant I was going to try a bike ride (the PT said biking would be ok). The injury was minorly annoyed but the pain was gone an hour or so after the ride was over.

That brings us to today. I woke up pain-free. It is Sunday. Ryan had a super long six day work week and I thought I would spare him getting up early and walking the dog. I took her on a very slow, ginger walk. I did ok the first ¼ mile, but then the injury flared up. Luckily it was moderately annoying, and I wasn’t limping and sucking in my breath in pain with each step the way I did over a week ago. I got home, took another Ledum 30C and will wait another week before I do anything. Poor husband…he will be walking that dog hard. Again.

What have I learned? Fortunately (I suppose you could say that), I have a past experience that has me prepared for this quiet time – even though I want to run and run and run because I am stronger and better at almost 45 than I was at 28. At age 29, just after getting married, I fractured my back on an adventure outing. I thought for sure I would be paralyzed. The western MDs missed the fracture, but the chiropractor said that I was seriously hurt and should do NOTHING. Not even sweep the floor. I was really strong – able to bench press 120 pounds, run 10 miles and had 12% body fat. Then it all came to a screeching halt. If you know me, that is NOT my nature. I struggled with this quiet time until my really wise injury massage therapist counseled me on cycles in life. After a robust cycle, this was my quiet time – a time for reflection and focus on strengthening another part of my life. A quiet part of my life. It took two visits for his wisdom to sink in, and I quieted down.

Now it is time for me to again be strong in a new way. Fortunately, not all of me has to be physically neutral this time, and I want to get cardio in some way. So pushups it will be. Lots and lots of pushups. In a week or so I will add back squats and lunges between pushup sets. And I will figure out how to strengthen these messed up ankles – probably need a PT visit myself.

I need to figure out what to do about shoes. I am uncomfortable in regular arched shoes and prefer barefoot. Vibrams are too hot for the summer, so I will need to find something. I just know that arched shoes don’t feel so good. And, when I am healed, what am I going to run in? My dog is missing me and I am missing her on our morning jaunts.

Oh yeah. It is time to be quiet and patient. I don’t need to figure it all out now.

Off to do those pushups.