By His Stripes I've Been Healed

Yes, you read that correctly! I’m completely ecstatic to share with you that I experienced a complete physical healing from Lupus and Lyme Disease and I’ve been living symptom free for the past 3.5 years!

Let’s catch up :)

First of all, you’ve been so patient with me as I’ve taken quite a long break, thank you! When we last connected, I was starting to study what the Bible says about healing and as I was renewing my mind, I needed to step back from everything that connected me with former thinking habits. It was about a year’s process of mind renewal combined with a deliverance event that allowed my body to be restored.

Most changes occurred over the period of that year through holistic health care and lots of prayer and study, but the deliverance was on August 1, 2018 and I consider that the day of my healing. In that moment, I felt the freedom and release, a breezy feeling. The next morning I woke up feeling refreshed and energized for the first time I could remember — I was able to sweep the floor, I was able to create a meal! It took about 3 weeks to strengthen my back muscles before my 12 years of back pain was gone! The pain never returned, the fatigue never returned, the brain fog never returned! I’ve been completely symptom free of Lupus and Lyme ever since!

So that’s the quick overview of what happened! Now let me tell you how.

As I’ve meditated on how this happened, I’ve come to learn that what the Bible says about Mind Renewal is the same as the Science of Thought, and even the same as the Placebo Effect! I learned that the mind controls the brain, which controls the body. So when you whole-heartedly believe something, such as “by [Jesus’] stripes, I was healed”, it starts to change the chemicals and hormones released in your brain, which changes your entire physical response. Dr. Caroline Leaf and Curry Blake helped me when understanding this process.

I believe this is the “how” of my healing. I attribute all glory and praise to God in Heaven! He works in wondrous ways.

This may be a lot to take in, and you probably have many questions, especially if you yourself are living with chronic illness. First of all, I just want to make it clear that God doesn’t love me any more than he loves you. If he blessed me with a complete physical healing on this earth, that’s what he wants for you too — all you need to do is receive it! All you need to do is pray and ask. Jesus healed everyone that asked him.

Isaiah 53:4-5 (My re-worded summary from personal study)
Certainly Jesus/Yahusha took upon himself our physical sickness and carried the burden of our sorrow. We thought of this as God/Yahuah’s divine chastisement struck on him physically, humbling him in the harsh disciplinary treatment.
But Jesus/Yahusha was defiled because of our rebellion from godly living, he was physically bruised because we perverted that which is good through sin. Jesus/Yahusha took the punishment for our sins upon himself so that we can have peace. Jesus/Yahusha was physically marked black and blue to perform our physical and spiritual restoration and complete healing.

I used tools such as BlueLetterBible to look up each word’s Strong’s Concordance meaning in these verses.

This announcement is long overdue. I want to repent and ask for forgiveness for not sharing sooner. There was fear coupled with insecurity that held me back. So even though this post is brief, I’m glad it’s out there for you to know that God has held me in the right hand of his righteousness. I also find it amusing that I’m finally writing this on the 9 year anniversary of my heart failure (check out the story here).

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

It’s also amazing to me as I read back on my previous posts. I had such faith that I would be healed, yet, I didn’t know quite where to place my faith. I knew that I would be restored but I didn’t know if it would be on this earth.

Now I KNOW. He came that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10)! Studying the healings of Jesus convinced me with every part of my being that He desires healing for us all. Whatever you are going through, bring it to Jesus.

By his stripes we were healed. By his blood we were atoned for.

Next time you take communion, remember that the bread and the cup symbolize these things. The bread is a symbol of his body, broken for us. When we eat of it, remember that he healed us of everything — physical and even mental & emotional too. When we take of the cup, we remember his blood poured out for our reconciliation — we are made right with God the Father and will live with him in the Kingdom of Heaven eternally when we accept that Jesus paid the consequence for our sin, death.

You have the opportunity to accept this right now.

When I was wresting with the time between understanding this and yet waiting for the physical manifestation in my body, I was given a beautiful prophetic dream of my healing. Friends also shared their prophetic visions of my healing. As encouraging as this was, it was still a struggle waiting to walk in this promise. In that time, I clung to this song and I want to share it with you. I danced for the first time in years to this song.

Do it Again by Elevation Worship.

Thank you for coming back to see how I’m doing, years later. Thank you for praising God with me. I love you all and am praying for everyone that reads this.

I plan to share an update with how things have changed since my healing! Spoiler alert — we have a third child and a homestead now!

Love, shalom, and blessings to you all!

Current Treatment for Lupus and Lyme

Treatment for Lupus and Lyme is not a one-size-fits-all approach; I have been constantly re-evaluating what my personal body needs to keep moving forward towards healing. I’m happy to say that our efforts have been fruitful and I am so encouraged to see continued overall improvement and a drastic difference from when I started treatment around this time last year! 

Many people have a mindset that when there is a health problem, the fix is to take a medication for life. Unfortunately though, this is a ‘bandaid’ solution that simply masks symptoms but does not help the body heal. Not to mention the side effects that also occur alongside the intended effect! So while my body needs some of those medications for keeping pretty serious symptoms under control, I have a whole arsenal of other treatment options to help my body heal so that hopefully one day I won’t need medication anymore!

Future Dr. Brooklyn joined me for the last day of my latest round of IV antibiotics :)
The lovely Dr. Aubrey Shannon was very kind and generous, helping me arrange 6 days in a row!

Here is a summary list of what I am currently doing for treatment of Autoimmune Disease and Lyme Disease:
 

Detox

• Burbur-Pinella (brain-nerve cleanse)

• Parsley extract

• Activated charcoal

• Silymarin (milk thistle)

• UNDA 1, UNDA 20, UNDA 243 combination

• Infrared sauna

• Dry brushing

• Glutathione push
  

Immune Support

• Myers IV therapy

• Reishi mushroom powder

• Transfer factors
  

Antimicrobials

• Pulses of IV antibiotics

• MAH - Major Autohemotherapy

• Quintessence

• Previously Samento & Banderol, Eluna & Mora, or Cumanda & Houttuynia

• Serrapeptase to break biofilm

• CBD oil to break biofilm and kill spirochetes & egg form

• Plaquenil (Lupus = suppresses antibody production, Lyme = cyst buster)
  

Supplementation

• Myers IV therapy

• Juice Plus (fruit, veggie, berry)

• Probiotics

• Methylcobalamin (methylated B12) injections

• Stress B Complex

• 5-MTHF (methyl folate)

• Vitamin C

• Vitamin D

• Zinc

• Magnesium

• Fish oil (Omega 3:6 at 1.5:1 ratio)

• Imflammatrix

• Ribes Nigrum

• Kalium phosphoricum (tissue salts)

• Ferrasorb

• Cortrex

• Thyroid Px

• Electrolyte powder

• Betaine HCL & Pepsin

• GB40

• Ashwaghanda
  

Pain Management

• CBD oil and lotion

• Low Dose Naltrexone (prescription)

• DoTerra Deep Blue rub

• Inflammatrix (when inflammation related)

• Burbur-Pinella (when detox related)
  

Stress Management

• Essential oils diffused day and night

• Detox baths

• Adrenacalm cream in the evening

• UNDA 30

• GABA Pro

• Bible study & obedience to the Word
  

Product changes

• Homemade lotion & face cream

• Homemade foundation and mica powder for blush

• Homemade deodorant

• Homemade lip balm

• Natural toothpaste (Toms)

• Natural body soap (Good)

• Natural hand & dish soap (Soap Dispensary)

• Natural home cleaners (Norwex, Pink Solution)

• Ceramic cookware, glass food storage, filtered water

• Homemade organic food (almost no processed food), avoiding allergens & inflammatory food

There are times when we find ourselves lacking control over our lives, whether that be our health, relationships, or finances. It is wise to seek out what scripture has to say about these things and to look for sound counsel. Life may be completely out of our hands, but the Lord is always sovereign. Abide in Him and He will abide in you! 
 

“Remain in Me, and I in you. As the branch is not able to bear fruit of itself, unless it remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.”
John 15:4
 

Please remember that this list is a personalized treatment plan that has been working for my body; you can read my disclaimer here. I hope that it can inspire you to inquire further about what could be a benefit to you. 
If you know of anything not mentioned here that I could look into for the future, please share in the comments below!

No Fear

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you know that I did a chronic infections panel to find out if an underlying infection could be the root cause of my ongoing Lupus activity. It was on this day last year that I received the positive result for borellia burgdorfori (the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease) among eight other chronic infections.

It was a strange moment. When I walked into my Naturopathic appointment, my doctor had only just received the results and had not previewed them so as he read to me what tested positive, he started to slow down near the end. You know that big news is coming when someone tries to be extra sensitive with how they share it. He didn't want to say it at first, but when he said that the last positive result on the list was borellia burgdorfori, I didn’t need him to explain. I knew what it was. 
 

“That’s the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, right?”
 

My heart sank. I knew the gravity of the situation. I knew right away that this was the most complicated infection anyone could possibly have. 

I took a deep breath. I was disappointed that this route was now my reality, but I was not fearful of what was to come. In fact, I had joy in my diagnosis! I know, I know, that’s a really bizarre thing to say. But it’s true. Just like when I had heart failure or when I learned that I had Lupus, I knew there was nothing to fear because my heavenly Father is sovereign over it all.
 

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment; and the one fearing has not been perfected in love.” 
1 John 4:18
 

In this scripture, we learn that fear is from Satan and only brings torment to a person. If we hang back a bit into 1 John 4:8, we see that God is love; his character is true love. When we fully surrender our lives and circumstances to the will of the Father, we can experience His perfect love that casts out fear.

The only way to let go of fear and bring this fire to your soul is to experience a softened heart towards what God’s will is for you. This comes through prayer (you talking to God) and reading the bible (God talking to you). 

A great starting place is daily devotions, but these can be completely out of context and written to tickle our ears. Digging into the word - uninterrupted bible study - is when truth is revealed. Your heart must be open to reproach and learning where you need to change your life. You have to be willing to look for sin you need to repent of. 
 

I would like to note that there have been several seasons that I have needed medicine to help bring my physical body ease while my mind caught up. I could be unafraid but my body was continuing to tremor in a way that I couldn’t control. In these situations, I have found UNDA30 drops and GABA Pro tablets to be very helpful at easing anxiety so that I could think more rationally. 

Other helpful approaches have been using essential oils (especially diffusing lavender) and taking a long soak in a detox bath (hot water, epsom salts, baking soda, essential oils).
Most notable for changing my mindset though has been starting each morning with an hour of prayer and bible reading before even letting the kids out of bed!
 

With all that being said, we need to recognize that there is a difference between worldly fear and a healthy fear of the Lord. There are numerous places in scripture where we are instructed to fear the Lord in a way that brings about repentance and a choice to live in obedience to His commandments. 
 

“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways.”
Psalm 128:1
 

When we recognize the gravity of the consequences of our sin, we can choose to repent and change our hearts to live the way God calls us to. It is a good thing to fear God’s wrath and to accept His mercy and grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27

The opposite of experiencing worldly fear is a washing of peace that comes from living in light of God’s promises. You cannot be submissive to the will of God while keeping one foot in the world. Do not be afraid of what people think. There is a remnant of dedicated believers; seek them out for fellowship and encouragement.

Click here for more verses about a healthy fear of the Lord.

Ongoing Lyme Treatment

Each month, I check in with my Lyme literate Naturopath (Dr. Julie) to discuss how my body is responding to treatments and make changes or additions. Over the past ten months, I have seen such dramatic improvements and even though every day is still very difficult, I am encouraged to persevere. Much has changed since I shared about my Lyme protocol here and here, and I’d love to share with you how I’ve been walking through this past fall and winter so you can get a sense of what this journey is like.

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, then you would’ve seen that in October, I did a round of IV antibiotics. Attacking Lyme is definitely a dynamic process; our approach is constantly changing. I feel so fortunate to have access to such experienced Lyme literate doctors and (from what I’ve researched) some of the most effective treatment around. It can be really overwhelming most of the time, but I strongly believe that the combination of conventional and herbal medicine is effective for me. I plan to do another round of antibiotics this spring.

The IV antibiotics are being used as a pulse therapy; I do about 8 days in a row and then take a break. The antibiotics are always in conjunction with herbal antimicrobials, super probiotics, and LOTS of detox and immune support. For example, because the antibiotic I used is a cell wall buster, I did several Myers cocktails (ie. vitamin IV) and MAH (ozone) IVs to enhance the attack on microbes once their defence was down. I increased my probiotics during this period of time to a full pack of VSL #3 each day (450 billion).

The week following my first round of IV antibiotics, I started to feel really anxious. My brain felt like it was all mixed up and I just couldn’t put the pieces back together. It wasn’t until I saw Dr. Julie in follow up that I even knew that the buzzing, high strung feeling and stress was probably a herx! So I increased how often I was taking Burbur-Pinella, got in the sauna every day and made sure not to skip my CBD oil.

In terms of herbal antimicrobials (Nutrimedix brand), the kids and I have felt really good with Samento + Banderol for the past few months but we’ve also pulsed between those, Cumanda + Houttuynia, and Enula + Mora. These ones follow the same idea where I take 1 drop twice a day of each on day one, 2 drops on day 2, etc. with the kids increasing their drops every other day. After 2 weeks at the full dose (30 drops for me, 15 drops for the kids), we’ll switch to a different combo working our way up more quickly to a full dose for 2 weeks. Keeping track of it all is enough to make this Lyme brain spin for sure! Zach’s super helpful with keeping us on track and I’ve written all the amounts on my calendar, but I still mess it up often.

Brain fog, severe exhaustion, and nausea have still been a struggle these past months. I’m so thankful that my Rheumatologist has signed off on returning to work on partial medical leave because my Lupus markers and symptoms have gotten worse this past year. It can be hard to admit that my autoimmune disease is in the severe category (systemic causing organ failure). She actually recommended full time medical leave but I find so much joy in my job as a Biology teacher that I push myself to the max of what I am able to.

So in November, I returned part time for the new Health Sciences program (the only one in Canada) where I teach the Biology 12 (now called Anatomy and Physiology 12) course and facilitate pre- and post- discussion with BCIT’s PreHealth program. Through BCIT, students get to do a lab course as well as a case study course focusing on lung cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. I’m absolutely thrilled to have been involved in the launch of this program and every day I pray that my brain allows me to be as involved as my heart is. 

It’s a lot of effort to have someone watch the kids while I go to weekly appointments so I try to schedule them all on the same day each week. I also use the infrared sauna about 5 nights a week; we are so fortunate to have found a great deal on one and squished it into our storage room. It has helped with detoxing tremendously.

With all this support in place, I’ve been able to do more neural therapy to break up scar tissue and interference fields. We’ve done this a handful of times now in my mid/upper back, trapezius, and base of skull with each time my muscles feeling (and looking!) noticeably more relaxed. But immediately the first couple of times, I had trouble even standing up and couldn’t drive myself home because I was so dizzy and nauseous. Thankfully, my reactions have improved with each treatment.

To help suck up all these toxins making me feel so lousy, I tried Cholestyramine which acts kind of like a filter. The only problem is that it’s like drinking fish cement. That’s where the hesitation comes in… but it really helps with the brain fog. What it does is bind to fat and help flush it out of your system. Since the neurotoxins are fat soluble, these get flushed with the fat (that toxic fat needs to be replaced with lots of healthy fat like coconut oil, avocados, and fish oil). Long story short, this treatment didn’t work out well for me; I couldn’t deal with the digestive upset (and trying to swallow cement that tastes like fish doesn’t help). I switched to activated charcoal instead.

Recently my appetite has been severely reduced and I feel so unwell that taking my supplements is difficult. I’m not currently following the ketogenic diet but I keep my grains very minimal and avoid my food allergies (mainly gluten, dairy, corn, soy) as well as inflammatory processed foods and sugar. I’ve recently shared about my concern over healthy eating here and I’m working to keep the emotional side of my diet just as healthy as my food choices. 

I’m still not well enough to run errands or attend church and bible study regularly. I hardly ever have the energy to hang out with friends and I’ve missed out on many celebrations. It’s really hard to feel like I’m missing out on life in order to avoid spending the next day(s) in pain. But my Mom always said that no one knows your body like you do so you have to listen to it and take good care of yourself. If you flare because you pushed it, everyone will just say that you should’ve listened to your body. Yep, she’s completely right.

The next thing on my radar is heavy metal chelation following the replacement of metal dental fillings. After reading Yolanda Hadid’s book, Believe Me, I realized that perhaps my dental issues should be looked into. I have really bad TMJ pain and can actually feel the build up of infection under my ears down my jaw. I know this is something that will contribute to my overall healing and I’d like to get it done sooner rather than later but because I can’t do this while breastfeeding, I have to take one for the team and be patient. But dang it’s hard to be patient with Lyme treatment!

I know I say this a lot, but I really appreciate you following along with my healing journey and caring to understand what it’s like to live with Lupus and Lyme Disease. Your support has been such an encouragement in what would otherwise be a dark time. I sense God’s presence and am resting in His sovereignty. I will never understand why things unfold the way they do, but I know that I can trust that God is carrying me through it and there is nothing that could ever happen to me that would shake my faith. One day I will experience the fulfillment of His promises, healing and all.