In the year 2000, my life almost ended very abruptly. On a beautiful summer day in Florida, I was rushed in an ambulance to the ER unconscious. Within the first few hours of admittance the doctor told my husband I had a 50/50 chance of surviving the night. I had contracted bacterial spinal meningitis; a life-threatening bacterial infection that races through the spine and swells the brain.  I remained in a coma for ten days.  When I finally woke up, the doctors told me I was lucky to be alive and that recovery would take time.  At that point, I never could have imagined the long road ahead of me. 

 

After surviving this health crisis numerous blood tests were taken which revealed I had an underlying immune deficiency called CVID (Common Variable Immune Deficiency). I was told there is no cure for CVID, only treatment which consisted of monthly  intravenous infusions of Gamma Globulin (IVIg) to boost antibodies in my immune system.  Without these infusions, according to my immunologist, I would not survive a simple common infection.   The infusions kept me alive but I was not thriving, often feeling pretty awful immediately after receiving treatment. Unfortunately my health continued to deteriorate and I started losing vision in my left eye. The eye became very painful and extremely light sensitive.  There were many days I had to be in total darkness during the day.  I was getting very scared that this was only the beginning.  It felt like my body was beginning to shut down and the monthly infusions were only slowing the pace. You can imagine how terrifying that is!  Despite receiving top-notch medical treatment I ultimately ended up completely losing the sight in my left eye and had to have it replaced with a prosthetic.  Blindness is a serious wake-up call.  Then my worst fear started to become a reality.   My  eye was starting to deteriorate.  I was scared to death.  I knew I had to do something.  My entire team of doctors had run out of options for me so I took matters into my own hands.  I got to work to find a cure to all my health problems.  I know it seems naïve to think I could be more effective in finding the answer than all the medical science I was exposed to but what choice did I have? I mean who spends more time with me than me?  What I discovered completely changed my life! 

 

At the beginning of my journey I began trying to eat a healthier diet.  I started a juicing/fasting regiment.  Next I tried immune boosting herbs and tonics.  I even tried acupuncture, float therapy, cryotherapy and massage therapy. I was on an unstoppable mission!  After years of researching and experimenting with many different things I started to find information on this relatively new area of focus.  It has to do with the trillions of beneficial micro-organisms that live in us and on us.  They are so critical to our overall health that they are responsible for 70-90% of our immune system.   Armed with this new knowledge, I began eating and preparing food like my life depended on it or rather my beneficial microbe’s lives depended on it.   My health changed dramatically when I discovered the wonderful world of fermented foods.  REAL foods, when fermented, contain hundreds of millions of probiotics and vital nutrients. The process of fermentation also makes food much easier to digest and assimilate all the available nutrients. In other words, your body knows exactly what to do with these foods.  It is through these foods, processed by nature, that I began to understand what it felt like to be whole again.  

 

My kitchen became my lab.  Once I knew the answer to what would heal me, I began formulating different recipes and techniques that were better for certain ailments.  Each class of foods and beverages have their own unique set of beneficial microbes.  Once I got started I couldn’t stop because the results were so dramatic. 

 

This treatment of live probiotic therapies in the form of food enabled me to be completely medication-free! My last IvIG infusion was in 2015.  This is miraculous because my immunologist made it very clear to me that if I missed even one monthly infusion I could die.  I started sharing my success story with my friends and family. Everyone I shared these foods with was helped in ways I didn’t even know were possible! It treated gout, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and severe depression to the point where that individual is no longer on major anti-depressants. It cured a friend of a chronic lung infection, even removing scar tissue that had been there for years.  Her doctor wanted to know how she was doing it.  It has to do with our microbiome, an incredibly intelligent set of microorganisms that control things such as digestion, assimilation of nutrients, neurotransmitter creation, mood, weight, communication with other cells just to name a few!  Once we learn how to care for these microbes, our health improves.  It is the same for everyone.  It is incredibly exciting because this means that my story is not unique.  Yes I was able to cure myself of a condition that is not thought of as curable but this is only one thing these foods can do.  What I realized is that this is not just for people already suffering from an ailment but is the best preventative medicine that has been around for thousands of years.  It is an ancient practice that is more important now due to the widespread highly contagious diseases and the creation of new antibiotic resistant bacteria. These functional foods help anyone ailing with any type of disbyosis (an overgrowth of harmful pathogens in relation to the beneficial microbes) which is why get sick. I soon realized that maybe I had to go through all these health challenges so that I can be living proof that we can take control over our own health.  Maybe my purpose is to be the voice of the trillions of beneficial microbes that just need to be taken care of so that they can do the job they are meant to do.  And when they thrive, your possibilities are endless!