In late summer of 2013 my husband started having pain and swelling in his right shoulder, right wrist and left ankle. He thought it was to do with over use and working too hard. He operates a crane and other heavy machinery. By spring of 2014 he was much worse. He was in excruciating pain in both shoulders, wrist and ankle. He was limping and most of the time hunched over in pain. I was watching the strong, healthy man I loved so much, deteriorate before my eyes. He went from orthopedic to orthopedic not getting any real answers. Finally his mom suggested he see a rheumatologist. The rheumatogist did not have an appointment for two months, but once she was faxed his blood work she asked to schedule him the next day. When Sean arrived at her office he was limping and in extreme pain throughout his body. He was very sick. I was at this point helping him dress and covering him at night. He had lost most of the mobility in both of his shoulders. After examining Sean she diagnosed him with a very, severe and crippling case of Psoriatic Arthritis. She injected him with Humira on the spot and also prescribed Methotrexate (which is a form of Chemo) and steroids. Our heads were spinning to say the least. We were both shaken to the core and very scared for what the future would be like. I could not even tell anyone the story with crying. I always knew how strong Sean was, but now I saw him fighting for his life. He was to have his blood taken once a month to check his liver and to also check his SED rate which is an inflammation marker in the blood. At the time Sean was off the chart at 108. After about a month he started to feel a little bit better, but not much.
That summer I had an opportunity to attend Doctor Days at the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach Florida. Doctor Days is a 3 day program, geared towards practitioners in the health and wellness field. It is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the raw, vegan diet that HHI is known for and attend very informative lectures. The typical day of eating at HHI is a shot of wheat grass first thing in the morning, lemon water and a green juice for breakfast. Lunch and dinner are large salads consisting of greens, raw vegetables, tons of various sprouts and fermented foods like sauerkraut. After being there for three days and speaking to many people participating in the 3 week life transformation program I knew I had to persuade Sean to come.
When I got home and told him how they were literally reversing cancer, diabetes and arthritis at HHI, he was skeptical. Soon after that he found out he was not getting better and his only hope was to be on Methotrexate and Humira for the rest of his life. Once hearing this he decided to give HHI and the 3 week life transformation program a try. This was a huge step for a man who is a workaholic and homebody. But off he went. I went with him for the first three days to be sure he did not run away. When we arrived he was still limping and in pain throughout his body and unable to raise his arms. He was also living on Tylenol to function at all.
After 4 days of being on the raw diet and utilizing other modalities to detox, he started feeling better. He was no longer limping and forgot to even take the Tylenol. By the end of the week he was walking 2 miles to the store (breaking the rules and leaving the campus) to buy the newspaper. When I came back down to get him three weeks later he was a new man. He’d lost some weight but was feeling better. That was November of 2014.
By now he was well enough to have his left shoulder replaced. The disease had eaten away at both shoulders but the left was worse. On January 10th 2015 he had his left shoulder replaced at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He was still on a completely raw, alkaline diet. I was there every day with the sprouts and the wheatgrass and green juices. I’d jump in a cab, race to the health food store while the driver waited outside then back to the hospital so Sean could drink it right away. The dietitians at the hospital could not understand what he was eating or drinking and why he didn’t want the jello and pudding and turkey sandwiches they recommend. Because he body was in a totally alkaline state, he did not need anything more the a few Tylenol after his surgery. The doctors urged him to take their prescribed pain killers around the clock and to stay ahead of the pain. The truth was that thanks to his lifestyle and raw diet he had little to no pain at all.
The pain from the surgery was less than the pain he was in before the surgery.
His recovery was above and beyond what we or the doctors imagined. He recovered very quickly, pain-free and has one hundred percent mobility in his shoulder and arm.
They told him it would be a long painful recovery with a chance of may 65 percent of his original mobility. We are feeling so blessed and I am so happy to have my husband back!
He has continued on with the wheat grass, green juices and mostly vegan diet, with a few cheats here and there for the past year. He is strong and feeling amazing, off the Methotrexate and weaning off of Humira. He will be having his right shoulder replaced in the coming weeks and we are confident in another successful surgery and recovery.
So as I said, I am not suggesting everyone go on a raw vegan diet. But by adding more alkaline foods to your diet and crowding out more of the acidic foods you will live a healthier more vibrant life than you could ever imagine. I give so much credit to the HHI and Dr. Brian Clemenet. I truly believe the life transformation program at Hippocrates saved my husband from a life of pain and suffering. For more information about HHI go to their website http://hippocratesinst.org
For more information on how you can add more alkalinity to you diet and live your best life, contact me.
