CHAPTER NINE
PRIDE AND PARKINSON’S
PRIDE AND PARKINSON’S
Some days I feel like I’m in the biggest race of my life – trying to detox and rebuild faster than the cells of my brain die and leave me unable to function. Parkinson’s dis-ease appears to be winning the race, moving fast, robbing me of my ability to function like a normal person and stripping me of all pride. My seen and unseen pockets of pride are being exposed! Parkinson’s is a “pride buster” that is affecting me and my family!
The tremors are connected to my emotions and get worse when I’m upset or cold. Air conditioned buildings are especially hard for me, so I take a blanket or a jacket with me to keep warm as well as hide the tremors. Parkinson’s is an attention magnet that makes me hide and shrink. I am learning lessons about pride and letting go. Becky firmly told me I need to be more positive and let go of performance, and the fear of what people think, the fear of not being good enough, and negative thinking. She said I can heal my body if I change my thoughts. God is showing me what I need to change, if I’ll pay attention and let go of pride and these destructive behaviors. The purification process continues as Parkinson’s unearths a whole new layer of my weaknesses.
Letting go of fear!
Parkinson’s disease was first described in 1817 by James Parkinson. The average age of onset is 57 years of age, but can occur as early as age 30. The most damage occurs in the substantia nigra of the midbrain, but there can be extensive damage to other areas of the brain. Damage can also occur in the nervous system and affect the body’s ability to detoxify harmful elements. Thirty five percent of patients will eventually develop dementia.
Scientists believe that Parkinson’s is an inflammatory disease linked to trauma, exposure to toxic metals, pesticides, herbicides, vaccinations and infections. Everyday we are exposed to enormous amounts of dangerous chemicals when we spray our homes, yards, golf courses, and parks and work in buildings treated by pesticide services. People with Parkinson’s have weak detoxification enzymes in their neurons and liver; when exposed to toxins the poison is not detoxified and enters the brain to do its damage.
Glutathione plays a major role in protecting all cells, especially brain cells against mercury toxicity. People with low levels of glutathione are at a much greater risk of mercury damage to the brain and developing Parkinson’s. The factors that lower glutathione are brain injury, strokes, diabetes, toxins and infections. When I was a teenager I was hiking in the mountains with my friends and a rock slide came down on us. I was hit on the head by a large rock the size of a cantaloupe. I had a brain concussion and a fractured skull. Head injuries like this can cause an overactive limbic system, a short attention span, cluttered thinking, negative thinking, a stiff neck and repeating mistakes, as though the brain is stuck. It’s possible that this brain injury caused some of my extreme behaviors and set the stage for Parkinson’s. It’s also possible there is a DNA marker for Parkinson’s in my family that was triggered by heavy metals as well as my brain injury.
Fifteen years old - age of brain injury.
Because we live in such a toxic world we are seeing many more neuro degenerative diseases. Modern medical treatments rarely address any of these issues, instead they try to replace lost neurotransmitters. These treatments can aggravate the situation and cause even more rapid deterioration. In the 1970’s a new treatment called L-dopa appeared and was said to be a cure for the problem. Many dramatic successes were being reported.
Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, a neurosurgeon who watched both of his parents suffer and die with Parkinson’s, devoted his life to finding answers. He made it his personal mission to inform and educate others about the prevention and treatment of this devastating neurological disorder so they will not suffer as his family did. Dr. Blaylock tried every traditional medical treatment for his father and mother but none seemed to help. He watched helplessly as his father went from a “robust, energetic man of great humor to a weak, emaciated shadow of his former self.” His mother simply gave up when she was diagnosed and stopped fighting the disease. He said both his parents had “always emphasized exercise and a good diet and took an assortment of vitamins, but most of their vitamins were poorly compounded.” Dr. Blaylock wrote:
“Normally the immune cells, the microglia, are in a resting state – they are snoozing, but when the brain is at risk of being attacked these sleeping microglia spring to life and travel around the brain and create all kinds of havoc. In most brain diseases the connections in the brain are most damaged and not the cells. This is good because it means that if the correct steps are taken early enough, more serious damage can be averted. In many cases a person can have dramatic improvement. A recent study found that the incidence of neuro-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease, has increased in far greater numbers than previously suspected and are occurring at much earlier ages than before. The onset was usually in the 70’s and 80’s but now it’s in the 50’’s and 60’s. Some victims are in their early twenties and thirties."
Another finding is that vaccinations can dramatically increase one’s risk of developing a devastating neuro-degenerative disease. Vaccinations can increase the sensitivity to toxins, especially mercury. Dr. Blaylock believes:
“Vaccinating pregnant women with the flu vaccine may very well put their babies at a much greater risk of developing Parkinson’s when they grow up. Giving the elderly more vaccines is also of great concern, since this can set the stage for chronic brain inflammation. Studies have shown that a single vaccination can activate destructive microglia activation that can last for years, the same as pesticide and drug exposures. Parkinson’s is not caused by a deficiency in dopamine, inflammation appears to be the trigger. There are no visible symptoms of Parkinson’s until almost 50 percent of the neurons in the substantia nigra have been killed. When a person is finally diagnosed 70 percent or more of the neurons are dead and the remainder are quite sick. This leaves little to work with, but even these cases are not hopeless.”
He believes you can fight back! He recommends a healthy diet and the right supplements to calm microglia and fight inflammation. For the past 26 years Dr. Blaylock has practiced neurosurgery in addition to having a nutritional practice. He recently retired from his neurosurgical duties to devote his full attention to nutritional studies. He said:
“Regular exercise reduces brain degeneration and promotes brain healing. Moderate exercise such as walking, weights and resistance are best, causing the brain to release special healing neurotrophic substances. Adequate rest, regular mental activity and spending time with friends and family are also important and spiritual devotion is vital.”
Some scientists believe that when exposed to strong electric fields, the brain’s tiny magnets may re-orient themselves, disrupting the normal flow of materials in and out of cells, affecting the health and rate of activity of the cells. Electrical magnetic factors, or EMFs, can affect communication among nerve cells resulting in neurological diseases. Exposure to abnormal electromagnetic fields results in significant abnormalities in physiology and function. Electromagnetic pollution may be compounded by exposures to other dangerous environmental or chemical substances called exotoxins, including such heavy metals as mercury, aluminum, arsenic or lead. I tested high in all of these.
Other dangers include chemical hydrocarbons, pesticides, herbicides and thousands of new substances introduced into our modern day environment. These toxins may result in near total immune system breakdown for some individuals. Continued exposure may lead to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, SIDS, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, cancer and mental illnesses. Some doctors haven’t recognized the rising cases of environmental diseases.
“The more serious the illness, the more important it is for you to fight back, mobilizing all your resources - spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical.” Norman Cousins
I am fighting back! I’m exploring every option, not just following the standard medical treatments. Dr. Allen suggested glutathione injections for detoxification and acupuncture to clear my meridians or electrical circuits. He recommends whole food supplements to detoxify the heavy metals along with supplements from Dr. Blaylock’s protocol. I feel better after his oxygen treatments and acupuncture. If there is a drug, a clinic, a treatment or even surgery that will help me I am willing to try it. I hope to regenerate my brain and nervous system with nutrition. My question is - will the degeneration go faster than the regeneration? My future is unknown and fearful but I believe God can heal me if that is his plan for me.
I want to have faith like the pioneer women who went before me. When Bathsheba W. Smith left beautiful Nauvoo to make the long trek across the plains, she said:
“My last act in that precious spot was to tidy the rooms, sweep up the floor, and set the broom in its place behind the door. Then with emotions in my heart..I gently closed the door and faced an unknown future, faced it with faith in God.”
Like this pioneer woman, I will face my unknown future walking with faith in God. We are in his hands!
Walking with faith in Cambodia!
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