Here's how I lived through a viral storm and medicine allergies
Updated: May 30, 2023
Illness can test your faith. How do you relate to the passage in the Bible that states: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly?” (John 10:10)
Calming a Viral Storm
“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:22).
After several months of illness, I repeated this promise of abundant health to the Lord. The doctors said that each test would inform the other, so the tests continued. Not liking the sound of that and the debilitating effects of dyes[i] and anesthesia[ii] on my body, I halted them. Again, turning to God, I pleaded for His help.
These rounds of doctors and this feeling of sickness were not working for me. I was getting sicker with every test[iii]. The pain and organ responses were unbearable, with drained energy and severe reactions in my body leading to chronic inflammation[iv] (something I try to avoid studiously as inflammation is the enemy of good mental health).
In telling my story, I'll spare the details of the symptoms as the diagnosis is left up to my doctors and I reserve the rights to my privacy and spare others in thinking they need to follow my course, This is my story and therefore not a recommendation to others.
Almost, but hope and life prevailed
After almost 16 months, the results were sought once more by the doctors for my progress. During this time, by God’s grace, the foods of this tainted world and the herbs of the field were my portions.
Admittedly, I tried to find comfort in home-baked bread and crackers, but these did not help my case. I became a ‘wheatarian’ (one on a steady diet of wheat over fruits and vegetables) rather than a vegetarian to soothe my wounded spirit. The rush of endorphins and serotonin from carbohydrates was my solace and pain reliever in the aloneness of illness.
Again, I cried out to the Lord for help, and he relieved my distress. Laying off the bread and finding delight in simply prepared fruits and vegetables, supplemented by nuts and grains, my health is on the road to recovery.
I once again sought a doctor; if only they could tell me what had gone wrong for so long. This long sickness should not have happened. Or so I thought at the time.
The benefits of a balanced diet
Let me back up a bit. I had subscribed to the vegetarian lifestyle (Vegan) for a while with an on-again-off-again commitment. I knew that my old habits were not serving me well during this long illness. But despite this, God still chose to confirm His Health Message in me.
My last-ditch effort for answers led me back to the doctors (new ones) to enquire about the results of all those tests and for the cause of this Viral cyclonic storm in my body. The news was that all systems were a go again. My body had partly done its work of self-healing.
Then, the doctor (in one of the largest hospital networks in my area) advised me to take three more months and do “it” perfectly. He said that my body would make new cells every three months. He did not tell me what the “it” was. He knew I knew. After all, the evidence was there in all the labs, X-rays, Sonograms, MRIs, and CT scans.
As I write, the journey of doing “it” (eating perfectly and exercising) is underway. But what is the reason for these new cells? As a writer, I needed to know more about cell regeneration. That’s when I came across ‘Autophagy.’[v] Foundational information guides my thinking process, so I needed to learn more.
How the body repairs itself
In its simplest form, autophagy is cleaning old cells and building new ones. Autophagy is cleaning up the junk in the cells that prevents them from functioning efficiently. In other words, it optimizes cell performance. Within this work is the destruction of pathogens in the cells: like viruses and bacteria. Autophagy prevents and responds to disease.
How do we aid this process of rebuilding new cells? Fasting!
During fasts, intermittent or long-term, the body responds by rewarding you with better health.
One of my favorite authors states that: “In many cases of sickness, the very best remedy is for the patient to fast for a meal or two... A fruit diet for a few days has often brought great relief to brain workers. Many times a short period of entire abstinence from food, followed by simple, moderate eating, has led to recovery through nature's own recuperative effort. An abstemious diet for a month or two would convince many sufferers that the path of self-denial is the path to health.”[vi]
Many times a short period of entire abstinence from food, followed by simple, moderate eating, has led to recovery through nature's own recuperative effort. ~ E. G. White
The message of the health and wellness lifestyle of Seventh-day Adventists is a testimony to those we serve and who serve us. What will my testimony be when I return at the end of the three months? Will the viral storm have died down? Will my health be restored?
In this present moment, I am sure that to live as Christ has asked in these last days is to be a witness to those around you, not just your health and wellness. But a testimony of His care. My family, neighbors, friends, and physicians have witnessed the results and are inquiring about this lifestyle.
My reasonable service to God is to present my body, mind, and spirit solely to use of His service. When He comes, will Jesus find faith and trust in Him, that He who created the body can heal the body? And do much more—abundantly? I learnt my lesson. Trust in God. Trust His health message to do what He says it will do (1 John 3:22).
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” Romans 12:1.
Update:
In a few days it will be the six-months mark since the doctor told me that the body creates new cells every three months. That would make two cycles coupled with the past eight cycles. Here is another reason the bible asks us to patiently wait on the Lord even when we do not understand what is happening.
My frustration at being sick and made sicker by the diagnostics without treatment was ever so frustrating, however it proved to be for my better good. Perhaps if I had not experienced this period of illness, the import of cell regeneration and the role of diet would have been lost to me.
For everyone that knew of the regenerative properties of the body, and those who are learning it for the first time, take hope. The one who made the body can recreate new cells and heal even a damaged heart from the side effects and damage caused by severe allergic reactions to medicines.
After an invasive diagnostic test to look into my body, the procedure left my heart so damaged that for sure I would go the way of my mother in heart surgery to repair it. Deciding to wait it out and to intuitively pray and ask for guidance, the foods, and the herbs I was not able to market were not allowed to go to waste.
An article in USA Today by Bernadine Healy, M.D., spoke of the very thing that I was wondering, “the heart has slow and silent regenerative abilities”…”This is no abstract, ho-hum science factoid. It makes incredible sense of something that has always puzzled me: If hearts can't make new heart tissue, why did ever efficient Mother Nature give them stem cells? Yes, for years, scientists have known that adult stem cells can be found in the heart.”[vii]
Another article in Science Alert states, “Our bodies are pretty ingenious when it comes to self-repair, and scientists have been studying in detail the ways in which the heart patches itself up after a heart attack (myocardial infarction). They hope to find clues that could lead to better treatments for cardiovascular problems.”[viii]
Supplementing my diet with Garlic Ginger Tea was a great way to help speed up the process. “Garlic's been used for centuries to boost heart health as well as other things. When you crush it, you release a compound called allicin.”[ix]
If you have ever wondered if the benefits of a diet God’s way work. This is my testimony. I’m able once more to live a normal life, after a long time, yes! But it is thanks to God and the way He created the human body.
Time and help through diet and exercise can benefit the Human body in repairing itself. We don’t live forever, but we can live an abundant life as long as God allows breath. Hope, Faith and Trust in God are essential components to claiming the promise in: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Thank You, Lord for making me a living testimony.
References
[i] https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/ct-scan/about/pac-20393675 [ii] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/types-of-anesthesia-and-your-anesthesiologist [iii] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20371835 [iv] https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/inflammation/index.cfm [v] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24058-autophagy [vi] White, Ellen G., 1827-1915. The Ministry of Healing. p. 235. Washington :Review and Herald Publishing Assn., 1905. [vii] https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/heart-to-heart/2009/04/03/surprise-heart-muscle-can-replenish-itself [viii] https://www.sciencealert.com/new-study-reveals-more-about-how-the-heart-repairs-itself-after-a-heart-attack [ix] https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/natural-remedies-for-heart-health-help-or-harm
