(Special thank you to my friend Hillery. Her contribution to our family allowed us to travel for treatment. Thank you Hillery! xo )

Me and my lil’ bird before treatment

Cultivating Self Awareness: Who are your heroes?

As part of the intake process with a life coach I worked with years ago, I was asked many questions, to include this one: Who are your heroes? Fortunately, this was a written assessment which gave me the the time to consider my answers because, for the most part, I really didn’t know what to say.

If you took a personal assessment like the one I took several years ago, could you answer these questions: Who are your mentors? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What does your self-talk look like? How do you sabotage progress? Does the language you use foster peacefulness, does it promote more ease in your life and in your relationships? Do you know what triggers your anger? Can you own your vulnerability? Do you know how perfect you are right now with all of your imperfections? And do you recognize that regardless of any tragedy or  circumstance that you still have the ability to step into your power? Are you the victim or hero in your own story?

With reflection, I would identify the following mentors: Maya Angelou, Elie Weisel and the Dalai Lama. I gravitated to these people because they shared a particular quality I admired. Grace. That was it, this was important to me. Grace. A simple thing. And while I was not consciously aware of it at the time, this insight directly aligned my path with the path of my heroes. I would also choose grace.

And that is exactly what happened. 

I see that time in my life with much more clarity today. Hindsight is like that. Although it didn’t seem like it back then, the unfolding transformation was monumental. Today, solitude is my friend. I welcome stillness. I am not undone when things don’t go my way. I know where I get tripped up. I recognize and correct negative self-talk. I own that I am an introvert but, at the same time, I have opened myself up more to relating to others. I permit myself all the awkwardness of being in the world. I am connected on a soul-level to all aspects of my life. I see and appreciate the sacredness of all things, to include the difficulties that come with being human. I can laugh when things get hard and I definitely don’t have the need anymore to ask, why? I can just let it be. This is the work I did when I could not ride my mountain bike or take a yoga class, when I did not have a 40 hour workweek, when I wasn’t shopping or having lunch with friends, or just generally being busy. You could say that Lyme Disease was the catalyst for this change because, at least for me, things had to get that hard for me to do that kind of work.

I like to think about it symbolically as a way to better understand the magnitude of that undertaking because it is entirely possible you have some imprint around progress relating more to what you are doing in the world. Our culture is so fixated on staying busy. Do you consciously or unconsciously believe that success is defined by your education, job and material possessions? That stuff is not who are you are on a soul level and that is definitely not the stuff that truly makes people happy. With the hard work you are doing right now to heal mind and body, there are really extraordinary things happening but it may be that you won’t have that understanding until you are further down the road. As you climb your Mt. Everest, remember this, you are still powerful. Things, in fact, are happening.

You Decide: Is Sensitivity a Gift?

For more than a couple years, I avoided many places in the world to include the treatment room and waiting area at my doctor’s office. Like many others with complex illness, I was sensitive energetically to the world around me. I experienced that truth with clarity; my boundaries were vague, I had to intentionally hold space for my healing. It was a solitary endeavor quite literally for years.

These days I am covering many thousands of miles in search of answers to continue on this path towards fully recovering my health. As part of that undertaking I  I can see the improvements I have made better in retrospect. I am getting better.

With the clarity of mind I have today, I am circling back to look at a lot of things I only briefly considered before. Does my environment still support my healing? Are there any treatments that might be well-suited to me right now? What adjustments might be helpful at this point?

With the improvements I have experienced, I now have the ability to organize information again, to read and process treatment options, to actively seek and weigh out the alternatives. In this process I have learned something incredible. There are more opportunities for healing now than ever before.

One thing I want to emphasize is that learning about different options for healing should not feel overwhelming to you. If and when that does happen, trust that whatever you are doing with the resources available to you right now is still supporting your health. Often times it is the simple shifts that most powerfully affect the trajectory of our healing. Also, as my friend and Lyme advocate Scott Forsgren of BetterHealthGuy shared in an Essential Medcast interview, healing is about finding the right treatment for the right person at the right time.

Treatment Update – Limitless Possibilities 

Patricia Kane Protocol – First Treatment

• I started the Patricia Kane Protocol three months ago and had my first three IV’s last month. You can learn about this treatment from Gabrielle of Beyond the Bite for Life with her informative post, “The PK Protocol for Chronic Lyme Disease”. Prior to beginning this treatment, I had a port placed. I plan to devote the next few months to this treatment and have the port removed as soon as I am finished. I will update with my feedback at that time.
• I also started Soluna Drainage Remedies. They are incredible. I have shared more on this below.
• I also started on several Byron White Formulas.

Top Five Tips for Healing

1. EMF/ RF Exposure: Assess, Reassess, Mitigate . Did you know that EMF/ RF stress affects every organ in your body? Did you know that bacteria grow exponentially in the presence of EMF/ RF? There is also a relationship between mold growth and EMF/ RF exposure. When the EMF/ RF is higher, the mold will be as well, and not just in your home but in your body as well. Here are three simple tips to mitigate exposure: Tip 1) Cell Phones: Block harmful radiation from your cell phone with a Pong Case. This case is, dare I say it, sexy. Seriously. Get one. Next, keep your phone in airplane mode as often as possible. Finally, when you are talking on your phone, use a headset (never Bluetooth) or put it on speaker (not when you are in public for God’s sake), and don’t put it next to your head unless you are deliberately trying to kill brain cells. Tip 2) In your home: Turn off the electricity in your room at night. You can do this by installing a demand switch in your room or by shutting off the circuits to your bedroom. A nuisance? Sure, but economical and with huge health benefits. 3) Laptops and E-Readers: If you absolutely must have a laptop near your body, use a Harapad. You can get one of these for your iPad as well.  *Additional steps for mitigation: Install Stetzer filters at least in areas of the home where you spend the most time. Avoid baby monitors, mobile phones, Bluetooth Technology and smart meters.)
2. Mold Exposure: Assess, Reassess, Remediate. To some degree this probably affects most people but genetically some are more susceptible than others. If you have mold in your home, there are things you can do to improve air quality. If there is a massive exposure, however, then you may have to move. I have heard physicians say pointedly that you will not recover from Lyme, etc., if you neglect to consider possible mold exposure. After watching the recent documentary Moldy, I believe it now more than ever. Here are my top three tips for assessing for mold: 1) Online Screening: Take the VCS Screening Test from Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker. (Other tests recommended by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker can be found here.) 2) Home Testing: Get an ERMI test from Mycometrics. If using the swiffer cloth to collect dust, make sure the dust has collected for at least three weeks and swipe in one direction only and from ten different places in your home. You should be wearing gloves and the swiffer should be covered in dust by at least more than half the surface area. 3) Use essential oils (Thieves Oil or Mold Plus) to clean household items and in your laundry. You should also diffuse these oils with a cold-air diffuser, ideally when you are not home. You might also consider the Air Oasis. It has a sleek, compact design and is very quiet and travel-friendly.
3. Consider drainage remedies. I underestimated the power of homeopathy until I had my first IV with homeopathics prior to getting on a 3-hour flight. I get it now. Homeopathy is powerful. More than any other thing I have ever tried, homeopathic drainage remedies have helped decrease intense Herxeimer reactions. (Other tips for managing Herxeimer include energy work, detox baths, mindfulness and breathwork.) Two popular homeopathic lines are Pekana and Soluna.
4. Find your tribe. Last month I met another patient in an IV room. We started talking about life, flowers, herbs, plant medicine, camping, stargazing, crafting and, of course, Lyme Disease. An hour or so later we are exchanging IG information only to learn that we have known each other for at least a year through social media. You know, I felt that connection with her even before we figured that out. And although I prefer face-to-face, there are times when social media just makes more sense. When I started down this path years ago, Instagram wasn’t even a thing and I sort of fought that for awhile, but today it is one of my go to places for inspiration. I recommend some of my favorite pages below.
5. Keep it simple. Nature, bodywork, meditation and prayer, journaling, laughter, friendship, forgiveness, mindfulness, flowers, hot baths, real food.

Lyme Warrior Chaleigh Craft @foxesandbones

That is it for this update friends. Please see the recommended resources below and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them for me here!

Remember to keep the faith and stay positive. Healing is possible.

Smiles, Stacy Shuman

Recommended Resources

Mold: Moldy | EMF’s and Indoor Mold – The Connection | Mycometrics | Surviving Mold

EMF/ RF Mitigation: Harapad | Pong | LessEMF

Drainage Remedies: Pekana | Soluna

Resources: BetterHealthGuy | Fran Sussman Holistic Services | Essential Medcast | Energy Therapy for Emotional Healing | Well Scent Stories of Hope | True Nature Life and Leadership Coaching | Sophia Health Institute | Holistic Healing Arts