About 12 years ago I got struck down by Lyme Disease. I followed the Western medical route and ended up at the Centre for Disease Control (C.D.C.) hoping to get a diagnosis and some semblance of relief.
To put it bluntly, it was like my previously well-functioning high-energy body had been taken over by an alien: night sweats drenched my body from head to toe to the point where I would be changing sheets over and over throughout the night.
And then there were thousands of ants (that’s what it felt like) running up and down my spine making sleep impossible for months on end. And finally, the brain fog that rendered me a vegetable. The Centre for Disease control (C.D.C.) dismissed me saying it was all in my head.
I live in Canada in a crazy tick-infested area. The Canadian medical approach is that Lyme disease does not exist. Little help is rendered to those suffering from this complex and multi-faceted disease that eventually eats up your body (not to mention your mind and your spirit).
It was like this “thing” had taken over my body and my energy had gone completely mad. I was no longer in control of this vehicle I called “home.” I was petrified.
I eventually found a Lyme-literate doctor in Canada (many Canadians with Lyme go to the States for help) who figured out I had Babesia (one of the many strains of Lyme similar to malaria, hence the crazy sweating.) Within two days of starting the malaria drug, my symptoms started to disappear. I began to rebuild my life and my business. The drug had moved the disease into latency.
Fast forward 8 years: the very wise Lyme-literate doctor I worked with was cautioned by the medical board to stop treating Lyme patients (remember, Lyme disease is ignored here). I lost access to my life-saving drug and this amazing doctor.
Realize that I was one of the lucky ones. I actually got a reprieve for that period of time. Most with Lyme disease do not get a second chance.
I knew that without my malaria medication I would again be rendered a vegetable–so I dove even deeper into Eden Energy Medicine and Chinese Medicine that I had been studying for years.
Eventually, I found a postscript on a Chinese Medicine paper referencing Lyme Disease, divergent channels* and the name “Jeffrey Yuen.” I knew it was important. That led me to a brilliant woman, Ann Cecil-Sterman, a Classical Chinese Medicine acupuncturist in New York who had studied with Master Jeffrey Yuen for decades. Master Yuen had taught Ann about Classical Chinese Medicine and divergent channels. I wrote to her asking for help. She kindly agreed to assist.
The first phone call with Ann changed my life. She introduced me to her knowledgeable husband, Andrew Sterman, a Classical Chinese Medicine herbalist and dietary specialist. At that initial meeting Ann said: “You cannot heal without first improving how your body digests food. The body needs to be strong in order to divest itself of this pathogen.”
I subsequently learned that an arm of Classical Chinese Medicine (C.C.M.) was diet. And C.C.M. saw foods as either aiding or disrupting health. Well-ingested foods are seen as medicine, as a healing tool.
I was initially full of disbelief. How could the food I was eating be affecting an illness deeply embedded in my body for over a decade? At the time, I thought I was eating well, certainly better than most (my ego boasted).
That was just three years ago when I weighed in at 150 pounds. Realize that I am short: 5 foot nothing… (yes, shrinking into my 76th year posture). I was swollen around my middle. Long gone was my 26” waist. I looked like a little round elf.
Yet within a short period of trying out what Andrew Sterman was teaching (eating foods that my body could easily digest and eliminating those inflammatory/toxic to my body), I lost 30 pounds.
The more I learned, the more I used my body as my test tube. If I ate “x,” what would happen?
Did I cough gently after ingesting that food? Did I burp? Did the food I ate cause the stomach to distend? Did I feel lighter? Sleepier? Or have more energy? Were the symptoms of Lyme disease greater or lesser?
Know that this is how our bodies speak to us… could these be the precursors–the early rumblings–not only of energetic weakening within the digestive system, but the birthing of long-term dis-ease?
And the Lyme disease? Yes, I still have it but we are now moving that disease from latency into my strengthening body, hoping to eliminate it soon. So, diet is a major player in my healing, as is holding acupuncture points each day, dealing with my emotions, and attending bi-weekly acupuncture sessions.
Today I cope well with the dis-ease and lead a productive life as a mentor (focussing on energy, emotions, foods, and creativity) as well as being a portrait photographer.
Working now under my own power I realize I would not be this well without learning (and now teaching) foods through the Chinese medicine lens.
If you are dealing with any form of illness, pain, or sleep issues, please learn more about the effect that food is having on your body. That applies to supplements and all liquids you allow into your body sanctuary.
Consider investigating the Chinese Medicine approach to dietary well-being. Diagnosis is key as is the willingness to let go of the long-standing beliefs about what foods are good for you right now. Remember your energetic dietary needs are unique.
Learn what you need to thrive. Find someone who can read that energetic blueprint and guide you to the right diet to start to alleviate what you are experiencing.
Your body is just that, your sanctuary. What would you do to protect it from harm?
Stay well. This is your way home.
Peace always,
Helene Anne
Helene Anne Fortin
*Divergent Channels: A term from Chinese Medicine. These powerful energy channels divert pathogenic factors away from vital organs, keeping them latent or dormant for a period of time.
Helene Anne Fortin • kind mentor 