I think it is about time I write a story about my husband. Earlier this year, he got very ill. I don’t know why. He coughed a lot and his mouth, lips, and throat were in pain. His tongue had cracks all over and it was very excruciatingly painful for him to eat. He coughed loudly and constantly as if there was something blocking his throat and the coughing was his attempt to try to get rid of whatever was inside. No matter where he was, be in the garden, or on the freeway driving, or in the store buying groceries, if he felt the need to cough, he would do it. What was alarming was he spit blood and it went on for a long time.

I became concerned. I urged him to see a doctor. My husband, because of his experience in the past with his doctors, dislikes going to doctor’s office. I couldn’t get him to go. He barely touched his food because once the food touched the affected areas in his mouth, it hurt him bad. He lost the desire to check his garden and if he did go out, it was only for a brief moment. When I got home from work, I usually would see him sleeping and barely had energy to do what he used to love doing.

I became very worried and I knew that I would need a help from good friends who he respected to persuade him to see a doctor. I called my friends E and B. They convinced him with all their might to make an appointment.

I made an appointment with the first doctor and because my husband was a first-time patient, he had to wait a few weeks before he could be seen. As he expected, doctor didn’t know what his problem. My husband asked him about the cracks on his tongue and his answer was something to do with old age, that when people get old, their tongue looks cracked and ugly. Ha! Was it a joke or what? Of course, it didn’t end there. He recommended that my husband see a gastroenterologist to take a good look of what’s inside his throat using a scope. The gastro took pictures of his throat, and I tell you looking at those pictures freaked me out. I have never seen such abnormalities in my whole entire life. It was puckered, swollen, and thick, more like a cauliflower, reducing the size of the throat opening by about 50%. Now, that explained the constant coughing.

Two days later, nurse called the house to deliver the good news ruling out cancer. He was elated! But it was not over yet. He had to see the gastro once again to ask what other things he saw from the procedure he performed because when my husband woke up, the doctor was gone. The gastro didn’t find anything wrong except for the obvious ones. He then recommended that he see an specialist. Big mistake! Worst doctor ever per my husband. Rude and mean! He didn’t have a clue and complained that my husband moved a lot while looking through his nose. Well, if someone was inserting something in your nose, wouldn’t you move and let him know how it feels?

I was seated next to my husband at the specialist’s office. I thought it was worth mentioning to the doctor that my husband had severe asthma and that he used a puff per hour at some point so the doctor could better diagnose my husband. As soon as the doctor heard that my husband used one puff every hour, doctor got so excited and raised his voice. “Do you know that you only have to use 2 puffs once a week? You are a very sick man, you can die.” So I butted in, ” 2 puffs once a week is the safe dosage for asthmatic people? That means the asthma specialist from WA whom he had seen for many years who prescribed him 2 puffs every 4 hours was wrong?” He said, ” I am not an asthma specialist, I don’t know. I want you to see one in town.” What a butt-head! You see why people are losing faith in these people. They are arrogant, and dumb! (but not all, I respect Dr R from the province. I think he is a better doctor compared to a few butt-heads here.)

Of course, my husband, tired of being passed on from one doctor to another, not to mention the ballooning medical bills, decided to take matters into his own hands and fired all his doctors. He canceled future appointments and devoted his whole life doing research on his health. First thing he quit in early January was sugar, processed food, and meat. The recovery was very very slow. He went through months and months of detox wherein he coughed out tons of phlegm of which I didn’t have a clue where it was coming from. From his lungs? How can a lung hold so much phlegm? Unbelievable! At first I thought something was wrong with him from the mucus after mucus that he was coughing out for 8 months. Wouldn’t you be concerned if this happened to your loved ones? He was certain though that what he was going through was a form of detox and that it would end sooner or later. Sometimes, it could get annoying especially early in the morning when he coughed so loudly waking me up in my deep sleep.

To help with the healing, we changed our diet into mostly raw, taking advantage of the fresh produce from the garden. We also have a daily dose of wheatgrass juice from the wheatgrass he grows on a regular basis. He grows sunflower microgreens that we mix with our breakfast smoothie along with with fresh Swiss chard and sometimes a leaf of aloe vera. We cut off processed food totally out of our diet, and got rid of the hydrogenated oils like canola and corn off our pantry. We only use extra virgin olive oil for salad, and cold pressed coconut oil for cooking. He added raw organic eggs to his diet. I was an avid rice eater and when I became mostly raw, I found myself rice-free for months at a time except at a Filipino party.

As a result of our lifestyle and dietary changes, my husband healed himself of the disease that doctors didn’t have a name for and what is amazing was he conquered his asthma. He can breathe easily without the aid of inhalers. It was a slow process, as I said, as it took him a while to get rid of inhalers. First, he was using it one puff twice a week, down to once puff once a week, and then came a time when there was not a need for it. He became more active in backyard gardening, and hardly naps during the day. From 185 pounds, he is now down to 140 pounds. I, however, lost only about 7 pounds down where I am supposed to be.

For asthmatic people, good news, there is hope for you.

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