I am sitting in the early morning hours at the computer, and the strangest thing has just happened. The room was shaking. The chair I am sitting on moved. The computer screen shifted a bit, and the keyboard moved beneath my fingertips for a few seconds. Now what was that? Have I had a visitor(s)? Was this an earthquake? I checked outside, and the wind is blowing a little, but not enough for this kind of action. Well, if the spirits are here with me, I hope they enjoy my stories and pictures.
It has been a great week of discovery for me. After a strict gluten-free diet, and the total exclusion of acidic foods for the past 2 weeks, I am so excited to report that I am not having the pain that has plagued my life for years. Only on last Sunday, I ate something unidentifiable, some kind of spices/dressing on the vegetables at TGI Fridays, and I had a severe reaction in the wee hours Monday morning. Now I totally see the connection between eating things that my body can't handle and its allergic response. It had to happen for me to see the connection, the hyper-reactive soft tissue response. After all the years of searching for the cause of the pain and extreme fatigue that goes along with it, it is so simple. Don't eat any foods that have wheat, oats or barley, and for now, no acidic foods. When I get myself healed from all the years of trauma from this, maybe I will be able to reintroduce small amounts of these foods from time to time. It will take time, and I may never get over the fatigue part because of the damage that has been done. But let me tell ya....just being free of the pain these continuous allergic reactions were causing is a reason to be joyful right now. And it all hinged on getting to the right medical intervention. A young female doctor from the Phillipines, relatively new to Quincy and working in our hospital's arthritis clinic, listened to my story for a couple of hours in June of last year. She referred me to physical therapy, and that is where I met Dr. Natalie Stratton, a young wife and mother, ordinary in her style and manner, but I believe a gifted healer. She knows where her power to heal comes from, and I knew when we began working together that this would result in something positive for me. Then I discovered the cancer in August, and her treatment plan was to "maintain," to just keep me from getting any worse while I went through the toxic slush and radiation. But the treatment was more harsh trauma to soft tissue. Natalie saw how strong I am as I bucked up to endure this. But once I was finished with the cancer treatment, we went to work. About 2 weeks ago she told me it was time to be 100% committed to the gluten-free diet, as well as avoiding all acidic foods, so we could really know if this is what has caused my trouble. Well I am happy to report....after being around the world on this....that I have found the solution. So simple. Eat meat and potatoes, veggies and non-citrus fruits, cheese and dairy, and certain kinds of chocolate are OK, thank GOD! (Dove and Hersheys for sure). I now read every food label, and when I go to restaurants, I request gluten-free and non-acidic foods. Praise God. This goes hand in hand with avoiding chemicals of all kinds that cause me to have hives. Very few have any idea what this has all cost me through the years. Most people look at my outside, have no idea what has been going on in my inside, and think that I just look terrific! Well I do! I have fought the hard fight to survive these allergic reactions for so many years. But truthfully, I was losing ground fast, as my insides were/are so worn out from this. Praise God! I am offering prayerful thanksgiving for this healing and whatever good comes from it.
I have couple of grandkid stories to tell.....
Cora (almost 10 and in 4th grade), came home from school a couple of weeks ago and told Carrie that the girls in her class were starting to wear training bras and wanted to know if she could get one. So Carrie obliged, finding some sort of athletic type undergarment that she thought would fill the bill and satisfy Cora. So Cora and Hannah are getting out of the tub, and Carrie brings in the little item for Cora to try on. Hannah ( 3 1/2 yrs. younger, age 6) takes a look at it, then at her skinny naked big sister, and pronounces, "Well I'm bigger than you!" Perhaps will be the story of Cora's life in this anatomical region.
Carrie was excited to be able to get the daycare kids outdoors for the first time this week. Tony was gone for 2 days for a meeting, and she thought this would be such a nice way to spend the time while he was away. But she forgot....on the first day out, you have to teach the rules all over again....They have poured a nice new concrete patio that the kids can ride bikes on and play on. So Nolan sees one of the kids on his bike and just hauls off and waps him. "Nolan, you cannot hit somebody because they are riding your bike. You have to wait your turn," Mommy Carrie instructs. Moments later, same bike, same kid, and Nolan hauls off and kicks the heck outa the kid. "No Nolan, you cannot kick somebody because they are on your bike. You have to wait your turn." Well, at that point, Nolan decided to get the last word/gesture in. He pulled up his thumb and pointer finger in the shape of a gun and "shot" the kid on the bike. "No, Nolan, you can't shoot 'em either." So Nolan runs off and gets the soccer ball. This will surely work for him. He has watched Blake kick against the neighbors' soccer kickboard for years. But Nolan will use the back of the house with the brand new siding instead. He just kicks the hell out of the ball before Carrie can stop him, and I am not sure what size dent he put in the new siding, but he must surely have left his mark. "No Nolan, you can't do that either." Hopefully by days' end, Nolan found some things he COULD do!
Chris has begun his trip with the Military this week. He left for Washington, DC yesterday. Today he will meet with Condoleeza and Michael Cherthoff for sure and spend the day at the Pentagon. He told us three of the executives on the trip are the CEOs of Earthlink and the Oreck Corporation, as well as 2nd in command at WalMart. He is at least 15 years younger than anyone else, so he says he will again get the nicknames he has previously heard from the older guys like Kiddo, Big Shot, etc. He will be able to make short calls to Maria from time to time over the next 10 days while he is traveling somewhere in South America and spending at least one night on an aircraft carrier. Then she will be in touch with us, so we know where he is and what he is doing. I am praying for safe travel and a great experience for him. He just called from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the Pentagon complex and sounds upbeat and excited about this.
We are counting down days 'til the end of school here. Mario is tired and will be ready to let the job go for a few weeks. He is going to work at Catholic Heart Work Camp in Pennsylvania for a few days the end of June, supervising teens from around the country doing service work in poor areas. Some other QND staff go too, including his friend George McDonnell.
I am hopeful that I finally get to see New York City in late July. I will keep you posted on that one. It is the one place I have always wanted to see. In the meantime, the Camacho family is gearing up for a family vacation in Vegas in June. Part of the time will be spent at our Marriott Chateau timeshare. We are looking forward with great anticipation and hope the kids and grandkids enjoy it too.
So that is what is in the plans for the Camachos for now. It's been a great week.
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