Get The RIGHT Diagnosis Brain Based Functional Diagnostic Medicine True Health Family Wellness Center Dr. Todd Stone, D.C. |
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Copyright © 2009 Dr. Todd Stone, All Rights Reserved 900 Hendersonville Road, Suite 307 Asheville, NC 28803 For appointments call: (828) 277-1414 |
Most people don’t know how close this condition is to me and my family so I wanted to share a bit of our story so you realize how personally I take this. When I met my future wife, Sonya, almost 10 years ago, as we got to know each other, she shared with me that her mother suffered with severe and disabling Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I didn’t know much about Fibromyalgia at the time, and, to be honest, half believed the opinions that these people were “head cases.” Please forgive me for even half thinking that at the time…it was pure ignorance, and anyone who still might suggest that would fall right into that category! As Sonya and I grew closer, I was witness to many of her mother’s health and emotional crises. Not first hand, as we lived in NC, and she was in Florida, but watched as Sonya had to now be the “mother” and go to her to help “fix” things. I looked on with a bit of judgment, thinking that she was “enabling” her mother, and that she should “make her” fix things herself…old fashioned tough love. Again, at that time, I didn’t fully understand this condition knownas fibromyalgia, so I was using “what I did know” as my frame of reference. “Mom’s” story began with a childhood of stress, including physical and sexual abuse under the care of her step father. As she grew up, she was in and out of foster homes, and attempted suicide as a teen. She had always had hormonal problems, and at 34 was diagnosed with severe endometriosis, and had a complete hysterectomy. At 36, she had a severe motor vehicle accident, and was left with several herniated discs which were eventually treated by cervical spine fusion. Following that surgery, she was in constant and unrelenting chronic pain. At 38 she was admitted to a chronic pain clinic, diagnosed with fibromyalgia and treated with heavy duty medication and intramuscular injections. She couldn’t work at that point and neither her body nor her mind was capable to fully take care of herself and certainly not the inevitable problems that life puts in our paths. At 40, she moved to Florida, where Sonya lived at the time, and tried one more time to be gainfully employed and live a “normal” life, but was unable to continue as a result of the extreme pain and exhaustion. Her failure left her in a deep depression, as any hope for this nightmare to end was evaporating. The next 10 years of her life were an ongoing pursuit of health, living on disability, and trying every form of treatment that she could find. Throughout, she relied on the pharmaceuticals to provide whatever relief they could. As an example of her exhaustion, she adopted a cat to keep her company. It was not long before she became too taxed to even care for the cat and gave it up. When I met Sonya, her mom’s life consisted of one friend, her chiropractor, and the little apartment she lived in. Every moment was a struggle for survival, even though NO doctor could prove in any fashion that her life or health was in danger. She was smoking marijuana out of desperation to relieve the pain. Sonya would make a trip to see her every couple months to help her with her next crises…emotional, health, financial… Well, one time, approximately a year after I met Sonya, her mother’s friend called her, and it was urgent. Her mom had been rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pains. They were running diagnostic tests, but not coming up with much. Sonya had made preparations to go down to be with her at the end of that week, and mother her back to whatever stability she could. It was early in the week, and Sonya had been promoted to administrator at her work, so she felt less able to just take the week off…and Mom was in good hands at the hospital. She called the hospital the very next day, just to check in, and let her mom know she would be there on Friday…as she spoke to the nurse, she could tell something was up. After some shuffling around, Sonya was informed that her mom was in a coma! She had become unresponsive about 12 hours earlier! (and the hospital had failed to contact her daughter!) Sonya flew out the next day. Her mom was in the ICUfor about two more days, and then finally regained consciousness. Sonya stayed the week as her mom recovered. Mom stabilized and was moved out of the ICU. All this time, the only diagnosis that was found was “low potassium.” At the end of the week, Mom was ready to move to a nursing facility to regain her strength. Sonya said goodbye, and told her she would be back the next weekend. Mom was to be transported to the nursing facility the next day, and Sonya would call her in the morning to see how she was settling in. The next morning, back in North Carolina, and back at work, Sonya called the nursing facility, and they told her that her mom was eating breakfast and to call back later. Sonya played a bit of catch up at work that day, and didn’t call back until that evening. When she got the nurse, and the nurse realized who was on the phone, she said something had happened and her mom was taken back to the hospital. They had been trying to reach her all day and she needed to call the hospital. She was worried to say the least. She called the hospital immediately. Again, the nurse sounded very uncomfortable, and slowly managed to tell Sonya the news... “Sonya, your Mom has passed.” Sonya wasn’t able to continue the conversation. The nurse gently asked her to call back to make arrangements for her mother’s body. Sonya’s mom was 51 years old at the time of her departure. I never did meet her. Her three granddaughters, Savannah, Sacred and Amory, and grandson, Gates, only know her through stories. We still don’t feel like anyone can explain what happened. The nurse said sepsis. The death certificate said cardiac arrest. I imagine that her heart did stop. After only 51 years of life, it had probably had enough. We will never know exactly what happened to Sonya’s mother. Years of stress, potent pharmaceuticals, living in pain, agony, depression, feeling life-less and probably worthless (we are very attached to production). I wish I had another chance. One more chance to allow that woman to feel more joy than pain. To feel valued rather than a burden. To be happy again rather than depressed. To see how happy her daughter and grandchildren are, and to be with them, touch them, hug them. I’ll tell you what I would do now. One of my neuro colleagues calls it the “full court press.” It includes a complete analysis of her hormonal system (what was left of it), energy production, immune system, digestive system, elimination and detoxification systems, and of course, her brain and nervous system. I could have done all that eight years ago, but I didn’t have the confidence or knowledge to correct the problems that would have been exposed. Anybody can order tests. Fewer people can interpret the tests accurately. And even fewer know what to do about them. I would have had her on enhanced air at 90% oxygen, performing some simple brain exercises. I’m sure she couldn’t have taken much, perhaps starting with imagining performing certain activities. Occasionally, in the most severe situations, the area of the brain that is weak is REALLY weak, and visualizations are all they can handle neurologically. I would have tested and checked for anemias. Many times, in chronic illness, the digestive tract shuts down and doesn’t absorb the nutrients you eat and take in supplements. By providing some sublingual (liquid) nutrients, we bypass the digestive tract and get some energy back. I would have her hormone levels checked and especially her stress hormones, which we check 4 different times throughout the day. Just knowing which order to address her needs, I bet she would be feeling much better, thinking more clearly, having a bit more energy, and already dampening the pain. We would test for autoimmune conditions, such as Hashimotos Thyroiditis. If there was any evidence of autoimmunity, we would check for triggers such as infection, allergy, or toxic element overload. We would eliminate anything we found, and completely dissect the immune system to find the nature of the autoimmune pattern. Most people think there is nothing that can be done about autoimmune conditions. Using our protocols, we are able to get the antibodies back down to zero and allow for the normal function of your tissue that was being attacked. I would virtually guarantee that inside of a year, she would have her life and health back. That is not a boast, simply an expectation. And, if we did struggle at all, I have a board of nearly 600 doctors that support each other with tips, strategies, and innovations. There is never a guarantee. I will never know everything. There is only probability and passion. With my passion, I can tell you that she would have a high probability of living her life as a well person once again. A high probability of seeing and enjoying her grandchildren, seeing her daughter become a mother, and possibly even a grandmother. A high probability of “finishing” her life. It still hurts to even write about this…not so much for my loss, but for the deep hole in my Sonya’s heart. I hurt for her, and she still hurts for her mother…her “life” for most of her life… Yours in Health, Dr. Todd Stone |
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