3.07.23

I had my appendix removed when I was barely into my teens.

After the rupture and a rush to the ER, I had my first close up and personal experience with Western medicine and the drawbacks of (albeit the blessing) modern technology.

The blessing was the ability of having the ruptured appendix removed. The drawback was the long and unnecessary recovery afterward.

I was fed immediately after surgery, (who knew you had

to have a liquid diet for 3 days after major surgery due to

the fact the intestines were asleep?) and shortly after release

home, began having severe abdominal problems. “Don’t

worry, your scar will be so tiny and well below by our

bikini line” the surgeon assured me, as I finally, after

writhing in pain for too long, and without caring what

scars took place, began to doze off under anesthesia.

(Nope, THAT never occurred to me to be a good lie before the knife, as I still retain an almost 3” long scar placed high and nastily between my rib cage and my waist)

The “dark ages” for an always active, wild and free farm and homeschool girl began. Of course food will rot if not moving though the body properly! But no one knew that.

So the extreme abdominal pain and severe weight loss caused my parents to again rush me to the hospital seeking

answers for what on earth must be wrong.

After nearly a month long stay in the hospital with tests and imaging done, my mother, in desperation over my condition and the many doctors inability to figure out what was wrong with me: Sought the help of our family doctor, who immediately prescribed anti acid- due to the fact he believed I had stomach ulcers.

I improved within the day.

Since that time, I have struggled with food ) sensitivity in general just without realizing that truly I, along with every

other American who consumed mass produced “foods”, had actually been a slowly increasing issue since early childhood.

My parents were the what most Americans were/are: “What the doctor said must be true” and the food on the grocery shelves, well, if the “FDA” approved them then they must be fine! My mother was one of those “early pioneers” in having a reality wake up call and digging for answers for her children’s health on her own and questioning every source and everything “man made” This was the beginning of many trial and errors of changing the diet, and my mother (bless her) was on an uphill battle.

Looking back, I can fully appreciate her efforts to change her family’s table spread, as she began radical and to our utter “woe” removal of processed foods/fake sugar off the table and replacing them wholesome food and supplements. After all, we lived a simple life, and mostly “made from scratch” already, so no one believed our diet could possibly be “that bad”. Thankfully she didn’t give up, and pursued a clean diet with the stoicism of a soldier. -MeganB.