Well this last week I learned that life mirrors farming, you never know what it is going to throw at you. If some of you look for my newsletter each week I’m sure you noticed that there was not one last week. That is because we were on our way back from Dallas, Texas. This unexpected turn of events actually started the first of July when we sent blood work to Dr. Rea at the Environmental Health Center in Dallas. This is the clinic that finally gave us answers to what Rose was suffering from years ago. The last time we were in Dallas they introduced us to a new therapy called ALF. It is a process where they take a sample of her blood and culture it to make a concentrate from which they make an antigen which they give back to her in a shot. This is supposed to give her immune system a boost. I always told people it kept her from reacting to herself. I don’t know if that was correct but it seemed that way to me. Anyway it seems to be crucial for her because when she starts to run low on ALF she gets extremely weak to the point she cannot move. She has always felt that if she were without it for an extended period she would not have enough energy to pull enough air to survive. For this reason we get very nervous when our supply of ALF gets low. The clinic notified us that they were out of concentrate but because of finances I could not send them another sample right away as I usually do. However we did get the blood work sent in time we thought to get more before she would need it. For some reason however the culture did not grow as fast as normal this time and she was not going to get it in time to keep her on schedule. She was going to be out for four or five days and we did not know what to expect so we packed our bags and headed to Dallas. Once again the Lord provided and once we got there and explained the situation to Dr. Rea he was able to talk with those making the shot and they were able to squeeze out enough to keep her on schedule. I have been wanting to take her back to Dallas for years but never seemed to have the finances or time and she seemed to be doing well as she could so we just kept with the standard quo. I guess the Lord decided to give me a little motivation to get me going this time. Let me tell you it is a little scary sometimes to have the only doctor that understands your situation 500 miles away.
I wish all of you could go with me and spend some time talking with those that come to the clinic looking for help. Then you would understand the motivation that keeps me going in times like we have had this year. Most of these people have been searching for years for answers to their health problems and getting no answers from normal medicine. Because this illness seems to individualize its symptoms to each individual the main stream medical profession has a hard time comprehending it. In talking with Dr. Rea the last time we were there he did tell me that most of his patients started showing symptoms after one of two events, either a massive one time exposure to some chemical or a long time low level exposure. Many of our fellow patients came from farm backgrounds where they were exposed to chemicals used on the farm. In Rose’s case she showed cattle growing up and was exposed to the fly spray used at the fairs and then later helped on wheat harvest and took wheat to the elevator where malithion was routinely used. Our friend in Joplin was at the lake and was sprayed by an airplane and then built a new home that contained many synthetic compounds. We met a lady this time that was probably five foot ten and weighed only 98 pounds. Another lady was a pastor’s wife and she told Rose one time they packed up in the middle of the night and left one area because she told her husband she felt like she was going to die if they stayed there any longer. The next day he husband called and resigned the church because she could not handle the area. Many people have a hard time believing such stories and try to say it is all in these people’s head but it is not. Their immune system has been damaged to the point where it does not react in a normal fashion. Dr. Rea encourages people to learn to listen to what their body is telling them and after a while these folks can tell when they are in a bad situation. This is why the hair on the back of my neck stands up when I hear some government official state that while we have chemicals in our food they are below the USDA guidelines for what is considered safe. Well it is not below the guidelines that are safe for people suffering from this illness. It makes me wonder if it is really safe for any of us. I would like my food as free as absolutely possible from these things and not just below some industry set standard.
Something new I learned on this trip from Dr. Rea is that data is now starting to emerge that all of the chemicals we use in our society are starting to be linked to heart disease. You see we have been lulled to sleep because you never see cause of death listed as chemical exposure. You see things like cancer or heart attack. We as a society focus on finding a cure instead of looking for a cause. Finding a cure allows us to go on doing business as usual and then not having to suffer the consequences that caused the problem in the first place. Finding the cause and stopping that might force us to drastically change our lifestyle and we don’t want to do that. Also concentrating on a cure instead of the cause means people will continue to get sick and then of course can be cured for a fee. In the business world that is called job security!
Your friend in farming bringing you food with integrity.
