Chapter 1: A New Way to Address Respiratory Illness
(During a Pandemic)
For four long months, I lived in a body that no longer felt like mine.
It started with simple congestion…nothing alarming at first. But instead of clearing up, it worsened. My throat burned, and my neck became so swollen I could barely turn my head. Speaking, whispering, and mouthing words were all painful. Singing, something that had been my therapy, was out of the question. I felt trapped inside my body, watching my energy, my voice, and my appetite drain away each day.
As I racked up sick days, I was left in bed with plenty of time to simply rest and reflect.
I grew up in the 90s with a “health food store mom” who had a fascinating mix of health awareness and practical survival skills passed down from her childhood in a tight-knit, working-class Bronx, NY household. She taught me how to read labels and seek out whole foods, but her upbringing also instilled in her a deep trust in conventional medicine. I knew that people could reach new levels of health, but I never fully realized how much choice or autonomy I had in the matter – beyond following doctors’ advice and praying for Holy Spirit miracles. This was the foundation I operated from, even as an adult.
When the icky throat stuff hit, I didn’t know what to make of it at first. By the time COVID shut down the world, I had been battling an on-and-off respiratory infection for three months.
“Okay, this is lingering longer than it should!…Also, is this COVID?!?”
In the past, I might have turned to prescription antibiotics, just as I had for years during previous infections. But this time, something in my gut told me to choose another path.
Instead of running to doctors and pharmacies, I slowed down and listened. I realized this sickness was a message, a signal that something needed to change. Part of that change would involve trusting my inner wisdom more than I had in previous stages of life.
As the early COVID world birthed a paradox of stillness and uncontrollable chaos, I decided to heal naturally, to rebuild my immunity from the inside out.
That’s when I discovered the concept of healing through subtraction.
I began researching fasting, juicing, and raw vegan eating. I started small (or huge, depending on how you look at it). No solid food. Lots of homemade juices made from fruits and vegetables. That was the vibe for a few weeks.
Around that time, I met an iridologist online. He became a crucial guide in my healing. He helped me understand how to support my body’s natural detoxification, not overwhelm it. Together, we concluded that herbs, rest, sunlight, and hydration were the keys.
Such basic elements became powerful healers when used wisely.
While I could have transitioned from juicing to the regular solid food I’d been used to, I took a more gradual step. I shifted to a raw vegan diet, allowing my body to take a break from cooked foods.
As I gave myself permission to be still and do things differently, the swelling receded, the pain lifted, and – eventually – my full voice returned.
Hallelujah for the overnight miracle that only took four months!
I’m grateful I stuck with it. I trusted the process. I believed I would not sabotage my healing but, instead, accelerate it.
This rebuilding taught me something I’ll remember forever:
Healing doesn’t always come from supplementing, treating, or adding more. Sometimes, it comes from taking things away.
Food, noise, stimulation, a full calendar, social expectations…the constant “more” of modern life had been drowning out my body’s quiet cries for help.
Only when I listened and lightened the load could real healing take place.
