B'SD
22 Tevet, 5779
Frequent visitors to this blog know my "I healed without medication" story. But if you're among the many people resolving to improve your health in 2019 and never read this blog before, I have some great information to share with you.
I was diagnosed with a petroclival tentorial meningioma, a skull-based, non-cancerous brain tumor as I was about to turn 50. That tumor had crushed my optic and several other nerves, leaving me blind, unbalanced, and very weak. Had it grown more, the tumor would have pressed on the brain stem, rendering my heart unable to beat. I needed surgery, and very quickly.
The tumor was removed during emergency life-saving brain surgery, but none of the medical professionals involved knew how to repair crushed nerves controlling my movement and sight. None. So, I turned to the natural healing professionals community to seek advice. They knew WHAT TO DO.
I was placed on an all-organic diet to strengthen my health. The diet prevented me from absorbing toxins (e.g., pesticides, herbicides, glyphosate, preservatives, color, taste and smell enhancers) in non-organic food. Losing those toxins and not ingesting new ones would enable my body to recover from their negative effects.
The next step was to 1) cleanse my body of toxins that it had accumulated over time plus 2) to remove the toxic chemicals used during surgery. That cleansing was conducted, under expert naturopathic guidance, with Bentonite clay, hydrotherapy, and wheatgrass juice.
The clay would kill parasites that had survived the cooking process for fish, ridding my body of freeloaders occupying my digestive system and depriving me of nourishment from the foods I ate.
Hydrotherapy would speed up the process of sending the dead parasites, killed by the Bentonite clay, to the sewer system.
The wheatgrass would cleanse my blood of toxins from chemicals used during my hospital stay, and from toxins coming into my body via polluted air, synthetics in furniture and clothing, food packaging materials, and other forms of exposure.
All that would leave my body stronger and better able to cope with the harm caused by the tumor and the surgery to remove it.
It would also end the harm that the parasites, toxins, and compromised nourishment had caused to my neurological and overall health.
Those tools and methods are not for newbies. You need the guidance of a competent naturopath to use Bentonite clay, hydrotherapy, and wheatgrass juice safely. They can cause harm if you use them incorrectly.
I prayed for Divine mercy and help
as we proceeded.
Everything worked.
My body healed astonishingly well. I gained the strength to move about on my own two feet, without using a wheelchair, walker, or cane. I gained weight and reached a normal number on the scale. But I still couldn't see and I suffered from 24/7 vertigo that even left me feeling dizzy in bed. Those two problems were the result of crushed optic nerves that still weren't functioning or other neurological areas that were functioning poorly.
The naturopaths and I went into overdrive.
I took Vitamin B12 to strengthen neurological health. I used the exercises in a phenomenal book to strengthen my weakening eye muscles. The result was shocking to the medical world and to me: I recovered my vision over time, seeing more and more at every vision exam and in my everyday life. The strength of the prescription for my glasses dropped 20 times over a few years!!!!!
My physical therapy instructors gave me increasingly challenging exercises to...
... Strengthen weakened muscles body-wide and to
... Help my brain to coordinate proprioception messages
with my eyes.
Their plan worked.
I became so strong that I could see at almost normal levels within 10 years of the surgery date. Vertigo became a problem of my past. I keep it at bay with weekly physical therapy workouts plus daily exercise.
I swim, bike, hike, and practice my journalism profession. I do aerobics for fun, and no longer fall down or break bones as I used to do during normal daily activities for the first several years following surgery.
There's more to my recovery story, especially about how I stayed emotionally strong despite the daunting challenges before me.
The way that I spoke about it all convinced clergy of various faiths, plus medical and mental health professionals (one is from the National Institutes of Health!) to endorse the book I wrote about my healing experience and how it can help other people.
In the It's MY Crisis and I'll Cry if I Need to: EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge print and E- book I share ideas and financial resources information to help people facing their own mind-boggling medical or mental health challenges.
I've attached photos below, showing changes in the strength of my eyeglasses prescription over time, and my improving overall appearance. The picture of me in a white jacket was taken at a party in 2006, a year after surgery.
The strabismus and ptosis are quite noticeable, a huge improvement over complete blindness and an eyelid which, only weeks before, couldn't open at all.
I had just begun to gain normal weight
as my muscles strengthened.
My wheelchair was pushed out of the picture
because my focus was "Getting healthier!"
I had worn a padded jacket to appear
as if I were not stick-thin.
Eight years after the above picture has been taken, and nine years following surgery, the photograph in which I'm wearing a blue top was taken. I had just graduated a two-year college program in six months.
By this time I was an avid horseback rider, swimmer, and hiker. I earned medical coding/Health Information Management and counseling credentials in separate programs, and now do life-coaching with ill people.
I write articles about how to achieve mental health.
I know what it means to have a healthy attitude and how it can affect physical health.
Am I cured of all my physical problems? NO. Am I coping with the deficits to the best extent possible and enjoying a higher quality of life than I would have without emotional coping skills? YES.
I help sore, sick, sad, despairing people to figure out their health-oriented priorities, and how to create effective plans for reaching their health-related goals.
I know from the core of my being what it feels like to make that journey.
Astonished observers begged me to put all that information in a book to help other people. So, I did.
I wrote of motivational concepts that I'd taught for years before being blinded by that tumor, then used on myself.
I added information about worldwide charitable organizations that Health Information Management professionals and/or counselors learn over time. Many of those charitable organizations are staffed by people willing to help applicants seeking partial or complete financial help with specific medical expenses.
Ready to rock your recovery story with the ideas that I share with my readers?
Read all about them in
All the best for an ever-healthier 2019,
Yocheved Golani, Content provider and editor
Want to cope with medical and/or mental health problems, including the expenses for your care?
Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.
Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your mind with can-do attitudes!
