Category: Functional Health

The BRAVE Interview #11 June 2017: Chris Ann

by Karen, posted in family, Functional Health, health, Interviews, The BRAVE Interviews

Here is this month’s BRAVE Interview with Chris Ann:

The concept of being brave has never been a foreign one to me. Bravery is what I have embodied through out my life. I was brave when I become very ill as a child and had to suffer painful stomach problems when the doctors could not figure the issues until I was an adult. Bravery is what I had to channel when I was a young woman going to the big city of Boston to be an intern. I was so scared to take the train in by myself and navigate the streets of Boston to later become the youngest, degreed Sign Language Interpreter in the State of Massachusetts. I was brave when I was no longer able to work due to a life altering work injury. I was brave when I suffered miscarriage after miscarriage in my pursuit of being a Mom. Brave was all that I could be!

Throughout my life, I was the one with the brave face. I was brave when I finally become pregnant and the local hospital did not believe me and proceed to give me 8 abdominal x-Rays and 2 abdominal CT scans. I was very brave when they later told me that I was in fact pregnant but not to expect my baby to survive. I was brave and defiant in the face of extreme adversity but my tenacity, stubbornness and inner sense of knowing kept me going for the next 8 months and my baby was born!

I was brave when I knew he had extreme health issues and I went from doctor to doctor looking for a knowledgeable and friendly soul who would listen. I suffered tremendous disappointment in the medical system as they ignored my son’s suffering. I never revealed that I was an internationally renowned Psychic because it would not have made a difference. If they could not listen to me as a mom then they were not able to hear! I was used to working with the deaf population but the medical field was truly full of individuals who refused to listen!

There were days that I was so discouraged but my son was more than worth any of the insulting comments, strange looks and a general sense of disbelief! It look 8 years before a doctor came into our lives who suspected my son had a rare disease. He was in fact diagnosed with Ehlers-Dalos Syndrome. A rare disease that causes extreme hypermobility, subluxations, dislocations, fractures, digestive issues, headaches, falling, exhaustion and more! We had some answers!

But we were not done yet! He had started to vomit more and more. Of course everyone dismissed it as nerves, etc. I insisted that vomiting 8-9 times a day every day for months was not nerves! He has lost 20 pounds in less than 1 month when I finally begged the gastrointestinal to do a colonoscopy. I was brave to even want that test for my now 9-year-old. Every adult knows the unpleasant nature of such a test but I felt it was the answer we were needing.

So glad I’m a Psychic because I was right! He was covered in open sores throughout his entire gastrointestinal tract. He had Crohn’s Disease from mouth to anus. I was incensed that my son had suffered for so long when I clearly told them what was going on! I needed to brave as we focused on the journey to health. The doctors reassured us that chemotherapy was the answer for both diseases and it would put him in remission. I had such a bad feeling and was reluctant but I knew we needed something. The plan was chemotherapy for life but we were assured that remission was within months.

A year later, here we sit. In as much pain as ever. Vomiting lessened but is still a regular part of life. Mobility is a daily challenge. He has lost all his friends and is unable to attend school. My now 10-year-old has never had the promised remission and the assurances of a quick turn to good health has passed us by. Life is full of doctor appointments, trips to the bathroom, and laying in bed with profound sadness. My daily hope and wish is to hear laughter and see a smile. Some days I get my wish and other days I don’t.

When I think of what it means to be brave, my struggles are so minuscule compared the bravery that my son exemplifies minute to minute. He has carved out a new path for his life with connections on Xbox and YouTube. He is trying to reach out to a global community through touching souls while they have no idea of his constant struggle and pain. He has taught me the real definition for BRAVERY! I’m so proud to be his Mom because he is the greatest teacher I have ever met and ever will meet. He is my joy and it’s my honor to hold his hand through live as we brave it together!

If you wish to connect with my son on YouTube and watch his channel, it is gamingwithconnor1

Connect on Xbox 1 at R56COOPERSLCI

He is always looking for friends!  Thanks for your bravery in our story!

Thank you for sharing your brave story, Chris Ann!

Read the other BRAVE interviews here: https://kwrites.com/?s=The+BRAVE+Interview

If you would like to be interviewed for this series about something brave you have done in your life, email me at kmcwrites.com, or message me on my Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/k.m.creamer.author/

Go with the flow

by Karen, posted in education, Functional Health, health, Metaphysical healing, the beach

ocean clouds 3I attended a chakra class at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital this weekend. Chakras, as you may know, are energy centers in the body that energy flows through, often described as spinning discs of different colors. Find out more about chakras here: Anodea Judith’s Wheels of Life

One thing that came up in the class was that taking a walk on the beach is one of the best ways to ground oneself, because all of one sense’s are engaged in this process.

GREAT IDEA!

As soon as the class ended, I headed to my favorite beach. So what if it was only in the 60’s? I arrived and was dismayed to see that the water was almost to the wall; there wasn’t enough remaining beach to support my intention to walk on it.

I have recently been told that I should consider working on my ability to ‘go with the flow’. Apparently, I am not great at this (what? what?). I decided to seize the opportunity to practice. So what if I couldn’t go walk on the beach? I could stand on it until the tide came all the way in.

So I did. I stood in the water. I stood on a rock. I stood in the sand. I literally went with the flow.

I highly recommend it.

🙂

 

Rocks rock!

by Karen, posted in Crystals, Functional Health, good grief, Metaphysical healing

crystalsConfession: I love rocks.

I always have. When I was a girl, I collected rocks in shoe boxes which I shoved under my bed. Full disclosure: I also did this with salamanders.

🙂

Recently, I was at a (free!!) Crystals Workshop (at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital! I know!) and I had an epiphany. Crystals are just fancy rocks!  Rocks that come in beautiful shapes and colors!

So, now, I love crystals, too.

I read that sleeping with certain crystals near your bed (like clear quartz, rose quartz, amethyst, others) could facilitate having more vivid dreams and promote dream recall.

So, I put some on my nightstand.  Clear quartz, rose quartz, a moonstone, and pink something or other.

At first, nothing happened. Then I kicked it up a notch: I started using different combinations of crystals. Moved them around a little. Moved them closer to my bed.
And then I forgot about them.

On the third night, I realized that I’d had vivid dreams (with bright colors! and some of my dead relatives showed up!) 3 nights in a row. I also  had 3 dreams that I could remember from the same night.

I’m wondering about the significance of that number 3 now…

Be brave; give it a try! I’d love to hear how it works for you!