Covid-19 Survival Story

Amid all the mis-information, fear-mongering, scare-mongering fake news from both the sides of the media, I thought I'd share a story that we are not hearing.

Remember the biggest killer in the US is heart disease  and diabetes, due to poor diets and government funding of campaigns that cause more harm than good.

"Only about 12% of Americans are considered “metabolically healthy.” That means the other 88% of us aren’t meeting basic medical guidelines for things like blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, and other markers of metabolic health."

Listen to a pod cast hosted by Dr. Mark Hyman where Dr. Kessler shares his inside experience working for the FDA, revealing the impact of Big Food on food labeling and public health.

Here is David's story told in his words:

"I had just come off a 14 day cleanse, and felt in GREAT health......but this thing is tough. Initially, I just felt like I had a sore throat, and treated that with salt water gargling, etc. Then it seemed like it was a sinus infection for a day, but I was running a slight fever of 99.7. As I started coughing (almost always "productive" - trying to clear my chest), in the next days, the temperature varied between 99.4-100.6 - for about a week. Indigestion, headache, diarrhea and swollen lymph nodes were some of my symptoms that were NOT initially connected with the C virus, so I was confused, and only after I and others did some research did I start to assume that this WAS in fact Covid. I was EXHAUSTED and it just continued to get daily, slightly worse. (My wonderful girlfriend, Laura Hamilton, who lives in Spain, was EXTREMELY helpful, and did research and gave support that belied the 6000 miles distance).

Day 9

I felt some tightness in my chest, and breathing was a bit more work than it had been, so I went to the ER in Northridge, to see if I could get tested for Covid-19. I'd been around a fair number of people in the previous weeks - but with appropriate hand-washing, and TRYING not to touch my face (unsucessfully:(.

The ER doctor told me there is NO way to know where I "caught the virus," as it's been in our society for weeks-it could've been anywhere. She ordered blood tests, checked my breathing, did oxygen tests (oximeter), and a chest x-ray. She said, "You have the Covid-19, from everything I can tell. I'm sorry, but we are reserving the actual test for people who answer one of the several crucial questions in the positive" (Questions: "Do you work in a nursing care facility? Have you travelled outside of the US in the past 2 weeks? Have you definitely had contact with someone who's tested positive for Covid-19?"). She told me the virus had moved into my left lung, with signs in my upper and lower lobes - but that she felt I was rational, and had a good "healing protocol" at home, so she released me to return home, with the caveat: "you MUST come back if your breathing becomes difficult".

I spent the next several days at home, treating my temperature with acetominophen, checking my oxygen levels on the "Oximeter" I'd ordered online; 2-3x/day I also lightly jumped on a little indoor trampoline and did some deep breathing - all to keep the left lung healthy, and hopefully activate the lymphatic system. However, on day 14, I couldn't seem to get my temperature down very much, from 102.4. I was feeling pretty bad, and had a pain in my right ribs. After talking to several RN/friends, and a doctor back east who works with the CDC.....Out of concern that the breathing would get WORSE, and the possibility that the pneumonia had moved to the right lung (thankfully, it had NOT - more on that, later) - I went back to the ER in Northridge about 9pm in the evening.

Since I had found out that a friend I'd interacted with had since been diagnosed positive for Covid-19, I told the ER people that, and in combination with my obvious shortness of breath - I was given several tests, including the test for Covid-19 and was admitted to the hospital. Care at Northridge Dignity Health was excellent, and although I'd been told by friends and the nurses themselves that I'd be isolated "most of the time" - they checked on my every few hours, and I did not feel truly "alone" very much. I was surprised that eating more "solid food" seemed helpful to my intestinal troubles, as I'd been mostly drinking chicken soup and health shakes for a week. I had developed a "viral rash" on my stomach and back, and the nurses applied creme to soothe that. (Another "a-typical" symptom). Thankfully, the pneumonia had not changed in the five days – another good sign that my body was fighting the virus.

I am deeply grateful, for the many friends who were reaching out, and encouraging me/loving me through the whole process - and continue to!

Day 16

The doctor in charge of my floor asked me some questions about care at home, how I was feeling, etc - and concluded that if I wanted to return home and continue care for myself, while awaiting results of the Covid-19 tests, I could do that. I jumped at the chance - in particular because I was told it could be 3-5 days before results would come back, and "one person had been waiting for 8 days". Apparently, the body had started winning the fight against this "unrecognized" and unwelcome guest, as I see it, and so my temperature normalized. It's been slightly "subnormal" since Saturday (96.8-97.4), and each day, most of the symptoms have reduced in intensity. Sunday, the doctor called me to confirm that I did in fact have the virus

I’m told that after 72 hours without an elevated temperature, the virus is no longer contagious, but since I still have an occasional cough, and some other symptoms remain - I remain in physical isolation. Healing a bit more, each day. It's the general consensus that one cannot catch THIS particular virus again....when it mutates that's another matter - most likely in a year. Till then, I kinda like the name "Antibody Man".

So, for those who asked, that is MY experience; I would not make ANY suggestions or assess anyone else's experience of this virus.

Some of the things I've been doing: breathing the steam of clove, oregano & eucalyptus; lots of vitamin C, D, zinc, magnesium, as well as a multi-vitamin. I also took apple cider vinegar, CBD oil, colloidal minerals, Echinacea/Goldenseal. After the hospital, I added Activated charcoal (to help with gas), a Healthy Lung formula, as well as the "Levofloxacin" (antibiotic), "Acyclovir" (anti-viral for rash, etc), as well as an Expectorant, to thin the mucus - (helps to make coughs more productive).

I continued taking my antiviral, antibiotic medications, as well as various herbs, vitamins, etc, and do some light exercise and deep breathing. My oxygen levels remain good: 93-97%. The healing is not linear, in my experience, but is in an Upward Trend, certainly. I wish it were faster, but this is likely to take awhile, and I'm grateful to be through the worst of it. MANY people obviously have had it much worse than I....

For ME, it's made a difference to try to keep a sense of humor; and also, to receive and to try to "take in" the outpouring of caring, concern and love: I will continue to learn from that aspect of this illness.
This world crisis will affect each of us differently, and while these are tremendously challenging times....I believe that we have the opportunity to slow down, to reassess what's most important to us, and to take actions to protect ourselves and our loved ones....while looking at our OWN lessons, and growing - physically, socially, emotionally, spiritually."

Chia Seed, Coconut Chocolate Pudding

As I typed the title for the post I wondered if anyone had distilled chia seeds, because if so these could be the ingredients for the start of a comforting, gourmand perfume!

Ever since tasting a sample of a chocolate vegan pudding from the Erewhon Market in Agoura Hills, I've been experimenting with making one that was just as good or better. Today I have finally succeeded!

During my many attempts I found that Let's Do Organic Organic Heavy Coconut Cream is an awesome base. Most coconut creams and milks have fillers like guar gum, in fact I have started noticing that many brands are even adding gums to regular whipping creams. Native Forest Organic Simple Coconut Cream is another good one but not quite as thick. Both these specific items have no fillers, but be mindful, there most coconut milks and creams products that do, thus, always read the ingredients on the label. I suggest avoiding purchasing the product from Amazon or Whole Foods since those two conglomerates support politics that are not good for people, humanity, and a sustainably lifestyle. I purchased mine from Thrive.

I started with a recipe I found on the back of a chia seed package and modified from there based on others I've been testing over the past six months, like this one.

Ingredients:
8oz Let's Do Organic Organic Heavy Coconut Cream, chilled for a few hours or overnight
1/4 cup  Chia Seeds
1 Tbspn Cocoa Powder
1 tspn Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Stevia herb
1 Tbspn Honey, Agave, Maple, Coconut or Yakon syrup for sweetening

Directions:
Scoop the chilled coconut cream into a bowl and using a hand held mixer, blend on a low setting. Next add all the other ingredients and mix again slowly increasing the speed until everything is well combined and has the texture of pudding. Your delicious healthy pudding is now ready to eat. I placed mine back in the fridge for a few hours because I used the Native Forest Organic Simple Cream which isn't as thick as the Heavy Cream. Enjoy and report back!

Saturday Farmers Market: The Beet

“Breathe properly. Stay curious. And eat your beets.”
~ Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

Shop local and organic. We go to our farmers market in nearby Calabasas almost every Saturday morning. In this way we support local agriculture, putting our money toward small indie businesses.

Read about the beet here at the journal in the post: The Beet Goes On.

Foodie

Biodynamic beets from OneGun in Malibu

Our friends from New York recently moved here. As fortune would have it they found an idyllic home in Topanga which they moved on right away and are now settling in. On Saturday we took them over to our local farmers market so that Greg could give them a tour of the best vendors.

Sponges

A couple years ago Greg became the farmers market "Captain", meaning he is the one that heads over there every Saturday morning. We met our friends at the corner of Calabasas Road and El Canon. The first stop was the poultry guys, Pancho and David, who have organic turkey, chicken and eggs. If you're lucky David might do one of his amazing backflips for you.

Lavandula angustifolia bunches

Next stop was avocados from Antonio, followed by a bunch of organic produce booths that I don't remember a loaf of Buckwheat bread from an artisan baker. Just where the market spreads out toward the back is the Stephen who has absolutely marvelous goat cheese, yogurt, etc. From there we proceeded to get fish from Ale, pasta, kale from One Gun (a biodynamic farm in Malibu that we love to support) and fresh English lavender bundles, Lavandula angustifoila, from a horse ranch in Santa Inez. One of our favorite vendors is Domenicos who offer fresh pasta and a variety of delicious sauces including our personal fave sun-dried tomato pesto with marcona almonds, their tapenades are pretty amazing too!

Berry season has arrived!

Along the backside of the market there is a french fellow studying to be a nurse who has absolutely delicious chocolate croissants, by the time we reached his booth he was sold out. We hit up a few more organic veggie and fruit vendors before heading back to our cars and praising the fellow handing out Marianne Williamson flyers.

Alien looking blossoms from local flower vendor.

When we arrived back home and put everything away, lunch was John Dory fish sautéed with pieces of fresh lemon basil, a tossed fresh mesclun salad with a slice of toasted buckwheat bread.

Seeding Truth

It's a rare thing to inspire me to get away from my work and the studio, particularly in the middle of a rain that has been producing flash floods in a drought stricken area. Be that as it may, in the early evening last night just as the City of Angels was in the midst of an epic storm three of us braved the roads and headed into Santa Monica.

Our destination was the Unitarian Universalist Community Church where Marianne Williamson was scheduled to speak with author of Diet for a New America John Robbins about "Health and Food in the Age of GMO's". Luckily we parked just as the rain subsided, however, once seated inside everyone in the building received an alert that there was a flash flood warning for our area.

Given that my art form relies on plants, the GMO battle is of primary concern but also represents our basic right as human beings to know what we are consuming and the facts.

I've been a fan of Marianne Williamson and John Robbins since the early nineties, both come from a passion for awakening consciousness. On October 20th of 2013 Marianne Williamson announced her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 33rd Congressional District. She is running as an independent because she feels that the two party system has a choke hold at the moment and that we could use more independent candidates that will infuse the current system with the voice of the people not the corporations. It's a bold, visionary move that will be the catalyst for change and moving politics into supporting the vital fabric of freedom that our country was founded upon, not the aristocracy that currently controls the dysfunction.

The Friday evening talk took place in a beautiful Unitarian Universalist Community Church where in the nineties Marianne conducted many speaking events during the nineties. Her guest, John Robbins, acclaimed author and advocate for being aware of where are food comes from joined her to speak on one of the most important subjects in America today, GMOs in our food.

“There is a revolving door between big agriculture and our government," declares Robbins. "Consequently, the United States does not and will not even remotely do adequate testing for possible health dangers on GMO’s and the affect on our food supply.”

To highlight the revolving door syndrome our elected officials perpetuate, Robbins sited the example of Michael Taylor who was first an attorney at Monsanto, then became policy chief at the FDA, then became Monsanto’s vice president and chief lobbyist, and in 2009 was then appointed by President Obama as America’s food-safety czar.

“How can a defender of Monsanto, protect our food?” he asked the crowd. “To make matters more dire,” he said, “the Obama administration, announced in January that it expects to approve corn and soybeans that have been genetically engineered by Dow Chemical company to tolerate the toxic herbicide, despite the fact that use of this herbicide is associated with increased rates of deadly immune system cancers, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine disruption, birth defects, and many other serious kinds of illness and reproductive problems.”

On Thursday Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinch announced that they were supporting Marianne's campaign shortly followed by another announcement that they would also be attending Friday nights talk. As you may know from previous posts here I've spent personal time with former Congressman Dennis Kucinich and find his level of consciousness and clarity outstanding. At the event he was accompanied by his gorgeous wife and food safety activist Elizabeth Kucinich.

The attendees at the gathering included individuals within the spiritual, Hollywood, yoga and foodie community. In fact, as I walked into the church to find a seat I kept recognizing faces although I was unable to put a name to the individuals. The heightened awareness of the four presenters combined with the collective wakefulness of the crowd produced a very high level of consciousness within the church that I am still buzzed from today!

Each of the speakers harkened the idea that the time is NOW to get activated to create a shift in the political system beginning with Ms. Williamson who perfectly represents the voice of the people in a very eloquent voice.

Marianne opened the evening with her strong and powerful presence, despite have been soaked from the rain. She shared that 200 years ago "the people" banded together to overthrow the Aristocracy and its time for that to take place once more.

Dennis Kucinich, who is much loved here in Los Angeles, told us that supporting Marianne is a cause bigger than all of us. The people are a party of their own and we hold the key to the transformation.

The eloquent John Robbins spoke on how the current politicians in Washington should wear corporate logos like Nascar racing cars. For example Coca cola, Monsanto, Dow, Walmart, McDonalds, Merck & Co. would all be featured in prominent locations on just about every individual, like Supermans emblem on his chest. 

Although in this case, these corporate puppets have none of the qualities exhibited by the heroes portrayed in popular art culture. The blog "How Stuff Works" details how sponsorship is conducted for Nascar here. In order to have a truly free and transparent government public awareness on who is funding these politicians is clearly the first step into revealing why the people are not their primary concern.

Next up was the extremely elegant Elizabeth Kucinich whose beauty, English accent, striking red hair and luminous complexion combine with her commanding words skillfully presented like a Celtic warrior with a sharp sword. It became clear that Elizabeth is not one to be taken lightly and knows very well how to remain in the feminine while being strong. The tall, young dazzler is an organic food vegan advocate and film producer. In 2013 she produced Hot Water and GMO OMG.

Elizabeth spoke on the importance of being mindful of the top GMO contaminated cash crops: corn, soy, sugar beets and cotton. She said to buy USDA Certified Organic as much as possible and write personal messages to our representatives in the Congress and the Senate. Signing online petitions is good, but rewriting a standard letter with personal words is better and writing our own words is ideal.
Someone in the audience asked about organic foods at Walmart, those come from China where there are NO organic measures in place, thus avoid, and always look for the USDA Certified Organic label or something similar like CCOF or Oregon Tilth. The Biodynamic label is even better.

John Robbins came back into the spotlight to say that the reason organic foods are currently more expensive is that they are not receiving the government subsidiaries like big agro. He suggested taxing big agro and giving subsidiaries to those who produce organics.

After the presentation we went up to say hello to Dennis, who gave Greg a big hug when he saw him. The three of us were on a high as we walked back to the car, visualizing an America where the people are courageous and demand their rights from the government.

The challenge ahead is how to get others outside of the conscious community to realize that Marianne Williamson represents the party of the people and a complete 360 degree turn for all of us beginning right here in the City of Angels.

Read a great account of how Dennis and Elizabeth met here at Common Dreams.
Marianne Williamson for Congress
John Robbins, Diet for a New America