ChristianTales.com
  • Home
  • Spiritual Blog
  • Contact Me
  • The Ghost Driver
  • A Scandalous Education

The Holistic Approach Really Works for Ulcerative Colitis!

4/16/2022

1 Comment

 
Picture
It’s been over two years since I posted “A Tale of Healing” in which I described how a friend of mine beat ulcerative colitis through a program which tests the patient’s blood to come up with a list of foods he or she can safely eat.

My son took more than twelve months to agree to try this protocol. And when he did, while he discovered what nutrition his body didn’t reject, he also found out that almost all food consistencies wreak havoc with his digestive system.
​
The protocol didn’t work for him and he was back to square one. 
Picture
A Godsend

Then he met Bridget Shaefer, LSW, NRT practitioner, CHC, the holistic expert who runs Holistic Bee Nutrition in Cincinnati.

This lovely lady has revolutionized his life! Instead of having to eat ground turkey day in and day out, he has been able to expand his diet to include foods he never thought he’d be able to eat again.

On his father’s 70th birthday, he had to take his own food (cooked minced turkey) to the restaurant in order to celebrate with the family. By his own birthday, three months later, he was able to eat from the menu at the same establishment and drink wine!
​
Not only this, but he no longer rushes to the bathroom immediately or even soon after eating; he can sit for hours with us without leaving the table.
Picture
How Does This Work?

If you go to Bridget’s website you will see an explanation of how she uses Nutritional Response Testing © or NRT, “a clinically tested method of analyzing the body and organ function to identify the root causes of illness and bothersome symptoms.”

She assessed my son’s issues and prescribed a regime of enzymes and supplements (from her own suppliers, who only sell pure products) which enable his body to break down and digest foods that he formerly had to stay away from.

It is easy to forget that he has UC these days. His life has returned to very close to normal, thanks to the professional help from this wonderful lady.

How Can You Benefit?
​
Contact Bridget Shaefer at [email protected] for more information about how her approach works and to make an appointment if you live in the Cincinnati region.

Otherwise, she can give you details of a reputable holistic practitioner where you live within the US.
​
You won’t regret it, I promise!
Picture
1 Comment

Extraordinary Graces for Everyone - on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 24th 2022!

3/27/2021

1 Comment

 
Picture
​Last Sunday was Easter Sunday, when Christians rejoice at the Resurrection of Our Lord Who died on the Cross to save us from our sins.
 
However, while we Catholics receive forgiveness from our sins when we go to Confession, and all our eternal punishment due to sin is removed – i.e. going to hell - the temporal punishment due to those sins may still remain. This means after we die, we go to Purgatory to be purged of our remaining impurities before we can enter Heaven ‘where nothing impure shall enter (Revelation 21:27).’
 
This temporal punishment remains if our contrition is imperfect, that is, if we go to Confession without truly repenting of our sin or out of fear of hell. Perfect contrition is extremely difficult to achieve; it’s hard for us not to be attached in some way to our sins. Which is why we keep committing them!
Picture
Is There Another Way to Be Cleansed? 
​

In his wonderful book, Understanding Divine Mercy Father Chris Alar, MIC, a priest with the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, writes, “For those unable to have all temporal punishment remitted in this life because they don’t have perfect love, perfect contrition, or perfect detachment from sin, all hope is not lost.”
 
He goes on to explain the extraordinary grace of Divine Mercy Sunday. “If you have ever wished you could wipe your slate clean and start over, this is your chance! … All sins and punishment are removed by the grace of this one day, Divine Mercy Sunday, when we fulfill the conditions of a valid Confession and worthily receive Holy Communion.”
Picture
image courtesy of https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/image
​How to Receive the Grace of Divine Mercy Sunday 
​
If you are a non-Catholic, or homebound and unable to get to the Sacraments because your church is closed, you can still receive this grace if you truly desire it. Ask God for forgiveness of your sins by making an Act of Contrition, and wanting to be united to God through making an Act of Spiritual Communion and the Church believes that God will grant this grace of His Mercy.
 
For Catholics who can attend church, first, go to Confession before or on Divine Mercy Sunday – or any time during Lent will do. The important thing is to be in a state of grace on that day, meaning that you are aware of no mortal sin on your soul. The last act is to receive Holy Communion with the intention of receiving this promised grace.
 
Father Alar suggests the following prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, You promised St. Faustina that the soul that has been to Confession (I have) and the soul that receives Holy Communion with trust in Divine Mercy (I am) will receive complete forgiveness of all sins and punishment. Lord, please give me this grace. Jesus, I trust in You.”
 
If you recite that prayer with total trust in Jesus and a sincere intention of turning away from sin, Jesus will give you this grace. As Father Alar writes, “This grace is so powerful that it can open the door to Heaven, so don’t let Divine Mercy Sunday pass you by!”
​
In 2022 it is on April 24th.
Picture
​Helping the Holy Souls in Purgatory 

You can only receive this grace for yourself, and not for a Holy Soul in Purgatory.
 
However, you can offer a plenary indulgence for those Holy Souls, attached to an act of worship of the Divine Mercy or taking part in a Divine Mercy service on that same day. This is separate from the extraordinary promise of Divine Mercy Sunday.
 
Are All My Sins Taken Care of?
​

As a final point, the extraordinary promise of Divine Mercy cleanses us of everything up to and including our participation in Divine Mercy Sunday. It does not remove punishment for sins committed after that date. We have to wait until the next year to receive these amazing graces.
 
All the more reason to take advantage of them this year!
1 Comment

Confession: A Courageous Act

12/5/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Confessing our sins is hard.

Satan doesn’t want us doing it, so he makes us feel uncomfortable. Not with our sins, but with the thought of admitting to them out loud. To a person. He persuades us to postpone our visit to the priest again and again, until finally we’re convinced we don’t need to go at all.

Thus the devil wins.  We lose God’s precious friendship, and if we've committed a mortal sin we put our souls in eternal danger. We ignore His call to come back, no matter how grave the sin we’ve committed. We miss out on His Divine Mercy, which is only available before we die. After that comes judgement.

It takes real courage to fight against the Evil One and step into that confessional. 
Picture
The Humility Aspect 
​

Our disposition when speaking to God should always be one of total humility, in recognition of His Goodness and our fallen nature, and of Him as Our Creator.

People tell me that they can talk to God directly and don’t need the mediation of a flawed human being. This reasoning allows them to side-step the uncomfortableness of a physical meeting, thereby avoiding the humility that Confession entails.

Is it easier to confess aloud to a living human being or privately to God? It takes a great deal more humility to do so person-to-person than to have a conversation in one’s head. And how often does a person really confess their sins without a nudge from Holy Church to do so?

During Confession, I am talking to God. The priest is acting in persona Christi, like the Apostles, the first priests.  “If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. (John 20:23).” See also Matthew 16:19 and 18:18.

Many think that Confession gives Catholics a clean slate to sin again. But the opposite is true: the more often we go to Confession, the less likely we are to sin. Confessing to a priest takes great humility, and that humbling experience is a very strong deterrent against sinning in the first place.
​
You can’t say that of those who don’t frequent the confessional.
Picture
You’re not that Special 
​
Proud beings that we are, we worry about scandalizing the priests with our sins and are afraid they’ll look at us differently once we’ve confessed them. But our sins are not original: the priest has heard them all before. None of us is that special.

And, as an appointed minister of Christ, the priest’s job is not to keep a running tab on our misbehavior. He forgets it as soon as confession is over, just as Christ does (remember, the priest is in persona Christi).

Although each of us is important in God’s eyes, we need to remember that we are also part of God’s plan for salvation and fulfill our role by following His Will not ours.
​
But God is not looking to crush our freedom and make us feel bad. What He wants is for us to live the fullest life possible. This means ridding ourselves of our sins, and Confession is the sacrament He gave us for doing it.
Picture
I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)

​The Amazing Takeaway 
​

There is a deep peace that comes from admitting one’s imperfections to Someone higher than us, Who understands us better than we understand ourselves.

Christ said of the woman who anointed His feet: “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little" (Luke 7:47).

The worse our sins are and the more we appreciate our unworthiness before God, the greater will be our love for Him because of His incredible forgiveness. Some of the greatest saints started out as the greatest sinners. God’s Mercy is unfathomable, but it is there for all of us, if we reach out to Him with repentance in Confession.

It is impossible to describe the sheer joy of receiving absolution in the confessional. I feel an overwhelming sense of Christ’s love when I come away from my encounter with Him. I am once more in friendship with Him and often cry from the sheer happiness of it. Many of my friends have the same reaction. As a forgiven person, I want to try my best not to sin anymore and ‘to avoid the near occasions of sin.’

The worst feeling in the world for me - as a Catholic who was away from the Church for over twenty years - is to lose my sense of being in friendship with Christ. If I sin grievously, I instantly lose that precious gift and need to repair it as fast as I can. Thankfully my local church takes confession before every weekday Mass, and I am able to quickly restore my relationship with God and receive the Eucharist.


As Father Phil Bloom writes in his great article on Confession:
“Some people have considered confession to be a kind of "psychiatry for the masses." Carl Jung … speculated that the confession of sins accomplishes much of what psychiatry does. …..(But) the sacrament of penance is not about feeling better, it is about receiving the Holy Spirit.”

And only the promptings of Holy Spirit give us the courage to go through with it.

Further Reading:
 
What Is the Sacrament of Confession?
​

Confession of Sins
Picture
0 Comments

A Tale of Healing

3/20/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
 
​
Last year I moved with my horse and husband to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
The reason for mentioning my horse is that where I now board him has turned into a blessing on many fronts, one of them most unexpected.

A lady boarding there used to suffer from ulcerative colitis.

Yes, used to.

For eighteen years this lady had battled to be a good mom to her two daughters, but so often was unable to take them anywhere or participate in their activities because of her debilitating disease.

Those of you who have, or know someone who has ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s know exactly what I’m talking about.
 
An Act of Desperation 

Like so many of us, she’d tried everything she could to heal her body, but nothing had worked.

Then she heard about a man who has devised a blood test that can pinpoint to 95% accuracy what foods are triggering the symptoms. Most of the current blood tests available are ineffective or only 35% accurate, such as the one my son took.

The protocol is not cheap, but a one-time payment covers you for life.

My friend talks about taking out the money in cash and meeting the man at a gas station – very cloak and dagger! But in fact, it was the only place they could get together as he was on the road, and it was her only opportunity to pay him and set up the blood test.

He was her last hope.
 
The Result 

My friend’s blood was tested for over 200 foods, including herbs and spices. She was sent the results and now knew which food items to avoid and which were safe.

She also agreed to go on a specific diet for 90 days to see if it helped.

Within a week all her symptoms were gone.

Yes, gone – after eighteen years of ulcerative colitis and multiple hospitalizations and almost dying several times.

She no longer experiences urgency, despite the fact that all the literature I’ve read suggests that once the sphincter muscles have been over stretched, they can’t be restored.

Her colonoscopies are clean with no sign of the disease.








​New Lifestyle 

My friend still has to make sure she stays away from the wrong foods. She got food poisoning over the winter and her symptoms returned, but she was mentored throughout by the man who’d tested her blood. He told her to hang in there and that she would get better. She did.

Her new diet is purely plant-based, and it’s hard for her to keep on weight, as you have to eat a lot of plants to do so!

But she doesn’t mind. It’s worth it to be symptom free and able to live a normal life in all other respects.
 
What’s Next? 

I was so excited to hear about this protocol and contacted the man to find out what’s involved and the cost. His protocol is very expensive, and at present that is putting off my son from going ahead and getting the blood test.

He’s also understandably skeptical about it, after everything he’s tried already, but I am in high hopes that he will go ahead eventually and have it done.

Right now, he is still not in a flare, for which I am so grateful! But he has to be careful about when and what he eats, as he still has the urgency issues to cope with.

In the meantime, I feel I shouldn’t keep this information to myself, as my goal is to give hope to others dealing with this horrible disease.
​
 
If you are interested in contacting the wonderful man who devised the blood test and protocol, please let me know via the contact page. He doesn’t have an online presence on purpose, as he has seen too many of his colleagues who practice natural medicine get shut down by mainstream Western doctors.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


0 Comments

The Best Christmas Ever!

1/8/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
For those of you who don’t know my son’s story, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis five years ago.

By ‘diagnosed,’ I mean as he lay on the clinic bed after his colonoscopy the gastroenterologist pronounced, “You have ulcerative colitis. I’ll put you on some medication,” then walked off.

That was it: no explanation of what this would entail for my poor son and no bedside manner whatsoever.

He took the medication and was immediately worse. Which is not surprising, since one of the side effects of Lialda is ulcerative colitis.
​
I marched into the gastro office and demanded an appointment, using tears when all else failed. 
While my son – who had to drive two hours from university to get here – lay prone on a trestle bed in the gastro’s office, I told the man we weren’t interested in his medication anymore, and just wanted the prednisone to get the inflammation down. We’d done sufficient research to know the meds had horrible side effects. NO MORE UC MEDS!

He told us the disease had nothing to do with food but we knew differently. Shortly thereafter the prednisone didn’t work anymore, either.

I have since discovered that our gastro story is common among UC sufferers.

As you will know if you’ve been reading this blog, my son and I were now on the desperate search for a protocol that would improve his quality of life without the drastic problems that UC medication brings with it.
​
It is an ongoing process and he is constantly fine-tuning his routine. But the one he’s been following over the past few months has kept him from having a flare for the longest time ever: 9 months.
Picture
Christmas in Chicago, near my son's apartment.
Prayer and Fasting Answered

For the past five years – every Christmas since his diagnosis – he has flared either in November or, in 2017, two days before the Nativity of Our Lord. He dragged his skeletal frame to a couple of Midnight Masses, but it was painful for me to watch him struggle to participate in this important Christmas event.

The past two years he couldn’t even think about coming.

So, as Christmas was approaching this year, my prayer and fasting for his sake went into high gear!
​
He arrived at our home on 22nd December, still doing well, but I wasn’t going to let up until he’d made it through the 25th and hopefully beyond.
Picture
I took this photo during the carol singing, thanking God that my son could be with me this night!
When 24th came around, he was in good spirits and able to accompany me to Midnight Mass. (I’ve moved to Hilton Head Island, where ‘midnight’ starts at 10 p.m.!)

We arrived at 9:30 p.m. to the beautiful strains of a small orchestra playing carols before Mass began. As I sat next to him, my heart swelled with enormous gratitude to God. At the back of the church, on either side of the tabernacle, stood a huge lit fir tree, and a massive nativity scene rested at the foot of the altar steps. Red and white poinsettias added life to the scene, and I could feel God smiling down on us all.

Even though he doesn’t fully believe at present, my son recited all the prayers with me, held my hand during the Our Father and walked down the aisle for a blessing when I received the Eucharist.

I thanked him profusely and let him know that my Christmas was now complete.
​
How I’d longed for this day!
Picture
This is a very high quality hemp oil (it's no longer allowed to be called CBD oil)
His Current Protocol
​
 
Many of you will want to know what my 26-year-old son is doing to maintain his current level of health. With the important caveat that this may not work for everyone, I outline his typical day below.

He is working crazy hours as a CPA with a big firm in Chicago, so his daily routine is pretty grueling. During the week he aims to get to bed between 8 and 9 p.m.

He wakes up between 4 – 4:30 a.m., goes to the bathroom (he’s sleeping through the night without needing to get up – hurray!) then returns to bed and rests his laptop on a pad on his knees and writes in his journal for 30 minutes.

Then he takes his dog for a 20 – 30-minute walk and feeds her when they get back. She (and our dogs, too) are on a raw food diet.
​
For ‘breakfast’ he takes a teaspoonful of CBD (hemp) oil and two teaspoons of MCT oil, followed by a highly absorbable Turmeric/Curcumin Supplement with Boswellia Extract
.
Picture
This turmeric/curcumin supplement is the highest recommended I could find, and together with boswellia is a powerful anti-inflammatory - and considered to have anti-cancer properties.
That is followed by 30 minutes in the gym doing strength/high intensity interval training to build muscle and keep his body strong to fight the disease through improved immunity.

At the gym he has a 12-minute sauna followed by a completely cold shower. This latter is from his research into the Wim Hof Method and its health benefits, particularly for strengthening the immune system.

When he first moved to Chicago, the cold really got to him and triggered his symptoms. This fall, as the temperatures started to drop, he wore less clothing than was comfortable to acclimatize his system to them.

He has found that this, plus the daily workouts and cold showers have helped to stave off a flare.

On his return home after the gym, he dresses and goes to work. His stomach is essentially empty so he doesn’t have to worry about sudden urgency on the way there or at the office or client.

Lunch is his first meal.

His diet consists of: beef, chicken or turkey; broccoli, carrots, brussels sprouts, asparagus, green beans and cauliflower. For something sweet he eats dark chocolate with no dairy, or sorbet. Since he can’t drink coffee, he finds that dark chocolate is great for waking him up in the afternoons when he starts to nod off.
​
He absolutely cannot eat anything spicy.
He tries to eat dinner as early as possible but it’s usually not before 7 p.m. when he gets home. He could eat sooner at the office/client, but doesn’t want to need the bathroom.

Once or twice a month he’ll have a glass of red wine without ill effects.

Rinse and repeat.
​
As already noted, to date he’s been able to stave off a flare. About once a month there’s blood in his stool (but still no diarrhea) or he feels a little ‘iffy.’ When that happens, he goes on a water fast for 24 hours or until dinner the next day. So far, so good.

​Fasting is a powerful anti-inflammatory. You can find a ton of information about this online.
Picture
Chicago City sidewalk Christmas display
Coping at Christmas 
​
This regime works well when he’s alone and in full control of his diet. It’s tougher in social situations which involve a lot of eating out.

He looks for simple items on the menu, such a steak, grilled chicken, broccoli and cauliflower. He even managed to eat carrots which had been smothered in butter (he is lactose intolerant) without ill effect!
​
He ate sorbet for dessert when it was offered, and I found some coconut milk ice cream and coconut milk ices for him to snack on back home.
The Take-Away 

As the years go by, his self-discipline regarding food has sky-rocketed, spilling over into all other areas of his life.

He reads extensively and listens to such interesting podcasts that I’ve developed the habit of doing the same thing every morning when I get up. I find uplifting podcasts and YouTube videos, and highly recommend those by Bishop Robert Barron and Dr. Jordan Peterson. They set a positive tone for the rest of my day.

Whenever I feel down, I think of my son and how valiantly he is coping with his situation – and realize I have no right to be unhappy.  He doesn’t like his job, either, but is continuing to do well in it until he can find a better alternative.

I feel such pride in the fine young man he has become!

To cap it all, he and I are now in active dialogue about God and Christianity.

Things are good, and I pray they may continue.
​
I wish you a very Happy New Year. I hope this helps you and that you, or anyone you know who has ulcerative colitis, might soon find relief.
Picture
Hilton Head Christmas decorations wouldn't be complete without an alligator!
Subscribe to Hilary Walker Books, and get a free copy of Riding Out the Wager, the first book of The Father Michael Trilogy.
Picture
Related Posts:

- Dog Therapy for my Son's Ulcerative Colitis


- St. Jude & Ulcerative Colitis

- Ulcerative Colitis: Stabat Mater Dolorosa

- Ulcerative Colitis: A Natural Approach

- One Man's Ulcerative Colitis Diet

- A Different Kind of Milk
2 Comments

What a Tough Time to Be a Catholic Writer!

10/4/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture

While I’ve been completing “Riding Out the Wreckage,” the third book in The Father Michael Trilogy, my Church has been falling apart!

More revelations keep coming to light about long standing sexual abuse by, and homosexual affairs among, the clergy. Faithful Catholics are dismayed and don’t know what to believe regarding their Church leaders.
​
Our religion appears to be in tatters and this makes it a difficult time to be writing Catholic fiction. But I believe this is also an important time to be a Catholic writer.


The Church Isn’t Always Easy to Defend 
​
When I returned to the Church, after being absent for twenty years, I was immediately greeted by the downfall of my parish priest and his successor.

The first pastor was accused of sexual misconduct with the seminarians he was in charge of 30 years prior. We parishioners wanted to believe his denials, but were finally forced to accept the truth, as more and more credible witnesses came forward.

God had called me back to the faith for this? My Christian Mystery novel, Brittle Diamonds was a response to the crisis.

We embraced the new pastor, a Monsignor no less, with eagerness to believe in a good shepherd again. But after two years he announced he was an alcoholic and left us to go into rehab.

Reeling, we looked to a third leader to save us.
​
He was late coming to the priesthood, having being a lawyer in his previous life. He is level-headed and still at that church.


Picture
Satan really goes after the clergy!
However, I became concerned when he preached on the miracle of Christ feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. He described it not as being a miracle per se, but an extraordinary example of people sharing what they have.

That is not at all what the Gospel says!

Where did he get that interpretation from? Did he also not believe that Jesus brought Lazarus back to life? Did he even believe that Christ actually died and rose again?

This man was not teaching the Truth. How many more priests like him were out there?

What had happened to Catholicism while I was gone?

There really Are Good & Faithful Priests 
​
Despite misgivings, I clung to what I believed to be right and did my best to be a good Catholic while in that parish.

Then came my move to Maryland, and to a parish with a wonderful priest who is devoted to fundamental Catholic teaching, including the truth that Christ did perform miracles.

I am grateful for him and the two subsequent pastors who’ve been shining examples of what is means to be good priests.

They are not afraid to state the truths of both the Old and New Testaments, however unpopular they are and whatever the cost to themselves. One of them even said that he fully expects either his or the next generation of priests to end up in prison because of the current wave of atheism and anti-Catholicism.
​
And the turbulence within the Church is not helping to stem the increasing onslaught.
Satan really goes after the clergy: they have so much temptation to resist and they badly need our prayers!
Picture

Now Is the Time to Trust in the Lord 

I think it’s helpful to remember that Judas was in the Church right from the beginning; that Peter denied Christ three times, and all the Apostles ran away from Christ when he needed them the most, except for John. We’ve been repeatedly warned that evil will attack from within and shouldn’t be surprised it’s happening.

Nevertheless, it’s deeply painful and confusing to have our trust shattered again. The  Catholic Church appears irretrievably damaged. But consider these words from Bishop Robert Barron in Why Remain Catholic with so Much Scandal?:

“we are not Catholics because of the moral excellence of our leaders. I mean, God help us if we were. We want our leaders—indeed, we expect our leaders—to be morally excellent. But we are not Catholics because of that moral excellence. We’re Catholics because of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. We’re Catholics because of the Trinitarian love of God. We're Catholics because of the Mystical Body of Christ. We’re Catholics because of the sacraments. We’re Catholics especially because of the Eucharist. We're Catholics because of the Blessed Mother. We’re Catholics because of the saints. Even as leaders in the Church fail morally, the Catholic Church remains the Mystical Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. And she’s worth fighting for.” (My emphasis.)
 
By continuing to write Catholic fiction, I hope to spread the beauty of Christianity and the truths of the Catholic Church, which transcend the moral character of her human leaders.
​
In the words of Peter Herbert, in A Severe Mercy: Our Time of Visitation “Our job is to obey and to entrust everything to His mercy and love and to the protection and intercession of Our Lady.” The ending of the Bible makes it clear – God wins.
1 Comment

Dog Therapy for My Son's Ulcerative Colitis

3/20/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
My son needed his dog, Fly, to help him get over this latest flare
Picture
 
To be honest, I've avoided writing this post for several months.

Why?

Because while I was rejoicing over my son staying in remission, he was building up to another flare - which began a couple of days before Christmas.

Stress & More Stress

Looking back it's hardly surprising. In fact, I'm amazed it didn't happen sooner. He was under enormous stress, despite not eating any 'forbidden' foods, and as any UC sufferer knows, stress is a huge cause of flaring.

As an aside, I'd like to add that a new study suggests that our gut flora changes in winter and we have less of the good bacteria in our intestines then. This would account for many people flaring in winter, whereas they can keep their UC under control the rest of the year. (Of course, I can't find the Tweet that included the link to this study, but when I do, I'll share it!)

My son had just accepted a new job in Chicago, then driven fourteen hours straight to look for apartments in the Windy City. After a bitterly cold and busy week (the cold is no friend of UC, is it?) he found a place and signed a lease. He was now under obligation to pay a large amount of rent per month.

Next he had to buy a new Jeep. His old one needed a new catalytic converter but wasn't worth putting the money into.

More debt.

On top of that, the new vehicle developed problems that weren't being fixed properly by the selling garage. He now owed money for an SUV which might be a lemon.

He also knew that he wouldn't be able to take his dog, Fly (pictured above) with him for the first three months, as he'd be working 16 hour days plus Saturdays. That gave him no down time to spend with his beloved animal.

Thus, as I said, it is hardly surprising that he flared two days before the celebration of Our Lord's birth.

I was devastated. I had so hoped for a flare-free Christmas!!!

​But he had to start his new job, flare or no flare. I felt so sorry for him. Piling my truck high with his belongings, I drove to Chicago along the same route he'd set out on a few hours earlier. He would need to make many more stops than me along the way and needed the head start ....



















A Miserable Trip

It was snowing, sleeting and slamming down freezing rain all the way there - over fourteen hours. I still don't know how he managed to make it, as I was having a horrible trip!

But make it we did. Once in Chicago, between his bathroom trips, we unpacked our vehicles and got him settled into his 24th floor apartment.

Then I cooked him foods we knew he could tolerate and hunkered down to let him rest for the next few days before he had to go to work.

While he tried to sleep, I was on a big research gig and found studies on how Chinese medicine has been found to help with ulcerative colitis. Further investigation pulled up a Chinese practitioner not far from us. My son agreed to work with him.

In the meantime, he was also using the BEMER lent to us by a friend. He didn't feel it helped with the flare itself, but last year he went into a flare with what turned out to be a torn rotator cuff and the inflammation spread across his shoulders and down his arms.

He couldn't lift anything or write.

It eventually caused bursitis in both knees and he could only walk with the assistance of two canes if he kept his legs straight. It was HORRIBLE!

Once again, this time around he started his flare with a stiff shoulder. Yet it disappeared with the help of the BEMER. If not for that, my son would have gone through the same muscle misery as last time.

We visited the Chinese practitioner in Chicago. He performed acupuncture and gave my son a tincture called Irritease. (Use this link as other sites will only let you buy it if you are a practitioner.) 



Picture
The Chinese Factor


​If you pull up studies, you'll find that anything used to help UC sufferers takes around eight weeks to work. My son's flares are usually for two months anyway, so it's hard to say whether the Irritease was helpful.

Yet now that my son has come out of his flare (more about that later) he's not taking it anymore because he doesn't want the opposite problem - constipation. To me that suggests that the tincture does help!

And here's another reason I think Chinese medicine is worth trying. 

After the first two weeks of diarrhea in January, the practitioner told my son to get a saline IV as he was severely dehydrated. He was so weak that I had to take a 45 minute Uber to his office and drive him home from work that evening. Thank Goodness I was in Chicago and able to do this!

Back at his apartment, I gave him some food then drove to the local hospital ER where they could see he needed help. As he lay on the bed being prepared for his IV, the nurse took a nose swab in a routine precaution to make sure he didn't have flu.
Picture
Quell Fire - this stuff really works!
'We were horrified when the results came back: he had a temperature of over 102 F degrees and did indeed have flu!

But how were we going to get that temperature down? He can't take NSAIDs and Tylenol just rips up his intestines.

They wanted to keep him in hospital overnight 'for observation' but what good was that going to do? The doctor had already looked inside his mouth and declared him 'not to be dehydrated' - so we had zero confidence in her!

I drove my son home, and emailed the Chinese practitioner.

Watching my son writhe in agony that night, I prayed the Rosary over and over again, begging God not to let my son die. It was so awful!

The next morning his temperature was still high. I'd received an answer from Dr. Tim and rushed over to get another tincture, this time one against fever.

The concoction is called Quell Fire and I immediately started administering it to my son.

You'll remember he started at over 102 F degrees. Shortly after he took this tincture, his temperature began to drop and two days later it was 96 F degrees - below normal! What a result! He didn't need to take that anymore!

Throughout this period his new employer was very understanding. He had sick leave for two days, then was allowed to work remotely on day three. Mercifully the weekend came after this, giving him a better chance of resting and recuperating.

He was still flaring badly, and had a bad cough from the flu, but we were grateful that the fever had broken at least.

My son is a fighter. Sunday came and he had to drive himself and a colleague four hours to the location of a client in Michigan, where they would stay the week, come home o Friday, then return on Sunday.

One big mercy is that Depend underwear for men look like normal underpants and you can get them in three different colors. My son took a ton of those with him, and if asked why he wore them, would simply say "Why do laundry, if I don't have to?"

(When he was first diagnosed with UC he refused to wear these briefs, but understands the virtue of them now!)

During those weeks on the road he would have very little control over what he ate as he couldn't take food with him.

Miserable and worried, I flew back home to Maryland: there was nothing I could do for him anymore except pray and pray and pray. He is not a believer at present, so I'm very careful to keep my talks with God private.

The other thing I did was buy one dark chocolate bar after the other,  consuming large chunks of them whenever he was out of the room! I've read that chocolate increases one's level of serotonin and boy, did I need that!

PictureFly observes the Navy Pier looking out on Lake Michigan from her new home in Chicago.
Inching Forward

The first indication he was improving significantly came when he texted me that he was planning to go on a one-day ski trip with others in his apartment building. He explained that he now had more control over his bathroom trips.

Imagine my joy when, at the end of the day, he sent a group photo of the skiers - with him in it! And this, despite not being able to eat strictly in order to get over a flare.

This is why I believe the Irritease and acupuncture did help him. Previously he has gone back into an even worse flare if he wasn't completely disciplined about his food intake and we'd become used to two or three flares in a row, each worse than the one before.

Earlier I mentioned that it was hard on my son not having his beloved dog with him. Every night I sent a short 'good night' video of her.

Then came the day, six weeks after his flare began, when he asked if his dad and I could bring Fly to meet him somewhere on the route to Chicago. I knew he must be feeling a lot better if he judged himself able to take care of his dog.

That was two weeks ago. We took Fly with us and met our son in Toledo. Their reunion was so touching! Fly jumped up and down for joy at seeing her owner again.

​We went out to dinner at a restaurant our son had picked out. Imagine how happy I was when he rode with us, ate dinner and rode back with us - all without needing the bathroom!!!!!

The next morning we parted ways and that evening were sent the photo of Fly looking out of the window in her new abode.

A week later, on St. Patrick's Day I texted to ask if the river really is dyed green?

I was sent this photo:
Picture
Picture
This showed me that, yes, the Chicago River is dyed green, but more importantly that my son is out and about with his dog - and that Fly is helping him enjoy life again.

Thank you, God, for this Easter gift!

I leave you with a link to this inspiring article:
Scaling New Heights with Ulcerative Colitis


Subscribe to Hilary Walker Books, and get a free copy of Riding Out the Wager, the first book of The Father Michael Trilogy.
​







​Related Articles:

- St. Jude & Ulcerative Colitis


- Ulcerative Colitis: Stabat Mater Dolorosa

- Ulcerative Colitis: A Natural Approach

- One Man's Ulcerative Colitis Diet

- A Different Kind of Milk

1 Comment

Making Christmas Merry

12/18/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
In October my son went for a week to Rhode Island to attend a seminar for dog trainers.

But he learned much more than how to educate a dog or grow a canine business. He came back with a long list of really good books to read - none of which had anything to do with dogs, but everything to do with self-improvement.
​
Thanks to that seminar the Kindle app on my phone is now rapidly filling up with great books!
​
I am already re-reading ‘The Slight Edge’ by Jeff Olson. 
Picture
Habits of Thought & Attitude 

The book is about changing one’s life for the better by means of slight daily improvements.

He discusses how habits of thought and attitude can either ‘uphold and support you’ or ‘imprison and restrain you.’ It’s important to be aware of those that don’t serve us and either change or get rid of them.

Replacing a bad habit with one that empowers and serves us is a great way to do this and one way to achieve this is to have a positive outlook. People with a positive attitude move towards their goals instead of away from them.
Picture
​Daily Appreciation 

Cultivate the habit of gratitude. Mr. Olson says that positive psychologists note how consistently happier people share this trait. He suggests writing down three things to be grateful for upon waking every day – three different things.

We tend to take good things for granted and zero in on those that aren’t so wonderful. But by doing that we give too much power to the negative and derive no benefits from the positive.

By switching our focus to the goodness in life we can totally change our outlook.

For me, this means looking for God’s grace every day. Since I’ve started to do that, I’ve been amazed to find out how much He’s looking out for me.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve suddenly caught myself driving too fast and have taken my foot off the gas, only to find that there’s a cop car waiting up ahead. Thank you, God, for giving me the chance to do the right thing!

The other day I went to the dermatologist and my face was basted with a special cream. This was for the light treatment I needed for pre-cancer cells. A piece of Saran wrap was placed over my nose, with another on my forehead.

I had to wait 90 minutes like this before the actual light treatment and didn’t want to sit in the waiting room that long. So I drove across to Panera and bought myself a coffee. As I was walking to a table, I knocked my cup against my purse and the container fell onto the floor. The lid came off and the contents spilled all over the carpet.

Not only had I lost my entire drink, but had also drawn attention to my Saran-wrapped face. It was most definitely a negative moment!

Then a lady jumped up from her table to help me mop up the mess, telling me that she’s a waitress and a klutz and always dropping things on the floor. Whether that was true or not, I so appreciated her empathy!

When I got to the front of the line again to order a new coffee, the lady looked surprised. I told her what had happened and she immediately asked the barista to remake my drink - and charged me nothing. The barista worried that she hadn’t put the lid on my coffee properly, but I assured her the whole episode was entirely my fault.

Thus, on the heels of huge embarrassment came three spontaneous acts of kindness.

Which was going to serve me best? Dwelling on the positive or the negative?
​
If we look for it, we’ll find that goodness abounds everywhere.
Picture
Christmas Thanks 

One year ago my son was in a full-blown flare with ulcerative colitis. He had dropped 40 lbs and was unable to walk without the aid of canes because, as a secondary complication, he had also developed bursitis on his knees. He looked skeletal, was getting no sleep, was in constant pain and enduring all the other horrible issues of someone in his condition.

He made it through this Thanksgiving without a flare (YAY!) and we are looking forward to his first healthy Christmas in three years.

Yes, there is a lot to be thankful for.

I hope you find many reasons to be grateful this Christmas and that the New Year brings you ever more blessings.
0 Comments

Ulcerative Colitis Takes a Hike

11/28/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
My son looking over a lake in Colorado on his hiking trip
This post is long overdue.

But I wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving to write it, in the hopes that I could pass on good news about my son.

With ulcerative colitis one doesn't want to assume anything, but the fact is that he was able to go on a two week hiking vacation with a good friend in August.

Together with his dog, he took a Canon camera with him and came home with amazing photos of his journey through the mountains.

​
Picture
My son's dog posing with the Rockies in the background
Trials & Tribulations

On their first stop, he discovered that his supplements had become soaked with water and were unusable. They were stored in a box attached to the back of his friend's Jeep, as their two dogs took up most of the space in the rear, and the pouring rain had seeped in.

So he had to pick up whatever he could at a local CVS and hope they would keep him going.

Needless to say his mother was quietly freaking out at home when she heard this news!

They were in the middle of nowhere, pitching tents in the open and hoping no animals - bears, in particular - would come in the night to take their food, their dogs or them.

My son's black lab Collie mix preferred to sleep outside, but that didn't suit her owner: he called her back in every night. 


Due to the high altitude, the damp and the cold, both adventurers suffered digestive difficulties.There were times of stomach aches, diarrhea and discomfort, but miraculously my son didn't flare. He was careful to eat only what he knew was safe and didn't take any risks as he had done in the past.
​


Picture
Hiking dog par excellence

Giving Thanks

The two high school buddies had a wonderful trip. They knew this might be their last opportunity to spend quality time together before life got more serious.

When he got back from this trip my son found out that he had passed the last of his CPA exams. With a bit more paperwork and an ethics test to get through, he received his certificate and is now a bona fide Certified Public Accountant.

In addition to this, for the first time in THREE YEARS, he celebrated Thanksgiving without flaring! I had been praying and praying for this. 

He has now accepted a job in Chicago and is set to start a new life in that big city.

I am so grateful to God!

Take Heart

As we go into the Christmas season, my son has to make sure he doesn't let the Chicago cold get to him. He has just bought a car with a heated steering wheel and heated seats, which should ease his commute to clients.

I sincerely hope that anyone with UC who is reading this takes heart at the knowledge that proper diet is the key to staying in remission. You don't have to be on drugs to keep healthy.

God bless and I'll be posting again after Christmas if not before.

Related Articles: 

​- St. Jude & Ulcerative Colitis


- Ulcerative Colitis: Stabat Mater Dolorosa

- Ulcerative Colitis: A Natural Approach

- One Man's Ulcerative Colitis Diet

- A Different Kind of Milk


0 Comments

Did Christ Worry?

10/27/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
    
It recently occurred to me that Christ didn’t simply tell us not to worry, He set us the example.

He wasn’t worried that things might go wrong for Him if he continued to antagonize the Jewish leaders. Anxiety didn't prevent him from threatening to cause an uprising that would incur the brutal wrath of the Romans.

He already knew that at the end of His three years’ ministry He was going to die an agonizing death on the cross.
​
Armed with such knowledge about our future, most of us - if not all of us - would simply refuse to get out of bed and try to avoid such a painful fate.

Using Our Time Wisely 

But Christ kept on keeping on.

He knew His days were numbered, but instead of letting this frightening truth paralyze Him, He made every day He had on earth count. He loved Mankind, spread the Gospel, brought people to God and gave them (and us) the chance to be saved.

Our lives are finite and none of us knows how long we have to live. That is why it’s so important to follow Christ’s example and make a difference in the lives of those around us with the time that God has given us.
​
It doesn’t matter whether we have many years or a few days left. What does matter is that we use them to serve God to the best of our abilities.

Picture
There’s No Room for Worry 

In Matthew 6: 27 Jesus says, ‘And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?’

We’ve all read the passage, but how many of us actually absorb its truth?

Christ truly lived out His words, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)”

He went about His Father’s business, bringing the Kingdom of God to this world and leaving tomorrow’s evils to tomorrow.

He didn’t fret about the future like we do. He showed us how to deal with daily life, despite the fact that He already knew what evil lay in store for Him.
​
The rest of us spend our days imagining the bad things that might arise, when 99.99% of them don’t ever come to pass. And usually we don’t foresee the evil that is around the corner: we’re not God - we can’t ‘cover all bases.’
Picture
​“Smile: It May Never Happen!” 

I used to hear that phrase all the time when I was a teenager. People would even shout it out to me as I walked down the street. In my early days of competing in horse shows, I got so sick of friends, family and strangers exhorting me to smile! I wanted to shout, “I’m REALLY nervous! It’s not fair to ask me to smile!”

But they were right. How is looking grim going to make life go smoothly? And especially if we’re Christians, when we’re supposed to show how our Christian faith improves our general outlook!

I tend to have this stupid attitude that if I worry about it I’ll somehow prevent it from happening, and I think many of you are the same. We see ourselves as responsible for the way things turn out and have to carry the weight of making sure nothing goes wrong by Doing the Worrying Bit.
​
How presumptuous is that?! We’re playing God and we know that's wrong.
Picture
God doesn’t want us to be unhappy and He wants us to hand over the day to day running of the world to Him. What happens tomorrow is none of our business.

Surely it makes more sense to carry out the tasks He’s given us for today, serving God with joy and letting tomorrow take care of itself?

That’s exactly what He did. And when things ‘went wrong’ for Him, He was ready to accept suffering with good grace for our sakes. He met it head on when it came, as we are expected to do.
​
But until then He didn’t waste time worrying about His imminent death: He used His time profitably to serve His Heavenly Father.
​
And so should we.
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Tweet

    Hilary Walker

    A fanatic horse rider and writer of Christian Inspirational Fiction, who's beginning to understand that making it to Heaven is a tad more important than winning at horse shows.

    Archives

    April 2022
    March 2021
    December 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011

    Categories

    All
    Absolute Relativism
    Acknowledging Christ
    Acts Of Heroism
    Agony In The Garden
    A Happy Christmas
    Air Travel
    Alternative To Cow's Milk
    Anger
    Baby Jesus
    Baby Jesus
    Bad Horse Show
    Battling Relativism
    Battling Ulcerative Colitis
    Believing In The Invisible
    Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit
    Blessings
    Blind Faith
    Body And Blood Of Christ
    Body And Blood Of Jesus
    Body And Blood Of Jesus Christ
    Canonization
    Carrying The Cross
    Catholicism
    Chaplet Of Divine Mercy
    Chicago
    Chicago River
    Choosing Absolute Truth Over Absolute Relativism
    Choosing Christianity Over Relativism
    Christ
    Christ Crucified
    Christian Faith
    Christian Faith
    Christian Hero
    Christian Heroism
    Christianity
    Christianity And Tim Tebow
    Christian Response
    Christians
    Christmas
    Christmas Fall
    Christmas Stars
    Christmas Thanks
    Christmas Thanks
    Christ's Passion
    Confession
    Constellations
    Cross
    Cross Of Christ
    Crucifixion
    Daily Commute
    Daily Mass
    Dairy-free Product
    Definition Of Grace
    Despair
    Devil
    Disowning God
    Divine Mercy Sunday
    Dogs And Ulcerative Colitis
    Donkey Work
    Driving
    Easter
    Easter Monday
    Evangelizing
    Evil
    Extraordinary Graces
    Faith In The Unseen
    Falling Over
    Fasting
    Father Gerald Vann
    Father Jean C.J. D’Elbée
    Fear Of Flying
    Feast Of The Assumption
    Feeding Horses
    Feeling An Idiot
    Fighting For The Bride Of Christ
    Forgiveness Of Sins
    Funeral
    Gaudete
    Getting Children To Go To Mass
    Getting Young Adults To Go To Mass
    Give And You Shall Receive
    Giving Thanks
    Giving Thanks
    God
    God And Horses
    Golgotha
    Good Deeds
    Good Friday
    Good Habits
    Grace
    Green Chicago River
    Happiness
    Happy News For Easter
    Heaven
    Hematidrosis
    Holistic Approach To Ulcerative Colitis
    Holistic Bee Nutrition & Welness
    Holistic Healing
    Holy Communion
    Holy Spirit
    Home
    Hope
    Horses
    Horses And Heaven
    How To Get Your Child To Go To Mass
    Humility
    Hurt
    Husbands
    I Believe In Love
    Is Heaven Boring
    Jesus
    Joy
    Judas
    Judas' Betrayal Of Christ
    Judas The Weasel
    Keeping Faith Through Adversity
    Lent
    Lenten Mass
    Love
    Love Is An Act Of Will
    Loving Our Neighbor
    Mary Our Mother
    Mary The Mother Of God
    Mass
    Medjugorje
    Men
    Merciful Savior
    Mercy
    Merry Christmas
    Merry Christmas
    Miracles
    Mother's Day
    Mother Therese Of Jesus
    Nature Of Love Of God
    Nature Of Sin
    Novena
    Old Priests
    Our Lady
    Overcoming Doubts In God
    Overcoming Sin
    Parish Priest
    Patience
    Peace On Earth
    Peter
    Pope Francis
    Power Of Prayer
    Prayer
    Praying For Enemies
    Praying For Suicides
    Praying For Those Who
    Priests
    Reconciliation
    Redemption
    Rejecting Evil
    Rejection Of Christ
    Relativism
    Relic
    Relocating
    Repentance
    Resentment
    Rosary
    Sacrament Of Absolution
    Sacrament Of Confession
    Sacrament Of Reconciliation
    Satan
    Seven Daily Habits For Faithful Catholics.
    Sign Of The Cross
    Sins
    Son Of Man
    Spirituality Of Small Jobs
    Spiritual Lollipops
    Spiritual Oasis
    State Of Grace
    St Bridget's Prayers
    St Bridget's Promises
    St Faustina
    St. Jude
    Stroke
    Struggling Christians
    Suffering
    Sweating Blood
    The Agony In The Garden
    The Chaplet Of Mercy
    The Divine Mercy Chaplet
    The Gospel
    The Greatest Sin
    The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge
    The Power Of Setting The Example
    The Real Presence
    The Road To Destruction
    The Road To Perdition
    The Road To Ruin
    The True Presence
    Tim Tebow
    Tony Dungy
    Transubstantiation
    Treadmill
    Trust In Jesus
    Ttruth Not Relativism
    Ulcerative Colitis
    Voting Against Evil
    Weekday Mass
    Widow
    Young Adults And The Catholic Church

    RSS Feed