Life is crazy isn’t it?
I didn’t fully realize how crazy until it hit me in the face.
Let’s just start by saying that I’ve been lucky enough to endure a few hardships that led me straight to my calling (all part of God’s perfect plan). Growing up as a dancer, I was always in good physical shape from an appearance standpoint. What I didn’t learn until I was in my late teens/early 20’s was that my seemingly healthy body was suffering internally. After years of struggling with health issues, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Celiac disease. One year after my diagnoses, I nearly lost my life to Toxic Shock Syndrome (it’s not as rare as you think). To say my body has been through a lot would be an understatement. At the ripe ol’ age I am (a hint of sarcasm), I value every breath of life that I’m given. With pain comes progress; we must grow in the midst of hardship to step into the gifts God has for us. Little did I know at the time, but God was preparing a beautiful life for me.
The diagnosis of my autoimmune conditions weren’t what changed things for me. It was when I survived Toxic Shock Syndrome at 20 years old that changed my life forever.
I didn’t think I would dance again. When you’re transferred from the ER to the ICU in critical condition, it’s pretty much a given that the recovery will be hard. The first time I was able to get out of my ICU bed and walk felt like pure freedom (granted, I had a walker and took about 5 steps). After one week of being in the ICU, doctors told me I had lost over 60% of the muscle in my body. When I left the hospital, I remember looking at my legs when I was being wheeled out to the car. My legs had become as thin as my arms (and let’s just say I don’t have the biggest biceps). As happy as I was to finally be going home, I was holding back tears thinking about all the years of getting strong as a dancer was taken away in one short week.
For a few weeks after the hospital, it was hard to get up the stairs in my house. It was even hard to take a shower. I remember my dad putting a large ice chest in the shower for me to sit on because standing for that long just didn’t work.
Anyone who knows me well would tell you that I don’t give up easily and I can be pretty stubborn (which I’m willing to admit); so when I realized how weak my body had become, I knew I had to do something.
Dance is the only exercise I enjoy, and with that being off the table, I did the closest thing I could: Zumba. So there I was, in my room, frail and weak trying to merengue like the people on my TV screen (go ahead, laugh). Honestly, I enjoyed every second of it, until the day after when I would get sick. For a few weeks, every time I would put any stress on my body, I would get sick. Exercise is a form of stress, so when my heart rate went up, my immune system went down. It was a vicious and frustrating cycle. How was I supposed to get stronger if I couldn’t exercise?
Then it hit me… food. I knew that there had to be some correlation with the foods I was putting into my body and the recovery process. I took my butt to Barnes & Noble (my favorite store) and headed straight to the health section. I began reading every book I could get my hands on and researching online about anything and everything nutrition.
I was currently on summer vacation from San Diego State University where I was majoring in criminal justice at the time. As I started reading more and more about nutrition, I decided to give food a try. I bought a juicer and began making green juice every day for about 6 weeks. Since that first bitter green juice, my life has never been the same. My body was finally working with me instead of against me.
When I went back to school in the fall (against doctor’s orders), I changed my major to Foods & Nutrition. I had to make it my future career because I saw what a couple months of studying and living a healthy lifestyle did for my body. I finally felt alive! I knew I had to learn as much as I could about nutrition. It’s the most fascinating subject that I will never cease to learn about.
Although I’ve made incredible progress, it has never been an easy road when it comes to my health. Autoimmune diseases are a class of their own and the stress my body went through surviving a toxic blood infection is still lingering today. What I do know is this: nourishing your body with the right foods will allow for a vibrancy that isn’t possible otherwise. And God gets every bit of glory for the work he’s done in my life. I wouldn’t be here without the grace and goodness of my Lord and Savior.
If you’re ready to start your own journey to total body nourishment, you can start here.
