Make a health-care, self-care comeback & become your own health expert

Finally, after being referred out to three different MD specialists, I made it to an ENT. She told me the other doctors had diagnosed me with chronic sinusitis. I broke down in tears of desperation. She put her hand on my knee, and said she was going to help diagnose me. She put a scope up my nose to determine if there was “dark” or “fresh” mucus. She told me it was fresh mucus and then asked what was going on inside of my gut. I told her pain. She sent me back to my HIV primary-care physician (PCP) for a colonoscopy. Instead, they began with an anal pap smear. I had an aggressive form of stage 0 anal cancer with two large transformation areas.

Shortly after starting a harsh HIV medication that gave me non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, I also began intense anal cancer treatments. The cancer treatments involved acid — which destroyed the transformation cells, along with healthy cells — and was absorbed into my gut. My gut lining stripped and gut integrity was severely compromised. This left bad yeast and GI bacteria to overgrow. At the end, I was left with 23 T-cells, the frontline defender in our white blood cell group. Healthy T-cell count is 1,000-1,500. After all my doctor appointments, medications and treatments, I had AIDS, a category you fall into when you dip below 200 T-cells.

I was worse off than before, and the doctors offered a protocol of the Gardasil vaccine and chemo pills. I quickly said no to that. I needed something drastic — something that would quick yet effectively. “That’s not something we do” is what the doctors told me. I was told I would need to seek out a holistic or natural approach.

Before I got sick, I wasn’t a nice person. I was self-involved, superficial-focused and stupidly careless with my health. I did, however, ask God to save my life. In return, I told him I would live my life for him. He guided me to the knowledge I needed to detox my body. As a former healthcare journalist and marketing executive in the biotech industry, I knew a lot already and what didn’t know I could research. I scoured websites, message boards, blogs and more to find my way to a vegan diet, plant-based supplements and detox activities like ionic detox foot baths, lymphatic drainage massage and infrared sauna sessions.

After a few months of changing it up, I went back to my HIV PCP for blood work. When it came back they told me I was at 889 T-cells. They asked what I did. I told them. They said what I said I did was not possible to do on my own. I smiled to myself, because I knew it was. Shortly after, I opened up Detox Day Spa, where I offer the same external detox protocol, supplements and plant-based meal plans that I utilized. As a certified live blood analyst and detox specialist, hundreds of clients have had success with my in-spa program. I receive calls from all over the country asking when I’m going to open a detox spa in their city. Now, there’s an option for anyone and everyone with my online detox program.