May update!

My best furry friend got recertified in May! I spent the end of May working with him a little more and getting Lincoln ready for the recertification test. He had to take off a few pounds, but he did it! We had to get recertified with a new lady I have never met, and it was showing that he does his commands over FaceTime. Luckily, Lincoln pulled it together and now we can go another 3 years being a team! He did get a lot of love and treats after. May also involved, a trip with my boyfriend to Los Gatos, seeing one of my best friends since elementary school get married, and more IVIG and chemo IV infusion, and a few birthdays in between. 3 chemo infusions done and another one in a few weeks. I’ll be having a MRI at the start of July and am believing and praying that the chemo treatments are working!

Rowing

A little over a year ago I had the opportunity to try rowing! I wish I would have kept it up, but it is an expensive sport. I randomly had gotten in touch with an old friends mom and she offered to let me try rowing. Since it is mostly an arm exercise, I was happy it would be something I could do. I’ve done a lot of rowing on a machine but this experience was way more complicated. You are rowing backwards and have to learn all the terms and how to get back in the shell (name of the boat) if it flips over. There is the stern (back) of the shell and the bow (front). You are rowing backwards and have to row at the same time and be super in sync with the team. The man that was teaching me was very helpful and a great teacher. Luckily he took charge and would yell, sweep and catch so that we would take a stroke at the same time. You also have to feather your oars on top of the water so that after a stroke you aren’t slowing down your team. The starboard (right) and the port (left) of the shell do everything at the same moment. There is so much more to learn than what I did in a hour and a half lesson. I wish I would have continued to row, but it is an exhausting sport and takes a lot of strength,patience, and memorization. I would go again for fun but wouldn’t want to join a team. 

Short Catch Up

I haven’t posted anything in a long time! What happened in the past two (or more) years! Way to much to write in a post. 

1. I have done a lot of IV treatments and seen many different doctors.
2. I did an oral chemotherapy treatment, that was a 2 year process, but sadly after getting an MRI I was told that it really didn’t do what we were hoping it would. 
3. Found the best boyfriend in the world!
4. Have taken some trips.
5. Love my service dog, Lincoln.
6. Continue to workout the best I can.
7. I’m about to start a new IV chemotherapy treatment.
8. Had to go to a fertility doctor to help me decide what to do for a possibility that I may want in the future. 
9. Cried a lot, laughed a lot, and have found a new me. 
10. I’m also still undiagnosed but use the name Atypical MS as a diagnosis. 
11. Have had a lot of fun!

I hope that I’ll start talking about my story again more, and life in general even if it isn’t on this platform. 

Quarantine 🤦🏼‍♀️

It has been almost three weeks since I have had my exosome stem cell infusion. It has been a tough three weeks. I have been tired and emotional which is something to be expected. I can't say that I am walking amazing or there has been some life-altering change, but I can say that I feel more "alert." I am very happy that I got two immune-boosting treatments before the virus scare (exosomes and IVIG). This week I am going to be able to start doing more of my regular strenuous exercises. I am very thankful that I do not go to a gym and I see my trainer because I can keep working out for as long as my dad still is letting me go out with the coronavirus. I had to stop my hyperbaric treatments because of the circumstances, but they will start again as soon as the world goes back to normal. I don't want to say that this treatment didn't work because I definitely feel better than I did before I started, but I can't say that I am walking how I want to. This doesn't mean that I will stop trying treatments or doing what doctors say but I'd be lying if I said that I'm not disappointed. This has been a good time for me to slow down and let my body rest, to use exercise equipment at home and appreciate the little things. I have learned a lot from this experience and am going to try to fasting for a week at least once a month, it is a really good way to reset your body and mind. Hopefully, I keep seeing small improvements even if they are as simple as mental clarity.

Infusion Day 💉😆

Today I got exosomes (stem cells). It didn't take very long and afterward, I got to go on the beemer three times so that the stem cells would move throughout my body. Before and during the treatment I had my feet on a device called a Sima. I also had infrared lights on my head, down my spine, and back of my neck. I looked crazy but we did everything to wake my body up and have the stem cells go to the places that need healing. The red lights are supposed to stimulate and strengthen the mitochondria of the cells and the sima does something with frequencies in your body. When the infusion was done they put me on the Bemer for three rounds because it increases the blood flow of the body. I will continue my fast for the next couple of days and hopefully will see a change. Out of all the videos we have watched and testimonies we have heard, it can take anywhere from immediately, to 3-6 weeks and months for even more differences. At this point, any slight difference would make this all worth it. I am going to take it easy after infusion day and then start moving a lot and get the stem cells flowing so that they can do their job. I hope that you enjoy these crazy pictures of me at 7 am this morning (Not posting the hideous pictures of me with red lights wrapped around my head)

 (This is the Sima) 

(Infusion)

                 (Getting on the Bemer) 

The Day Before! 🥳

Tomorrow is the day! I get my stem cells! I’m going to the doctor early in the morning to get the infusion, and will have to continue the fasting diet for at least two days after (probably will do more). I can slowly resume my regular diet with juices, soups, and soft foods and am aloud to do activity that isn’t to strenuous.  The stem cell IV is supposed go pretty quick, maybe 25 min. I’m believing there will be promising results, and am excited to see what happens. After the infusion I get put on something called a bemer, which increases circulation and more. I am so grateful for this opportunity and everyone who has been praying for me, routing for me, and following my story. I’m praying for some change and believe that it has already started. 

I will continue to update how I am doing and feeling after the infusion. And how the process goes tomorrow! The following week I will continue to do the hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help my body, and take it easy. 

Fasting 🚫🍷🍩☕️🚫

   As I continue the protocol for my treatment the next step over the next five days is fasting. The program includes a five day fast mimicking package of five days called ProLon. Each box for the day includes packages of "meals" that you eat throughout the day. It is mostly soups and a couple of nut-based bars, teas, and crackers to go with the soup. Each day you follow the instructions and it slowly cuts things out of the diet from the first day or adds in a supplement. You are not allowed to drink caffeine on the diet so I started to ween myself off of coffee a week before I started this, so I wouldn't have the caffeine withdrawal headache that we all love so much. While I am fasting I am doing a hyperbaric dive every day. It is also said that after five days of fasting your body is at the highest of making its own stem cells to heal. On the fifth day is when I will get the stem cell infusion! Disclaimer because this is fast mimicking I am not starving myself and I am not doing it do weightloss, only doing it because it is proven to help the healing process. Because when your body is not focused on constantly digestive food it has energy to heal on the cellular level. The man who has created this ProLon fast mimicking diet is Valter Longo ( if you are interested).

   My mom and I have done a lot of research on fasting and there are so many benefits to it! There are also many different types of fasting and is something that everyone should try for health reasons or to just be a healthier more focused person. There is a documentary on Netflix or maybe it is amazon prime, called Fasting and it goes over the different types of fasts and follows real people on how they have changed their lives doing a fast. The video includes seven types of fasts: Time-Restricted Feeding, Intermittent and Prolonged Fasting, Long Term Water Fasting, Juice Fasting, Religious Fasting, and what I am doing Fasting Mimicking Diet. It also goes over some of the unsafety, but I am only doing this for seven days and it transitions you back into a normal diet. I am excited about this because there have been may good results from people just even for improved energy levels and brain function.

I am also excited because my very loving family has said that they would try to follow some of the protocol with me (mainly dinner and they would at least cut back on caffeine) to support me throughout the journey. Fingers crossed and prayers that my stem cells start working for healing on my brain, and if not that at least increased energy and mental clarity. PS. four hyperbaric treatments down, and about six more to go before the infusion.