Welcome to Mysteries over Martinis! This blog is a mix of unexplained phenomena and personal encounters served up with a mystery-themed cocktail. It’s a recipe for intrigue!

Andrea’s Miracle Mix:

*Half bunch of celery

*Handful of carrots

*1 apple (cored)

*1 orange or lemon (peeled)

*1/4 pineapple

*2 handfuls of kale

*3-4 beets with leaves

Slowly add ingredients to blender/juicer and pulverize to a smooth consistency. Cheers!

Expect Miracles: Andrea’s Story

When I was a sophomore in high school, I started to not feel myself. I was experiencing extreme exhaustion, severe widespread joint pain, weakness, debilitating migraines, skin rashes, jaundice, deep painful boils which covered my back, shoulders, and chest, weight loss, nose bleeds where blood would fill up a cup several times a week, stomach discomfort, and heavy, painful periods. The doctors couldn’t seem to figure out why I kept getting so sick. I was finally recommended to The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to see numerous specialists.

I continued to get worse and time went on with a diagnosis still a mystery. I was warned that what I was experiencing could be cancer, so I was sent to the cancer unit for testing and bone marrow biopsies.  Results- no cancer (phew). Then, they got concerned it could be AIDS. Results- nope (phew again). After countless MRIs, CT scans, blood work, ultrasounds, x-rays, and visiting different specialists, there were still no answers. It was finally recommended that I get a liver biopsy.  Looking and feeling like I was dying (and I was), I received a diagnosis of Autoimmune Hepatitis. I was going into liver failure. Autoimmune Hepatitis means the body doesn’t recognize the liver as its own, so it then attacks it. This had caused scarring which led to 4th stage liver cirrhosis. This is the last stage before complete failure and it has no cure. 

I remember so clearly laying in the hospital bed just beyond fatigued and in pain. I was sleeping just before the specialist came in. I continued to act like I was asleep as he spoke to my parents about what they discovered. I was mortified hearing the diagnosis and my prognosis. It wasn’t good.  At that very moment, I felt like giving up.  I was going to die anyways.  My future life expectations changed quickly and I became a different person.

I was put on massive amounts of Prednisone, an awful steroid with countless harmful and dysfunctional side effects, and another anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressant.  In order for me to live, we had to shut down my immune system to stop it from attacking and destroying my body.  I gained 40lbs in a matter of 3 weeks. I looked extremely swollen and puffy, like the marshmallow man with something called a ‘moon face’.  The medications wreaked havoc on my body. I started losing massive amounts of hair on my head. Handfuls were coming out in the shower, yet I gained hair on my body. My skin thinned out causing stretch marks. I suffered awful night sweats and insomnia. I had hunger pains that never went away yet my stomach was in quite a bit of discomfort. I had anxiety where I felt I was going to jump out of my skin. My perfect vision quickly diminished and I had the beginning stages of cataracts. I also entered the beginning stages of osteoporosis.  But, yes, I was alive.

After years of ups and downs I could never could get in that “safe zone” with my levels. I was told my liver couldn’t function and keep up on processing the medications. My liver was more than 75% covered in cirrhosis scar tissue. They warned me that I would most likely die in my mid-40s. They said I’d never be able to have children, I’d need a liver transplant within 7 years, and I would most likely develop liver cancer and/or lymphoma within 3-6 years.  Wow.  Hearing that punches you in the stomach like nothing else. So that’s it? That’s my life?  I became what I called a “realist” (pessimist) and grew more hurt, sad, angry, confused, and just every depressing emotion that can be felt.  It was so discouraging to never feel good, never even know what it was like to just feel “okay”.

 My parents really tried everything they could to help me. We went to an organic farm, tried numerous different diets, saw nutritionists, did acupuncture, just did everything we could from the resources we had at the time.  I was also young and really wasn’t ready to stick to such drastic lifestyle changes.  High school was worse than it usually is for a young girl and I was teased for the sudden weight gain. It was extremely difficult to go from an active and fit teenage girl to a plump and puffy sick person.  When the word got around that I had “Hepatitis” the cruelties spread into rumors that weren’t true.  People hear “Hepatitis” and automatically think the virus and how its spread. Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver, not only a virus. It was just a really difficult time in my life.  Even through the struggles, I managed to get a job, work through high school and graduate early.

My health continued to get worse when I was in college and I had to leave.  Shortly after I left, I found out I was pregnant.  I was 18 years old, in a serious relationship, and completely shocked since I was told that I would be unable to conceive.  I immediately told my specialist. When I went to discuss my situation, I was advised to abort the baby. I knew in my heart that everything was going to be okay and I felt peaceful about keeping the baby.  The pregnancy actually put me in the best place with my health and the disease went into somewhat of a remission. I ended up having a healthy baby boy, Landon. 

 My health went downhill after I delivered my son.  He began to show signs of being unhealthy.  He would projectile vomit 4-5 times each day until he was close to 2 ½ years old.  Dealing with my son’s health issues and also trying to manage my own was a difficult task.  I got married and became pregnant right away. I had complications through my second pregnancy which made it difficult.  I had my daughter, Amelia. Thankfully, she was healthy.  I got divorced a year or so after Amelia was born.

My kids began to get ill. They exhibited milder versions of the symptoms I had felt before being diagnosed. This caused me to worry.  This was beyond the average cold and flu. Both of my children developed chronic ear and sinus infections.  My son also had strep throat more often than not. Antibiotics lost effectiveness. They needed tubes in their ears and their adenoids removed. My son had his tonsils removed and suffered post-surgery complications. Landon and Amelia both developed chronic pneumonia and asthma. Later, my son was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and anxiety.  My children have experienced a lot in their short lives.

Through this time, I was then diagnosed with fibromyalgia, lupus, and mixed connective tissue disease. I feel the trauma I experienced caused these ailments to flare.  The pain and fatigue was unlike any I had experienced before.  I couldn’t turn the key in the ignition of my car, twist the lids off sippy cups or just do the simple things most do without even thinking. Every movement was a painful, exhausting struggle. The doctors told me there was nothing they could do to treat me except prescribe antidepressants to subdue my nerves.  I went to the Mayo Clinic and sought the expertise of other doctors to get additional opinions. The prognoses were the same; there was nothing they could do because of the state of my liver. We just had to wait until my liver started failing again or cancer set in. They checked me for cancer every 3-6 months. I was a ticking time bomb just waiting for death to strike me.

After being denied of any hope to ease my symptoms or prolong my survival, I let myself become a victim to the diseases I was diagnosed with. I had pity parties and I allowed negativity and fear control my life. The more I sulked in my misery, the worse everything got. God obviously wanted me to learn more before ‘I came to my senses’. It was a 13 year battle. I finally said “NO” to the doctors. I told whatever was killing me to get out of my body, out of my heart, and out of my mind. It was no longer welcome and I was going to make sure it went away and stayed away. The first thing I did was have an energy healing done. I got it done twice a week for a long time. It helped open doors and give me hope and strength in areas where I was weak and fearful. I changed over to non GMO and organic foods. My diet no longer contained dairy/casein, gluten/wheat, food dyes, or artificial anything. After about 3 months, things started to get better and better. I continued with energy healing through everything (to this day it’s essential for me). I also started meditating daily. It gave me clarity to see and sense things about my health that I wasn’t aware of.Yoga has helped tremendously too.

 Then I found Youngevity from an organic farming family who had been trying to heal me for 10 years. Youngevity is a line of life enhancing products. It was working for all of their customers so I decided to try it too. It was my missing link. It fulfilled the nutritional deficiencies causing my issues. I was finally able to eat without throwing up or being in debilitating pain. I drink close to a gallon of water each day. I only drink water or tea. I incorporate essential oils and herbs specific to my issues and I eat about 80% raw and vegan.

In changing my lifestyle, receiving energy healing, changing my heart, my mind set, and thought patterns, my life drastically changed. I made this happen because I wanted it that bad. It was hard work initially but I followed through with consistency, motivation, and dedication. Once I took full responsibility over my life (past, present and future), I found purpose, understanding, and peace. I let down the walls and tackled the fight or flight response my body was used to. My perceptions changed. I found that challenges through life are to learn from and we grow within those moments. 

 I know my purpose is to help others heal on all levels. I never thought I would ever be talking about how good I feel or how happy I am. It’s a choice. We are all on different journeys and paths. We are all a continuous work in progress, every day. I am a continuous work in progress.

My experiences brought me to why I am so passionate about wanting to help anyone and everyone with the desire and intentions to change their lives and obtain optimal health in the mind, body, and soul.  I know so many others have suffered much worse than myself. I want to prevent anyone from getting to the place I was once in. And I want to help those who are in a similar or worse place than I was.  Ultimate healing is a very real possibility, if you are ready to allow it.

I would like to thank Andrea for sharing her amazing story of perseverance and empowerment. Her story clearly demonstrates the old adage “mind over matter.” Andrea knew her ailment went beyond her physical body. She had to remove emotional residue and adjust her mental filter in order to make progress. Many of us are conditioned to seek the assistance of a medical doctor when we are ill. They are supposed to have all the answers, right? Often times, they are a great resource. However, many prescription medications just place a chemical band aid on the issue. They don’t actually “cure” it.  I’m not referring to infections that require antibiotics. Those are short term doses which clear up bacteria or fungus. I am talking about medications that control blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc. Maybe the issue stems from what the body is or isn’t ingesting, along with unresolved emotional issues and/or mental blockages.

Author Louise Hay and Scientist Bruce Lipton theorize that physical symptoms are merely an extension of your unconscious mind. In fact, Louise was diagnosed with cervical cancer in the late ‘70s. She considered the alternatives to surgery and drugs. She decided to develop and implement an intensive program of affirmations, visualization, nutritional cleansing, and psychotherapy. Within six months, she was completely healed of cancer.

Stories like these certainly shed light on the idea that the human body’s efficiency is influenced by emotions and attitude.  It’s as if mind, body and soul create the perfect trifecta. In Catholicism, the church teaches that God is made up of 3 entities: the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. They share one essence. Our bodies may be similar in that ultimate health is achieved when the physical, emotional and mental states are working in perfect harmony.

If you’ve had a mysterious encounter you’d like to share, please e-mail me at mysteriesovermartinis@gmail.com. Please pass it along to your friends and family too. I’d love to hear from them. Remember, weirdness is always welcome here at Mysteries over Martinis. Cheers!