My story
Why I am me. Why I buy organic, don’t get a flu shot and refuse to get a colonoscopy.
I am a Lyme survivor and I am not ashamed. I have made the decision never to relapse and I support my body in ways that took me years to discover!
I am strong, I am healthy and I am confident. I will live healthy and happy well into my later years. I hope by reading this and seeing how much I have suffered and how I struggled you will see me for the amazingly strong person I am and respect my decisions and understand why I do the things I do and why sharing my knowledge is so important.
As a small child I had my tonsils removed, many silver fillings and was constantly on antibiotics. These later will cause me serious damage to my gut and health. Flash forward to adult Candace in my late 30’s my body started talking to me that I had health issues. I was tired, was gaining weight, and a noticeable health shift. Doctors told me it was all in my head and sent me on my way. I got worse and worse until finally I blew out my adrenals. Six years later from the onset of my first symptoms, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. During the next 9 years I spent well over $100,000 on doctors and got better and relapsed several times. My hobby was scheduling and following up on doctor visits. One of my lowest points was at Cedars Sinai, my children were waiting outside the exam room. The doctor touched me inappropriately and told me my symptoms were all in my head. I don’t trust all doctors. At my darkest time I prayed to die to relieve myself from the pain and uncertainty. I was alone and scared. No one understood the disease or knew how to help. Heck, I did not even know what I needed. The ONLY thing that kept me going was the love of my children. I was homeschooling my kids at the time and I would teach group classes at home because it was safer than trying to drive and function. I would read lips because the pain in my head was so great. I would hear freight trains and many other strange symptoms that came out of the blue. I was a physical wreck. My body was so taxed I have no idea to this day how I did not die.
Now let’s get to the good part. I moved to Maryland and drove my kid’s cross country and was Lyme free. I was celebrating my new healthy me. I had a small dental procedure and my Lyme came back. Now I am in a new area and did not have my support team of doctors. California health care is much different than the Eastern Shore. If you know me I am not one to give up. I refused to pay more money just to have My Lyme disease return. So, I rolled up my sleeves and treated my illness like a science project. I began to really understand my illness and not rely on doctors to get me better. I became my own advocate. Next I gave myself permission to heal. I forgave myself for not being the best mother to my kids when I was suffering the worse part of my illness. Then I started making changes. I learned what functional medicine was and started fixing my body from the ground up.
I started writing a book and with each chapter I began to feel better. Here are a few of the things I tackled with the help of a few great doctors. (Great because that had to put up with me and my learning process.) This took me over five years. My goal here is to hopefully make you the reader aware that most doctors treat symptoms and it is far better to find the root cause. It is not always easy but is always obtainable.
1. Silver fillings and root canals--- all gone. All bad and all symptoms from this mimic many other health issues.
2. Heavy metal poisoning--heavy metals often go hand in hand with a yeast infection in the gut. The body grows yeast to gobble up heavy metals as a way of protecting itself. This way the toxic metals do not circulate in the body. FYI, I learned this the hard way… detox metals before treating yeast. Again Candida (yeast) symptoms mimic many other health issues.
3. Yeast and mold--Yes, there is a gene that some people have that makes some people much sicker in mold conditions that others. I have it! My body does not recognize mold as a toxin and allows it to roam the body causing very serious health risks. You can imagine how devastated I was when I moved into my new home and found mold in the air ducts. I simply pulled up my sleeves and fixed my health issue.
4. MTHFR genetic mutation--So many people have at least one of these genes and it can cause many issues. Back when I was learning about this, I found a protocol that took me a year to perfect. I now can self-correct by taking a few daily supplements. Also new evidence shows that you can turn on and off your genetic code by what you eat. If you understand this correctly this means just because your mother had breast cancer does not mean that you will have it. This is BIG news and one we hear very little about!
5. HPU--This is a mineral deficiency that anyone who has had a long-term illness most probably has. I took over 6 months to do protocols and overcome this health issue. Today I simply take a high-grade micro mineral supplement and of course eat well.
6. Co-infections of Lyme--When infected with Lyme it is never just one disease. All need a different antibiotic protocol. I have learned how to now use herbs that are much kinder on the body.
7. Estrogen dominance--normal ranges is around 300 depending. My levels were over 2,000.
8. Lyme disease--By using the functional medical approach, I cleared many health issues as stated above and then I went after my Lyme disease. With a strong body I was able to defeat Lyme for the final time. I have been Lyme free for over 5 years.
9. Depression--I learned to let go and that looking forward is so much better than looking back. I learned patience and acceptance in myself.
10. My GUT or microbiome--After years of antibiotic use I severely screwed up my gut. I went on a ten-day detox diet and for the first time in over 10 years I was completely pain free. That was enough encouragement for me to continue to eat clean and healthy.
I am healthier today than I have been in my life.
I struggled and suffered in quiet silence for so many years. Because of that I am the person I am today and I know that I will never ever ever have a health issue that I cannot overcome! I learned that just because a doctor says it is so does not mean it is right. I learned to listen to my body and believe in myself. I do not believe the government has our best health interests at heart. Read any label of processed foods and ask yourself is this nutritious? Is this nurturing my body? (I could talk for hours on this alone) Pharmaceutical companies have too much power and I refuse to let them control me.
I suffered. I begged God to end my life on at least 5 occasions, I watched my kids wave to me from the back of an ambulance, I was stricken and could not even walk a flight of stairs, I used oxygen to breath at night. I see clearly how we as Americans are not healthy. Although mostly self-taught, I know at the bottom of my heart that no one has to suffer. No one has to needlessly live in pain, suffer from disease or be overweight.
I have sat in silence for too long. First, believing there was something wrong with me when I had Lyme disease and shamefully suffered in silence. Second, remaining silent and not using my story as a testament to help others to be healthy.
I am Candace Ray and I believe in my body’s ability to heal! I listen to my body and I cherish it. I nourish it with foods that help and support my body. I try to limit my toxic load. (Which means I need to be really eat clean as I love my champagne. LOL. Choices people)
If you struggle you are not alone. You can overcome just like I did. But first you must believe.
***A side note. Along the way I discovered I am dyslexic. If there are missing words or misspellings please overlook.