Every year on the Holistic Holiday at Sea, the Recovery Panel is one of our most popular sessions. With courage and grace, participants share personal stories of illness and health, and how a plant-based diet, macrobiotic lifestyle, and holistic wellness regimen contributed to their healing process. This is the third part of a four part series featuring the stories from the Recovery Panel.
Sandy Clubb
Survived non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
In 2008, Sandy’s doctor thought that she had mono or maybe asthma. She did a chest x-ray and told Sandy, “I’m admitting you. We don’t know what you have, but you are staying here.” Sandy was placed in isolation and given every test. She ended up being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“I was fortunate that I knew a lot about nutrition so I felt I knew what to do. I went hardcore vegan. I did a comprehensive juicing program. I was lucky to know some people who were in the energy field so I did some biofeedback. And I really felt that that made a big difference.”
Sandy also did live blood cell analysis. When she saw her blood, she felt like an active participant in her healing. She hired a naturopath, a Chinese doctor, and an oncologist because she didn’t believe she should put her life in just one person’s hands.
She became a Food for Life instructor.
“I couldn’t get over the power of food. Now, I’m a cooking coach.”
Carol Bryan
Survived Multiple sclerosis (MS)
In 2004, Carol was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting Multiple sclerosis.
“I was devastated. I was in shock. I had fear. I had no hope. I felt helpless. All I knew was to follow the doctor’s advice.”
For two years, Carol did blind placebo clinical trials. She was on medications with side effects 2-3 pages long for each medication. Doctors were constantly checking her eyes, lungs, liver, ears, and mobility. She had hearing loss, weakness, and pain throughout her arms and legs.
“After two years, I said, ‘Enough is enough. I can’t handle this anymore.’ This was not only impacting my quality of life, but it was impacting my husband and my family’s life. I knew something needed to change.”
Four years later, Carol was introduced to an alternative holistic treatment of MS through diet. She started juicing.
“The more I juiced, the more I experienced, the more life I felt. I could tell something was going on in my body, and I really liked what I was feeling.”
She stopped taking all medications. She listened to Dr. John McDougall. Then she found out about Dr. T. Colin Campbell and learned more.
“The more I experienced, I felt more life—not death. With Dr. Campbell, I realized it’s holism—not reductionism. So it’s not just about food.”
She changed her lifestyle by seeing a holistic dentist, replacing her pots and pans, exercising, and learning about peace and healing.
“For me, it’s about inner peace and healing. To know that I was worthy to be loved and to love. To know that I could have peace and joy. As I learned to release toxic people and things from my life, I could fill it up with truth. I have run a half marathon. I play with my kids. I run around. I am very grateful and blessed.”
Follow Along For More Plant-Based Inspiration
This is the third part in a four part blog series about the Recovery Panel. Read the first part here and the second part here.
