As I laid in agony on a hospital bed aboard the USNS Mercy in the Persian Gulf, a nurse making her rounds asked me to rate the pain from a significant disc herniation at the L4-5 vertebral level. I begrudgingly underestimated that level, knowing the injury was a blow to both my bruised powerlifting gym-rat ego and my future in the military.
Little did I know there was much more to come from an Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm tour of duty that would not only seriously alter my life and career path, but also prove to be a cautionary tale for anyone working in the healthcare space. Included in that mix are benefit advisers I encounter who sincerely want to steer the employee populations they serve to more meaningful resources that actually
My low back was in complete spasm, while continual lightning jolts shooting down the back of my right leg was making me stir crazy and yearning for relief. Earlier that day, I learned that a surgeon aboard the Mercy recommended removing my disc. At age 21 and trusting the "higher ups," you say, "Yes, Sir," and accept the consequences. Later that same day, a young U.S. Navy lieutenant would approach me with a different agenda, and I still recall his words to this day: "I'm a
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Fast forward eight years, I am now a licensed physical therapist working at the William S. Middleton VA Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. The tables had turned, and now I was the PT informing a bed-ridden veteran that I was going to be the guy that helped prevent that lumbar disc from being removed. I was proud to serve that role for our veterans and equally proud to think of my personal journey that put me in this position.
Fast forward another two years andI noticed something wasn't quite right with me. A series of
Over the course of just a few months, nearly all my thoughts and focus were on these mysterious symptoms. Since the VA had no answer, I was desperate to find some. My
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As my symptoms persisted, I still had no answers and realized that whatever was happening was my body's way of setting off an alarm, as well as attempting to correct what was wrong. I also wondered if this is how I felt at age 31, how would I feel at age 41 or even 51 — assuming I was still alive?
My right abdominal pain became more intense, turning foot and shoulder pain into an afterthought. Seeking gut help first, I discovered a colon hydrotherapist who exposed me to a side of healthcare I had never heard before. Thoughts around gut health, toxins and disease manifestation fascinated me and made so much sense. She showed me a diagram on her wall that explained a likely culprit of my gut pain, and I was perplexed as to why no other practitioners brought it up. She also explained that colon hydrotherapy would assist in flushing the colon with fluid to remove toxins and waste. I left that day with one colon cleansing treatment under my belt and a new focus on toxins and detoxification.
Reading as much as I could about the process of detoxification, I started to realize that my body was very much in a toxic state. Between an aluminum taste in my mouth, glue-like substance oozing from my foot and intense gut pain, my body was screaming for help. But why? I was a pretty healthy guy who was fairly disciplined with good nutrition and was a regular at the gym, consistently working out four to five times per week. So why suddenly did I find myself in a toxic state?
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The answer came to me as a result of working at the VA, not from VA practitioners but rather seeing what was happening with U.S. veterans who served in the Gulf War. A pattern of joint pain complaints and weird skin rashes were becoming commonplace. Was I toxic from the Gulf War? Ten years after my time in the Persian Gulf, my body had enough of whatever was lurking inside.
It wasn't difficult to make a case that what was happening to me was a result of what I was exposed to or ingested while serving in the Persian Gulf. Besides the oil clouds that hung over my head for many days, I was also required to take a daily pill as a preventive measure if I encountered any nerve gas Saddam Hussein had in his arsenal. I will never know what the contributing factors were to my declining health, but Gulf War Syndrome is well documented and has afflicted more than 250,000 veterans.
In my quest to find a solution, the topic of fasting continued to surface. Fasting was also a topic of discussion with my colon hydrotherapist. While there are many forms of fasting, I decided on a 45-day juice fast to detoxify my body, which systematically addressed the highest of priorities. Symptom by symptom, they were amplified for one to two days, and then just like that, completely gone. I had never felt better and couldn't wait to share my success with others, especially veterans who I knew were experiencing the same steep health decline. Although many of them understandably were resistant to what I had to say, I tried to help others whenever possible. That experience and the knowledge I gained during this critical point in my life has never left me.
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Of the many lessons learned, two stood out to me the most: The very best physician in the world is the "physician within;" and unless we address the root cause of illness, there can be no true healing but rather a band-aid that covers the symptoms.
Today, I am 54 years old and have never felt better. Had I been complacent, close-minded or careless about determining the root cause of my ailments, a much different outcome would have been likely.
It's gratifying to share my story and the eye-opening lessons I learned along the way with employee benefit brokers and advisers who hold sway over their employer clients. And considering that about half of working Americans have employer-provided health insurance, they're in a prime position to influence thinking about holistic or alternative medicine and help design benefit plans around solutions that actually root out disease rather than treat symptoms. In doing so, they can significantly move the needle on clinical outcomes and overall well-being, as well as cut costs.
