From Skeptic to Advocate: Andrew’s Story

Here’s Andrew’s Story

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The Transcript

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Well, I was born in England, in London, and I had a very strange childhood. My father was in the Merchant Navy, and in those days, the officers could take their family to sea with them. When all the children were born, there were four of us, we all lived at sea and we traveled around. My mother tells the story, of course, I’d been around the world three times by the time I was five years old. I had always joked that I needed a therapist because I wasn’t a normal human being. And it would have to be a special therapist because nobody would be able to relate to my experiences.

So unfortunately although, when you don’t really understand the significance of all of that when you’re living it. But I was a white male and I’d been there for more than five years. So I was drafted. We had to do two years of military service. So I did that. And that just became intolerable. It was awful. And not very safe either. I got married and then nine months after I was married, we left and we went back to England.

And we had two children, a boy called Matthew who is also a patient here. And he’s the reason I’m here, actually. It wasn’t me that got ill, it was Matthew.

I had a lot of allergies. And growing up in South Africa there were a lot of animals and I was the boy who was always sickly. That’s why I have such respect for women because I was brought up by my mother, two grandmothers, and three sisters. So I didn’t stand a chance, but they were all healthy. But I seem to have allergies for everything. I didn’t think I was particularly unhealthier as an adult. I think stress played a big part and, and my life with my job, I traveled a great deal. So I don’t think that helped.

I did have a fatty liver. But overall, not really. I mean, I’ve always had the breathing, the asthma type of situation. But I wasn’t really concentrated, on myself. Once Matthew came here, then he was saying, well, dad, you should come in because they could fix up your breathing or they could fix your liver. And so that’s how I got here.

The easiest thing was when I started, I was 197 pounds, and I thought I was feeling fine, and now I’m at 165. And it’s been gradual. It hasn’t been a weight-loss issue. I haven’t gone on a diet. It’s just a lifestyle change and a way of looking at problems. And the funny thing is, I am now an advocate of this. I’m talking and telling people about it. Sometimes I have to stop talking about it because I think they think that I’ve gone loopy. But, it really does work.

I think I can say, honestly, life is better as a result of this. Without a doubt.

The thing that I think that I struggle with is why this medicine isn’t more in the forefront? Why I’m still paying thousands of dollars every month for health insurance that I don’t use anymore. It’s a complete waste of money and I want to do it for my staff too, that is we pay for everybody’s health insurance. And I would much rather them all come here and have treatment.

Well, that’s the thing that people joke about. They say are you in this forever? And I said, absolutely. Absolutely. Do you ever stop taking the drops? Well, maybe I don’t want to take as many, but I certainly will cause, and again, it’s nice to have that structure.