Cleaning Out My Arteries in Southern Oregon

Above, Mt. Mclaughlin as seen from Rama's living room deck. For a long time I've wanted to go away somewhere and detox my arteries, and my whole body, so I could start over again. A year ago I'd talked to my friend Contance a registered nurse who specializes in helping people to eliminate toxins out of their bodies. She told me the story about a 78 year old man, Paul Hanna, who had rheumatoid arthritis and was dying, but against doctors orders he had checked himself out of the hospital in great pain. Connie owed him some money so she offered to pay him back by detoxing him and helping him eliminate his pain. At the end of three weeks her debt was paid off and she left but the next day Paul felt so much better that he went for a drive and had a terrible accident in which he died. When Connie went to the funeral, she ended up having a talk with the funeral director who told her that when he was embalming Paul he was shocked to see that he had the arteries of a man in his 30's. You can read the story yourself by clicking on Connie's name above. I'm not in pain but ever since Connie told me her story I've been wanting to do her detox. I finally sent Connie an email to see if she would be willing to do a barter with me. I offered some money and to make videos for her in exchange for a month long detox session. A day later her daughter, Rama (pronounced Raymah), answered my e-mail saying that Connie had been visiting her house and using her computer to check her e-mail and had left it on when she'd gone. Rama read my e-mail and decided that she would love to detox too, but with five kids she had to wait until after the holidays to do it. Since I wasn't planning to leave Eugene until after the new year it was perfect for me. Rama is the distributor of Himalayan salt and the owner of Full Spectrum Life, which sells the salt and various other products made from it. She offered to let me sleep on a bed in her office for a month while we did the detox and ate all meals and did the program together. In return I would make a series of videos for her to put up on her web site. I jumped at the opportunity. We made arrangements for me to drive up on January 2nd, the day before her kids had to go back to school.

On January 2nd I left Eugene and noticed that my truck was making a strange noise. I literally prayed that if my truck died, please not to let it die much farther than 100 miles from Rama's house because my friend Fran had bought me an AAA gold card which allowed me to be towed free for 100 miles, as well as sent me $60 for gas. (Living on $596 a month Social Security is hard.) Exactly 108 miles from Rama's house my truck died a sudden death. I called AAA emergency and a tow truck appeared shortly after and took me straight to Rama's house, exactly 108 miles. I had a nice talk with the tow truck company owner to drove me and it ended up costing me $30. Not to bad. Rama and Brian, her husband, graciously invited me in and told me not to worry about my truck as they could easily push it onto their trailer and take it to this wonderful mechanic who could fix anything and was honest and reasonable. the next day when we dropped it off at the mechanic's i learned that I needed a new transmission, gulp. But, the gods were looking down on me. I had exactly $379.61 in my checking account. Rama called a wrecking company in Salem, Oregon and they had a transmission with a two month warranty for my truck for $175, including the price of delivery. Birney, the mechanic, said he would install it for $200. I had my truck fixed and running in a few days and still had $4.61 in my checking account. This is just one of many generous deeds Rama and Brian and her kids, Kala, Zack, Chinara, Jelly (short for Angelica), and Jarret extended to me. I ended up staying three weeks, had a wonderful time, lost 12 lbs. and really cleaned myself out. I feel great and am wearing pants I haven't squeezed into for a long long time.



The first thing every morning I drank a glass of water with lemon and Sole, a solution of water and Himalayan salt that when dissolved to a 29% saturation provides 84 essential minerals that our bodies need, including salt. I would also drink a cocktail of 1 tsp. sacred clay (from the Crater Lake area) mixed with apple, grape or cranberry juice. Clay is a powerful detox agent. I drank this four times a day. Breakfast was a green drink made of 1 or 2 green vegetables and one or two fruits with a little Stevia to sweeten it if needed. The green vegetables were chard, kale, spinach, fennel, Romain, parsley, collard, cucumber, and the fruits were green apples, blueberries, raspberries, pears, bananas, or pineapple. Sometimes Rama would pull out the juicer and we'd have a carrot, apple, beet and ginger root drink instead. I was supposed to drink 8 large glasses of water a day but could substitute it with special detoxing teas she had, Suma Raj and Jason Winter's Tea. We ate twice a day. Fro breakfast we had the green drink and a barley/oatmeal and fruit mixture and for dinner some amazing and very delicious raw masterpieces. Above was dinner on sushi night with seaweed used as the rap. It was glued shut with a pecan and basil concoction made in her Vitamix. We also had raw spaghetti sauce with noodles made from extruded zucchinis, Mexican food with her sprouted and cooked beans, raw pizza with the crust made in her dehydrator. It was amazingly good. I was surprised to see how the kids loved the salads and ate such healthy food. Rama's dehydrated crackers were very delicious and were my favorite for dipping with humus.

I also had soak in a salt bath for at least half an hour as often as possible which turned out to be every other day for me. These salt and clay soaks were very powerful detoxers and always left me very tired. Other people evidently are left energized, but not me. For exercise I had to jump for at least 15 minutes on the small trampoline to get my circulation moving, spend at least 15 minutes a day on the Chi machines and because of the cold I often bicycled on her indoor bike for 5 to 7 miles. One weekend the whole family went on a hike to Table Rock, a strange looking volcanic mountain near their house. Below is a shot of Jarret and Chinara on top of Table Rock.


The only cooked food we ate during the three weeks were made from sprouted beans, peas and lentils. Only organic dried legumes can be sprouted and it doubles their protein value. Rama made incredible soups from the lentils, beans and peas and the best tasting humus from the garbanzos. We ate the sprouted buckwheat (below) for breakfast, cooked with gluten free oatmeal, or ground with other substances to make yummy batter for waffles. When I left, Rama gave me two tubs of humus to take with me, which allowed me to stay on the diet for several days longer after I was on my own again.








Below I met Janet the last time I traveled up to Oregon, in 2007. She was the friend of a woman I met in Spokane who I house-sat for. She lives outside of Cave Junction but I knew she went to Ashland once a week to get her groceries from the Co-op so I invited her to meet Rama, who had the same interests. It turned out that Janet had been buying a special kind of milk from the ranch next door to Rama's. Rama had been driving far away to buy the same kind of milk and after she met Janet she finally called and made friends with the woman who owned the ranch. Best of all, Chinara and Jelly ended up working on the ranch after school and really love it. They have learned to milk the cows, feed the dogs, goats and other animals, make yogurt and have learned many other things. One night in a rainstorm the owner gave them both cowboy hats which the kids looked up on their laptops and turned out to be worth a lot of money ($179 and $350!) While they're in training they are being paid with all the organic milk and homemade yogurt then want, something all the kids love. I came from a large family, the oldest daughter of 7 children, and it wasn't until Rama and her family invited me in and let me be a part of them that I realized how much I missed it all.



The day after I left Rama and her family, I spent a night at Janet's place and we went for a hike with her two dogs (below) before I headed on down to Redwood Valley to stay with friends there.



Every evening Rama photographed the sunset from her ranch and this night I had my camera handy and joined in. Always spectacular.



One day we all visited the neighboring ranch so the kids could ride their horses in the training ring and we were accosted by two turkeys who serenaded us while their "beards" turned from red to white to blue. These two, who the owner told me had no names, saved themselves from their fate of becoming someone's holiday dinner by being best friends who always hang out together and gobble at the same time. I nicknamed them Tweedledee and Tweedledum then later learned that they were the names her dad called them. I couldn't resist making a little video of their song and dance routine.

Cleaning Out Your Arteries

Paul Kanna’s Healing Program
5/2/06
by Paul’s Caregiver
Connie Gravestock


At seventy eight years of age, Paul Kanna was known to have suffered with rheumatoid arthritis as well as osteoarthritis for many years. When he was younger, he used to be six feet tall, but at this point he was extremely shrunken, bent over barely hobbling around on his cane. As a logger, he was known to be quite tough. He had gotten to a point where his men literally carried him from his truck to survey a potential job. His men pled with him to see a doctor. Finally he did, and was admitted to the hospital followed by care at a rehab center.

After a total of three weeks of this care (while continuing to run his logging jobs from both facilities), finally he checked himself out of the rehab center against doctor’s orders in the middle of the night in great distress. He had told his son he believed he would die if he stayed there. The round of medication he had experienced only appeared to exacerbate his condition. He stated that he had been unable to sleep for some time due to generalized pain as well as extremely painful muscle spasms and jerking. When I arrived at his home at midnight, he emphatically told me that if I had taken any longer to get there, he was about ready to shoot himself He demanded that I do something RIGHT NOW for his extreme pain. His house was full of medications of every kind. His son had asked me to throw out all his pharmaceuticals since they hadn’t done him any good. I only did that after Paul could see that he didn’t need any drugs in order to get well.

PAIN PROBLEM

Since it is my understanding that everyone who is in pain is first dehydrated, then demineralized, even though it was 1 AM, the first thing I did was to get Paul into his bathtub with two cups of magnesium (Epsom salt) as well as ½ cup or so of bentonite clay, two tablespoons of liquid coconut soap, and 1/3 of a large bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide. He soaked for at about two hours. In order to keep the heat in the tub and keep the minerals strong, I covered the tub with plastic grocery bags inflated with air and knotted so he had a “bubble bath” with big bubbles Later I used sheets of bubble wrap packing material to replace the expiring bags.

The rationale behind this combination was that magnesium is the “hub” mineral necessary for all other minerals to interact through. Magnesium provides the “fire” for the cell’s life. Also, an abundance of magnesium helps a person relax. Magnesium has a laxative effect and I wanted this poor man to be able to relax and let go of his toxins through every eliminative means possible.

Bentonite clay is known for its detoxifying abilities. The website magneticclay.com has a chart that shows how every disease is connected with toxicity resulting from heavy metals, chemicals, or solvents. Clay is known to help remove these intruders.

Liquid coconut soap was used because coconut is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic, as well as anti-yeast.

Hydrogen peroxide is water with an extra oxygen molecule which was put into his water to provide extra oxygen.

DIET

I gave Paul an abundance of water, and even a teaspoon or two of Epsom salts in the drinking water when he was so uncomfortable. He could tell that the magnesium slowed the jerking down. He slept very little that first night. By five forty-five A.M. he loudly demanded that I get up and fix him his breakfast His diet consisted mostly of raw fruit Since we misplaced his Poligrip for a few days, I blended everything for him. He enjoyed meals of blended apples, pineapple, and plums. For a savory meal, he might have avocado and tomato with olive oil and Himalayan salt. Also, he liked bananas and pineapple; mangos, kiwi, and papaya. Sometimes I blended summer squash to make it taste delicious with Himalayan salt, lemon, and basil or oregano. Another time, it might be raw blended sweet potato or carrots with lemon, olive oil, and herbs as an occasional change from the fruit. We gave his liver a good treat by blending fresh spring dandelions, root, flowers and all in V8 juice with a little onion, garlic, salt, lemon, and olive oil. We cracked open and used coconuts. I stored the rest of the meat in the freezer where it doesn’t really freeze because of the high fat, but it stays fresh. Paul liked dessert. He enjoyed ground flax with pineapple juice or a little blackstrap molasses or a few pieces of coconut. An occasional treat was part of a banana with a little blackstrap molasses or honey. After he could use his false teeth again, he ate some things whole also. I would have preferred to supply him with organic food but he was far too concerned with budgets to be willing to go there, so we used conventional grocery store produce mostly.

WATER and MINERALS

Every morning Paul had a glass of water with a good little dose of concentrated Himalayan salt brine in it to get him off to a good start with his minerals for the day. He knew to wait thirty minutes until he ate after. I learned to get his breakfast ready the night before so he would have a little mercy on me and let me get up when I was ready instead of when he thought he needed his breakfast. Sometimes at six fifteen he thought it must be 8 AM

HERBAL TEAS

Paul appreciated herbal teas and he kept a pot brewed of things he’s collected—comfrey, horsetail, chamomile, peppermint, etc. He has the teas separate from his meals so he didn’t dilute his digestive acids. I tried to be certain he had plenty to drink before his meals so he wouldn’t be thirsty and think he had to drink with his meals. He had a cup of green smoothie before lunch every day.

HYDROTHERAPY and POULTICES

At first we did three baths a day, including one in the middle of the night. I was glad when he could get by with two during the day only Soon he was able to get by with only two most days as he continued to rely on them for pain relief. Paul had swelling and pain in his left leg and right arm. At night we experimented with different programs. We used poultices of potato and mustard, or clay with pureed dandelions for pain. Sometimes we put the poultices on his intestines or liver, or on his bad arm and leg. Some nights we rubbed his arm and leg down with witch hazel and castor oil and wrapped them in paper towels or cloths and saran wrap held in place with wool cloths and masking tape. Sometimes the inner parts were very smelly when we removed them in the morning.

HERBS and ESSENTIAL OILS

The herbs he took were Yarrow one capsule twice a day, Enzymes two caps twice a day, two intestinal formulas two capsules twice a day, Colon bacteria caps two twice a day; Hops, Valarian, and Catnip caps two twice a day during the day. Sometimes he took a number of these at night besides. We had a little vial of wonderful pain oils called “Panaway” by “Young Living” that he valued highly and used at night when he couldn’t sleep.

NATURAL FIBER BEDDING

We took the polyester blankets off his bed and provided him with natural fiber sheets, quilt and two down comforters. He said he was much warmer at night with the new bedding.

ELECTROMAGNETICS

Paul said he thought the biggest factor that helped him with pain was the Denas device his son Ron provided. We spent two to three hours daily using this on him. I have helped people recover very rapidly from strokes by using this type of device. I had to shave his Paul’s head to do these treatments. I treated from the bridge of his nose to the crown of his head. Then I worked from his left ear working toward the crown. I moved to his right ear and ended at the crown. Then I went back from the crown to the base of his skull, or second cervical vertebra. Different days different spots required more treatment. I kept the machine on one spot for as long as 70 minutes as his body indicated it continued to need that much frequency As various areas recover their electrical fields, they eventually don’t need treatment. Eventually twenty minutes was the longest I spent on one spot and the treatment took two hours instead of three. Paul felt the treatments on the back of his head were the most valuable for pain relief in his arms and legs.

HELIOTHERAPY and GROUNDING

Paul spent hours daily outside, lying on the grass part of the time, especially when I did those Denas treatments. He walked daily as much as he could which was limited. After walking about twenty feet, he had to sit down. He was very shaky on his feet and needed a helping hand nearby or something to hang on to. He used a cane but probably should have had a walker. His color changed from deathly ashen to tanned, much healthier looking. The anxious fearful countenance was soon replaced by a look of hopeful peace. Paul was very spunky and it was a joy to help him toward recovery as he was very motivated to work hard to get well.


TRUST IN GOD

Though he had never been very religious, Paul enjoyed claiming Bible promises for the restoration of his health. Spending Sabbaths with my friends in the country was a refreshing change for both of us. One treat for him was that on that day he got a little bit of cooked food as my friends did not restrict themselves to eating only raw foods.

I only worked with Paul for a total of three weeks. I left and the next day he drove his truck loaded down with tools, pulling a trailer of log samples he was hoping to sell. The driver of the car behind him said his trailer swayed and flipped the truck. Paul received a terrible blow to his head which killed him instantly.
At his funeral, Mr. Davenport; the funeral director who conducted the service remarked that he had never seen such clean arteries unless the person was less than thirty five years of age. I was shocked by his statement. Afterward I visited Mr. Davenport in his office and asked if he was willing to put that in print, which he did.

I saw Mr. Davenport a couple of days later and his eyes showed excitement as he shared with me that he didn’t expect Paul to yield many ashes upon cremation as he was so tiny and shrunken. But he was amazed that Paul put out TWO URNS when a normal person only puts out ONE I asked what determines ash volume. Mr. Davenport replied emphatically, “BONE DENSITY ” This osteoporotic man who was close to requiring dialysis before we started had largely re-built his skeletal system in a mere THREE WEEKS I never knew such a thing was possible The food Paul had eaten was regular grocery store produce--not even organic because he was too frugal to pay for it

As sorry as all of us were to lose our friend, we felt he had left behind a valuable legacy. We never would have known how beneficial our work for him had been if he had lived. Only upon his death did we learn the story the mortician shared.