PART 1: The worst day of my life:
I knew that it could be serious when our doctor called and said he'd made an appointment for our 4 year old daughter Laura, at the Children's ward of a major hospital 50 miles away.
We packed up the car and started out. Not much was being said between my wife an I. It was a dreary day, overcast with a little light rain. As we drove down the highway, I remember hoping for some sort of a sign .... maybe the clouds would suddenly separate and the sun would break through and shine down on us ... maybe a car would drive by and the people inside would look over and give us a friendly smile ... anything that would assure me that someone from above was telling me everything was going to be OK. But there were no signs.
We managed to find the hemoc/oncology unit with little trouble. My initial reaction as we entered the room was that of horror, seeing all those precious young children in such poor health. I said to myself "why are we here ? My daughter can't be this sick." Girls and boys, both walking very slowly, some with limps, no hair on their heads, some with scars, others pulling an IV along with them. Was this a preview of what my daughter will soon look like?
After a lengthy wait, it was time for Laura's test - a spinal tap. My wife held her in her lap as the drugs were administered .... it was only 3 or 4 seconds before my daughters eyes rolled back in her head and her body went limp. It was a vision I will never be able to get out of my mind. My eyes filled with tears, as it appeared the life had been taken completely out of her. She was placed on a table, and we were politely asked to leave. What a gut-wrenching feeling I had in my stomach as I walked away from her now motionless body.
The nurse said, "she'll be OK, she's just sleeping .. the procedure won't take long, and she'll soon be back in your arms".
From that point on, time seemed to stand still. I could hear the clock ticking. 10 minutes went by, then 20 and pretty soon 30 minutes had elapsed and still nothing. It was then that I knew that this was as serious as Laura's pediatrician had thought. The waiting was unbearable.
Finally, the doctors emerged and their faces said it all. There were no smiles. The lead doctor came over and invited us into another room, and then it came ... "I'm sorry, but your daughter has leukemia". There was total silence.
PART 2: The reason why?
As time went by, I kept thinking to myself, "why did this happen? We've had no history of cancer on either side of our families, much less leukemia". Were we being punished for some reason?
We had our home and the babysitter's home tested for radon gas ... both came back negative.
We don't live near a bunch of powerlines, so electromagnetic wires were not the culprit.
Could this have happened during childbirth? (Laura was delivered by C-section)
So many questions were being asked, without getting any answers, which only led to more questions.
The one that kept coming back into my head was "How"? How did this happen .. and why her? I felt so helpless, but knew that I had to do something to help my little girl (as well as my other daughter, my wife and myself). Something brought this on, I just didn't know what.
So I started educating myself, not just on leukemia, but health in general, and what I found out was disturbing to say the least. We are living in a toxic mess - exposing our bodies to a virtual onslaught of dangerous chemicals every day.
Chemicals in body wash, in shampoos, in soap, in body lotion, in toothpaste, in mouthwash, in hair spray, in cosmetics, in air fresheners, in household cleaners, in dish detergents .. the list goes on and on. Could this be what caused my daughter's illness? Could it have been brought on by the lifestyle that my wife and I were living prior to conception? Could it have been brought on during the pregnancy? Could it have happened after Laura was born?
Was her sickness caused by these things that we used on a daily basis?
To this day, we still don't have all the answers, but we have changed our lifestyle. I didn't realize how much I took health and life for granted until I thought my daughter's was in jeopardy. Every day is a gift now.
I believe everything in life happens for a reason. Perhaps God chose me deliberately .. to go thru this, learn from it and then pass along my new found knowledge. My guess is, his plan was for me to teach others so that they may never have to endure the pain and agony of watching their child (or some other loved one) go thru what our child went thru. Learn from my experience, so that you may possibly avoid one.
Knowledge is one thing, but action is quite another. The second part of this plan must have been to align me with a company which offers products of unrivalled purity and effectiveness - free from any harmful ingredients. It is this company and their products that I now use and recommend to all that come in contact with me. I feel it's my duty in life and something that I was meant to do.
Cancer is a dreaded disease that has robbed us all of so many wonderful people. I have seen first hand what it's like to watch somebody battle thru it. It's not fun and it's not pretty. In fact some researchers are predicting that by the year 2030, 26 million people a year worldwide will be diagnosed with cancer, with 17 million dying from it.
So it is my mission to educate people on the dangers in the products they are using on a daily basis and offer them healthy alternatives. I'm actually quite angry at what is being sold to unknowing customers ... products being touted as "safe", as "natural", as "gentle", as "organic" ... are really anything but that. Products with catchy names and slogans in brightly colored, fancy shaped packages - all in the hopes of making a healthy profit, but making it anything but healthy for the end user. Unless we change our lifestyles and start supporting companies like the one I've aligned myself with, those researchers may well have made an accurate prediction for the year 2030. My goal is to make those numbers much, much less .. one person or one generation at a time.
In closing, let me leave you with a thought - perhaps the final part of God's plan was for you to read this story and then see if you'll act on it.
Like I said earlier, I believe everything in life happens for a reason.
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