Fighting-Part 1...The Suzanne Sommers Connection

Since receiving the devastating diagnosis of ALS back in April, Mom has been fighting this thing on several fronts.  We learned very quickly that modern medicine has little to offer in the treatment of this disease.  The diagnosis is rare, around 5,000 new cases a year in the United States, so it gets neither the attention nor the funding for research that diseases like cancer or Parkinson's Disease get.  Mom and Dad wanted to fight it, but didn't know where to turn.  While my Aunt Jo Anne, mom's sister, was visiting in May, she found a place to start.  Aunt Jo, herself battling breast cancer, was reading up on holistic medicines.  One of the books she had with her in Boone was one by Suzanne Sommers, (you know, Chrissy from Three's Company!) who is into holistic medicines, healthy dieting, etc. Mom was thumbing through her book, when a name jumped off the page: Dr. Apgar in Wilkesboro, NC.  Mom knew him, and had treated his veins in her job as medical assistant for Dr. Ty Bell in Boone!  Dr. Bell called Dr. Apgar the next day on Mom's behalf and learned that his clinic, just 28 miles from Boone, had treated  ALS patients before. Mom had an appointment a few days later, where she and Dad met with Dr. Apgar and his partner, Dr. Cohn, who evaluated Mom.  After lots of poking and prodding and giving of blood, Mom learned that the levels of heavy metals in her blood were through the roof.  Mercury. Lead. Cadmium.  Toxic metals linked to ALS and other diseases were found in Mom's blood in outrageous proportions. When I met with Dr. Cohn in July, he showed me the chart and said her metals were "off the chart and back around again".  It's unclear where it all came from, probably years of environmental toxins building up in her system.  It can't be said that it caused Mom to get ALS, but there is a correlation. So...In a weird kind of way, it was good news.  Something to work with!  Mom, who as we all know LOVES going to the dentist (read that with a sarcastic tone!) had all of the metal fillings removed from her teeth and replaced with ceramic.  She has switched to a natural deodorant without aluminum, and stopped eating fish and other foods known to carry mercury. Under the care of Dr.'s Cohn and Apgar, she has been undergoing chelation therapy, where metals are drawn out of her body. She is also taking a crazy number of supplements daily as well as IV nutrition and glutathione, which helps protect the nerves.  The hope in all of this is that it will slow the progression of the disease, and it has given Mom something to fight it with!
Coming tomorrow...Fighting-Part II...South of the Border!