I have to talk about the influence of my dad. He was truly a pioneer in his day; a bit of a maverick when it came to health care. After starting out his career as a barber, he changed careers to Swedish Massage. He worked for a number of years at a spa and then in the early 1950's he opened up his own business in Green Bay as a health center with steam baths and massage. He was always curious about the role of nutrition and vitamins in a person's health and began offering vitamins to his customers. Over the years he became a Chiropractor. He retired at the age of 75.
Following his retirement and my mother's death, my dad met and married a woman who had a healing ministry called Impossible Miracles. Norma Jean had previously toured the country speaking about the healing of her back and praying for others to be healed. My dad joined this ministry and offered a unique perspective about how to pray to be healed by using his knowledge of anatomy. Together they toured and lectured for about 25 years. He was 98 years old when they quit their ministry.
His curiosity never wavered and he was always exploring new avenues of healing. He found a nutritional program based on biblical principles called the Hallelujah diet. It is a raw foods, vegan diet. He basically followed this diet for the last 15 years of his life except for the vegan part of the diet. He enjoyed dairy and meat far too much but ate it sparingly. He juiced carrots and took their Barley Max formula for years.
There were other theories and the one that he was most interested in during his latter years was Nutrition Response Testing. Essentially, this theory checks your major systems and then attempts to get them back into balance with proper nutrition and vitamins.
Over the years, there were some basic principles that he believed in and passed on to my family:
~~ Be responsible for your own health~~
Live your healthiest life by choosing carefully what you eat, take quality vitamins and take care of your body. He enjoyed an occasional piece of pie or meat -- but only rarely and it wasn't part of his daily diet.
~~Stay away from doctors, hospitals and pharmaceuticals ~~
His second wife forced him to have an annual physical. One doctor told him at age 90 that he had the heart of a 40 year old. He was proud of the fact that he wasn't taking any prescriptions. At one point in time he was diagnosed with low thyroid function and was prescribed synthroid. He hated taking it and figured out a formula that worked. His next test indicated a healthy stable thyroid level.
When he was 79, he was diagnosed with advanced stage prostate cancer. Instead of taking the typical route, he went to Oasis of Hope and was treated with laetrile. He was healthy until his death at 101 years of age.
~~ Stay away from vaccinations ~~
My mother and dad were actively opposed to all vaccinations starting with the polio vaccine. He would see patients who were adversely impacted by vaccines. He also did not believe in flu vaccines for the elderly saying that it was an excuse for not taking care of themselves.
~~ Use it or lose it ~~
He believed in exercise and walked and worked out every day. He used a small trampoline to stimulate the lymphatic system.
~~ Be intellectually curious ~~
He was always reading, taking notes. He was religious in his later years and read the bible. He was always reading about the latest health news.
~~ Live simply ~~
For most of the last 30 years, he lived in a 5th wheel trailer. He always said that he could move if he didn't like his neighbors. The sum of what he had when he died fit in a few small boxes and most of what he had were books and papers.
He was 101 years old when he passed away. On his terms. He had a physical 6 months earlier and he was very healthy. But, he was done living. He often said that part of the problem with being as old as he was that alot of people he cared about had died. He had had enough living on this earth and moved on.
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