{"id":12637,"date":"2014-05-23T18:27:39","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T22:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=12637"},"modified":"2014-05-27T14:00:15","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T18:00:15","slug":"coumadin-and-me-breaking-the-chains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=12637","title":{"rendered":"Coumadin and Me; Breaking the Chains…"},"content":{"rendered":"

photo-2-small.JPG<\/a><\/p>\n

The footsteps faded, vanished. He shouted, no one answered. And
\nsuddenly he knew that he had taken the wrong path, that he was lost.
\nAnd in his heart there was an immense and quiet sadness, and the
\ndark night of the enormous wood was all around him\u2026 <\/p>\n

—Thomas Wolfe
\n______________<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that I do not fully trust modern medicine. Never have, for lot of years. I don\u2019t run to the doctor for every little cold, or every little injury. And when I say I don\u2019t trust those people, I\u2019m not talking about when you break an arm or a leg, or get all whacked up in some accident. I trust them to heal bones. But I don\u2019t trust them to heal diseases, or conditions of the heart. <\/p>\n

And yeah, you can go right ahead and call me a nut. I don\u2019t care. But I believe for every pharmaceutical drug that\u2019s been developed for any particular symptom, there is a natural equivalent out there, if you do the research. A natural equivalent that\u2019s much cheaper, and way better for you. And that\u2019s why I was so depressed and devastated, all those weeks ago, when I got released from the hospital after my heart operation. Well, they call it an ablation. Whatever. They went in there and they poked around and seared muscles and stuff. And when I came back up out of it, and got ready to be released, the doctor told me. They were putting me on a serious blood thinner, to keep my blood from clotting and giving me a stroke. A serious thinner, for the first few days, where I poked myself in the stomach with a needle and pushed the stuff in. Stuff that made it impossible for my blood to clot. But after that, it was on to the pills. And the drug they prescribed was a vile one. Coumadin. I\u2019d have to take it once a day, every day, and always at the same time of day. <\/p>\n

I was pretty bleary-eyed and bleary-minded, when the doctor unloaded the news on me that last morning just before Ben released me. And I remember telling him. I don\u2019t want to be on that stuff for long. And he asked. \u201cHow long?\u201d Not more than a month, I said. He looked extremely dubuious. It was depressing. And he said. \u201cWell, we\u2019ll see. I think it\u2019s going to be a good bit longer than that.\u201d I was too tired to mouth back at him. So I said nothing. All I wanted to do was get out of that place. <\/p>\n

Coumadin is bad, bad, vile, evil stuff. It\u2019s poison. And it depressed me, right down in all the way deep, to be sentenced to taking it every day. Because I knew what it was. And I knew I didn\u2019t need it. Because I\u2019ve been taking some natural stuff, for the past four years, or so. And I knew that natural stuff was way better than anything pharmaceutical. I knew it, because I saw it working, and I saw firsthand what it was and what it does.<\/p>\n

It all happened back in 2010, early in the year. February. To my co-worker, David Hurst. We\u2019ve called him Big Dave, among other nicknames. He\u2019s not that tall. But he has a serious weight problem, because of some metabulism issues. He\u2019s tried every diet out there. And he\u2019s lost a few pounds, here and there, over the years. But he could never seem to get a real handle on the weight. And at that time, he was losing out, health-wise. He was having serious issues with his heart. Right around Valentine\u2019s Day, he went to the hospital for a stress test. And while taking that stress test, the man had a real heart attack.<\/p>\n

They rushed him to intensive care, and they stuck a stent into his heart. To keep his valves open. And he was home within a few days. And back to work a few days afer that, in his wheelchair. The doctors prescribed Plavix. A blood thinner. Dave did not get along well with the drug at all. It made his legs swell. And he felt bad, just bad, overall. We all could tell, those working with him. He was in pain. So the man went on the internet and began a process of exhaustive research. Something natural, that\u2019s what he was looking for. And within a week or so, he decided on a product. Cardio Cocktail, I think it was called back then. Since then, the name has morphed into Cardio for Life. <\/p>\n

He told us all about it, as he started taking it. Actually, he wouldn\u2019t stop talking about it. I listened. I believe in natural vitamins. I\u2019ve taken Dr. Schueltz\u2019s Superfood for more than ten years now. I give that stuff all the credit in the world, for keeping me half healthy back in 2007, when my own world blew up. Cardio for Life was all natural, Dave claimed. It\u2019ll clean out your veins and regrow your heart. Some of my coworkers rolled their eyes. I didn\u2019t. I just watched. And Dave took the Cardio Cocktail religiously, three times a day. And right before our eyes, over the next few months, we saw the man heal his own heart. <\/p>\n

I remember it clearly. He was in a wheelchair. And he\u2019d trundle down past the counter, now and then, to use the restroom, right outside the door leading to the warehouse. And then one day, he asked me. I could see the bathroom door. He asked me if it was open. I said yes. And the next thing I knew, the man was walking down the counter, leaning onto it, as he headed out. He needed some support, to walk. But he was walking. And he went to the bathroom. And walked back out. <\/p>\n

He kept claiming his heart feels real good. It was growing stronger. And soon enough, he became a dealer for the product he was using. He got a little machine, where you attach a metal wash pin to your finger. The machine takes your heart rate, and other measurements, and spits out a piece of paper. Tells in detail exactly what shape your heart is in. I took the test. My heart was pretty good, had just a bit of an off beat. But it was strong. And I decided at that time that I would take the Cardio stuff every day, once a day, in the morning when I got up. Just for maintenance. And so I began that program, back in 2010. <\/p>\n

Dave\u2019s heart was healed completely. It worked as he claimed it would. The Cardio for Life rebuilds the heart. And not only that, it cleans your veins of all the plaque. In the past four years, I\u2019ve seen a whole lot of people with serious heart problems stop by to see Dave. And if they follow his instructions, their hearts always either improve or get cleared up completely. Always. I\u2019ve seen it too many times to have a shred of a doubt about it. Dave always tells them, when they start taking the stuff. \u201cIf you have blocked veins, you\u2019ll get itchy. That\u2019s the plaque breaking loose. Don\u2019t stop taking it. If you do, and that loose plaque is floating around, you could easily have a stroke.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Cardio for Life really works. It really does. I\u2019ve seen it happen so often, I can\u2019t tell you how often. I strongly recommend it to anyone. Anyone, doesn\u2019t matter if your heart is strong or not. I give it all the credit that I was in as good shape as I was, when they operated on my heart, which had been beating wild for years. The Cardio keeps your blood from clotting. And that\u2019s the biggest danger, when you have a wild heart like I had. That the blood will clot, and you\u2019ll have a stroke. Mine didn\u2019t. And I knew it wouldn\u2019t after the operation. But there was no way I was gonna convince any doctor of that. So I never bothered to mention the Cardio for Life. When I got home from the hospital, though, I tripled my daily intake. I took it morning, noon, and night. Three times a day. Right along with those shots of whatever drug it was that I stuck into my own stomach. And when those were done, I took the Cardio right along with the Coumadin. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve grumbled pretty savagely about it before. They shut me off from my Superfood. Because that stuff is made of concentrated green plants. All kinds of vitamins. And you can\u2019t have the dark leaf vitamins, when you\u2019re on Coumadin. I was pretty much emotionally shot, when I got back home. From the operation, and from a few other things going on. But the thing that depressed me the most was the Coumadin. It lurked there in the back of my mind, always. Pressed in on me like a heavy weight. Day and night. I was trapped. Trapped, with no way out. So I just hunkered down, kept slogging on through, and took it. Took the Coumadin, and kept right on taking my Cardio for Life. <\/p>\n

And, of course, it didn\u2019t help my state of mind any that I had to go in and get my blood checked every few days, those first few weeks. To make sure I was taking enough Coumadin. The Lancaster Heart Group has a clinic not far from my office, about fifteen minutes away. So on the appointed days, I headed over on my lunch break. Walked in. They were always friendly. And I was always cheerful to the nurses. It wasn\u2019t their fault I was there. And it took only a few minutes. Sit down. She pricks the end of one of your fingers. Then draws blood into a tiny little glass tube. Then she places the blood on a tiny little measuring machine. And about a minute later, it flashes on the screen. 2.1 one day. 2.5 the next. Between 200 and 300, that\u2019s where you need to be, they had told me. <\/p>\n

I barely hit the 200 level on time, after the last needle had been stabbed into my stomach at home. I had to hit 200. And the next day, I did. Just. Right at 200. And always, on the drive back to the office, my cell phone rang. A call from the main Heart Group place, in Lancaster. \u201cWe evaluated where you are. Increase your Coumadin dosage to such and such.\u201d They were always real bossy, the people who called to tell me what to do. I\u2019m not talking about the regular nurses, or any of the people I met. I\u2019m talking about the ones who made the follow-up calls. They were like some kind of \u201cNurse Ratched.\u201d Yanking me around. They talked like there wasn\u2019t any way they could be wrong. And I never argued with them. Never. I always increased the dosages, just like I was told to. But inside, I seethed. <\/p>\n

It was like being in a prison. I can\u2019t find any better way to describe that whole experience. I was caught. Trapped. Roped in. Tied down. And told what to do. By controlling, clinical people, mostly women. And all the while, I knew better. I knew the Cardio for Life was cleaning me out, clearing my veins. And keeping my blood from clotting, better than Coumadin ever can or will. But I could never say such a thing. I didn\u2019t even think to try to tell them. They would label me a crackpot. <\/p>\n

The Coumadin was just vicious. They told me. You can\u2019t eat any real greens, you can\u2019t eat Vitamin K. It causes blood clots. I knew all of it was way wrong, right from the start. But I never said much. Just grumbled a bit. And my body almost went into shock, when I went off the Superfood. Went off, cold. Just stopped taking it. Almost immediately, I caught a savage head and chest cold. There was nothing I could do, to fight it. The Coumadin beat back all my natural defenses. And there I was, all sick and miserable, with no recourse. It was all so maddening, and it almost drove me to despair. But I had determined that I would listen to what the doctors told me, at least short term. And I did. I don\u2019t know if I would, again. I guess you have to, or the insurance people would freak out on you. That\u2019s what I figured, anyway. It was all so brutal, the whole thing. And in my heart and head, I plotted to escape these people. <\/p>\n

The Heart Group doctors would never take me off, from taking Coumadin. They\u2019d pretty well insinuated that much already. They wouldn\u2019t do it. And one Nurse Ratched came right out and told me I\u2019d be on it for the rest of my life. They didn\u2019t want the liability, if something bad happened after they released me. So I figured I\u2019d have to find a doctor who would. A real MD, but one who believed in both natural and pharmaceutical treatment. I\u2019m not hostile at pharmaceuticals for short-term \u201ccrutch\u201d treatment. But long term, I am. You take one drug to treat the original symptoms, then another drug to counter the effects of the first one, and another to counter the effects of the second one, and so on and on and on. I knew there were doctors out there who would listen to me, when I told them about Cardio for Life. I knew there were. But how to find them?<\/p>\n

I did some sleuthing, some research online. There were two doctors up north a ways. And one, down in Jersey. I talked to Dave about it, at the office. Do you think they\u2019ll recognize what Cardio for Life is? Do you think they\u2019ll help me get off this evil Coumadin? He didn\u2019t know. But he gave me some backup liturature. And I determined that I would walk forward, one way or the other. I would escape from this madhouse. Escape from these Nurse Ratched people. <\/p>\n

And then I heard from the wife of a good friend of mine. She had a real serious disease, stomach related. Ulcerative Colitis. And the doctors put her on pharmaceutical drugs. That didn\u2019t work. Her face and her whole body swelled, and she was miserable. And she found a real MD, a \u201cnatural\u201d doctor, right here in Lancaster County. In the city. He had a shabby office. She went in and told him what all was going on. And how miserable she was. She was sentenced to a lifetime of drugs, just to keep her going. And those drugs were most definitely not working. The doctor listened. And he took her on, as a patient. And over a very short period of time, he had her on a purely natural treatment. He took her off all her medications. Told her what and how to eat. Managed her diet. Today, she is happy and completely herself. Her face radiates her joy. She now lives completely free of all pharmaceutical drugs. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s the place I wanted to reach. A place like that. Where the Nurse Ratcheds of the world can never reach you, or boss you around. And I talked to her, my friend\u2019s wife, a few weeks back. How do I get hold of this doctor? I\u2019m going to go in and ask the Heart Group doctor to take me off Coumadin. You and I both know he never will. How do I get hold of your doctor? And she gave me his number, and told me. \u201cYou have to keep bugging them. They might not answer the phone. Leave a message. Tell them I told you to call them. They\u2019ll get back to you. They\u2019re way busy, and overbooked. But if you mention my name, I think they\u2019ll take you in.\u201d And right there it was. My backup plan, to get off Coumadin. Well, I just figured it was my up front plan. I knew I\u2019d have to go that route. <\/p>\n

And all the while, I humbly submitted to the Nurse Ratcheds. When they called to boss me around, I just took it. Increase your dosage. Two full pills, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. One and a half pills on all other days. It was all so very depressing, and there was no way to get out from under it. And I asked a Nurse Ratched, when the first bottle of pills got close to empty. What do I do? \u201cYou have three refills, on that order,\u201d she snapped. \u201cJust go in to your pharmacy. They\u2019ll refill it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t happen that way, though. When the bottle got right down close to empty, I called in to CVS in New Holland. An automated voice instructed me. Punch in the code. So I did. And the automated voice came right back. You\u2019ve used up your presription way too fast. It cannot be refilled. <\/p>\n

And I raged and seethed inside. What the heck was this? I\u2019m only following orders, from the Nurse Ratcheds. And now, I can\u2019t get a refill? This is BS. The next morning, I called the Coumadin people. I need a refill. The lady was all cold. Call the refill hotline. She gave me the number. I called it. An automated voice answered. \u201cState your name, date of birth, and your pharmacy. The prescription will be filled in two days.\u201d Well, I didn\u2019t have two days. I was almost on empty, here. And if this drug was as important as they claimed it was, someone had better step up. I called a Nurse Ratched, direct. I\u2019m out, empty here. And she assured me. \u201cStop by the CVS tonight, and the order will be ready.\u201d <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t. The CVS people looked at me strangely. And I told them. The order was supposed to be called in, today. I have half a pill, here. I\u2019m supposed to take that half and one more. The pharmicist lady was very kind. \u201cBy law, we can give you three pills, just to hold you over,\u201d she said. I took those and thanked her. Walked out, feeling pretty depressed. This is bondage. You get ordered around, and you get yanked around, and they don\u2019t follow through. How important, how life and death can this actually be, when they yank you around like that?<\/p>\n

The next day, I went to have my blood level checked again, over lunch. It was right where it should have been, at 2.3 or so. And sure enough, I had barely started back to the office, when my cell phone rang. A Nurse Ratched. \u201cWe need you to keep your daily dose just like it is,\u201d she said. And I launched into her. I\u2019m out of Coumadin, here. And the CVS people gave me three pills last night, just to get me through. What in the world is going on, here? Someone had told me the prescription would be ready. It wasn\u2019t. How important is this all, anyway? Nurse Ratched seemed a bit subdued. \u201cI\u2019ll call you right back,\u201d she said. And she did. Someone had placed the prescription order at their main pharmacy in Lancaster. I sputtered. I\u2019m not in Lancaster. I\u2019m in New Holland. I pick up my stuff at the CVS there. And she assured me that my Coumadin prescription would be ready at that CVS that evening. I thanked her and hung up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s downright depressing, to walk into a pharmacy to pick up drugs. The CVS in New Holland is a real nice place, nearly new. The people are very friendly. What\u2019s depressing is that huge rack on the wall. Stacked clear full, every shelf, with drug orders ready to be picked up. All stapled up and tagged in little white paper bags. It\u2019s like everyone is on some sort of prescription. I\u2019ve never paid much attention to details like that before. But I\u2019ll bet that 80% of people over forty are on some sort of drugs. Just a wild guess, I have absolutely no factual basis for that number. But there\u2019s something seriously wrong with any society where drugs are prescribed like candy. It\u2019s a racket, is what it is. And I want no part of that racket. It\u2019s all about control, really. Control, and money, too, of course. It\u2019s about worship, too, about \u201cGod\u201d speaking, about what you better do or not do. About how humbly you must approach the altar, and submit. I\u2019m not saying it’s always like this, and I\u2019m most definitely not saying there aren\u2019t a lot of good and decent doctors out there. But way too often, the patient just accepts the doctor\u2019s proclamations and prescriptions on blind and unquestioning faith. <\/p>\n

I kept ingesting my daily dose of poison. And soon enough, the first bruises appeared. A small one, on my wrist. It came out of nowhere. And then a large blotch showed up on my stomach. A big bruise, probably three inches across. And they came to stay. They would not fade, and they would not leave. It freaked me out pretty seriously. There\u2019s no way something that does such a thing to your body can be good for you. I felt bloated, like a tick that\u2019s about to get popped. <\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the state of mind I was in, when Mom left us a few weeks back. The state of mind I was in, when I gathered with my family to bury her. I talked to Janice about it, as we traveled up to Aylmer. She was pretty horrified. \u201cYou have got to get off that stuff,\u201d she said. I know, I said. But there\u2019s no way the Heart Group doctors will ever do that. I have an appointment in late May, for a checkup. Janice wasn\u2019t impressed. \u201cMake an appointment, the second you get back home,\u201d she told me. \u201cIf you need me to come and go along in with you, I\u2019ll do that.\u201d I promised her I\u2019d make that appointment. And I told her I\u2019d be fine, going in by myself. Thanks for the offer, though. <\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what I did, the next Monday morning after I got to work. Called the Heart Group people. The lady was real nice. I\u2019m not getting along with my Coumadin, I told her. I\u2019m not feeling well, and it\u2019s bruising me. I want to see a doctor, and I want to get taken off this stuff. She fit me in for that Wednesday, after lunch. And as that day approached, I felt all pensive. It wasn\u2019t going to work. I was convinced of that. But I might as well try. I had my backup plan. After lunch, I drove to the big gloomy Heart Group facility in Lancaster. Dave wished me well as I left the office. Pray for me, I said. I\u2019m gonna need it. <\/p>\n

I walked in and signed in. The receptionist told me where to go. I sat in the waiting room. Figured I\u2019d be there for a while. But amazingly, right on time, a nurse called my name. She smiled and greeted me. I smiled back nervously. God. Give me the right words, to speak, I thought. When the doctor comes. She led me to a small side room. I sat down. She took my blood pressure, temperature, all the stuff they do. And she asked me a bunch of questions. She left, then, but soon popped back in, dragging some sort of machine. The doctor wanted an EKG test done. I lay flat on my back on the couch. And she hooked up all the wires on my chest and ankles. \u201cIt takes much longer to hook you up than the test takes,\u201d she said, apologetically. Not a problem, I said. And then she did the test, and left the room. \u201cThe doctor will be in soon,\u201d she said. Thank you, I said. <\/p>\n

I sat there, waiting. And I remembered the last time I sat in a doctor\u2019s office, waiting for the results of an EKG test. Back when I had the bloody eye. I shivered. And then the door opened, and the doctor stepped in. A younger guy, probably my age. I hadn\u2019t seen him before. He smiled cheerfully and greeted me. And we just talked. <\/p>\n

He asked how I\u2019ve been doing. Real good, I said. Except this Coumadin is real bad stuff. It\u2019s giving me bruises, and I don\u2019t feel well at all. And then I looked at him. I want to be taken off all pharmaceutical blood thinners, I said. There. It was out. Amazingly, the man didn\u2019t seem all shocked. He kept smiling at me. It was a surprised smile, but real. And then he waved the paper that held the test results. And then he spoke. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, according to these results, I have some very good news for you.\u201d I pretty much gaped at him. It was a dreary day, outside. But that second, my world exploded into a beautiful place of blue skies and sunshine. He had good news for me. That could only mean one thing. <\/p>\n

He was very surprised. He tried not to act like it, but he was. And he told me. \u201cWhen we went down your throat with a camera during the operation, we looked very closely at your heart. There was no evidence of any clotting whatsoever. Your heart was very weak, from beating so fast for so long. It was at about 25% strength. But when you came in for your first checkup, two weeks later, we did that echo-gram. And at that time, your heart was pretty much back to full strength.\u201d I gaped at him some more. No one had ever mentioned that little fact to me before. Seems like someone could have called, with good news like that. But I wasn\u2019t fussing. He continued. \u201cFrom what I\u2019m seeing on these EKG results, I see no reason to keep you on any blood thinners.\u201d And just like that, I was released from the gulag. And from all those bossy Nurse Ratcheds. <\/p>\n

I laughed. Joyfully. And thanked him. Now, am I gonna have to wean myself off this stuff, or what? He smiled. \u201cJust stop taking it.\u201d How about vitamins? I asked. Can I take my Superfood? \u201cThey won\u2019t do you any good, but you can take all the vitamins you want,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can eat any food you want, too.\u201d I couldn\u2019t believe it. And I asked him. That\u2019s worth a high five. Will you give me one? He laughed. \u201cAs long as you don\u2019t hug or kiss me,\u201d he said. And we high-fived, my doctor and me, right there in that little room. I was almost in a daze. I simply could not believe what was happening. This was the most joyful day I had seen in a long time, certainly in the last few months. <\/p>\n

He got all stern, then. \u201cHow\u2019s your alcohol intake these days? How much are you drinking?\u201d He asked. Doctors always think they have to scold you about stuff like that. I\u2019ve cut back a good deal, I told him. I\u2019m going to bed earlier. I\u2019m sleeping better. He kept right on scolding. So I told him. <\/p>\n

Look, I said. I like scotch. I write. Writers drink. (At least most of the ones I’ve found worth reading do, I thought. I didn’t say that, though.) Those are choices, things like that. And yeah, I know I was drinking way too heavy, back when my eye got all bloody like it did. I\u2019d just got yanked around, pretty bad, by a woman. And it threw me for a loop. It was a bad choice, to drink like that. But it was a choice. It\u2019s all choices, what we do. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d he said, all professional. \u201cToo much alcohol could make your heart fibrillate. If that happens, I\u2019ll have to put you back on Coumadin.\u201d That was quite a threat. Spoken to make me shrivel and promise to do better. I just looked at him. I didn\u2019t say it, but I thought it. Think again, my friend. You’re threatening to put me on your brand of poison, if I don’t stop taking a poison you don’t like. And your poison hurt me pretty bad in six short weeks. No, thanks. No doctor will ever put me on Coumadin again. Not ever, not if I can help it. <\/p>\n

We were winding down. I had brought along a copy of my book, just in case. I reached into my briefcase and pulled it out. I want to give you something, I said. I showed it to him. The doctor was very surprised. He had no idea. And he got very excited. If you hadn\u2019t taken me off the Coumadin, I wouldn\u2019t have given it to you, I told him. He laughed. \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing you didn\u2019t show me that before. It might have been a strong bribe.\u201d And I laughed. I signed it for him and handed it over. He thanked me profusely. <\/p>\n

We shook hands. \u201cCome back and see me in six months,\u201d he said. I smiled. Maybe I will, and maybe I won\u2019t, I thought. But I didn\u2019t say it. He walked out. And I walked out of the room behind him. Walked out the front door of that gulag into the beautiful cloudy day. It\u2019s been a long, long time since I\u2019ve felt it all the way down, felt so deeply what freedom is.
\n*************************************************************<\/p>\n

A few closing thoughts on a few things. I\u2019m not crowing that I\u2019m all healed and heading on into a long and fruitful life. I don\u2019t think that way. I\u2019m intensely aware of my own mortality, and aware that my heart might give out at any time for any reason. Or that something else may go dreadfully wrong in a serious way. There is no promise of any tomorrow for any of us. I grasp that reality, way deeper than I ever have before. I am grateful every day, for for every breath of life. There is little doubt at all in my mind that Cardio for Life probably saved my life, these past few years. By keeping my blood from clotting. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Cardio for Life is what got me off the Coumadin. It strengthened my heart, almost back to full capacity. It kept my blood clean. The doctor tried not to act surprised, that day. But he was. I could have told him why. But I didn\u2019t bother, because he wouldn\u2019t have heard a word I said. <\/p>\n

Dave is still selling Cardio for Life. He still has health issues. And he uses a wheelchair now, to get around, mostly because of pain in his legs. But his heart is strong. He moves a lot of that Cardio stuff. And he helps a lot of people. Here’s the link to his website<\/a>, if you want to check it out. Look it over. Read the materials. I\u2019m not telling anyone what to do. Make your own decisions. I’m not telling anyone to go off their meds unless it’s under the guidance of a real doctor. Most definitely, do not do that. But I\u2019m telling you the stuff works. <\/p>\n

Lately, I\u2019ve done a little research on heart ablation, the procedure they did on me. And I am a little troubled by what I found. They didn\u2019t sear just one muscle in my heart. They seared a whole bunch of them, like a jigsaw puzzle. And according to what I read, if you\u2019ve had atrial flutter for as long as I had it, there\u2019s a pretty decent chance it will return in some form, at some point down the road. I plan to keep a real close eye on things. And I can\u2019t quite imagine that I\u2019m ever gonna allow anyone to go in and sear any more of my heart muscles. There has to be a better way. There has to be a natural way. There simply has to be. <\/p>\n

There is some artistic talent, scattered out there among my extended family. My sister Rhoda paints. Quite well. She\u2019s totally self-taught. There\u2019s some real musical talent, here and there. My nephew, Steven Marner, had his own grunge band for years. He\u2019s as good with a guitar as anyone I\u2019ve ever seen or heard. All that to say this. After Mom\u2019s funeral, another nephew, Reuben Wagler, got a U Tube video together. The backdrop singing is an old Amish farewell song I often heard in church, growing up. These are real Amish people, singing at a real Amish church. Somehow, someone recorded it. It\u2019s a beautiful and fitting tribute to Mom, from all the extended family. It always brings tears to my eyes, when I watch it. Thanks, Reuben, for creating a tribute for the ages.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The footsteps faded, vanished. He shouted, no one answered. And suddenly he knew that he had taken the wrong path, that he was lost. And in his heart there was an immense and quiet sadness, and the dark night of the enormous wood was all around him\u2026 —Thomas Wolfe ______________ It\u2019s no secret that I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12637"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12684,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12637\/revisions\/12684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}