Greetings once again from chilly Montana. We broke records for low temperatures in October, with the last few weeks registering in the single digits most mornings. Br-r-r! 

October was a fairly quiet month for me. I have continued to see traditional (“alternative”) healers to help heal the area of the incision and to loosen up the stiff neck muscles and I am making steady progress on both counts. However, the most interesting person I’ve gone to yet was a medical intuitive in Helena. Medical intuitives can “see” medical conditions in the body, almost like X-ray vision, but they’re actually looking at the energy signature of the area or disease. The woman I went to goes one step farther and can “see” the causes of the condition on all levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. 

When she tuned in to my tumor she saw that it originated when I was 24 years old from a severe lymphatic infection. She asked if I remembered any such incident and of course I immediately recalled what had happened. I had gone to Maine for a friend’s wedding in late May and while there for the weekend had gone out fishing. Well, it was the height of black fly season and, despite being heavily protected with clothing and bug repellant, I was bitten several times around the neck and wrists. I remember swelling up like a balloon and then all my lymph nodes getting infected. The swelling and pain were so bad I had to seek medical attention and, in spite of being given antibiotics and steroids, the swollen lymph nodes took almost two weeks to return to normal.

The medical intuitive said that what had happened in that incident was that my lymph nodes couldn’t drain, especially around the neck and head area, and they sort of backed up inside with a nasty infection. That infection is what affected the cells that eventually turned into the tumor and got it started. Although no one knows exactly how acoustic neuromas get started (after all, they can take 20-30 years to grow to the size I had and who remembers what they did that long ago) nevertheless, this explanation sounds plausible. In addition, this woman looked at other levels of factors that contributed to the  tumor and I am working on those issues as well. All in all, it was an incredible experience and it has given me new insights into how the body functions.

In other news, our harvest is basically over but we’re still making lots of apple recipes from our great harvest this year. We also took the time to go out for Halloween, one of our favorite holidays. Can you guess what we went as? (see photo) It is a real pleasure to be able to go out to social functions and even dance again and to enjoy being with friends. I appreciate it more deeply than ever before.

Well, that’s all for this update. Thanks to all of you who send e-mails. I’m a little slow sometimes in answering but I take everything a little slower these days.  J

I’ll be in touch at the beginning of December. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I know I have much to be grateful for this year, not the least of which is having people like you who care about me. Thanks for all your loving thoughts and kindness.

Love,   Val