DAD
My dad, Don Brown, born in 1936, led quite an unconventional lifestyle well before I was born. Since he was a teenager, he has had an entrepreneurial criminal career, having dabbled in a variety of crimes. He had taken part in a few bank robberies, counterfeited a few documents, smuggled more than a few pounds of illicit plant substances, and spent an unfortunately large amount of time incarcerated. Through it all, though, he never hurt anyone.
Despite living on the edge he never spent a day in the hospital and rarely took as much as an aspirin for a headache.
In November 2010, at 74, dad came to visit me and meet my boyfriend in Los Angeles for the first time. Right after he got off the plane we went to grab something to eat. When my dad ordered a sauerkraut dog and beer after his flight, I laughed, but I was a little concerned because I knew he was in good health but had been experiencing elevated blood pressure for a number of months.
Upon returning home to Washington, he went to a doctor’s appointment and the routine blood work came back showing he had signs of chronic kidney disease, lupus (an auto-immune disease), and Hepatitis C.
He went from seemingly excellent health to sudden and severe signs of chronic health conditions.
DIAGNOSIS
He was given referrals by his local general practitioner to see a handful of specialists in order to evaluate and devise a treatment plan.
Over the next couple of months, his intake of medications increased as quickly as his symptoms.
In April 2011, just 5 months after my dad’s visit, he was to the ER and was admitted to the hospital because of edema for two weeks. His body was holding so much water it was seemingly and visibly leaking out of his skin.
He was diagnosed with acute anemia, extremely high blood pressure, damaged kidneys, liver issues, and an auto-immune-lupus-like disease; though no concrete diagnosis was able to be confirmed due to the oddity of his symptoms.
As soon as he was admitted to the hospital, I called to get an update. The nurse was unable to release any information on his condition without my being there in person. I couldn’t understand how it was possible that his daughter, who had Power of Attorney, was unable to obtain information on his condition or treatment. I was absolutely livid and made it known. They assured me that, by law, there was no way that I could be given information over the phone.
I got on the quickest flight I could to Washington and walked down the halls of the hospital and introduced myself the next afternoon.
HOSPITAL DISASTER
My dad looked horrific. His left arm was swollen, black, and blue. He explained that when he was admitted to the ER, he was given a blood transfusion for his anemia. They began the transfusion but he told them it hurt and felt wrong; they ignored him. The transfusion was administered incorrectly resulting in the black and blue because they missed his veins. They neglected to change anything until they noticed something wasn’t going correctly and restarted the transfusion, an hour later.
The edema, the “swelling”, was equally as alarming. He had gained 40 lbs from fluid retention. The reason for the fluid retention, we were told, was because his kidneys were damaged and failing, and not processing his liquid intake.
The last and most distressing thing I came to realize was the amount of medication he was taking on a daily basis. At one point his treatment called for upwards of 18 medications with several of the pills having to be taken multiple times throughout the day. It was a complicated schedule of pills.
Since he was admitted during the weekend, it took two days to get a Doctor to fill us in on the causes of this severe reaction and the actual treatment plan. For two long days, he was monitored: blood was drawn from his swollen and bruised arms: blood pressure was taken; urine analyzed; and many other tests unknown. I continuously asked to speak with a Doctor so we could get more information, and instead, we watched one nurse after another come in day and night.
“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment”
― Lao Tzu
FRUSTRATED & GOOGLING
While we waited, I accessed the Wi-Fi in the hospital from my laptop. I decided to organize my questions for the Doctors, and start my research. I quickly noticed a pattern in many of the medications: side effects that included the exact conditions he was suffering from; specifically and most dramatically, high blood pressure and edema.
The nurses informed us that he might need a second blood transfusion. The first transfusion “had indeed helped his anemia,” but I couldn’t understand why they would be required to do a second one so soon. After witnessing the damage to his arm the first time, I began frantically Googling about blood transfusions.
The first thing I saw was about Chlorophyll.
“Chlorophyll is the stuff that makes leaves green and puts grass stains on your clothes. It is also the undisputed king of blood builders, which is why green leafy vegetables are important to building healthy blood.” (source “The Life is in the Blood”)
“The chemical makeup of chlorophyll is the same as human hemoglobin with the exception of one molecule.” (source “Natural Treatments for Anemia”)
I asked a new nurse if he had ever heard of patients being given Chlorophyll for anemia. I was shocked when he admitted he had never even heard of it.
The second transfusion was ordered and, thankfully, administered with no problems and brought improvement.
Frustrated, without answers, and with still no Doctors available, I asked the nurse for a report of all of the medications my dad was prescribed. After 3 hours of waiting I checked in with the nurse 3 more times. I then asked for a list of the prescribing Doctors. As of this moment, we had not seen any of the Specialists or Doctors responsible for his Kidney treatment. The tests and prescriptions were ordered by the absent Hospitalist, Cardiologist, Gastroenterologist, Nephrologist, and Rheumatologist.
Fed up with waiting, I asked about transferring hospitals.
Suddenly, the aforementioned Doctors began to make their appearances…
QUESTIONING THE DOCTORS
I kept a list of questions at hand so I was prepared when I was finally able to see a Doctor. The first thing I asked was if the high blood pressure could be causing kidney damage. Even with the $200/bottle of blood pressure medications, his blood pressure remained high. The Doctor said that this was unlikely the cause.
However, result after result in my internet searches showed a different answer:
“High blood pressure makes the heart work harder and, over time, can damage blood vessels throughout the body. High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of kidney failure, also called end-stage renal disease (ESRD).” (Source “High Blood Pressure and Kidney Disease”)
Questions kept coming. Why was he given a Liver function test? Does he have compromised liver function? The Doctor assured me that the liver did not have any problems. Apparently, they were putting together a treatment plan for someone with a compromised liver, as it most likely happens with the autoimmune disease. So this was preventative treatment.
I went through a variety of questions about his treatment plan, essentially trying to figure out if there was indeed a plan. The doctors were treating each symptom as it surfaced or preventing symptoms from occurring. There was no plan to get him back to health.
Next, I tackled the questions I had about each medication and its current side effects, pointing out that his side effects matched his symptoms.
Each time I asked the doctors about medication side effects they informed me that the benefit of the medication outweighed the risks.
How is that possible if the risk is cancer or death!?
The answers I got from the Doctors were vague and did not give any hope. The medications were a crap shoot, at best. It was admitted guesswork, because of the complexity of my dad’s case.
By the end of his stay in the hospital, 2 weeks later, my dad had been given 3 blood transfusions, and was stable but couldn’t walk well enough to go home. The hospital put him on a renal diet that outlined how to limit potassium intake. They also gave him a maximum amount of 2000ml of liquid intake per day due to the swelling and his body not processing liquid.
When my dad left the hospital, that day he was loaded with medications and had his renal diet information. He regained his strength with a short stop of one week at the nursing home physical therapy facility. However, when he got home, he still wasn’t walking steadily and confidently. It was too cold to go out on walks in Washington, and the swelling hadn’t gone down enough to be comfortable. He barely had enough energy to keep a conversation and he soon spent the days and nights mostly lying down.
NUTRITIONAL ENLIGHTENMENT
It wasn’t until 6 months later when a friend, Shannon Crawford, a Melanoma Skin Cancer survivor, referred us to a few documentaries on Netflix. The first we watched was “Food Matters” which broke down information on the Standard America Diet (ironically, the acronym is S.A.D), how we eat, how it affects our long-term health, and how we can make a difference in eating organic food, plant-based diet.
And there it was: my nutritional veil had been lifted.
The next documentaries we saw were “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead,” “The Beautiful Truth” and “The Gerson Miracle.”
After watching “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead,” a documentary about a man juicing himself out of an auto-immune disease, Sami and I were convinced that my dad needed to come down to California and be out on a diet that incorporated juicing. We learned that through juicing, you’re able to get the nutritional value from a much larger portion of fruits and vegetables without making the body work hard and with minimal impact on the digestive system.
We knew that this was something where dad would need our support. It was not an idea where we could tell him to just go buy a juicer and start juicing. He wasn’t anywhere near well enough to take matters into his own hands.
I called my dad and tried to convince him that he needed to get on a flight and come try juicing. My argument was, if all of these doctors are mixing medications with serious side effects together to hopefully, maybe, produce some sort of result, then why not at least attempt an alternative that had no real risks? He was willing to try. The real concern was traveling with his limited mobility.
TRIP TO JUICE
About a month later, dad has wheeled off the plane in a wheelchair at LAX. I was more than happy he had finally made the trip down. We were confident we had done the right thing. However, my shock at his appearance was hard for me to hide. His face was noticeably puffy under his Stetson hat, he wore an oversized suede suit jacket, and slippers instead of shoes because his feet were still swollen, and his legs appeared skeletal through the jeans he wore. Immediately, he could tell I was troubled and asked me what the worry was. I bluntly told him that he didn’t look good. He was actually surprised. He told me about how people specifically complimented him on how good he looked. He said, in fact, one time they even applauded when he came back to the Eagles, a local club he frequented in his hometown Vashon Island, WA. They were happy to see him alive.
I wheeled his chair curbside to the truck. It was difficult getting him in the passenger seat because he was so weak. He could barely stand on his own, and lifting himself up was nearly impossible. He flopped into the truck and Sami and I helped him straighten out and buckle in. As we drove out of the airport pick-up area, I offered him fresh grapes and noticed that he was literally too weak to pull the grape off the vine.
On the arm of his large suede jacket, there were spots of blood. He had a paper towel with dried blood on it, showing out of the wrist of the jacket. He told me that while he was on 
the plane he had to use the bathroom, and while he was able to make it to the bathroom when it came time to raise off of the seat, he couldn’t. Embarrassed but stuck, he had to ask someone to help him. If that weren’t enough, the man who helped him didn’t grab him by the hand, instead, he grabbed him by the forearm and as he did so, my dad’s paper-thin skin was peeled down as the man’s hand slid down his arm. The top layer of skin on his forearm and bicep was literally peeled down and he was still bleeding. The flight attendants almost didn’t let him continue onto the next flight after the layover because of his wounds. His trip down was even worse than I could have imagined.
When dad got to our apartment he showed us his arm and I nearly fainted. Had Sami not been there to help bandage him I don’t know what would have happened. My head was spinning.
RENAL DIET DISASTER
When we arrived at my apartment it was time to bandage the wounds and I was not prepared. In fact, I was completely panicked. I second-guessed myself and our decision to bring him to LA. I hadn’t juiced what did I know? I questioned myself. He was so frail and weak, I was stunned.
I’m stunned at the site of everything and I turn to see my dad pull out a bag of Jelly Beans he had brought along. With all of the damage and bad
stuff going on inside of him, I was shocked he wanted to put that into his body. He simply told me that they were allowed with the hospital diet he was given.
What?!?!
First ingredient: Corn Syrup.
How were sugar and corn syrup allowed in his daily diet yet he was supposed to watch the amount of water he took in? The logic baffled me.
I spent a lot of time looking over the nutritional advice from the hospital. Through the documentaries, I felt confident that I now knew what really made sense to eat for someone in his condition, and I guaranteed him that it was not jelly beans.
Looking through his renal diet printouts from the hospital I was flabbergasted. Even plain common sense had me questioning why the doctors would suggest this diet to him.
1) Protein. Well, if he has protein in his urine, why on earth would they recommend he eat protein?? His body can’t handle it, so why feed that to him?!
There was no doubt in my mind that he did not need to eat meat, so, we relied on plant-based protein.
4) Phosphorous. Low Phosphorous substitutes.
We eliminated Dairy from his diet. (11 reasons to stop eating dairy)
The low phosphorous substitutes were a joke as well. This category showed us that he was allowed to drink soda. Is this sponsored by PepsiCo?? Soda is not what a body needs to heal itself!
And the topper to make me really lose my mind: “eat enough calories to maintain weight” listing butter and margarine, cream cheese, and fried foods!
The next sheet showed more specifically what he should and can eat. Again, we were totally dumbfounded to find cake, pies, and cookies on the list. Not to mention the rice, pasta, and noodles. His body was doing all this work to try and heal itself, being overtaken by medications, yet the advice was to consume “food” that has no nutritional value and the body will have to use a lot of energy to process? Why make the body work through its miles of intestines, kidneys, and liver to get bad food through the system? Why are they making his body do so much work?
MEDICATION ELIMINATION
When he arrive in California, he was on 9 different medications and using a walker that conveniently carried his medications in the seat, along with his medical notes and insurance cards. 
Since there was little he could do for the first few days he arrived because he was so weak, I
popped some documentaries in and we started including 3 juices a day in his diet. We included the ingredients that made the most sense based on what we knew about his condition. Low potassium fruit and vegetables.
He had a pill box filled for the whole month and there were a couple of medications he mentioned having to get refilled right away.
We started by going through each of his medications to understand what each prescription was for and what the side effects were.
Prilosec was the first pill to be removed from the pill box arsenal because he had no sign of heartburn or any other symptoms the pill states it is used for. Next, with no sign of thrush, we eliminated Clotrimozole.
We didn’t feed him processed foods and dairy, so the Calcium Acetate used to help process those foods, was eliminated.
Taking a pill to allow a body to process processed food? Why not take the food out of the diet instead of this pill?
During this process of medication elimination, I spoke with his Kidney Specialist in Washington. He knew me from the previous visit to the hospital. I went through a lot of questions about the medications he was currently on, and most of the answers I got were about why he was taking certain prescriptions. With each medication, I asked when we could consider taking him off, but the general consensus was that he would be continuing to take all of them as his treatment plan. It didn’t actually sound like he was expected to get better. In fact, he was due to receive more new medications when he went to his next appointment.
I explained to the doctor that the reason I was asking about when we can consider lowering dosages or taking dad off medications was that we were juicing and he has been continuously showing signs of improvement. Immediately:
The doctor advised me to be careful of juicing.
I was shocked that a medical professional who can prescribe multiple doses of medications with known and serious side effects, would have concerns about juicing.
I went back to his pill box after our conversation with the Doctor. Feeling as though there were no real answers the medical professionals could give us, we continued to eliminate potentially harmful drugs. The next to go was the low dosage of Tacralimus, 0.5 mg, which is given to patients to prepare the body for a kidney transplant. There are many warnings about using this medication, specifically about kidney disease, high blood pressure, (which he was being treated for with another pill), cancer, as well as diabetes. Additionally, there is a list of serious warnings that matched his symptoms: weakness, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, pain or burning on urination, swelling of the arms, hands, feet, and ankles, and unusual bruising. A medication that has the potential to do a lot of damage with little reassurance given about what it was actually doing, it was quickly discarded from the pill box. Considering it was only .5mg, we were sure there would not be an issue with any kind of withdrawals, and there wasn’t.
Equally alarming to Tacralimus side effects, was the Prednisone he was taking.
The list of side effects was over a page long, and the majority of his symptoms were on that list.
He had been taking Prednisone since the beginning of his treatment. By the time he got to us, he was down to 20mg of Prednisone. After talking with him and showing him the number of side effects he had on the list, dad agreed to half the dose of prednisone.
RESULTS
5 of the 10 side effects he was experiencing vanished as the diet was changed and the pills were removed.
His skin became less paper-like and fragile and actually started showing elasticity. The “slowed healing of cuts and bruises” was evidentially gone as we witnessed his torn arm and other wounds heal much more rapidly. The red and purple blotches on his hands got much lighter and his swelling decreased dramatically.
Th
ere was a noticeable change in my dad’s edema (swelling) and his energy in about 3 days. But it was by the 2nd week after much of the medications were decreased, the water pill, furosemide, was taken out of the pill box as well.
<< Picture of the swelling in his feet as it decreased to show a normal ankle and foot.
Through all of the juice googling, I quickly learned that beet juice is an excellent way to lower high blood pressure. We put the theory to the test and juiced a beet into a shot glass. Dad took the beet shot and within 15 minutes his blood pressure started dropping and normalizing. We were soon able to simply give him the beet juice shot in the morning and his blood pressure remained regulated throughout the day.
Needless to say, we eliminated the blood pressure medication, Lisinipril, and stuck with the (cheaper) beet juice.
We continued with three juices a day and removing medications as logically as we could with constant monitoring of the blood pressure and swelling. Every single day we watched him heal a little more. He soon started using a cane instead of the walker, except for longer distances while still building muscle. And although stubborn, he did push himself to exercise!
It wasn’t long before he was even able to start juicing himself.
With the Prednisone and the water pill down to 10mg, his energy up, and walking better, he was ready to go home.
Before he visited and our juicing treatment started to work, his health had no indication of getting him through the next year. Before he left California, I reminded him that he was going to need to get some new hobbies since he was obviously going to be here a while longer.
CHECK UP
Shortly after he arrived home to Vashon Island, WA he was back at the doctor taking various organ and blood tests. A few weeks later the results of his blood tests came back. This was what we had been waiting for… the proof! And we had it: other than being slightly high in potassium, with nothing to be concerned about, his results indicated much improvement as his levels were all stabilized.
His primary care physician was dumbstruck and the nurses had never witnessed anything like it. They told him they were accustomed to witnessing older people come in with problems similar to my father’s and never getting better.
They felt as though they were witnessing a miracle.
A few months later, more test results:
Chronic Kidney Disease showed that he no longer had the disease and his kidneys were improved and healthy.
The “incurable” autoimmune, lupus-like disease was no longer attacking his kidneys.
We questioned, researched, took action, and juiced my dad to health, curing his kidney disease; something the doctors would never admit.
Dad became medication-free, sharing his story and inspiration to his family, friends, and community.
Juicing Story 
What an astonishing recovery. Great story! I was sent here by “Running on Juice”‘s blog.
So glad you have your father back!
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Wonderful story! Juicing is SO wonderful, powerful, and healing! You listed almost all of my favorite documentaries! 🙂 So glad your Father’s health has returned!
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Wow! Thank you for sharing this story. It hit a chord with me… I lost my dad 13 years ago, and I now wonder if juicing could have made a difference… his condition was very similar to your dads. I am recent convert, after having watch a few of the same documentaries, and my husband and I are on day three today. Thank you!
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I lost my mother in 2006 and I am absolutely certain that had I known then what I know know she too would be alive, so I definitely understand your thoughts about your dad. All we can do now is spread the word and help others in their quest to cure rather than regret the past. Cheers to day 3 and many more!
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such a amazing story, had tears in my eyes when I first read this.my name is tom and I recently purchased a juicer machine and I love jucing its my daily regime. I juice a combination of fruits and vegetables. when I read this story I went out and got a juicer and I love juicing everyday I went down one pants size so that gives me better reason to stay on track with this. of course from time to time I have slip ups but thats life I just don’t beat myself up over it. I just to say I hope your dad is still following his daily routine of jucing would like to any updates on his health condition. thanks again ashley for sharing this wonderful story a real inspiration to me. thanks tom from Chicago ,IL
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Thank you for having the courage to listen to your heart and mind and not the doctors. I guess now your father will not be so ready to let them fill him up with pills. I am so glad you were able to help him. By the time I started my father on juicing it was too late and I lost him the very night I had started him on juices. That was 34 years ago and I wish I had known then what I know now. You and your husband are a blessing to your whole family. I am still struggling with getting my act together. It is hard when you are older (65) and have no strength or energy to do the things you must but I keep trying anyway. Best Wishes in your goal to better health and not poisoning your body with the S.A.D. program.
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It’s difficult to get started, my father clearly couldn’t have done it on his own, but with one step at a time you can do it! Just start with one juice and that juice will get you started. Small goals, small steps with big rewards.
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I don’t think 65 is very old. When I was 65 I was on the Hallelujah Acres program. In the morning would have Barley Max, then juice – for lunch I had a smoothie and for dinner – the biggest salad I could handle. I lost 27 lbs in 6 weeks and 50 lbs by the end of 6 months. I was surprised that I could run like I did at 20 and feel better than I did at 30. Bone density test done the technician did the test twice, then called the doctor in, he was so excited .. said he had never seen anyone perfect before and wanted to know what I was doing. I had been juicing for about 20 years, but really every day for about 6 years. My juice was carrot, kale, parsley and celery. Sometimes I added cuc, beets. It is great for our bones, but I didn’t know that when I was doing it. I was working 14-16 hour days and it gave me energy and I knew I had to juice to be able to stay on my feet. I hope this is encouraging to you. Just get some kind of a juicer and dive in. This is truly a remarkable story, I have seen this happen before, perseverance and her dad being willing to do the jucing is awesome. Blessings
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Sandi, thank you so much for sharing this – you took things into your own hands and that is absolutely amazing!!
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Sandi, how much juice did you drink daily?
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Wow! Ths study brought tears to my eyes—-what a wonderful and caring daughter you are! And what a trooper your dad is. Both of my parents are living the medication/illness nightmare right now, and I wish we lived closer so I could actually help by introducing juicing. What a truly inspiring and heartwarming story of hope.
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The best thing to try in that situation is to try and get them to watch one of the documentaries. That may help to open their eyes and minds a bit, but I do know can be a challenge in and of itself!\. Very best of luck and health to your family!
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I have watched every single movie on that watch list!! Wonderful story… your dad’s story will most definitely save lives!!
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Print this story and mail it to them. If your parents are older they won’t read a blog, but they will read a short story 🙂 Sometimes it take a little story telling to get through to people!! I hope you do and their nightmare becomes a dream. ashley
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Hi Ashley,Thank you for sharing the story of your Dad and his recovery. I am going to convert to juicing as soon as I can buy a juicer. Your father is very blessed to have a wonderful and intelligent daughter. Wishing all of you continued good health, and thank you for motivating me to take control of my life. I have been very fortunate to be 55 and not have health issues. Not on any meds, but have needed to lose about 50 lbs for 5 years now. I think juicing will be the way to accomplish that. Thanks for motivating me with your smart sensible approach to taking control of your health! Lynda
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Hi Lynda – were you able to get your juicer??
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Hi Ashley. Thank you for sharing. It is so important that these stories gets out. I think you have inspired me to write up something on my own story. Nothing quite as dramatic, but about a year ago I was diagnosed with very low blood cell count, both white and red. I had went for some tests because for a long time I had been feeling weak and tired. I knew my blood count had been below normal for a while, but the new tests showed it had really plunged. I decided to try a juicing diet for a month, because that was the time I had before seeing my doctor again. Long story short… after just 1 month of juicing daily, my blood count was back to normal. I was immensely proud of myself. I was so excited about juicing that I immediately started an online business selling juicers 🙂 Again, thank you for the inspiration. I should really write a blog piece about my own experience soon.
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Hi Marcus – I would be so happy to have you write a piece for this blog and include your juicers! If you are interested please shoot me a message! ashleyrecruits@gmail.com
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Loved this story! Proud of the daughter for doing her research! I am definitely sharing this story on Facebook and twitter! =>
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Thank you so much for your support and for sharing! I hope this reaches your followers!
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What a truly amazing story! What a blessing. You say you had him drinking three juices a day and a shot of beet juice in the morning. What did you feed him during the other times? I see on the documentaries they mention juicing all day and not eating any food, is that what you did for your dad?
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Good question. We ate a mainly vegetarian diet. He had little to no hunger in the beginning so getting even the juices in him was a struggle. He ate one big meal and a little snack here and there. It just so happens that Sami is an excellent cook so we made plenty of salads, salmon, fish tacos, pansit, shrimp. No heavy meats like beef or pork, we stuck to easily digestible foods.
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I want everyone to know about juicing because it works!
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This is absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing this information. I will pray for your Dad tonight. I hope he continues to stay well!
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Wow, I already knew the amazing effects a plant-based diet can have, but reading your story truly brought it home (even if you weren’t doing a vegan diet). Your father is so lucky to have a daughter that cares so much and is so open to alternative medicine. It warms my heart to know that your father is doing so well!
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I watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead back in August and I fell in love with juicing. I first did it to lose weight but I continued because of the benefits! Every morning I juice for the entire family. My kids were surprised how great the juice tastes. They get all the servings for fruits and vegetables in a glass AND without a fuzz!!!
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What a fantastic testimony to the wonderful love of a child and the healing qualities of food!! You and your boyfriend are truly blessed to be able to help your father get healthy! Your father – wow…. he must feel so much better!!! I bet he is really grateful and brags about what a wonderful daughter he has!! Thank you so much for telling your story – no matter how difficult it was – this will really help people!!! I am a Health Coach and I also do some speaking for the American Heart Association – telling people about how to recognize Heart Attacks and how to change their diets to avoid them… I will be passing along a link to your site. Thanks again and many blessings to you, your dad and your boyfriend!!
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Thank you so much for your positive response. I hope this message reaches as many people as possible. If there are any suggestions on how I could help more, please do let me know! ashleyrecruits@gmail.com
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Your Dad is so blessed you had the gumption to step in and the perseverance to help him come back to life!!!
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Such great information. Thank you for sharing it all.
I have a question. My Mother, age 83, has the paper thin skin you described. In fact her’s is more like wet tissue paper. Over the past few years she has experienced some serious wounds, some leading to infection and even surgery.
Was there something in particular you found as the cause for this?
Most doctors just shrug and attribute it to her age and just say that sometimes this happens.
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Hi Lulu – I would google the medications she is I on – I would almost bet money that one of them has the skin change in the side effects. When I saw it on one of my dads meds I was floored. It is nutrients being low or depleted. There is something missing or being taken away nutritionally. Its not just aging, thats absolute BS.
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Hi Ashley, I have RA do you think juiceing will help
Thank You.
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Hi Lulu, I just wanted to shoot you another reply – please feel free to call me if you have questions. I would be more than happy to help you figure out what is going on before it’s too late. 310-902-1392 // ashleyrecruits@gmail.com
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Congratulations! My Mum has just healed her cancer with juicing! Good to have our parents all clear! xx
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That is absolutely amazing. Congrats to your mom in a huge huge way!!
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Thank you so much for sharing your story! I am so happy for you and your Dad! What juices did you give your Dad? My grandmother has all the exact same issues. I was shocked when I saw pictures of your Dad because my grandmother has the same paper-thin skin that tears so easily. She also has the swollen, fluid-filled legs and arms, and she has the same purplish patches on her hands. She has lupus, and she has no strength. She is on tons of medication as well, and she has pain from unknown sources so they dope her up on pain pills, which makes her unstable and she has fallen several times. She used to go everywhere, but now she is confined to her walker and a scooter. I know she can get better. She is very willing to drink the juices. I told her I would fix them if she would drink them, and after I told her your story, she said she is willing to try anything. 🙂 Which juices did you find to be the most helpful?
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I sent you an email with my phone number. Im more than happy to chat and help out in anyway! 310-902-1392.
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This story is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing it. It gives me hope. I was anorexic for years and destroyed my body. I have been seeking treatment for a year, since my son was still born. I’ve been labeled treatment resistant because I can no longer digest food, and have trouble keeping weight on. I’ve had a feeding tube, and been hospitalized a lot. I have liver problems, and more. I don’t care about being thin. I want to gain and be healthy, but I did so much damage all the years I starved and ran so much. Basically my doctors have given up. So I am taking things into my own hands. I started juicing, and am on the second day. I am going to build up slowly. I can’t eat much, but already today, the soup I made, and the boost drinks are already sitting a bit easier, and I have a little more energy. This story inspires me that maybe I can win this battle after all, and my girls can have a mother some day.
Can I ask what kind of diet modifications were made along with the juicing? Or did you just add the juice to his regular diet?
Thank you, again.
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Hi there… question? Did you do a juice fast in the beginning with your dad, or did you do the no processed food and juice three times per day. Just wondering what your exact regimen was. Thank you
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We did not do a juice fast with my dad, simply because he was so underweight. He needed the extra proteins and grains. Thanks for your question!
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I just read your dads story and it seemed like I was reading my exact situation. Same meds,symptoms, etc. AM GOING TO SEE IF I CAN PURCHASE A JUICER SOON AND GET STARTED. Thank you and your dad is blessed to have such a caring and sensitive dtr.
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Hi!! This is a very nice story to come across. I have been reading up on juicing and it’s effects for people with kidney disease and your site came up on my google search. My husband has chronic kidney disease and I am very distraught and worried and frantically looking for ways to make him better, or at least have his condition remain and not worsen. I myself is getting skeptical and unsatisfied with the cocktail of medications he has to take several times daily. I’m now lookin up on juicing and really want to have him start on it. Reading your dad’s story made me more eager to start right away. It has truly been inspiational. I’m so happy about your dad’s improvement and I hope to have a success story soon too. 🙂 Thank you so much!
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It has been a while, I would love to hear if you have had any success. All the best wish and hope to you. Ashley
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Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude!
Thank you, However I am having troubles with your RSS.
I don’t know the reason why I cannot subscribe to it. Is there anyone else getting identical RSS problems?
Anyone who knows the solution can you kindly respond?
Thanks!!
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I am really thankful to the holdr of this webb site who has shared this wonderful piece
of writing at at this time.
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Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just your articles?
I mean, what you say is important and all. Nevertheless think of if you added some great photos or video
clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content
is excellent but with images and video clips, this website could
undeniably be one of the greatest in its field.
Awesome blog!
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What a story about your dad! My wife and I experienced some miraculous benefits when we first started juicing. But juicing can take a lot of time and it’s messy and a bit expensive. So I developed a juice powder blend, including those greens you mention have the chlorophill. We’re offering samples through our crowdfunding campaign and we sure could use your support. Hope you’ll check it out. It’s saved us a lot of time when juicing just isn’t feasible. Thank you, Rick Perry, NutriGardens. http://goo.gl/KwI7ys
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Can you share some of the juicing recipes you used for your dad?
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Ashley, I’m in awe at how courageous you are! This post is so inspiring to me and I’m sure for others as well. The plant world is a miracle bestowed upon us and delving into its knowledge and acquiring its benefits takes persistence and a whole lot of patience. Keep up the good work!
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Do you know what stage kidney disease your father was initially at when he went into the hospital?
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Thank you for sharing your father’s story. I’m deeply touched. I lost my dear dad recently who refused to do juicing or work on his nutrition. I often wondered if it would have helped him. I’m juicing myself, trying to reverse multiple health issues including an “incurable” cancer and diabetes. Your father’s experience is inspiring!
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This was a very long, touching story. Thanks so much for sharing this important message. My mother who also has some health issues could succesfully treat some of her medical issues just by switching to the healthy lifestyle of juicing. 🙂
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Great story.
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This is a phenomenal story, just the push I needed to keep me focused on my own juice fast. I need to lose weight and drastically improve my health.
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Oh wow! this is inspirational. I when I 1st started juicing I didnt know where to start. I just feel so much healthier and brighter. It seems like my skin / hair / and body is just GLOWING.
For the last couple of weeks, it seems like juicing is all I talk about with friends lol.
Keep up the great work ma’am!
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Thank you so much for sharing! We’d love to hear about any updates or see any photos of your juice, recipes you’ve tried etc. Keep up the good work! https://www.facebook.com/JuicingStory/
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Amazing story. I was looking for inspiration online as I am right now on my second day of juice fast and had a bit rough time, and this helps me to stay on it. Than you. I am off to make beet juice.:)
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Thank you for the comment and we are so happy to have helped inspire you! How was the juice fast? We’d love to hear about your results!
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All I could do is cry, if you only knew what I had been through last year.
I took of of a man for one year who I knew for four years, he was more than a friend of mine and I miss him dearly. He passed in January of this year from heart failure which I had blamed partially on myself but everyone told me I could not have prevented it. He was taking some of the medication your father was taking along with others for his heart. He had two knee surgeries in 2015 which seemed to make him walk a little better but because of his heart he was restricted to very little exercise which didn’t help his new knees. I was with him most of the time during his last year of his life which wasn’t easy at all since he ran his own business that became bankrupt right before his passing. I tried desperately to get him to quit but it was his life and without it he would be broke. I took him to his doctors appts and tried to make everything comfortable for him and helped him with his business while working another job.
It had a very hard life with a family that didn’t care about him and dislike me for being with him and helping him which made it even harder. I have always been a giving person and will never understand how a daughter can just leave his father by himself and a time when he was in such great need of help. I know I did the right thing by taking care of him even knowing he would not live very long. He is at peace now and I will never forget him.
You are a wonderful daughter for doing what you did for your father, I believe in Karma and know we will be taken care of as well.
I found you by looking for juice blogs, I hope to loose weight soon by juicing myself.
I am the proud mother of a daughter who owns a juice company in Nashville who is getting me on the right path now. Take care and juice on!
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First of all, you are an amazing person who truly understands the importance of advocacy and support in a time of need. It can be unbelievably frustrating once you are part of the reality, but if you know you did everything you could and you were there for them, that’s beautiful.
The fact that you own a juicing company – wow! Feel free to let us know about your company!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and share your story and I wish you and your daughter a full, healthy life!
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Big kudos for putting your story out. As somebody mentioned above, we need these out as many as possible as they are a big encouragement.
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Inspiring
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