Vol. 34 No. 22 - I AM the Witness

Vol. 34 No. 22 - I AM the Witness - June 2, 1991

I AM the Witness

“ANY ABDOMINAL PAIN LASTING FOR MORE THAN THREE OR FOUR HOURS MAY BE APPENDICITIS.” If only I had read those words from The Complete Medical Guide a few months ago, I could have saved myself much pain and thousands of dollars. I want to share my experience so that others may be aware and avoid what I went through or worse.

To quote again from the Guide, “One of the greatest tragedies of all is to see a patient who is disabled, or even dies, because of too great a delay in diagnosing a case of appendicitis which did not present typical symptoms. As the old medical saying puts it, ‘Better a live patient without an appendix than a dead one with his appendix in place.’”

I have been on the staff of Church Universal and Triumphant and a member of this most wonderful community for almost fourteen years. I feel sure it was the love, decrees and prayers of the community, the assistance of the Messenger and the Masters–most especially Helios–that pulled me through the ordeal related below. Even though I have a strong constitution, I feel it was the purifying, body-strengthening macrobiotic diet served in our community that enabled my body to respond appropriately to control the infection from my appendix.

To summarize what happened: Lower abdominal pain, seemingly caused by much gas, started on Saturday night. Although appendicitis was suggested, the symptoms were more like intestinal flu, so I treated for flu. In retrospect, I know that after five days of varying degrees of fever and pain (for which I must have a high tolerance), my appendix burst in a spasm of agony.

I felt better. Two days after that, on Saturday, the pain began to localize on the right side and I was admitted to the hospital with a suspected appendix problem. On the following Tuesday, ten days after the first pain, I was in the operating room.

What they found was a 5-cm abscess in the area of the appendix. It was such a mess inside that they could not even see the appendix! The right fallopian tube was involved in the infection and had to be removed.

My husband had been at the hospital during the operation, helping to hold the balance. I knew there had been many decrees and prayers on my behalf throughout the entire community. Helios had dictated the day after I got sick. He said he would “intercede in all conditions for which you give prayer and invocation during the coming fortnight.” I called to Helios to enter in and take command of my entire being and to heal me. I know that at least one other person also made that call for me.

I called to the Masters, especially Archangel Raphael, Mother Mary, Hilarion and Cyclopea to overshadow the doctors and help with my healing. In the evening, after the operation, the first phone call I received was from Mother. It was great to hear her voice. She gave an invocation for my healing, which was a wonderful blessing and very comforting.

During the time I was sick, I had to rely quite heavily on the prayers and decrees of family and friends in the community. For I was not able to do much for myself because of pain and the drugs needed to heal my body. I want to witness to the great outpouring of love from the entire community, above and below, which was such a sustaining grace. It was this love and support that got me successfully through this entire experience.

The lab tests showed that there was no malignancy anywhere, just infection.

On the day the surgeon said I could go home, I felt very depressed and afraid to leave the hospital. This was not at all like me. I prayed to be shown what was wrong. Pain pills! After the operation I was given a pain killer with codeine. Now that I was beginning to heal, I did not need such a high dose.

I stopped taking the pills, waited until the pain increased and took just enough to dull the pain. By the next day I was back to my normal self and went home in the best of spirits. I weaned myself from the pain pills as fast as my body would let me! When I listened, my body elemental told me what it needed.

One evening about three weeks after the operation, I noticed an increased soreness and hardness near the incision. Our staff medical department advised that I go to the hospital emergency room right away. My surgeon said I probably had a secondary wound infection. He sent me home with an antibiotic and the pain was gone within twenty-four hours.

I was told it was usually six weeks before a person recovers enough to get back to work after such an infection and operation. A little over two weeks after the operation, my doctor allowed me to go back to work for part of each day. Four and a half weeks after the operation, the surgeon pronounced me healed and said he was removing all restrictions on my activities. I started working full time.

Below are some of the things I wish I had known before I had the appendix problem.

The book Human Physiology says, “As far as has been ascertained, the appendix plays no role in the process of digestion. Being a blind sac, it fills easily but empties sluggishly so that materials may remain in it for unusually long periods. Hard or rough substances may irritate the inner walls of the appendix, making it a favorable place for the growth of bacteria.”

The Complete Medical Guide (TCMG) describes what causes appendicitis: “The appendix is a hollow tube. If the end of this tube becomes plugged by a hard bit of...material, the normal drainage from the tubelike appendix cannot take place. The appendix then becomes susceptible to bacterial infection....The germs multiply and cause inflammation. Visualize the situation as a sort of boil which will rupture into the peritoneal cavity unless (1) the body’s defenses overcome the infection or (2) the surgeon removes the infected appendix before the ‘boil’ breaks and discharges the pus.”

The last thing I ate just before my pain started was some corn chips, which I did not chew thoroughly. That must have been what plugged my appendix. I asked around and found others who had had appendicitis that was triggered by eating popcorn, nuts, matzoh, and croutons in Caesar salad!

I feel that a key to avoiding an appendix problem is to follow the macrobiotic rule of chewing food until it is pulverized for easy absorption by the body. I must admit that I had not developed the habit of completely chewing food. Chewing food well is the best thing I can think of to prevent the appendix from getting blocked. I now chew very well and it has made a great difference, especially as a benefit to the functioning of my entire digestive system.

When the appendix ruptures as mine did, the danger is that the peritoneum, the lining of the abdominal cavity that covers the stomach, intestines and other organs, can become inflamed. This infection, called peritonitis, is one of the most serious diseases and can lead to death. I feel it was by God’s grace and eating a primarily macrobiotic diet that, after my appendix burst, my body was able to form an abscess around the infected matter just as a healthy body should do.

These are the symptoms of appendicitis as described in TCMG:

“Typically, at the beginning, there may be pain in the umbilical or naval area of the abdomen. Loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting may follow. Although constipation is usual, about 10 percent of patients have diarrhea instead. After several hours, the pain usually shifts to the lower right abdomen over the appendix, is continuous, and may be dull or severe. Usually the pain is sharpened by movement, coughing or sneezing. There may be mild fever (up to 102 degrees) in adults, sometimes high fever in children. Because the tip of the appendix in some cases may be located other than where it is expected to be...symptoms may vary.”

The only symptoms I had were generalized severe pain in the lower abdomen and a fever. The pain did not begin to localize until after my appendix burst. If I had read the warning about abdominal pain lasting for more than three or four hours, I would have gone to a doctor soon after the pain started. An operation over a week earlier would have saved me much pain and removed the entire appendix before it burst–and it would not have been necessary to remove my fallopian tube.

If you have such pain in the abdominal area for more than a few hours, TCMG says that you should do the following: (1) See your doctor immediately or go to a hospital emergency room. (2) Remain as quiet as possible. (3) Take NOTHING by mouth. (4) Especially avoid taking a laxative or an enema because they increase action in the intestines and may also increase the pressure within the appendix sac causing it to burst and increasing the chance of dying. (5) Do not use a hot-water bottle. If the pain becomes very severe, an ice pack may be used.

After all that I went through, follow-up X rays showed that a stub of my appendix is still left! Fortunately, it is a very small stub and will pose no problem. Still, you can be sure I will not fail to chew food well in order to make sure I never go through such an experience again!

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