Our Founder shares his story with Covid-19
I learned a critical lesson in the last several weeks: I am not Superman.
I had just completed a full physical and passed everything with flying colors. I live a healthy life. I eat very well. I drink a glass of wine only on occasion and I exercise almost every day. I take numerous supplements. And yet, I still got knocked down by SARS CoV2 and developed Covid-19. People have questioned the efficacy of taking supplements because I got ill. I will address this below.
The only thing that might have been risk factor would be the Cortisone inhaler my doctor insisted I take the week before I contracted the virus, which may have left an open door for the Beast to enter my system.
This virus is aggressive. It is sneaky and it has a mission to infect us all, whether we have a strong immune system or not. It can be brutal. Rest assured, I have now tested for a high level of IgG antibodies, which hopefully means I have developed some immunity, but the scientific community has yet to confirm that.
My daughter and my girlfriend also tested positive for CoV2. They had a much easier journey through the illness; my daughter exhibiting only the mildest of symptoms and my girlfriend experiencing what could be described as a very bad cold.
I “won” the Jackpot. Some might argue that I should have gone to the hospital (and some did). Eighteen days of fever, five of which were at 103.6 completely depleted my energy. I believe that getting through this without requiring hospitalization came down to three things:
- I was in good health before I got sick.
- Mental strength. This virus not only attacks physically; it requires mental fortitude to wrestle with it.
- Taking supplements daily that I know gave my immune system the ammunition it needed to fight this battle. Supplements will not necessarily prevent you from contracting an illness. I believe they will help you win the fight.
“This isn’t so bad.”
The first few days were deceptive. A few aches and pains, lots of coughing and an overall sense of “uneasiness” that is difficult to explain. Then, the fever started, ramping up the aches and pains. The coughing got worse, even productive at times. The discomfort became constant which also was mentally draining.
Then, the virus revealed its true power when it kicked up my fever to 103.6 for 5 full days. Breathing became a constant, difficult chore. There was a lot of wheezing and a sense of struggling to catch my breath. My oxygen levels were dropping (luckily, I was able to measure it at home through a purchased pulse oximeter that was difficult to find since everyone was sold out) to levels that certainly would have warranted a trip to the hospital, but I was determined not to go.
The few people who saw me (at a respectable distance) were panicked at the sight of my gray pallor skin. I was relieved to have one of my daughters with me, and another close by. I was afraid at times that this illness was not going to end well. I can’t even tell you where my mind was when I was going through the worst of it.
I experienced profuse sweating, having to change my tee shirt 3 times a night. When I pushed myself to try to help prepare a meal in the kitchen, 15 minutes of effort would cost me at least an hour of sleeping to make up for the effort expended.
I suspect that the cortisone inhaler I used helped the virus get into my cells very quickly. Cortisone enhances the development of ACE2 receptors on cells which is like creating docking stations for the virus to easily attach. This caused me to have an exceptionally strong “cytokine storm”. These storms are what cause distressing symptoms but also helped me win the battle over the virus.
Eventually, the fever became manageable again. My energy began to return, in fits and starts. One by one, the symptoms started getting better and my hopes for a full recovery returned.
I am now almost four weeks without a fever. I have more energy every day, but I still often have to take a nap in the afternoon. I started running again and can now run a mile with a pulse rate of 104 (it was 135 the first time I tried to run). Those single mile runs feel like a major accomplishment, despite being a fraction of the previous 5-6 mile runs I used to do regularly.
How did I manage to pull through without hospitalization? Most importantly was all of the moral support I received. The love of family and friends clearly had a positive impact on my mental well-being and gave me strength to keep fighting. I’m not sure how well I would have done without that foundation of love and support. I’m so grateful to everyone, but especially Emma, Patty and Julia.
Laughing was a great help and often relieved the sense of panic. Meditation helped me maintain a sense of peace through the rough parts of the storm. I had to learn to surrender to the exhaustion and understand that sleep is one of the biggest ways to let our bodies heal.
The most important thing was mental fortitude. The day I decided that I was going to get over this no matter what, is the day I finally started taking a turn for the better. Mentally convincing myself that I was going to get better was important, but not enough on its own.
If I had not already been practicing healthy eating habits and meticulously supplementing all the potential deficiencies in micro-nutrients we all experience, there is no way I could have avoided the hospital.
Lessons learned
I used to believe that sleep was highly over-rated. I have learned that proper sleep is an important foundational building block to good health and a strong immune system.
Surrounding yourself with a network of people who are positive and encourage us to do the right things to take care of ourselves and empower us is invaluable. I am fortunate to have several health specialists on the PhytoQuant team who have provided me with expert advice on how to build my immune system. They continue to support and teach me. In the coming weeks and months, I will provide more details on the many things I have learned and share it all with you.
Our cells know what to do, dealing with potential invaders in our body before disease steps in, if we provide them with the right framework of support to function effectively. We can use micronutrients to nourish our cells and create the right energy within our bodies so that our immune system is strong. This is a belief I held before I started this business and I am more confident now that it is the key to our health.
I would be remiss if I did not tell you that the reason I chose to represent PhytoQuant in the U.S. is because I know the positive intention that is behind every product they make. They care about the purity, are respectful of the detailed aspects of every plant, utilize extraction processes that ensure that the full energy of the plant is present in the resulting supplements we take. I understand the importance of those details now more than ever.
I am not alone in living through this virus. To date, there are over four million people who have been infected and the number is rising every day. Without a vaccine, it is possible that over 70% of the world’s population will experience the virus. Mine is not a unique story.
I am still practicing social distancing and taking precautions despite having IgG antibodies. We must all continue to take care to ensure that we don’t infect each other. We need to continue to analyze the science as more and more data is gathered. In addition to doing all we can to build our immune systems, the only defense we currently have is face masks, social distance and very clean hands.
This disease is only one of perhaps many that could affect us in the future. Rather than being fearful of that, I know NOW is the best time for us to take control of our health, learn to eat properly and work with a practitioner to understand how to use supplements to address deficiencies in our micro-nutrients so that we have strong immune systems that will allow our bodies to do the work they were meant to do.
Please feel free to reach out to me or any of my team if we can help you in any way. We’re here for you because we care.
info@steinerlabs.org
540-592-3365
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In case you missed it, check out Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV in our series on Gut Health and Immunity.
Are you a Health Professional interested in learning more about our products and how we can work together? Please contact us at holli@steinerlabs.org
