Fields of Athenry Farm

From Sickness to Health: How We Healed Our family. Many of you have asked could I help explain to a loved one about this whole notion of eating meats and protein rich, nutrient dense foods. Maybe some in a family have allergies, obesity, depression, alcoholism, eating disorders, ADHD or autism. Maybe some have revulsion to eating meat, are vegetarian, or suffer from cancer, diabetes or infertility … the list goes on. When the movie “Food Inc.” came out, it created a heightened awareness of how or how not to farm, and what or what not to eat. My husband and I have five gorgeous daughters ages 25 to, each of whom we love very much, each one special and different. In 2003 our second youngest, then 7 years old, started gaining weight in her face and abdomen. It seemed to come and go, and at first I thought maybe it's just a growth stage and dismissed it. Then her face started flushing, and then came the pain in her feet, legs, joints, and then the headaches. She was in second grade. Played little league sports like every normal kid and ran up and down our long farm drive training her sheep and riding her pony. With hindsight I am now able to give you a quick picture. My family history: Generations of Olympic Swimmers and many generations of incredible cooks in the kitchen. Tall, lean and mean athletes, every one of us. Always balanced meals and home cookin!We also have a family history of Pituitary Tumors, Thyroid Disease and Carcinoid Cancer. My mother was given a drug called Diethylstilbestrol (DES) while she was pregnant with most of us. Back in the day, the medical world thought this would help prevent premature labor. But it created a host of serious health issues that would show up later in our lives – a lot later, such as in adulthood and in our own children. Yes, it would creep insidiously into our own children and who knows yet about theirs? These health issues are categorized under something called MEN1. (I beg here ... all parents do not allow your daughters to be given the Gardasil Shot! Watch vaccinations, research and learn -www.westonaprice.org). In spite of my family's health history, the clinical doctors over and over told me that my daughter's issues were from a lack of diet and exercise. My mental response was, "you're talking to the queen of diet and my family definitely knows exercise!" (These doctors included pediatricians, endocrinologists, Cushing Disease specialists from National Institute of Health and more!) Why did they dismiss us? Because their clinical tests could not verify through X-Rays or MRI's what the urine and blood analysis showed – that our daughter’s cortisol levels were off the charts along with other hormones, etc. – and I must be giving her something that had artificial hormones in it! ERRRRRR. (Only one doctor – who was our family’s retired endocrinologist back in Arizona wrote on our daughter’s behalf saying he was convinced she had Cushing's – but because he was retired and a clinical test did not show anything – he was dismissed also!). Cushing's disease is notorious for being intermittent and extremely difficult to catch clinically. Typically, it is not diagnosed until your late twenties or early thirties. We won't even discuss here the damage a person deals with by the time they are clinically diagnosed. She had all the classic outward, bodily signs. You could look at her body and know she had Cushing's disease. This took place over seven years of begging doctors to listen to me. Mother knows best!In October of 2008, Bernadette had a tumor removed from her brain, a four-hour surgery. This tumor produced 758 milligrams of cortisol (steroid) in her body per day. You and I produce 18–20 milligrams a day. When the tumor was removed she had no cortisol production, and it had shut down her pituitary and adrenal glands. Body lesson: We have three major glands - the engines of our bodies: 1st, the President – our Pituitary Gland (located behind the bridge of your nose straight into brain; 2nd,