First, the day after my birthday, I was diagnosed with pleurisy.
What is pleurisy? (From WebMD)
Pleurisy is swelling (inflammation) of the thin layers of tissue (pleura) covering the lungs and the chest wall.What causes pleurisy?
In young, healthy people an infection of the lower respiratory system
by a virus or bacteria may cause pleurisy. Pleurisy usually lasts a few days to 2 weeks. In very rare cases, the virus or bacteria may spread and cause pleurisy in others.Okay, so on Feb. 28, I developed a sinus infection, which then spread to my respiratory system, which then led to pleurisy. What also happened on March 12 what that my doctor sent me to the ER because I had classic heart attack symptoms (I since learned that pleurisy and heart attack symptoms are similar).
I then experienced my first ever, in life, overnight stay in a hospital. (I delivered my children in a birth center with midwives.) It was not pleasant. I was on the cardiac wing and truly overwhelmed by everything. I could give you all the blow-by-blow, but in short, it was lots of meds, the roommate from hell (think George Constanza's mother from Seinfeld - I do a great imitation), no sleep, stress tests, CAT scans, heavy food, constipation for 2 weeks, 2 different docs, 3 nurses, and a whirlwind of blood work that left both of my arms bruised).
I was sick for a total of 5 weeks.
I had my wake-up call from the Universe.
You'd think I'd stick with raw food, but that's not what I got from it.
What had really been happening with me and raw was that I had lots of trouble sticking to it. When I fell off, I felt guilty about it. Then I'd eat whatever was in front of me. And the stress of figuring out what to eat was, in my opinion, unhealthy. Plus I felt like I was letting you all down because I wasn't blogging at all.
What was more important than raw was to develop a healthy relationship with food.
The other thing was that my metabolism has clearly slowed down. I'm 10 lbs heavier than I was this time last year. I also have the stress of my children's disabilities. Clearly, life needed to change.
I also wanted to be able to share my baked goods with you all (gluten-free, of course. White and wheat flour is a scourge for me and my children.) Although I need to lay of that as well, I just felt like I was cooking and couldn't share that on the blog. I want to live in alignment with my values. There's no point in having a raw vegan blog if its author is not a raw vegan.
But I am vegan, and that is what I'm choosing to share with you all now.
I still believe in the power of raw food. Those recipes will still be here. But also whole foods, vegan and gluten-free. I've made so many things since I made the switch, and I look forward to sharing them will you all.
If anyone chooses to unsubscribe, I understand. Thank you for coming this far with me.
Love,
Althea
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