Читать книгу Anti-Aging Therapeutics Volume XVI - A4M American Academy - Страница 15

I was a sick little girl who grew up with a lot of trauma and drama. It was like there was a tiger hiding around every corner, and you never knew when something bad was going to jump up and bite you. I still remember the day that my uncle was murdered – I was 4-years-old, and I saw my mother and my grandmother fall to the floor sobbing in grief. I used to sooth my anxiety when I was young with my best friend, sugary food. The poor quality food and the chronic stress in my home attacked my immune system. I was sick a lot and I became a frequent flyer at the local hospital.

A few years later my grandmother came to live with us. She had diabetes. She and I shared the same diet. We both loved sugary cereals and we started eating them for dinner as well as breakfast. She used to make the most amazing warm Syrian bread smothered and drowning in honey. By the time I was 11, I was giving my grandmother her insulin shots because my mother had to work 3 jobs so that we could survive. I spent so much time around doctors that I wanted to be one.

When I was 15 I was attacked and dragged down an alley. I was nearly raped, but I fought with the attacker and I got away. I decided there and then that I was never going to be a victim and that is when I learned how to fight for real. But in my early 20s I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer that metastasized and came back 3 times, which is unusual. My cancer completely ruined my plans for medical school and I became so devastated and overwhelmed that I sunk into a deep depression. This time the attacker was inside my own body and I realized that I was fighting with an invisible phantom and I was in for the fight of my life. It was so much harder to fight for my own health, and I was up against a huge adversary.

At one point, I was so sick, that I was on 9 prescriptions and taking medications to manage the side effects of the medications. When I complained, my doctor told me that I was in denial and that maybe I should see a psychiatrist. I did not agree. You have to become a warrior for your own health, so I fought. Now I am in my 40s and I am healthier than I have ever been.