January 2016 A Second Chance . . . Why CHIPSA?

As always, the following is written by Caroline Luelf.

WHY CHIPSA? . . .  because we got a second chance.

CHIPSA didn’t cure Ryan, but they gave Ryan a second chance at life. A second chance at fighting the battle against cancer.

Last year during December 2015, January and February 2016 it was hard to blog. It was hard to post. So today I am thankful I can write about what went on those few months. I am thankful Ryan was given a second chance at life. Below is a part of our story that I am thankful to write about.

To understand January, one must first understand December. And, then one must understand November. And, then one must understand October and the original diagnosis and findings.

Hopefully, our readers will take the time to read some of the various blogposts from October and November 2015. I wrote a LOT during those months (Hope, Day One,  Day 2, Day 3, Day 7 and Peace are just a few detailing our journey.) Below is a recap of November/December leading into January. While I usually enjoy writing out the story, for the sake of length I will try my best to bullet point the story line.

NOVEMBER 2015
Dune buggy accident: TDAP vaccine at local urgent care = mistake.
Went to CHIPSA hospital in Mexico. (See blogposts links above and for more details)
Root Canal, Mercury filling and wisdom teeth removed: We believe removing the wisdom teeth was an error as it caused the surgery and recovery to be exponentially much longer. It was too much for Ryan’s body. A CHIPSA administrator had advised Ryan not to do wisdom teeth removal. Hindsight is 20/20.
Tattoo in Mexico: I (Caroline) think this was another mistake as studies have shown ink toxicity can cause liver issues.

DECEMBER 2015
Ryan left CHIPSA and was unable to handle the food addiction at home. (He has been open about this subject as it was a very hard transition for him.)
This is a highly argumentative month in “what went wrong” and why Ryan landed in the hospital and ER visits during many days of the month.
CT Scan showed no real changes in tumor sizes (more were smaller, some stayed the same, but a few were larger, but not enough to say the cancer advanced). As we already know and proven later in June and December 2016, a CT scan will not reveal malignancy, only size of tumors/lymph nodes.
The CT scan confirmed the liver had now enlarged (ultrasound showed almost 20cm).
Ascites (fluid in abdomen) and Pleural Effusions (fluid in the lungs) became a big issue in December.
At this time the oncologist gave Ryan 2-3 months to live if intervention did not happen thru a chemotherapy/immunotherapy cocktail. He also said Ryan had increased risk for tumor lysis syndrome.
Some doctors believe Ryan’s liver could not keep up with the massive amount of detox Ryan was going thru and then adding toxic elements thru the DTAP vaccine, the tattoo and maybe even the mercury filling that was removed was the real reason fluid issues became such an issue.
Some doctors say it was an advancement of cancer.
Maybe it was a combination. We will never really know what and why it happened. It is all educated guesses.
Right before Christmas, a PleurX catheter was surgically installed into Ryan’s right lung to be able to drain his right lung daily.

On December 30th, at a local ER, Ryan was put on a BPAP machine and I had conversations with the ER doctors about ventilators, ICU and medical directives. Hospice was mentioned. Needless to say, it was one of the hardest moments of my life. The next day a port was surgically installed and a blood transfusion given at the local hospital.

JANUARY 2016
I needed help. Ryan needed 24/7 care.
We returned to CHIPSA.

Ryan started Vitamin C IVs, B-17 with B vitamin complex thru IV, Poly MVA via IV, Sodium Bicarbonate via IV and PNC-27 via IV. The IVs were administered 5 days on, 2 days off. Within the first few days into the hospital stay Ryan started TPN (nutrition via an IV bag). Glutathione pushes via the IV and albumin via IV were added to the mix. He was on oxygen almost 24/7. (Please note: PNC-27 is NOT offered thru CHIPSA. The hospital allowed a one time exception for the PNC-27 and a doctor was allowed in to administer and oversee the drug and its effect.)

Within the first week I was speaking with an administrator because we didn’t know if Ryan was going to make it back home alive. It was evident by the faces of the hospital staff that we were at a serious level. (It still awes me how Ryan was always smiling even though inwardly he was in so much pain. The importance of attitude is monumental.)

Ryan’s right lung was drained daily thru the catheter, the left lung was drained several times a week by the hospital’s surgeon and the abdomen was drained every few days. Draining his abdomen was a delicate mix because of the sudden changes in the fluid level of his body which could cause other issues.

Supplements:
He was mainly on The Gerson protocol supplements such as Niacin, Proteolytic Enzymes, Co-Q10, Milk Thistle, Selenium, Methylated B-12, Potassium drops, Lugol’s Iodine drops, Acidoll (HCL + Pepsin),  Pancreatin (Pancreatic Enzymes, also known as Proteolytic Enzymes), and CoQ10.
Ryan was also on turmeric, omega 3s, vitamin D3 + K2, and Beta Glucan.
Taking supplements at times was hard because he either didn’t have the energy or the space to take them.

Diet:
Ryan attempted to drink as many juices as he could and was unable to eat much due to the ascites. He basically didn’t eat any food except for right after having his abdomen drained of the ascites. That was the only time he had the room to even eat.

Enemas gave temporary pain relief. (here is the link for the enema kit and the castor oil packs kit)

Even though he was exhausted, sleeping was hard because of the breathing issues caused by fluid issues.

I had essential oils diffusing in the hospital room 24/7 and all over his skin, especially the liver area.

Labs were out of whack but the lymphocytes and the immune system seem to be responding, per blood tests.

The liver levels had corresponding labs showing many things showed liver issues.

Hemoglobin was a roller coaster, partly due to the fluid issues.
EPO (Erythropoietin) shots and a blood transfusion were administered after weeks of trying to elevate the blood levels (we were trying to avoid another transfusion).

Ryan was an emotional and physical roller coaster. At about 5 days into the CHIPSA hospital stay, Ryan looked at me and said, “I don’t know if I can keep going.”

Words you NEVER want to hear.  Words that will send anyone to the oblivion of fear because death may happen.

BUT SOMEHOW HE KEPT GOING.

Somehow, he was able to realign his thinking and fought.

24 days after arriving in Tijuana, Ryan took his very first walk outside the hospital. He walked unassisted without a wheelchair and without oxygen. He smiled. We took a picture. We celebrated. We knew we had another fighting chance.

After 5 weeks of intensive care we left CHIPSA with the hope that Ryan could overcome the death sentence he was given.

CHIPSA didn’t cure Ryan, but they gave Ryan a second chance at life. A second chance at fighting the battle against cancer.

We still had a long road ahead. We still had many decisions to make. We still faced issues. We still made many mistakes. We still did not quite comprehend what it took to heal the body, not just kill cancer cells. We still failed to fully understand what helped Ryan’s body rebound in January. We embarked on a journey of healing.

After leaving CHIPSA, Ryan enjoyed weeks of no fluid issues. Ryan enjoyed a flattening belly in February. Unfortunately, we made more mistakes and did not stay on track with the protocol. Hindsight, I believe that if we had stayed on the protocol of Vitamin C, B-17, Poly MVA and Sodium Bicarbonate Ryan would have likely never needed conventional immunotherapy. With the combination of these therapies along with the progression of a high raw, high vegan diet it may have been enough. Even though I did not understand it well enough at the time, some of the supplements Ryan was taking were also addressing micronutrient deficiencies.  If Ryan would have been able to see what was right in front of us he wouldn’t have stopped so many of the supplements and treatments in February. The RGCC Test (aka Greece blood test) administered in June confirmed the above therapies show a high potential at causing cancer cell death (these are considered cytotoxic agents). It also confirmed that PNC-27 may not have done much for Ryan. Looking back at Ryan’s micronutrient testing completed October 2015 and again in June 2016 we realize that he had an extensive amount of deficiencies and many of these deficiencies impact the liver in a huge way. When the body doesn’t have what it needs (amino acids, nutrients, minerals, etc) the organs cannot function well.

Looking back throughout our journey there are SO MANY obvious things . . . but they only became glaringly obvious by looking at the past and learning new things every day. I literally learn new things every day in regards to healing and cancer. I still research and we continue to evaluate everything we do. It is still a journey. It will forever be a journey.

(NOTE: Towards the latter part of January Ryan did meet with an oncologist in San Diego. This oncologist was the first one to say that the immunotherapy drug Rituxan was an option as a standalone agent. However, this oncologist still promoted a full chemotherapy/immunotherapy cocktail. Up until this point we were under the belief that immunotherapy had to be part of a chemo cocktail. Because Ryan was responding so well to the treatments at CHIPSA we did not pursue immunotherapy at that time. The administrators at CHIPSA did speak with me about Rituxan as a possible option for us to look into.)

Live Loved,
Live Free . . . because YOLO!
~Caroline Luelf

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Blog Post Updated on December 3, 2018.