Ozone in Action

Frankie...he sat on my lap for a while today.

Day three is in the books...successful as the last couple.  Although I blazed through treatment quickly today, so Michael and I got to go to lunch at a pho restaurant.  "What's that?!" you ask?  It's a really good type of Vietnamese soup with fresh basil and jalapeno...'nuff said.

So, this post may or may not be too long.  I mostly just wanted to share some fun pictures with you guys and also explain a little more about one of the treatments I'm getting.  This first picture is the aforementioned Frankie, a good, understanding friend to hang out with while hooked up to the IVs.  He's always on the lookout for someone to share food with him, and he was definitely eyeing my trail mix.  I don't think he fully realized what it was, otherwise he may not have been so intrigued.

This next picture is of the IV line coming out of my arm.  The dark liquid in the line is my blood as it's coming out of me and into the IV bag.  This is the first portion of the major autohemotherapy treatment.  What happens here is that they let about 6 ounces of blood out of my arm into an IV bag. 

Dark, pre-ozone blood on its way out.

There are a couple possibilities as to why it looks so dark.  The first is that it's blood that's actually on its way back to my heart, after dumping its oxygen throughout my body's tissues as it's meant to.  Oxygen is what brightens the blood, so when it's on the way back to the heart and lungs to get more, it's darker than it is after it passes through those organs.  The second possibility is that when you're sick, your body does not actually get as much oxygen as it wants, and blood with less oxygen means blood that is dark and not as bright red.  The third, and this intrigues me, is that my blood is fairly dirty.  People who are sick often have much darker blood than healthy people because that blood is carrying around a lot of toxic filth, whether from infections or other toxins.  I think that this definitely is playing a role with me, because this is quite a bit darker than my blood looked on day one.  The reason for that would be that all of this intense treatment is stirring up the toxic sludge in my body and it's more freely floating through my bloodstream right now.

So, after the blood comes out into the IV bag, they take three syringe-fulls of ozone gas and inject them into the IV bag with the blood, mixing it around.  Once the ozone has a chance to mix into the blood, they let it all run back into my body through the same line.

Ozonated blood going back in.

Here's a picture of my blood in the same line, running back into my body with the ozone in it.

It's amazing to me what a different color it is!  They didn't dilute it with anything, add any liquid at all.  The only difference is that the ozone is in there, working on both oxygenating my oxygen-starved cells and also killing infectious organisms and oxidizing (burning up) toxic sludge.  Crazy.

So they let that all run back into me where the ozonated blood can be distributed throughout my body, which then distributes the ready-to-work ozone.

So what is the ozone doing once it's inside?  I've already mentioned a couple times that it will kill harmful anaerobic organisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi...all of which have come up in the course of my treatment.  I've also mentioned that it detoxifies by dissolving and getting ready for elimination both organic toxins (from infections and normal cellular waste) as well as more chemical-like toxins (chemicals, metals, etc.).  One top of those major benefits, it will also support many of my body's normal, good, healing processes.  I've found so much solid research about so many things that ozone does, it's hard to summarize them all...but here are five things that just scratch the surface.  

1. It regulates the immune system, calming down an overactive system, and stimulating and underactive one.
2. It stimulates increased oxygen uptake by our cells from hemoglobin molecules...basically preventing and helping treat cellular oxygen deprivation.
3. Improves circulation by enhancing the bloods ability to flow, which allows for even greater oxygen delivery into the body's tissues and cells.
4. Increases antioxidant protection.
5. Stimulates the mitochondria, or energy factories in our cells.  Decreased cellular energy is a major underlying cause of disease. 

Interesting...to me anyway.  I won't bore you with more science details, but just know that they're out there.  If you're interested, I'm posting a link on the right to a ton of peer-reviewed research.  Boring I know, but some may find it interesting.  The science is compelling, and I'm very thankful to be here.

However, at the end of the day, the Lord is our healer.  My healing is in his hands and whether he uses ozone and diet and lifestyle or a miracle, or a combination of all the above...it's all from him.  Corrie and I never want to put our faith in a doctor or a therapy or anything other than Jesus.  HE alone is Jehovah Rapha.

After 2 Days...

So here we are, Tuesday night, two days in to this incredible adventure, and I'm still having to remind myself to trust God with each step.  To be honest, I woke up at 5:45 on Monday morning totally unable to go back to sleep because my mind was racing.  I kept thinking, "What if I show up and they're like...Uhhhh what are you doing here?"  I kept saying to myself, "You're really going to walk in there with no plan, no proof that YOU of all the sick people out there are the chosen 'special treatment' one."

Thoughts like this kept coming at me, trying to let fear take over, until I finally realized, "Yes.  Yes I am going to walk in there with no plan other than trusting God, that this whole thing is actually real."  Granted, I had the Doctor's personal vote of approval, but what if he forgot?  What if he changed his mind?  What if he really didn't expect me to take him up on it?

But that's the beauty of walking in a path laid out by the Lord and of having the assurance of that through the witness of his Spirit.  All the what if's don't really matter.  Romans 8:33 comes to mind:

Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies.

But those fears, those attacking thoughts have all been silenced.  From the moment I walked in the clinic on Monday, I knew this was right.  They actually said, "Hi Matt," as if they really WERE expecting me...as if they KNEW me.  Then I almost immediately went in to see the doctor who examined me, looked at my blood in a dark field microscope, and set up a plan for the coming weeks including medication/supplements and the "big gun" clinic treatments.  Not only that, but he gave me a couple ozone knee injections right off the bat.

As I was sitting on his table, I said, "I can't tell you enough how thankful my wife and I are that I am here."  And his reply was simple: "Hopefully you'll be more thankful by the time we're done."

 From there I went to a far back room, by myself, because the IV room was already full.  But soon a little older hobbling lady came in with a fire in her eyes and introducing herself as Linda.  She said that she also has Lyme and that the doctor had sent her back to pray with me.  Come to find out she actually goes to the doctor's church and loves teaching (used to teach at their church's school), loves the Book of Matthew movies with the really down to earth Jesus, etc.

When she first started coming to the clinic, one of the nurse's kids asked, "Dad, is that lady gonna die?"  She could barely walk/move (sounds like places I've been), but now she's functioning and getting her life back.

And then, in came Frankie, the doctor's little dachshund, honorary member of the nursing staff.  Apparently he roams freely around the office checking on patients as he pleases.  I was hoping to get a picture of him today, but he wasn't there...sadly.

The rest of the day consisted of a series of treatments: IV antibiotics, Major Autohemotherapy, Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequency Therapy, Ozone Insufflation, and STEM Muscle therapy.  Today was pretty much the same, minus the Pulsed Frequency one, and with the addition of an ozone sauna session. 

As if the welcome, the doctor's compassion, the little old lady being sent to pray with me, the dog all weren't enough to let me know that God is in this, I was pretty stunned by one of the other doctors.  He was taking me to administer the autohemotherapy (which is drawing several ounces of blood, injecting it with ozone, and reintroducing it into the body) when he saw that the IV room was full again.  But he was excited about that and told me, "Good, I can take you back to the back room without all the other distractions and I can ask you more questions."  This isn't a nurse, this is another doctor wanting to pursue time with me to figure out my case.  So he brought in my chart and we had basically an unscheduled office visit as he interviewed me about my health.

The sense I get is that these doctors really WANT me to be healed.  They're going out of their way to make it happen.  I am so thankful to have this new team of people fighting for me, with me.

How am I feeling after two days of this?  Honestly it's too soon to put too much stock in feeling better or worse.  Nevertheless I am feeling better now than I was when we started, no denying it.  When I was done yesterday, I was surprised at how easily I was able to walk down to the beach up at Tahoe.  It's been a couple months since I've been able to walk uneven terrain that quickly.  Also, I didn't have any night sweats last night.  That's been rare lately.  So, small but good things.

I'll go into more detail about what the treatments actually are as the next couple of days unfold.  As we keep going forward, could you keep praying?
1) For our family as we're separated from each other.  It was already a busy time for us with VBS on the horizon, and with me being gone, it's even busier.
2) Honestly, I have the easy end of the deal.  Corrie is keeping a lot of plates spinning back home and doing awesome with them, not to mention going solo with Rebecca for a few days.  Please pray for her that God will meet her with more than she needs.
3) Please pray for Rebecca, that she won't miss Daddy too much and that she will be able to understand that it's actually good that Daddy's gone right now.
4) Please pray that they have a safe drive at the end of this week when they come to be with me.
5) And also, please pray that deep healing takes place in my body over the next couple weeks.  That this would be a turning point for me.  That my gait would normalize.  That I would stand straighter.  That my joints would recover.  That my weight would increase.  That my pain would go.
6) Lastly, please pray that somehow, our little family with our little story will be a blessing to the doctors, staff, and patients here.  We hope that the fact that they blessed us by making a way for us to be here would actually turn around and bless them.

Thank you all for being with us.  We KNOW that you are.  You've made it very clear.  Thank you.

God is Moving Mountains!

"Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you." Isaiah 42:9

 As I read through Pride and Prejudice for probably the 5^th time, I am reminded how much I love a good story. One thing I have asked of the Lord in these last few years is that He give us stories to tell. Stories that show that He is here. Now. Contending for us. I want to be able to tell stories that give people hope. The Bible is full of miraculous events, and we have the same God now. He doesn’t change. It is so encouraging and faith building to hear about things that are happening now, and to be reminded that God isn’t finished with the miraculous.

 Last fall Matt and I went to Carson City, Nevada to see a world renowned and highly successful doctor. Matt had been reading his research, and, in reading other research, kept coming across his name quoted by other doctors. We went with the hope of seeing this doctor more than once, but travelling that far is expensive, not to mention the cost of the actual treatments.

 I remember thinking “What’s going on here, God? This seems like a great treatment, why aren’t you making a way for this to happen?” Unintentionally, we may have been pushing for it in our own strength a bit, knowing that it is good treatment and trying to work out the kinks ourselves. Our efforts were probably commendable, but in the end the answer was an unavoidable “not now”. So we decided to wait and try our best to be faithful and keep pressing on into healing.

Insert tumultuous and full winter here (remember the whole pneumonia thing?)

Then, Matt and I were stoked to be able to purchase an at-home Ozone generator a few months ago. He contacted our doctor in Nevada to set up a phone consult and just get his opinion on how best to use the machine for his current state etc. After all, this is one of the doctors who has really pioneered Ozone therapy...might as well try to get his input.

After a couple phone chats, and some more blood work, our Doc called Matt to say that he considered Matt's case to be….well…urgent. In his opinion, our at home efforts weren’t going to be as successful as they could because Matt's body is backed up with toxic inflammation like the 405 on a Friday evening. He said that Matt could benefit from more intensive treatment. To the tune of a 3 week stay in Carson City, going to the clinic Monday through Thursday, all day. Ozone Sauna treatments, ozone injections, Ozone IV…and something cool called Irradiation. It’s something to do with taking some blood out, exposing it to ozone and UV (the good kind) and then putting it back in.

 So then the million dollar question was how much will this cost? While he had been very kind and generous to us in September, drastically reducing the cost of the treatments we received, nothing had prepared us for his response.

The doctor answered saying that the Lord has been good to him, and he knows it is good for him to give. So he did not want cost to enter into Matt's thinking at all, but rather to just come, and pay what we can. He said he knows that we could use this, and he didn’t want money to keep it from happening for Matt.

 Brains blown. Having done the research, if Matt could have his pick of all the treatments out there, this would be the one he would choose.

 And then, pieces of the puzzle just kept fitting: A family in Carson City who we had met last time offered for us to stay there as long as we need, another friend generously paid for the gas to get up there, and (since this week is already booked tight for me) a third friend dropped everything he was doing this week to drive Matt to Carson and stay with him.

--That was Corrie writing on Sunday the 19th...the next section is Matt, at the end of Monday the 20th.-- 

Hi everyone!  So that story that you just read from Corrie is how I ended up where I am tonight, in bed, in Carson City, updating our blog after day one of intense treatment.  This has all happened so fast, it's hard to imagine that I'm up here right now.  Just yesterday I was driving home from a wedding in Three Rivers with Corrie and Rebecca!

The experience so far has been fantastic, thanks in large part to our new friends who have so graciously opened their home to us.  I nearly cried when the doctor offered his treatment to me, and I've gotten choked up a couple times since then thanks to the unquestioning generosity of our friends here in Carson City.  Their home is so peaceful and a perfect place to come back to after a long day of treatment.  It's just as much a gift from God as any other piece of this adventure so far.  

But since it is getting late...I will save the details of my time at the clinic for tomorrow.  I would, however, like to add something.  At the beginning of this post, Corrie included the verse from Isaiah 42 that talks about the Lord telling us of new things coming before they even come to pass.  Back in September, when we first visited the clinic for some ozone joint injections, I sensed as clear as I've ever sensed the Lord's voice that he was telling me, "I am making a way for you here.  I am giving you favor here."  At the time, I had no idea how huge that would be.  I could never have guessed that this would happen...hope yes...guess, no.


Then around the time of my first phone appointment in the last month, the Lord said the same thing again, "I am making a way for you here.  I am giving you favor here."  To me, these small whispers of the Holy Spirit are almost even more testimony that this is an opportunity from the Lord.  The fact that he spoke to us in that way shows me that this is more than a benevolent man with compassion for a sick 26-year-old.  This is a benevolent man with compassion spurred by the nudging of the Spirit.  What that means for how successful this treatment will be, I don't know.  I have high hopes indeed.  But whatever the result, Corrie and I are seeing, yet again, how REAL our God is.


He speaks to us.  He speaks through his word, but he also speaks through his Spirit, specifically, where we are, now.  And that shows me that he's not done here.  He hasn't stopped pursuing my healing.  He wants to do something with all of this.  And Corrie and I are thankful that he lets us in on his plans from time to time.