My dear friend,
When I last expounded upon the details of my gastrointestinal issues in one of my previous posts (titled, “Spilling my Guts”), I was only able to tell you half of the story. Now I would like to take the opportunity to tell you the other half of the story, and to introduce the plan that God has for my deliverance from this affliction.
In the post, Spilling my Guts, I explained how the doctors that I had seen over the years were limited by their own system of pathophysiology (or pathology, take your pick), and how that became the primary obstacle preventing them from properly diagnosing my issue. Furthermore, I explained how I was blessed by God to meet a doctor that could help me, the late Dr. Vincent Marinkovich. Dr. Marinkovich was able to properly diagnose the problem, but then he died before I could be appropriately treated for my illness.
Nonetheless, God was faithful in leading me to finding a solution for the original problem that I had, which was Candidiasis (aka overgrowth of Candida albicans). However, this was a process that took a few more years. During that time of self-treatment, I was able to get rid of the Candidiasis, but there was a different fungus that moved in and took up residence in place of the Candida albicans. I do not have any clear notion of when this happened. For a number of years, I thought that I was still fighting the Candida albicans, when in reality I was fighting this new fungus, Geotrichum candidum.
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Interestingly, many of the same treatments that are effective against Candidiasis are also effective against Geotrichosis. In my situation, the Geotrichum candidum took up residence in a different area of the intestines than where the Candida albicans had established itself. The Candida albicans was in my small intestines, whereas the Geotrichum candidum prefers the more acidic environment of the large intestines. Moreover, the pesky stuff decided to root itself in two different areas of my large intestines: in the cecum and in the descending colon.
The cecum is the portion of the large intestines that joins to the small intestines. It is also where the appendix is located. A few years ago, I had a few endoscopies performed where the doctors were able to scope these two sites within the intestines and confirm that there were lesions in these locations. During one of the operations, they took samples for a biopsy. However, the pathologist did not bother to test these samples for Candida or for Geotrichum, even after I had asked them specifically to look for signs of fungal infection! Another incident where the medical organization’s self-imposed limitations prevented them from properly diagnosing the real issue.
Fortunately, in 2019, I found a laboratory in New Jersey that offers a Candida stool sample test to the general public. That was the first time that I had ever seen anything like that, so I sent off for the test kit and received my test results several weeks later. To my great surprise, it came back negative. I was very perplexed. At the time, I was completely inundated with work, and I did not have the liberty to look into the matter any further. Then at the beginning of 2020, I wrote an email to the laboratory and asked them if they had checked for all the common species of Candida.
You see, about three years ago, I had begun to suspect that there may have been a different species of Candida that had taken over the colonies of Candida albicans. I had read several case studies where this had happened to the subject. The patient would start out being infected with Candida albicans, and then they would get infected with a more dangerous species of Candida, such as Candida glabrata. I surmised that it was vary likely that I also was experiencing a similar fate. I had been administering many different Candida treatment protocols for years, and none of them were effective enough to completely cure me. They were only effective enough to keep me alive and employed.
The laboratory responded and confirmed that they had check for these other species of Candida. I was beside myself! I did not know what to think. I went back and looked at the report that they had sent to me more carefully, and I was reminded that they had found that I had high levels of Geotrichum candidum. (When I first received the report, I did a brief amount of research to try to determine what Geotrichum candidum was and what it meant to my health. What I found did not seem very alarming, so I looked no further. Big mistake!)
It turns out that Geotrichum candidum is used commonly in the food industry to improve the aesthetics of certain foods. In my personal opinion, these food manufactures have absolutely no business using Geotrichum candidum for this purpose. I honestly do not understand how they get away with it. It is definitely not as safe as they purport it to be. Once I learned how dangerous it really is, I was able to find quite a number of case studies where Geotrichum candidum was the cause of serious illness and ultimately death in some cases. Therefore, I wrote the laboratory again with further questions about the Geotrichum candidum, and they also confirmed my own findings. Finally, it all made sense!
Immediately, I modified all of my treatment protocols to target Geotrichum candidum instead of Candida, and I experienced a significant improvement in my symptoms within a few days. However, the changes in my treatments were still not enough to completely overcome the disease. It was soon clear to me that there was some other complexity to my specific situation that was preventing me from a full recovery. I had begun to suspect that the fungal infection that I had must have taken up residence inside my appendix. When the doctors had performed the endoscopies before, they were not able to look inside the appendix with their scope; however, they found that there were lesions all around the orifice of the appendix, which would suggest the possibility that the infection had also migrated up into the appendix itself.
The theory of an infection of the appendix can be further substantiated by the pain and sensations that I experience during some of my anti-fugal treatments. There are certain liquid treatments that I must work up from my sigmoid colon all the way to the cecum. It is a tricky maneuver to pull off this stunt. It requires a moment of suspending my torso in an upside-down position. When I am orientating my body into the final position, I begin to experience significant pain, as I feel the liquid drain down into what could only be my appendix. There is no other way to explain the chain of events. I have repeatedly this maneuver several hundred times, and it does the same thing every time.
Shortly after my series of endoscopies, I thought my gastroenterologist was going to refer me for an appendectomy, but then for some reason she relented, despite my urging. I am not quite sure that it would have worked out too well if she had done so. She would have made the orders without a full understanding of what was going on with me. Such a scenario could have easily led to unforeseen circumstances. As I stated before, twenty years of medical consultation by several highly regarded doctors could not help me. They were unable to provide a solution. Hence, I had to continue to contend with the problem alone.
Yet, as I stated before, I have not been alone. God has been guiding me all along the way, and He continues to provide a way for me, His way. And what is His way?
It is to trust in Him. Jesus Christ is the great physician. He is the only one that can provide true and lasting deliverance. So what is His prescription for me? What do I need to do in order for God to cure me of this affliction?
He wants me to eat the Word of God and nothing else. Yes, that is right! A fast from worldly meat, a fast from the bread of man, a fast from carnal (unspiritual/worldly) food.
“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
Luke 4:4 KJV
“And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.”
Exodus 34:28 KJV
“3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments”
Daniel 9:3-4 KJV
You may ask, “What does that mean, to eat the Word of God and nothing else?” It is a good question, but one that I must answer next time. It is a little too much for now.
Nonetheless, I can tell you now that when we abstain from the pleasures and meats of the world, we show to the Lord that we truly do love Him, but only when it is genuine. If we fast in a false piety to gain attention of others, God will not accept it. Yet, when we fast in true faith unto the Lord, He will reward us.
More importantly, this fast is not merely for my benefit. It is for you my dear friend. It is not just a fast, but a time of fasting and prayer, prayer for you.
I am praying that you will see that Jesus is the bread of eternal life.
He is the living water.
Love Always,
Dale 😊
This is part 2 of a 2 part story. For part 1 of this story, “Spilling my Guts.”
Your comments and questions are welcome, even the critical ones. You can submit comments without specifying an email address (despite the fact that it indicates that an email is required). If you do, I ask that you use a fairly anonymous (benign) username. However, if there is something amiss with your anonymously submitted comment, I will not have any way of telling you what is wrong.
