Healing the Brain: A Natural Way by Heidi Hoke.

Have you ever thought that as our physical bodies cry out for healing in times of trauma, illness, and malnutrition that our brain will independently do the same? This is my story of healing a sick and starving brain through natural health intervention, when all other medical options fell short.
At the age of thirteen, I began having seizures approximately once a year, mistaken as anxiety. I had also endured a severe stuttering problem and multiple types of facial, vocal, and body tics as a small child, but no connection of these symptoms was ever made.
As an adult, unable to speak fluently due to my unsuccessful attempt to hide and disguise my tics and stuttering, I experienced an extended period of traumatic stress and personal struggle in both my private and professional life, as my seizures became increasingly frequent and severe, never being properly diagnosed or treated. Additionally, I began to experience constant, chronic pain in my joints and muscles accompanied by severe, painful, open lesions down my arms. I was then diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but the wounds on my arms could not be diagnosed nor successfully treated by neither neurologists nor dermatologists.
In September of 2001, thirty years into my illness, I collapsed at work having twelve tonic-clonic seizures before I arrived at the hospital emergency room. After medical observation and treatment, a similar episode occurred two weeks later. In that period of time, I experienced the classic near-death, out-of-body, afterlife experience, as many others have described. My lowest point occurred soon thereafter, at the age of 43, when I lost my independence, giving up the care of my three children, my job, ability to drive, and my home (putting all my belongings in storage), so to be cared for by family. I was disabled; most often times in a vegetative state, while experiencing the continuous, massive chronic seizures, having an estimated 30,000-50,000 such seizures of six various types, over a thirty-seven-year period. The medical treatment I had received had been years of unsuccessful attempts with over fifteen various drug therapies, under the care of eight neurologists, two neuro-psychiatrists, and an epileptologist. It was agreed by doctors that surgery was the next option, although results could not be predicted, due to the generalized area that the seizures were occurring. There was no guarantee that I would ever be able to return to work, drive, function normally, or live independently. Brain surgery needed to be strongly considered, even at the lowered expectation of recovery.
On a Friday morning in 2003, going in and out of consciousness, it occurred to me to try to resume some sort of self-study in nutrition, and structure my own program of natural medicine and healing. I had experienced some improvement years before, when I had briefly undergone nutritional and herbal support with a naturopathic practitioner, but had not continued the treatment to fruition. Nutrition had always been an interest of mine, even as a child of nine, when I read books by Adele Davis in the 60’s.
In 2004, I was diagnosed by conventional medical doctors with (along with the fibromyalgia), treatment-resistant epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and Tourette’s syndrome, the bipolar, believed to be a secondary complication of the severe, chronic seizures. Later, in that process of searching for answers, I utilized all healing options in nutrition, herbs, homeopathy, and energy healing. Developing a natural, self-prescribed program of recovery, my brain began to heal. In 2005, I re-entered the corporate workplace in the medical device industry. Consistently progressing, I continued my own natural healing program, completely withdrawing from conventional medicine in 2007. Continuing my work with medical devices, in 2008 I started back to school to advance my education for a Bachelor of Science degree in Holistic Health. Completing a Master of Science degree in Homeopathy and Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy, I am presently earning a dual-doctorate degrees in Naturopathy (Ph.D. and N.D.). I am now fully functional with seizures controlled, symptom-free of both the bi-polar disorder and Tourette’s, with my speech fluent, all without synthetic medication. The chronic pain of fibromyalgia has gone into remission and my arms have healed.
For me, as with so many others, natural medicine was a last resort. Now, it is my first resort. I consider my healing to be a divine gift, for it was God’s medical tools that have always been within my reach. It was my responsibility to use them. After having this experience, I commit my life to practice the science and art of healing. I offer hope. This is my profession, purpose, and passion, sharing support and self-empowerment to those who seek my help, with equal commitment and determination.
By Heidi Hoke.
Heidi will be interviewed on my show Positive Living Vibrations, March 26th http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authenticyouradio/2013/03/27/positive-living-vibrations-ocd-add-bi-polar-sad