NORMAN's STORY
Written by Afia Donkor
I was a brand new employee working in a small law office. As part of those responsibilities, I began working from time to time with a client named Norman. As I got to know him, we would often talk about a number of things, including faith and health. But as the years passed and my responsibilities and role in the office changed, I saw Norman less and less until I lost sight of him entirely. It was with immense shock then, that years later I saw Norman, wide-eyed and haggard, making his slow and painful way toward the front door of our office.
Little by little I learned, first from others, then from Norman himself, of the serious health challenges he had been facing. Then one morning, Norman said something to me that took me completely by surprise. “Afia, I want you to help me.”
I sat down with Norman one early morning with a pen and a questionnaire. Aside from my work as a lawyer I had volunteered for a few years with iHeal, an organization that made it a mission to teach the principles of healthy living. iHeal had created a questionnaire that sought to bring out, in detail, the state of a person’s health habits. So for nearly two hours I went through the questions with Norman. As we talked, a terrible picture of his health challenges emerged. He suffered from extreme anxiety, depression, confusion, multiple strokes, high blood pressure, sciatica, elevated PSA levels, severe, crippling back pain, throat constriction and chronic severe insomnia. I was almost breathless with the scope of problems and wondered how one body could contain them all.
But as I turned to the section of the questionnaire that dealt with lifestyle practices, I uncovered many things that concerned me. Norman drank very little water, ate out frequently, ate very few fruits and vegetables, consumed high amounts of dairy, and in general knew very little about how to take care of his health. But he was eager to learn.
I went home with the checklist and sat down to think. Then, I made a decision. Calling Norman I said, “Norman, I’m going to cook for you.”
Hippocrates once declared, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” I believe that this statement, reveals an important truth about an important, daily aspect of our lives. In the face of Norman’s challenges, I felt a desire to put that statement to a real life test. Norman was willing, so we made plans and stepped forward to see where this journey would take us.
Before our eyes, we began to see a transformation. Norman lost weight steadily and reported with amazement that while he now ate less, he felt full for much longer periods of time. His blood pressure dropped and other medical markers began to improve. Even better, he loved the food he was eating and his former cravings for animal products completely disappeared.
It was October, two months into the start of our experiment, that I received the text from Norman saying he had Lymphoma. Norman explained that earlier that year, his doctors had done some tests and discovered the disease, but for whatever reason, the results had been overlooked and he was never told. Now the doctors, fearing the cancer had spread all over his body, urgently scheduled further testing and treatment.
Norman was extremely worried. He had every right to be. But I reminded him that he had, for two months, been on a very different path. He had been making better dietary choices and he felt better. Maybe, just maybe, things had improved.
Norman went in for testing and then we waited for the results. Two weeks later, he sent me the following:
Hi Afia, I know you could be busy but can’t wait to tell you. My lungs, my abdominals, and my bladder are completely clear. They only found swelling in my lower throat/esophagus. They don’t know where the lymphoma cells went. They cancelled my chemotherapy treatment for now to do further tests to find out where the lymphoma cells found by the biopsy went. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. I got new life.
Norman’s story, while remarkable, is not isolated. There is something about good food that makes a tangible impact on health. It is true that not everyone will experience the dramatic and rapid changes Norman experienced. It is also true that dietary changes alone are not always enough. Traditional medicine plays an important role in supporting the health of a community. Still, the fact remains that Hippocrates was right. Good food, combined with other healthy lifestyle choices, can be like medicine to the body. It can help the body to achieve and maintain good health.
Little by little I learned, first from others, then from Norman himself, of the serious health challenges he had been facing. Then one morning, Norman said something to me that took me completely by surprise. “Afia, I want you to help me.”
I sat down with Norman one early morning with a pen and a questionnaire. Aside from my work as a lawyer I had volunteered for a few years with iHeal, an organization that made it a mission to teach the principles of healthy living. iHeal had created a questionnaire that sought to bring out, in detail, the state of a person’s health habits. So for nearly two hours I went through the questions with Norman. As we talked, a terrible picture of his health challenges emerged. He suffered from extreme anxiety, depression, confusion, multiple strokes, high blood pressure, sciatica, elevated PSA levels, severe, crippling back pain, throat constriction and chronic severe insomnia. I was almost breathless with the scope of problems and wondered how one body could contain them all.
But as I turned to the section of the questionnaire that dealt with lifestyle practices, I uncovered many things that concerned me. Norman drank very little water, ate out frequently, ate very few fruits and vegetables, consumed high amounts of dairy, and in general knew very little about how to take care of his health. But he was eager to learn.
I went home with the checklist and sat down to think. Then, I made a decision. Calling Norman I said, “Norman, I’m going to cook for you.”
Hippocrates once declared, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” I believe that this statement, reveals an important truth about an important, daily aspect of our lives. In the face of Norman’s challenges, I felt a desire to put that statement to a real life test. Norman was willing, so we made plans and stepped forward to see where this journey would take us.
Before our eyes, we began to see a transformation. Norman lost weight steadily and reported with amazement that while he now ate less, he felt full for much longer periods of time. His blood pressure dropped and other medical markers began to improve. Even better, he loved the food he was eating and his former cravings for animal products completely disappeared.
It was October, two months into the start of our experiment, that I received the text from Norman saying he had Lymphoma. Norman explained that earlier that year, his doctors had done some tests and discovered the disease, but for whatever reason, the results had been overlooked and he was never told. Now the doctors, fearing the cancer had spread all over his body, urgently scheduled further testing and treatment.
Norman was extremely worried. He had every right to be. But I reminded him that he had, for two months, been on a very different path. He had been making better dietary choices and he felt better. Maybe, just maybe, things had improved.
Norman went in for testing and then we waited for the results. Two weeks later, he sent me the following:
Hi Afia, I know you could be busy but can’t wait to tell you. My lungs, my abdominals, and my bladder are completely clear. They only found swelling in my lower throat/esophagus. They don’t know where the lymphoma cells went. They cancelled my chemotherapy treatment for now to do further tests to find out where the lymphoma cells found by the biopsy went. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. I got new life.
Norman’s story, while remarkable, is not isolated. There is something about good food that makes a tangible impact on health. It is true that not everyone will experience the dramatic and rapid changes Norman experienced. It is also true that dietary changes alone are not always enough. Traditional medicine plays an important role in supporting the health of a community. Still, the fact remains that Hippocrates was right. Good food, combined with other healthy lifestyle choices, can be like medicine to the body. It can help the body to achieve and maintain good health.
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Norman's life was changed because Afia cared to care. At iHeal, we have seen the necessity to create care packages with valuable information as what was shared by Afia. Help us remove confusion from cancer by sponsoring a package for a loved one, or by donating any amount towards packages for those in need.
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