March 2020 – Healthy Brain, Body, and Soul

https://people.com/politics/ryan-larkin-seal-blast-tbi-donald-trump/ “They Keep Telling Me I’m Crazy”: A Navy Seal’s Desperate Search For Answers About His Own Brain Injury & His Family’s Cause Now All of this described in the article (including suicide) is so common after brain injuries, and for the […]

About Me

Who, What, Where, When and How June 9, 2019 Introductions are in order. After nearly 7 decades on this planet (so far), my story would be too long, so I am presenting myself relatively short form in the ways that have led me on the path to becoming an autodidact, a teacher, and a healer. I was born Miranda Lee Carter on November 20, 1949 in an Army hospital on the base, the Presidio, in San Francisco, CA. My dad was transferred to Germany when I was 6 months old, and we lived there for 3 years. We were in the first wave of dependents accompanying armed service personnel to Germany after World War II. I have 2 mother tongues, English and German, since I learned both together, but the German is buried pretty deeply, since I’ve rarely had a chance to practice it over the decades. Still, it is in there and can emerge (eventually) when I’m surrounded by German speakers. There is an advantage to learning at least 2 languages at a very young age. Each language has its freedoms and restrictions, its words and concepts that aren’t really translatable. Learning 2 or more languages creates a bit of flexibility in one’s ways of thinking. Being an Army brat, in 7 schools by 7th grade, added to that language flexibility, and taught me to naturally see outside the box. Each place we lived had its own way of doing and seeing things, its own dress code, mindset, events, and ways of speaking, and I learned to see them as interesting differences to observe and participate in (or not), but not as rules to be followed. I have an insatiable curiosity, and was always a voracious reader. My interests span a very wide range of subjects that grows as I learn and find new things of interest me. I am a lifelong learner. i am also stubborn as hell, and despite having been smacked down in various ways during institutional schooling, as well as during life, the Galaxy Quest motto: “Never give up! Never surrender!” is very apropos. I am definitely not a fan of institutional schooling as it is practiced today, nor was I a fan of the less bad version of it that I experienced. After graduating high school, I went to 1 quarter of college at Emory University, and realized college, at least at that level, had the same intent to have you follow the rules instead of providing actual education leading to creative thinking, expression, and problem solving. I had no interest in continuing that direction of education, and my life as an autodidact began. This was way before the internet, so I spent my time scouring bookstores for books that caught my interest, books that often would not be found in libraries. A sidebar I may write about periodically is we homeschooled our 2 daughters, starting in 1988, because I did not want them socialized the way institutional schooling would have done, and I had felt that all children are driven to learn if we don’t get in their way. I lived at home with my parents for a year while I worked full time, then in a series of events, by January 1969, I was living with the 19 year old boy, Phil Paymer, who became the man I have spent my life with, and for whom I still have the greatest and deepest love and respect. It was Phil who led me into healing. He had 2 ongoing health issues when we were first together, a pre-ulcerous condition, and recurring prostate infections, the latter being extremely unusual for a teenager. We went to our family doctor, who prescribed a medication for the pre-ulcerous condition that had horrible potential side effects, and meant Phil couldn’t drink alcohol (not that that was an issue for him, even at that age). The treatment for the prostate infections was antibiotics whenever one occurred. I began my reading in nutrition, and determined that a stress supplement (B vitamins plus vitamin C) might help with the pre-ulcerous condition. In reading about prostate conditions (in big print no less), I discovered that deficiencies in zinc and/or magnesium could create prostate problems. Zinc was emphasized, but I followed my intuition (which has always been correct, if I bother to listen to it), and bought a magnesium supplement. Later in life, we discovered that Phil is sensitive to zinc, and if I’d chosen that, he would not have responded well. Phil experimented with both supplements, finding the stress supplement erased his pre-ulcerous condition. He could tell from physical symptoms when a prostate infection was about to occur, and when he got those signs, he took the magnesium supplement. It absolutely worked. We were stoked! We had found a way to stop those 2 conditions in their tracks! We went to tell our doctor, whose eyes glazed over, and who said “A one a day vitamin can’t hurt.” We never went to see him again, and my perspective on doctors has never been the same. I continued my reading about nutrition, which naturally led me to alternative forms of healing, and I have pursued that study ever since. When Phil had his first symptomatic brain injury in 1997, the focus of my study narrowed for the most part to anything that might provide healing for the brain. His second symptomatic brain injury in 2002, and especially his third one in 2005 sharply increased the intensity of my study. I must include here a DISCLAIMER. What I am publishing in this blog is information my husband and I have gleaned from our own experiences along the path to brain injury healing. What worked or is working for him and us may not work for you and yours. It is completely your decision if you want to try any of the treatments we have used, but again, there are no guarantees it will work for you. As a family with a number of allergies in various family members, we strongly suggest you learn to really listen to your body (if you haven’t already gotten to that point), so you will be personally aware of anything, good or bad, that you experience in your treatments. This goes not only for what we have done, it goes for all treatments and tests that you may experience. An intelligent, informed, and body-conscious patient has the best chance of good health outcomes. (1) Advice This website contains information about medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. (2) No warranties The medical information on this website is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the medical information on this website. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, we do not warrant that: (a) the medical information on this website will be constantly available, or available at all; or (b) the medical information on this website is complete, true, accurate, up-to-date, or non-misleading. (3) Professional assistance You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediately medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website. (4) Limiting our liability Nothing in this medical disclaimer will: (a) limit or exclude our liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence; (b) limit or exclude our liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; (c) limit any of our liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law; or (d) exclude any of our liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law. (5) This disclaimer This medical disclaimer was made using a precedent created by SEQ Legal and available on Website Law.[1] Post navigation