Guess what I did today? I helped Sara Mattson build our bed! I never imagined I would be able to do this. Only three short months ago, I was in bed with terrible pain, covered in hives and popping Benadryl tabs just to keep my throat open. All I could eat was organic chicken, mango, coconut and low-histamine vegetables. And I had no energy. Just taking a shower was exhausting. Now I’m building a bed using power tools. Say what?! It’s astonishing!
Sara is the mastermind behind the van conversion and I just did what she told me to do. It was surprisingly simple! We lifted our heavy metal storage cabinets into the van and cut the wood for the bed posts. Then Sara showed me how to drill pilot holes and screw the different boards together. I used a drill y’all! 😊
It’s incredible to think that Sara, like me, used to be severely ill. You would never guess it by looking at her now. She’s strong, joyful and full of vibrant life. It’s exciting to think that someday I’ll get there too. I can already feel myself starting to come alive again!
It still seems crazy to me sometimes that mold avoidance could do this. That it could really give people their lives back. That two women could go from being severely disabled to lifting heavy cabinets into a cargo van. What?! It almost doesn’t make sense that this would work when so many expensive treatments either failed or barely helped at all. Hopefully someday medical researchers will become interested in this phenomenon enough to seriously study it.
It would sure be nice to understand exactly why it works but for now, knowing that it works is plenty satisfying. No one can deny the results that I’m seeing and I’m just beyond happy to have found the key that can unlock this prison of chronic illness.
By the way, Brett and I made a beautiful PDF of my favorite resources for suffering souls. I created the content and he made it look fancy with his superduper graphic design skills. It’s available for free to my email subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive 5 Resources for the Suffering Soul.
52 Comments
This was so encouraging Ana, thank you for sharing. Praying for you always
May 12, 2017 at 11:50 amThanks so much Natalie! 💚
May 12, 2017 at 5:39 pmSo glad that you’re feeling better and running power tools! What fun!
May 12, 2017 at 12:42 pm😄
May 12, 2017 at 5:48 pmThis post made me so happy! So glad for you, friend, that you are on the path to getting better!
May 12, 2017 at 3:38 pmThanks so much Kimi! I miss you so much! 💚
May 12, 2017 at 5:40 pmI like useing power tools! Fun !
May 12, 2017 at 3:39 pmHaha! It was fun! 🙂
May 12, 2017 at 5:47 pmThis is so happy!!! I can’t wait to see the final product!
May 12, 2017 at 4:54 pm~ still praying for you from China ~
Thank you so much! 💚💚💚
May 12, 2017 at 7:18 pmYay! Wait, only 3 months ago you were bedridden? YAY!!
May 12, 2017 at 5:42 pmYes, it was on and off but started to get really bad again. It’s almost miraculous! 😊
May 12, 2017 at 5:49 pmThis post makes me so happy!!!! 😀
May 12, 2017 at 5:45 pmThanks to you and Alex and all those who contributed to the fundraiser for making this discovery possible! 😄
May 12, 2017 at 5:48 pmThat’s so awesome! Continuing to pray for you! 🙂
May 12, 2017 at 6:00 pmActually…if you don’t mind me asking, when you decontaminate, do you wash your hair first or change clothes first? We’re trying to figure it out for ourselves… 🙂
May 12, 2017 at 6:03 pmI’m not sure if it matters but we wash our heads, faces and arms first and then change clothes after. It’s been working well for us but I’m not sure what Erik recommends.
May 12, 2017 at 6:08 pmOkay, thanks! 🙂 We’ll have to look on Paradigm Change. 🙂
May 12, 2017 at 7:14 pmAna, I’m so happy to hear that you are feeling better and are able to do things and eat things that you couldn’t just a short time ago! Praying that you will recover completely. Love you and miss you.
May 12, 2017 at 7:06 pm🙂 Thank you so much Grandma! We love and miss you too!
May 12, 2017 at 7:19 pmPower tools are fun. XD I’m so excited for you! Praying always!
May 12, 2017 at 7:10 pmAna, I’m so thrilled to hear that you are experiencing relief and LIFE again. How wonderful to see your new found freedom. Miss you and love you!
May 12, 2017 at 7:37 pmRebekah!!! So good to hear from you! I miss you and love you too! I wish we could have stayed in Portland and spent more time with you guys. Thanks so much for reading and commenting. 💚💚💚💚💚
May 13, 2017 at 10:27 amAna, very encouraging to know that you’re stronger and hope-filled! Power tools, huh? When you return to Ithaca area, are you out for hire:):):) Love and prayers for continued strength and healing, tamam
May 13, 2017 at 12:33 pmHaha! I don’t think so. 😉 Thank you so much! 💚
May 16, 2017 at 5:43 pmThis picture reminds me of how shocked my husband was when I suddenly could help him move and lift things! It’s awesome. Go Anna and Sara!
May 13, 2017 at 1:24 pmIt really is awesome! 😊
May 16, 2017 at 5:42 pmSo absolutely happy for you, Ana. Prayers continue for you and Alex.
May 13, 2017 at 1:32 pmThank you so much Kathy! 😊
May 16, 2017 at 6:13 pmIncredible how far you’ve come! God Bless you both and so encouraged by your steadfast determination & courage! I may have missed the post, I had quite a lot to catch up on this time, but did your mold allergy/sensitivity result from your Lyme disease or did you even have Lyme disease and it was always the mold sensitivity? Just wondering. I’ll keep praying that you find a place to stay for a long while & for continued healing!
May 13, 2017 at 4:12 pmAww! Thanks so much Mary Kay! At this point I think it likely was the other way around. The mold toxicity and the immune system dysfunction it caused gave the Lyme Disease an opportunity to thrive. Now mold avoidance is allowing my body to detox and my immune system is healing enough that it can take care of the tickborne pathogens on its own. That’s still speculation though… I’ve been thinking about it a lot and maybe I’ll write a post about it soon.
May 14, 2017 at 11:07 amPRAISE GOD!
May 13, 2017 at 4:16 pmAmen! 😊😊😊😊
May 16, 2017 at 6:13 pmAna, I’ve been behind the eight ball for awhile, but I got caught up on all the posts and I’m so super excited and happy that the Lord is putting all this puzzle together for you!! He is so good! I was so thrilled to hear of finally getting the van and now your into the conversion process. I can only imagine that first night of sleeping in your bed as opposed to sleeping in the car or by the side of the road! LOL You’re doing so well and all of us out here reading your story are cheering you on and thanking the Lord for this miracle we see unfolding!! And we continue praying for you as always!! And a big cheer for Sara for helping you so much!! God sends just the right people at just the right time!! Can’t wait to hear more as the days go by!
May 13, 2017 at 4:19 pmChris! Good to hear from you! Sleeping in a bed is amazing! I fell behind on my posts but I’m going to write about it soon. We now have these awesome bed heaters that really help to keep us warm. I love them! I will never take having a good place to sleep for granted ever again. Thanks for commenting! I always look for your comments. 💚💚💚💚
May 16, 2017 at 6:25 pmI read all your posts, this brought tears to my eyes. I’m so thrilled for you guys! We continue to pray for you and Brett every day on the way to school. Praising the Lord he hears and never tires of us asking for the same thing over and over! Bless you both. And forever thankful you introduced us to the Mysterious Benedict Society! Ha
May 13, 2017 at 5:41 pmAww… Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. I know you guys have been praying for us for a long time and it means so much to us. It’s so exciting to finally see God answering some of those prayers.
Haha! Those books are so good!
May 16, 2017 at 6:27 pmAwesome! So happy for you guys! I’ll keep praying! Hope the conversion goes smoothly!
May 13, 2017 at 6:15 pm~Erin (YWW student)
Thanks so much Erin!
May 16, 2017 at 6:21 pmWow, what an amazing blessing!! Praise God! Praying for you during this time…
May 14, 2017 at 1:09 amHannah M. (YWW student)
Thanks so much for the prayers!
May 16, 2017 at 6:21 pmAna, this is so encouraging to read! God truly provides for us, even when it seems impossible for things to get better.
This is something I’ve been learning lately, and your post was such a great reminder that our God can do more than we ask or imagine!
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us and being so open about your struggles. I have been reading your posts and each one is encouraging to me in a different way. Thank you so much.
– a YWWer 🙂
May 14, 2017 at 4:10 pmAmen… Thank you so much for leaving this comment Maitlyn. So true! I am so glad my story has been encouraging to you. It’s encouraging to me to be able to share it and process my thoughts through writing. As I’m sure you know since you’re a writer too. Hugs! 💚
May 16, 2017 at 6:20 pmSo exciting!!!
May 14, 2017 at 4:29 pmRejoicing with you!! Praise God for his provision of this van and also your wonderful husband who has been so supportive. Looking forward to reading of things continuing to improve for you. Praying for you. The blog is a helpful reminder to pray, so thanks for sending it out. Blessings from Australia
May 15, 2017 at 5:56 pmAmen! Thank you so much for your prayers and supportive words! 💚💚💚
May 16, 2017 at 6:17 pmGo Ana, I am so happy for you! Using powerful tools are always fun! God is so good and seeing you smiling so big in the picture made me tear up just a little. Ah, the book you will write some day…
May 15, 2017 at 9:54 pmAww… This is so sweet Bekah. I might have to join the YWW so that I can write publish a book someday. 😉I would like to eventually…
May 16, 2017 at 6:16 pmThis is so amazingly astounding! So happy! Now, you continue to get better!
May 16, 2017 at 9:01 am🙂🙃🙂
May 16, 2017 at 6:16 pmReally happy to read this! Thanks for posting Ana! May God continue to revive strength and fill you with life!
May 22, 2017 at 6:32 amOh, this post made my day!! Praying for continued improvement!!
May 22, 2017 at 9:02 pm