I am going to basically cram in the last five days in one post. Aside from the fact that blogging from my iPad is a bit of a mental block (not quite as easy or efficient as from my iMac desktop), I have just been spending my days getting adjusted to the time change and the MMS protocol.
The drive from Sofia airport to Pearl Lodge was very long - 3.5 hours with the last half hour being incredibly windy and bumpy as we drove up a narrow mountain road full of potholes our driver was constantly avoiding. They drive nuts here! I swear our driver would drive on the opposite side of the mountain road only to get back in his lane when another car coming the opposite direction approached. A bit nerve-wracking, to say the least.
We were quite surprised to see just how many unfinished buildings there were along with numerous abandoned businesses and facilities along the way. It was as if some massive rapture took place. Later, we would go for a walk on a road by our hotel that led us to an area full of unfinished ski/mountain lakes resorts. I kept thinking construction was on hiatus during the winter, but then my Mom noticed the paint was peeling on one of the buildings and knew this was a years-long cessation of construction. As we kept walking up the road we came across a large sign with an artist's rendition of the completed resort, announcing the opening of the resort in, get this........December 2008!! Later on we asked someone in the clinic about it and they said that most construction in Bulgaria stopped simply because of the domino effect of the economy. It's kinda eerie walking around with cranes still up and nearly finished buildings just sitting there.
The hotel is quite decent, especially for Bulgaria, considering it's the poorest country in the EU. it touts itself as a 5-star hotel but is really the equivalent of an American 3-star hotel. Having said that, it's actually quite comfortable. We did get a very nice upgrade from a 1-bedroom suite (I slept on sofa bed) to a 2-bedroom 2-bath corner family suite yesterday which has vastly improved the quality of our stay. Many more windows with endless views of the mountains and valley.
The area where we're at is quite unique and according to this article, has rejuvenating effects. That was fun to discover as we had no idea about this prior to coming here. Below is a picture of a sign we came across on our walk that talks about the air:
Now, about the health restoration clinic. So what is this place? It's run by the
Genesis II Church, a non-religious organization started by Jim Humble, the discover/inventor of MMS. The head Health Minister here is Amanda Mary (goes by Mary), who runs the clinic along with volunteer assistants. Everyone here works on a volunteer basis, including Mary. That is truly one of the most astonishing things about this clinic and the organization behind it. They could easily charge thousands for their 24/7 services and products here but they don't because their belief is in helping mankind and simply depend on donations alone. All we've had to pay for is the food (25 euros per day) and lodging (70 euros) per night, along with our airfare (just over $1,000 from LAX). We also have to pay for the MMS/CDS and any supplements/herbs and medical tests we take but those are very minimal costs. It is my goal to soon set up a fundraising website for anyone who feels compelled to donate to their cause. They require a 3-week stay (or longer, depending on your health condition, etc.) to make the most of the protocol.
The day after we arrived to the hotel, we had our initial meeting with Mary, a funny and caring woman from the UK and her volunteer assistant Leonardo, a British-Italian. It's been so fun listening to her talk as I love the British accent, especially after becoming addicted to Downton Abbey, ha! She shared her story (scroll down to second post on this
link) with her own bout of cancer and how she was healed from MMS and also talked about what CDS/MMS does. We went over our medical history and based on that she determined what the starting dose of the MMS/CDS protocol would be. CDS is a new form of MMS they've been having more efficient success with. Mary also uses herbs/plants, etc. to supplement the protocol. I was given capsules of
MSM, which is sulfur,
moringa and Bio-Kult probiotics to start with. I was really stoked to learn about moringa, a plant I had never heard of before and plan to take long term. Be sure to click on the link and read about it.
Our first day called for the smallest dose of CDS which is a liquid that you put in a bottle of water and drink from every hour on the hour for 8 hours. The main goal is to build up the doses slowly so you don't get nauseated (which indicates the die-off is happening faster than your body can process and eliminate). I won't lie, the stuff tastes and smells yucky. Its very much like chlorine bleach. Yep. By now, though, I've managed to trick my brain into thinking it tastes like strong lemon water. Here's what it looked like:
Basically, this is our daily schedule:
8:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am Start hourly MMS protocol
10:30 am Meet with assistant to go over how we've been feeling on the protocol
Go for walk
1:00 pm Lunch
Sleep, read, etc.
5:00 pm Meet with health ministers to go over how we're feeling and make any changes in individual protocol for the next day
7:00 pm Dinner
For me, I'd been waking up nearly every morning from anywhere between 4:15-5:30 am due to the jet lag, and then napping every afternoon. The protocol made us tired due to the die-off of pathogens, etc. in our bodies. I was personally having a hard time with my blood sugars due to the traveling, time change and elevation (around 5,800 ft.). My blood sugars are just now leveling off after 5 days of being here. Apparently high elevation affects your blood sugars and it takes about 5 days to normalize.
We are not the only patients here and there are seven others from around the world here from Australia, Norway, Nairobi, South Africa, Canada and Turkey. For every meal, we all sit together in the hotel restaurant at a communal table and eat the foods that have been approved and made specifically for the people doing the protocol. They serve raw milk (with or without raw honey), raw sheep milk yogurt and organic fruits, veggies and meats. For all those considering coming here, it's decent food and the soups are awesome, but it's nothing fancy or gourmet and can be a bit repetitive at times, but hey, the goal is restored health, so you just go with it. I imagine the food might be a bit better in the summer months, when a larger variety of fresh foods are available.
The best part of mealtime for me though is getting to know everyone in the group. Even Mary, her husband Doug and daughter Hope, and her two assistants Leonardo and Michelle join us. It's become a family atmosphere where you don't feel alone while here at the clinic. There is such a level of caring, acceptance, camaraderie between us all. For anyone coming alone, just know you will make new friends and not feel isolated. Many stories and experiences shared, much laughter had and also concern for some not feeling so hot on the protocol. It's an atmosphere where most of the patients freely share what health issues are being dealt with and Mary or one of the assistants will ask across the table, "How are you feeling tonight?".
Imagine going to lunch somewhere with your doctor and maybe even some of his or her other patients and being almost equal peers with your doctor where health information is freely and openly shared with each other and even the doctor learns from the patient! Pretty much everyone here by now has been on a long journey of searching ways of healing naturally, therefore having a wealth of knowledge about certain herbs, healing diets, alternative treatments, etc.
Today both my mom and I are on CDS with 2 drops of activated MMS per dose. So far so good. I haven't actually gotten nauseated yet but could feel close to it at times. There were a few challenges for my Mom but she's doing much better today.
In just a couple of hours we'll be heading out for an excursion into the town of
Smolyan, about 7 km down the road. Tomorrow a group of us will be going to a hot springs 40 minutes from here for some therapeutic soaking. Stay tuned for an update!