Cures & Care

I am adding this page because I want the best for people. God has provided through nature many natural cures for almost every ailment known to man. These are a few I know of and some tricks I have learned from taking care of my mom, who suffered from Severe Vascular Dementia and Severe Diabetes, for over 14 years.

Get COLD F-X (available in Canada). Take it from Don Cherry, it does work. Take it when the first signs of a cold or flu first appear, such as sweats, sniffles, sneezing or itchy throat. Made mostly of ginger it will affect blood pressure. however, so use it very cautiously and sparingly. If BP is an issue do not take it. If blood pressure isn’t a problem, then take another pill the next morning to really kill off the bug.

COLD-FX will almost always nip the virus in the bud, but only if it is used early enough on the first day. When taken only on the next day, it is usually too late.

My deceased brother, Terry, was sick for most of his life. Both of my brothers suffered from Myotonic Dystrophy, a rare, devastating neuromuscular disease that causes the muscles and organs to slowly atrophy (waste away).

Terry managed to obtain a degree from McGill University but was never well enough to put it to use. He had gotten a series of pneumonias that had gotten progressively worse. The doctors said that he probably would not survive his next bout. It was then that I suggested to my sister, Eileen, his caregiver to give COLD-FX a try. Although she was at first reluctant, as she usually was about anything new I ever suggested, but finally after some coaxing, she agreed to give it a try.

With the regular help of COLD-FX, Terry, went on to live almost 10 more years, never getting another Pneumonia until he got an aspiration Pneumonia in the end. He eventually passed away on February 18th, 2016, at the age of 59. My older brother, Allan, also succumbed to the disease on June 22, 2017, at the age of 64.

Here is a home remedy that works well for the flu or a cold. Place freshly grated ginger in a pot with a couple of cups of water, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add fresh lemon juice and honey to taste. This works well as a way to clear the sinuses and chest congestion. It also helps with fever. I have heard it suggested that you can add fresh garlic as well. I imagine this would aid in opening up the sinuses but I have never tried it myself.

Curcumin is the extract from the Turmeric root. It is a natural cure-all. It reduces inflammation and also clears plaque throughout the body, including the brain, heart, arteries and even teeth. Believe it or not, it grows hair back, too.

Try taking 500 mgs as a supplement, in the mornings and increase as needed. To combat a disease take anywhere from 3000 mgs. to 6000 mgs. per day. Take it with meals and at bedtime. Little to no side effects, other than cleaning you out at first and may cause confusion in Dementia patients at first, but symptoms will pass after a day or a couple of days. The internet says it will affect blood sugars, however, I have found this not to be true, in the case of my mother any rate, who has been Diabetic for over 20 years.

For a stroke, take Curcumin ASAP. It could be administered as a suppository if necessary. Simply melt down any suppository in a small bowl in the microwave for a few seconds, add in the Curcumin powder and then cool in something that will give it an oblong shape, the tip of a baby’s pacifier will work fine. It will make a huge difference in the short-term and long-term recovery of the stroke victim. It will immediately lessen swelling in the brain and bleeding, too.

For severe Vascular Dementia patients, it is best given, mixed in with a sweet drink or in yogurt or apple sauce. Only add it in at the last moment, however, or else the flavor will be overpowering. Best taken orally in the capsule form, if at all possible. In the case of my mom, when she doesn’t take her Curcumin, she forgets how to eat. So, I have given her the Curcumin in suppository form and it works well as a kick-start to get her memory jolted back. When doing so, cut the spice in half, so as not to harm the rectum.

I take Curcumin and I found that different brands or strains have different effects on the brain. I tried an organic brand and found that it was too strong and caused aggression in both my mom and me. The local, cheaper brand seems to work better, it has more of a calming effect on both of us. I have recommended it to many different people and have only gotten positive feedback. I attribute the Curcumin to keeping my mom alive well beyond the ten years that most severe Dementia sufferers usually live.

There was another woman at Mom’s residence, whose family had been giving it to her since I suggested it to them over 3 years ago. I am certain it had kept her going too. One woman told me she has not had any trouble with her knees and had surgery on them. She was still missing lots of work afterward and was still greatly bothered by them. Since she has started on the Curcumin, she has not missed any work. Another woman told me that her brother’s beard had bald patches that have filled in since she had him start on it, too.

I have been a caregiver to my mom for 13 years now. With her in residence for over four years, fortunately, she is only 1 block over. The first year I had her with me was in Halifax and the rest have been in Montreal. She had suffered a stroke back in 2005 and it was shortly after that when I asked her to come visit me. I wanted to take her to my Doctor, who was excellent and after having met Mom’s Doctor back in Montreal, her Doctor left me lacking confidence in her abilities to care for Mom. It was when Mom first arrived in Halifax, that I saw her and how sick she really was.

She had only been with me less than a week when she went Hypoglycemic and I had to call the Paramedics in, I didn’t have any experience with Diabetics and didn’t know what to do, that was the last time I called the Paramedics for that. I quickly learned how to manage her sugars and did so for many years.

Avoid Diet soft drinks.

It was only a couple of weeks after that initial episode when I had to make a life-changing decision, either to help my girlfriend or help Mom. My girlfriend, lived in Saint John, New Brunswick, about 3 hours drive from Halifax. She and her partners were moving their salon and ended up short on help, she needed my help but Mom’s caregiver, I had hired, was going to leave Mom alone. I had to make the choice then and there, either head home, or stay and help Pam. I decided to go home and have been single ever since.

When we first got the results from the CT. scan and my mom found out she had, had a severe stroke and although she was still physically well, her brain had already begun to atrophy. She was aware enough to know the prognosis. Her memory was rapidly deteriorating, getting worse and worse, each day. So, one night, while I was sleeping in my room, she took an overdose of sleeping pills and left the empty bottle buried under some Kleenex on her night table. I and the Paramedics thought she had another stroke and so did the Doctors at the hospital.

It was only a couple of days later, while I was cleaning her room and picked up the pile of Kleenex on her night table, that I made the discovery. I notified the hospital but when she finally did awake, I was out of the room and left a relative with her to watch over her so when she got out of bed, to go to the washroom she was still very weak and fell and fractured her hip and pelvis. Later, when I asked her why she had taken the pills, she said that she didn’t want to be a burden to her family. She has been in a wheelchair ever since.

Over the next year, things were not good for my mom and her depression worsened. After several more attempts to take her life, I asked her what I could do and she said she missed her sons and wanted to go home, so we moved back to Montreal, even though I always swore that I would never live in Quebec again.

Almost by miracle, in a very large apartment building with over 150 apartments, the apartment directly above my sister was suddenly available for sublet and we were able to get it. Now I could watch over my brother and sister also. Eventually, my other brother would move in there too. My sister took care of them both until they both died, while they were at home.

It was only when my mom had her second fall, 8 years later, that I finally placed her, as she had fractured the same hip and pelvis again. I could no longer take care of her on my own and the caregivers, who had worked for us for years, had not only stolen Kleenex, paper towels and thousands in cash, but they also had stolen much of my good silverware including my brother, Terry’s, special spoon, the only one he could use to feed himself.

I love apple cider vinegar on my french fries

Plus, they had left me nearly bankrupt as they would only work for cash and I overpaid them because I wanted the best for my mom. I was working in the next province and commuting 3 or 4 nights a week, as Mom could not be left alone for even a minute and the bill for the caregivers would often be over a thousand dollars a week, cash, which I had to pay, regardless of whether I made a sale that week or not.

God, must have been watching out for my mom and myself, once again I was fortunate in that I was able to place Mom in a residence only one block over from me. I still go to see her at least twice a day, if not more. I am certain to be there for supper and to tuck her in and I try to get there for lunches too.

The times I have been blocked from seeing her because of a flu quarantine, she ended up in the hospital with severe dehydration and renal failure. Twice now, I have had to rescue her from the palliative care ward. After a huge blowout with the woman in charge of the residence and threats of legal action, we have come to an understanding and I am now recognized as Mom’s caregiver and am allowed to see her, regardless, of whether there is a quarantine on or not.

With severe Dementia patients like my mom, they will forget how to eat, this is one of the main killers for them in the end. It usually happens after about 10 years of sickness. I have found a few tricks that have enabled me to keep her going. I call her my little Energizer Bunny.

The first thing is to put them on Curcumin, It works!! It improves memory dramatically and lessens inflammation throughout the body. Start with a little and then increase in small increments. Try and spread it out to 3 or 4 times a day, as it wears off after about 3 hours.

NUTRI-BULLETS, are life and death changers, make fruit and vegetable smoothies and feed them to your loved ones and yourself. You will look and feel much better. Feed them to the severely demented. It will get their stomach acids working, much the same way that Chinese food makes you feel hungry shortly after you eat it, mostly because of the vegetables.

The smoothie that has worked best for Mom is a drink made of a single green veg, either kale, baby spinach, or broccoli and frozen banana as well as frozen blueberries blended with water and maybe a little apple juice. She loves it!! Sometimes, as a result of Dementia, Mom will forget how to drink and until she gets her Turmeric, it is a catch-22. Because if she hasn’t had her spice, she will forget how to use a straw, then getting it into her can be difficult.

A trick I have used that is very effective is to “DIP THE TIP”, whenever necessary, dip the tip of a straw into the liquid and then to their lips for a taste and to get them started. Another trick is to dip the straw into the liquid and then pour a little into their mouth by putting your finger over the business end of the straw and putting the end that has been in the liquid into their mouth. This is similar to priming a pump and is also a great way to get Mom started. Once she has had about half a glass of her smoothie then I add the Curcumin to the drink and give it to her with a little more smoothie and or apple juice or even mix in a little yogurt.

Something else that I have had to do, is that I stopped asking the nurses at the residence to give Mom her Curcumin spice. The problem I have found is that there is a lack of continuity. Some nurses will give her a mouth full of spice and will ruin her taste buds for at least a day, if not longer and this will affect her appetite. So, I give it to her myself. I have found that this works best and she has been able to stay out of the hospital for a little while now, touch wood, she has also been able to eat and enjoy her meals a little better.

Dandelion Tea, has been known to kill cancer cells within 48 hours of consumption. Be careful if you pick wild Dandelions, make certain that you are not using any that have weed killers or any other pesticides on them.

A couple of more little tricks. First, when my mom gets really bad and refuses to eat or drink for a day or two, Before sending her to the hospital, I resorted to using a 5 ml syringe to feed her. By simply filling the syringe and then squeezing a little liquid slowly into her mouth, I have been able to nurse her back and avoid trips to the hospital. Make certain that you are careful and that the patient is both awake and sitting up, so as to avoid choking and any chance of aspiration pneumonia.

Another trick that I have learned is when someone goes Hypoglycemic, meaning their blood sugar goes very low. This is extremely dangerous for Diabetics as it may cause them to fall into a coma. When they are unconscious or barely conscious and there isn’t a Glucogun handy, then pour a little raw sugar under their tongue. This will raise their blood sugar level quickly but again be careful not to choke them by pouring in too much, too fast.

Sadly, I lost my mom in September of 2018. It was a rough 3 years, I lost both my brothers and my mom. 7 years later I am still upstairs from my sister and we have become best of friends although we both have big apartments with 2 bedrooms and 2 washrooms each, we are both content living a floor apart and alone.