Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lei Habibe, and this is our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American people.
Up next, a story by Tim Hennessy. He's an IT
professional from Texas, and, like so many families in America,
grappled with his own health issues, primarily pain. Here's Tim
Hennessy on the story of his own health journey the
(00:39):
late nineties. I was in my late thirties and I
had all kind of health problems. On the outside, physically,
I looked pretty darn good, you know. I worked out
a couple hours a day, I played racquetball for two
or three hours. I lifted weights. So on the outside
I looked pretty good. By the inside, I felt like
I was dying because I had chronic pains all day
(01:00):
long my elbow, my knees, my back. Had a hard
time sleeping. I had migrains literally a couple times a month,
the kind of migraines where you got to shut the
light out from your eyes. I used to put ice
on my neck laid down. I had this pulsing almost
like you hear a drum boom boom boom. I had
(01:21):
higher blood pressure, I had skin issues. I would play racquetball,
and the next day I could barely walk down the stairs.
And I'm in my late thirties, thinking what's it going
to be like if I make it to fifty. So
I was recommended to visit a doctor in Calabasas, California,
where I lived, and he was a pretty famous doctor.
A lot of Hollywood people would go see him. And
(01:44):
it took a look at me and he basically diagnosed
with a form of ottawimmune disease. When I looked at him,
I said to him, doctor, could it be what I'm
eating and drinking? Could it be my diet? Because I
knew a secret that he didn't know. I knew my
diet was horrible. He kind of gave me an out.
(02:06):
He says, no, Tim, it's nothing you're doing that caused this.
It's more likely hereditary. So I'm like, oh good, I'm relieved,
and he says, these things kind of happened to people,
but the good news is we can control it. And
you know, some people get heart disease, some people get cancer.
You're lucky it isn't cancer. As he pats me on
(02:26):
his shoulder, you know, with his gentle bedside matter that
he had you know, and I wanted to believe him
because I wanted to continue drinking my diet doctor Pepper
for breakfast with four milk chocolate Macadamian, not pepper charm cookies.
That was my typical breakfast, and I will alternate the
next day. I'd have donuts instead of the cookies. With
(02:47):
my diet Doctor Pepper. I wanted to be able to
go to McDonald's or other fast food places at lunchtime,
and I didn't want to think about what I was eating,
so I didn't tell him that was my diet. But
I thought, well, good, you can control this. I can
can continue eating crappy food. Great, this is awesome. Then
he handed me a prescription. He said, Tim, why don't
(03:10):
you take a look at the new drug And I
asked him, well, how long do I have to take
this drug? And he said most likely for the rest
of your life. There is no cure for what you have.
And he said the best we can do is help
control what you have, and I'm pretty confident that we
could help you. So I drove home from the doctor's
(03:31):
office with this prescription and I didn't know quite what
to do at first, so I talked to my wife,
and I said, She said how to go? I said, well,
the doctor gave me a prescription for this drug and
he told me to look it up, and I decided
to look it up on the internet. In a late
(03:52):
nineties isn't what it is today, but each company had
a website. I went to this company's website and I
looked up this particular their drug. Yeah. The funny thing
is the first thing I noticed when I looked a
drug up it said for the symptom of this, for
the symptom of that, and what I was looking for,
and maybe naively, I was looking for the word cure,
(04:15):
but I didn't see the word cure. I then saw
the side effects, and the first thing I noticed was
it said lower your immune system. The second one was
potentially increased risk of heart disease, and the third one
was potentially increased risk of cancer. So I turned my
(04:37):
wife Dab, I go, Wow, what could possibly go wrong?
I take this drug to the rest of my life.
And I had a lower immune system, a greater risk
of heart disease, and greater risk of cancer. But I
got rid of my migraines and my pain. Leeds us
to say I didn't want to take this drug. I
wanted to see if I could find another way. Then
(04:59):
there's a woman who came into my life through another
front of my wife's and she handed me this book.
It's called You're Not Sick, You Are Thirsty by doctor
bat mel Jahel and something. It's a long Indian name.
I call him doctor Batman. I think that's his nickname.
So I decided I'm going to increase my water and
get rid of my soda habit. And I haven't had
(05:20):
one since. And that that was August two thousand and four.
And I have to tell you, I haven't had a migraine.
I haven't had a headache, maybe mouth headache once in
a while if I don't sleep enough. My blood pressure
was back to normal and it continues to be back
to normal. All my pains went away. So I thought, well,
what can I do if I change my diet. Here
(05:40):
I am. I'm in my sixties now, I still have
normal blood pressure. I have no more pains in my knees,
back and elbow like I did in the Originally, I
haven't had a migraine in twenty years. I don't My
diet is not perfect by any means, but I know
if I get a little bit off track, I got
to get back to the green juices and making sure
our exercise, making sure I get vitamin D and sunshine.
(06:03):
So the proof is in the pudding. I could have
been twenty five years ago, I medication the rest of
my life, as I mentioned, and who knows that my
immune system would have been. Who knows I'd still be
alive today being on medication for twenty five years with
a increased risk of cancer, increased risk of heart disease,
and a lower immune system. You know, for me personally,
(06:24):
I have an open mind. I'll hear both sides, but
let me decide. As an American, I should have the
personal freedom to choose my doctor, to ignore my doctor
if I don't agree with him, to choose an alternative
health practitioner, to ignore their alternative healthcare practitioners advice. If
(06:46):
I choose to let me decide what my health is,
and I believe that's what all Americans really want, Let
us choose and the Special Thanks to Greg Hangler on
the production of the story of Special. Thanks to timmy
to See for sharing his story and so many Americans
grapple with these choices. Do I just work on my
(07:06):
diet and health. Or do I go see a doctor
and it's not an either, or you need doctors and
you need to eat better. The story of Tim Hennessey's
health journey, the story of so many Americans here on
our American Stories. Lei Habibi here the host of our
(07:33):
American Stories. Every day on this show, we're bringing inspiring
stories from across this great country, stories from our big
cities and small towns. But we truly can't do the
show without you. Our stories are free to listen to,
but they're not free to make. If you love what
you hear, go to our American Stories dot com and
click the donate button. Give a little, give a lot.
(07:56):
Go to our American Stories dot com and give