By Susan Schenk, on 26-09-2009 17:57

Favoured : 87

Published in : Blogs, Health Blog

A raw food diet is anti-inflammatory, and thus minimizes any chronic pain. By

forgoing toxic drugs, you also allow the body to heal much faster and more

thoroughly.

I asked my chief editor (and raw food mentor) Bob Avery to write about how

he was hit by a van and healed without taking pain meds. He had broken ribs,

Here is his story, in his own words:

In July, 2007, I was riding my bicycle home in Toledo, Ohio, down a busy
street, 2 lanes in each direction, at rush hour. Because of the street
traffic and the convenient curb cuts that city carved out of the sidewalk
intersections for handicapped people, I was zipping down the sidewalk
instead, parallel to the street.

As I approached a little side street instersection with no traffic light
or stop sign on it for through traffic, I kept my eye out for vehicles in
the curb lane that might be planning to turn right, but I didn't notice a
white van coming down the other side of the busy street beginning a left
turn onto that little street I was about to cross over.

Our paths collided at the intersection. I did see him coming at the last
seconds and veered to the right as I crossed the street, but he didn't
see me. In fact, he was accelerating as he broadsided me going maybe
15-20 mph.

I felt his bumper hit my left ankle and his hood grille my midsection.
The next thing I knew, I was lying in the middle of the street looking up
at his right front tire, not knowing how I had gotten there. Fortunately,
he must have applied his brakes immediately upon impact, or I wouldn't be
here today typing this. Even a 60-yr-old 14½-yr raw fooder in good shape
isn't going to survive a crushed skull (no helmet)!

I was probably only out for 10 seconds or less because when I came to,
the driver of the van was in the process of exiting his vehicle to attend
to me.

Somehow, my bicycle was a few feet farther down the road than I was with
a badly twisted front wheel. I have no idea how the bicycle and I
disengaged, but it must have been painful. My right leg had to somehow go
over that crossbar.

"Helpful" bystanders with cell phones were already calling 911. I knew
that I was hurt, but I also knew I didn't want medical meddling.

I didn't want to be lying there when EMS arrived, but as I began trying
to struggle to my feet, the "helpful" van driver was holding my shoulders
down and telling me not to move. Fighting him was proving useless in my
condition and posture, so I summoned up the most authoritative voice I
could muster, and intoned, "Take your hands off me, sir!"

It worked. He backed off, and I made it to my feet. I just wanted to get
home to where I was staying only about 5 blocks away, but I knew I would
have to wait for the police to arrive. It seemed like forever, but it was
probably less than 5 minutes before they showed, and so did EMS.

The EMS paramedics came all prepared to haul me off to the hospital. I
had already determined that if anything was broken, it was only a rib or
two, and there is nothing they can do to set rib bones. A person has to
breathe after all! Therefore, there was nothing they could do for me
period except cause trouble and interfere with the healing process. Yes,
I had cuts, scrapes, and bruises but nothing that wasn't already scabbing
over.

Besides, I didn't and don't have medical insurance, and I had no
intention of paying for a $500 ambulance charge. I have better things to
do with what little money I have. If I went to the hospital, they would
order x-rays, which are carcinogenic and do nothing to heal the body. Who
needs that?

I had to convince EMS I was OK so they'd leave me alone. They began
poking and prodding and jiggling me in various places, mostly the
midsection. Does this hurt? Does that hurt?

I answered no, no, and no. One time I had to lie. It really did hurt, but
I wasn't going to admit it. So did my head.

Before I knew it, they had cuffed me and were taking my pulse/BP. I knew
they weren't going to find a BP problem because my raw diet keeps it
around 100/60. My resting pulse is normally in the 40s but not under
these stressful circumstances.

"Sir, your pulse is elevated!" the meddler said with alarm in her voice.
They didn't want to leave without a patient.

I replied disdainfully, "Yours would be too if you had just been hit by a
truck!" She didn't have an answer for that.

They also asked a few questions to see if I knew who I was and where I
was going, as did the police. Finally they were satisfied and left.

It still took another 20 minutes before I could leave because the police
kept the van driver in their car asking him questions. Finally, they
quizzed me too and left. They offered me a ride home, but I told them I
could do it on my own, thank you. That proved a little optimistic.

Not only was the front wheel of the tire bent in half, the rear wheel had
been thrown out of alignment so that I couldn't just lift the front wheel
and pull the bike. I had to lift and carry the whole bike.

Somehow I got it to the curb, but every time I tried to lift it, I felt
shooting pains in my midsection. The torso muscles had been badly
injured. I could only carry the bike a few feet at a time and then rest.

I made it less than half a block before I had to stop and ponder whether
to just abandon the bicycle. Fortunately, a bystander from across the
street who was also a bike rider saw my dilemma and offered to help.

So he lugged the bike on his bike while I walked slowly home.

I arrived with a concussion headache that wouldn't stop. It was nonstop
for 3 days and then off and on for the rest of a week. The body sets
priorities when it heals, and nothing is higher priority than the brain
except for stopping any bleeding, so it was no surprise to me that it
became the first injury to heal.

It took me 2-3 months to fully recover from my many injuries. For several
weeks, I couldn't roll over in bed. The back and rib pain was too great.
In retrospect, I think I must have cracked a rib or two judging from the
symptoms I experienced. There was only one comfortable lying position, my
right side, which I had to gingerly and painstakingly get into and out of
whenever I wanted to lie down/get up. Fortunately, that's the position I
prefer to sleep in anyway.

The third night, I woke up with a nosebleed that wouldn't stop until I
stuffed a tissue up my nose. That was the most scary incident in the
aftermath. I wasn't expecting that and didn't know where it came from.
All's well that ends well, however, and we must learn to trust in the
healing wisdom of our bodies.

Besides back and rib injuries, I believe I also had liver damage (which
was the next thing to heal after the head), a sprained left foot and
Achilles heel where the van's bumper hit it, a bruise to the right thigh
where the bike bar must have struck, injury to the right arm where it hit
the pavement, and probably some other items I'm forgetting now.

I didn't discover these injuries all at once. I could feel the life force
cycling from one thing to the next. Pain would appear where there hadn't
been any when the body's attention was moved from one area to the next.

I run/jog daily to keep in shape, but I had to lay off completely for 3
weeks then gradually ease back into it. The back/side pain was too great.
After that, I could only manage ½ a mile for a time, but gradually it
became more and more until I was back to a few miles a day.

I didn't take a complete fast, which would have accelerated the healing
even more, but I did eat very lightly during this period and lost 10
pounds from a weight that was already low by standard weight tables.

Nevertheless, I did eventually heal from my injuries and regain the lost
weight. In my estimation I healed faster and better than I would have had
I followed medical advice. They would have had me on painkillers, which
only slow down and interfere with the healing process and probably would
have desensitized me to observing the beauties of the healing process in
action.

I'm thankful every day that I became a raw fooder around the end of
1992/beginning of 1993. I only wish I had discovered it earlier. It makes
everything so much better, including healing from injuries, both serious
and nonserious alike.