My story with cervical dysplasia and how I got into Ayurveda

Photo by Ava Sol via Unsplash

Hello!

Hope you are having a good week so far. I took a little break from the city last weekend and it felt so refreshing!

Last week I posted a quick video on my Instagram where I shared a tiny bit of my story and how I got into Ayurveda. I wanted to go a little deeper into this story in case it can help you or other women you may know. This is a little bit of a longer email but I hope that it can inspire you to always trust your instincts when dealing with your health.

My background - 1981 to 2000

Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I moved to New York when I was 18 years-old with the intention of spending six months with my father who was working here at the time (destiny didn’t hear my plans, and I am still here, 20 years later!).

I was very lucky to have women in my family that loved to use natural artifacts to take care of us (kids) when something unusual came up. My maternal grandmother had so many great homemade healing recipes. She was an incredible cook and loved making fresh food for us. It was very inspiring to watch her whip up the most delicious meals with very simple ingredients.

Becoming a mother and dealing with postpartum- 2015 

In March of 2015 I gave birth to the most precious little girl. I had a 35-hour labor that drained everything in me. At the end it was the most magical experience of my life and I wouldn’t have had it any other way, but I was so depleted.

I was lucky to have my mother stay with me for the initial 40 days and my husband full time for 2 weeks, but at the time I had no idea about postpartum and what it entailed. I had mood swings, I cried in silence and I felt like my organs were about to fall out of my body if I stood for longer than 10 minutes. I was so used to being independent and the idea of having someone do things for me made me feel like a child, so I stubbornly reacted to my mom’s offers.

HPV, CIN I and Ayurveda

Fast Forward to almost a year later I was still struggling. Between the sleepless nights, a full-time job and trying to keep up with my marriage, I felt helpless. On top of all that I found out that I had mildly abnormal cells on my cervix due to HPV. The Human Papilloma Virus, as it’s called, is considered a pandemic in the US, with almost  6 million new cases every year. There are several strains of the virus and a few are considered dangerous because they can turn into cancer. A lot of people contract the virus but it stays dormant until your immunity lowers (my case).

The approach of most western doctors is to leave it alone in case it’s a mild case or go for surgery if it advances. Since mine was mild, I let it alone and continued to live a life of depletion.

My cousin had done ayurvedic treatments in the past and had very successful results, so at some point I felt so tired that I decided to give it a try. I had basic knowledge of the science (I had taken a miniature course online) and so I went on to book my first session with Dr. Naina Marballi. Little did I know that I was about to change the course of my life.

Dr. Naina felt the virus very active in my pulse as well as a lack of nourishment from basic minerals and vitamins in my bloodstream (hence the reason why my immunity was not reacting). She looked at me almost with pity and asked: do you have any enthusiasm in life? I knew that wasn’t a good sign.

From that moment on I changed my life drastically. I would wake up at 6, have a silence practice, some form of exercise, cook fresh food to take to work, make my daughter’s lunch and dinner and head to work. While working I would listen to podcasts on Ayurveda almost daily. I was fascinated. I wanted to drop everything and just study day and night. I asked Dr. Naina if I could join her program to become an ayurvedic counselor. She said it wasn’t the time yet, I had to care for my little one.

CIN III 

I kept making sure to get checked every 6 months to track the virus. Sure enough one day I got the call saying it was entering the last stage before cancer, CIN III. I was so disappointed. In my mind I was doing everything I could and my body still wasn’t fighting it. I wanted to cry.

Instead, I signed up for Dr. Naina’s program. I wanted to invest in taking my health in my hands and my family’s too. I realized that as much as I was doing a lot of the right things my head was not in the right place. I did not enjoy my job anymore and I just wanted to spend time with my daughter.

So I made the move and tried little by little to make more changes. I also tried all sorts of different natural treatments. From meditations to women’s circles, passing through xamanism and a complete 3 week detox program based on Ayurveda (called Panchakarma). I studied women’s health and found my heart singing for the first time in my life. I drove my husband crazy (and probably my whole family) with all of my dietary restrictions. Finally I was lucky enough to find Dr. Nick LeRoy’s book on targeting HPV and decided to try his treatment.

(For more info on Dr. Nick, check out his book and his YouTube channel.) 

Clear results

Dr. Nick’s treatment consisted of applying a completely natural solution topically to “burn” the sick cells and instigate your immune system to react to it. We took before and after pictures and saw the transformation of my cervix. It was unbelievable. 

After almost 3 years I finally had a clear exam. NO ABNORMAL CELLS. I was in heaven! Deep inside I knew I would find a solution from Mother Nature just like my grandmother did when I was a kid. I knew I had to go through this long journey to learn all that I learned and to be able to help other women.

I truly thank the universe for making me sick so I could change paths and be where I now am. I promised myself that if I ever got healed my mission would be to help as many women as possible in anything they need.

Just like me, so many women don’t know what to expect when they become mothers and they find themselves in the state I found myself: depleted and overwhelmed. With a society that expects us to snap our fingers and be back to our “normal” state, “normal bodies” and sharp minds in less than 3 months (at least in America). This isn’t real and it’s making a lot of us sick. 

So today I want to open my arms to all of you women and give you a really strong hug and say that I am here for you. You are amazing! If you are struggling with any health or mental issues, please reach out to me. Let’s talk it out. Let me be the support you need.

With love,

Thais