World Redress

I was born January 29th, 1981 in Chicago, IL. My father is Caucasian and my mother is Vietnamese. They met during the Vietnam War. I have a twin sister and an older brother born in Vietnam 9 years before me. From the age of three until eleven I lived with my mother and her second husband, a loving Vietnamese man who came to the U.S. during the early 80’s. All during this time on the weekends, I would visit with a family who was my foster family for several months from the time I was three until four. They were a Caucasian American couple with a biological son and daughter, and two adopted children, one daughter from Vietnam and a son from Columbia. At eleven years old, my sister and I went to live with our former foster parents permanently and they became our “legal guardians.” I experienced a childhood full of different people of all different cultures, intense emotional experiences, lots of sharing and interaction… and course, food!

Food, the culinary arts, and making my way in any kitchen were always passionate interests of mine. My favorite television show was “Great Chefs,” which I watched religiously for over a decade from childhood until college. I especially loved when the show would feature chefs outside of the U.S., as I have always loved cuisines from all over the world.

Despite my love for food, food preparation, and the experience of eating; there was also a struggle over which I felt I had little power to overcome. As a young person my diet was dependent on the choices made by the adults in my life, and as an adult my diet was dependent on the choices of the local supermarket executives. I always noticed the positive difference I felt when I ate a meal that incorporated fresh plant foods relative to when I ate a microwave dinner. As a youth, it generally appeared that I ate very well. I often sampled the food of cuisines from all around the world. I was privileged to share company with all types of conscious and caring people, like my legal guardians who made sure we had a vegetable whether dinner was at a fine ethnic restaurants or at home. I was fortunate to build a strong foundation for a vegetarian lifestyle out of the varied exposure to many different types of cuisine during my childhood and teenage years .

I never suffered from any of the most serious diseases or conditions such as cancer or diabetes during my childhood, so I thought of myself as pretty healthy. I did suffer from chronic allergies, including asthma attacks spurred on by encounters with household pets, but I learned that “almost everyone has allergies.” I was also regularly sluggish/lethargic, had trouble concentrating in school, depressed, and puffy (or not as trim as I felt I could be). As a performer and musician outside of the kitchen, I was always particularly aware of my body and the way that I felt. It wasn’t uncommon for me to skip a meal before a concert in order to have the energy to perform and sing my best. I heard that “fruit was medicine for the voice” and “don’t eat bread before you have to sing,” but it was several years before I realized how deep this wisdom is rooted in the true nature of human health.

Certain health challenges from my early years did follow me into adulthood. Every time I had an allergic reaction, or a pair of jeans that had fit me a month previous became too tight, I sent a prayer out that I would eventually become empowered around my physical body and my health. My journey brought me to the Vegan lifestyle at 19 years old. In the year 2000 after relinquishing all animal products, I experienced my first allergy-free pollen season in Georgia (if you know anything about pollen season in GA you know this is significant!). All of the extra weight I carried dropped off my body (about 15 pounds). I discovered homeopathic remedies for my pet allergies. I also discovered some of the truths about the meat and dairy industries and began to feel strongly about avoiding these foods. I was completely dedicated to the lifestyle for about a year, but peer pressure and the stressful life of a college student made it easy for me to become complacent about the difference that Veganism made for me, especially when everyone around me chose to drink or do drugs to cope with the pain and shame of their maladies. I remained somewhat conscious about what I was eating, but I gave up the Vegan dogma and would often end up eating very little food in complete rebellion. My body became very slim during my Veganism and my low-calorie lifestyle, but I would feel starved and my depression was still a constant issue. I also began to observe a minor discomfort in my left hip that I first noticed at age 17 become a significant discomfort, and then a major pain.

In 2004 at the age of 23, I saw an orthopedist to determine what might be wrong with my hip. The x-ray indicated that I had “degenerative rheumatoid arthritis in my left hip” (a.k.a. osteoarthritis) and I would need to have my hip replaced. This news was devastating considering the cost of the surgery and that I didn’t have health insurance at the time. The combination of the diagnosis, a defeatist’s attitude, and an ultimately unfulfilled life made it a matter of time before my left hip joint would waste away painfully and completely.

I moved to New York City in 2005. Even though my ability to walk was waning, I knew that it was the time for me to leave the small town where I lived in Georgia and take on the city while as I was still agile at all. About a year later, I finally had to quit my job at a popular restaurant in Brooklyn and move into my life of “disability.”

I had spent most of my time coping with the pain of the osteoarthritis with alcohol or drugs, while often eating very little food. Something changed for me when I returned to Georgia after I had quit my job at the end of 2006. I went to Atlanta to spend time with my brother and sister while I either; made plans to have the surgery for free with an inexperienced surgeon at Grady Hospital; or made my next move.

While in Atlanta with my sister Vicky, she suggested I try a detox nutrition and enzyme delivery system called IsaGenix. She was currently working out regularly, in very good shape, and using the product herself. I reluctantly tried the product, and found it amazing! I never knew anything about enzymes until I tried this product. I felt even better than I did when I became vegan. The pain in my hip temporarily subsided and I had more energy than ever before. My body also shaped up and I felt radiant.

Finances were limited at the time, and we couldn’t always keep up with ordering the IsaGenix shakes. My hip became extremely stiff again and surgery was still the only option.

I felt I couldn’t risk it with the the surgery in Georgia. I had already done research and discovered that a relatively affordable surgery in a good hospital with experienced surgeons could take place in India, but it would be a while before I got the money together to have that done.

I spent only a few months in Georgia before returning to New York. In New York I began to hear the buzz about the Raw Food Movement. I became friends with someone who was in the midst of the Jubbs’ 14-day Liver and Gall Bladder Cleanse and he was radiant and ecstatic, just as I had felt on the IsaGenix. He began to educate me on Raw and Living Food Nutrition. My friend sat me down with Juliano’s Uncook Book, Raw Food, Real World by Sarma Melngailis and Matthew Kenney, and The Lifefood Recipe Book: Living on Lifeforce by the Jubbs. I knew immediately that this was the path for which I had been searching. My love for food propelled me to see this discovery as the next leap in my culinary adventure, while my desire for healing propelled me to feel that I was upon the greatest gift for healing ever. It was exhilarating.

My constant research with books, videos, films, and lectures brought through the world of raw chocolate, goji berries, seaweeds, spirulina, E3 Live (AFA Algae) and raw kale and collard greens to experience miraculous healing. I began to do all natural fasts outside of the IsaGenix program like the Neera Cleanse, the Master Cleanse and mono-dieting. I discovered the true blessing and beauty of a blender to liquify my food for ease of digestion. I completely healed my allergies, found balance with my moods, and could read and retain information like never before. I tried the foods out with other people, especially chocolate. My lifestyle choice created quite a buzz. I helped my friends lose weight and deal with their allergies. One of my best friends let me be her personal chef for a few months. She lost over 30 pounds. We were both amazed at how her combination of regular Bikram Yoga and a raw food lifestyle (which included lots of raw chocolate!) helped her lose weight she never thought she could lose as an adult.

I was also very pleased with my journey with the raw food lifestyle, but it remained difficult for me to get around as I was completely dependent on a cane. My hip joint was too damaged and hindered me too much for me to keep up with my natural healing, and after almost 2 years of natural healing to keep the pain at a minimum, I finally got my surgery in India with a wonderful team of surgeons. The head surgeon, Dr. Harsha Hegde, had performed over 1,000 hip surguries. I had a total hip replacement, non-cemented with a ceramic-headed prosthesis, in July of 2008.

The recovery for the surgery was intensive. For one, my femur bone was too small for the smallest prosthesis they had, so upon insertion during the surgery, the bone broke and had to be wired. My leg had also seriously atrophied during the two years that I was dependent on a cane. It was an entire month before my left leg could bear any weight at all. I was uncertain as to whether or not I’d ever be able to walk again. I gained about 20 pounds around the time of the surgery. I strayed far from the living foods lifestyle while I lived with my family before the surgery and during my recovery.

The healing process was slow and painful until I moved to Miami. In Miami, I started training at the city’s first raw and living foods restaurant and gradually moved back into the lifestyle. Eventually I was going to the beach almost everyday and stretching my toes and all the fine little muscles in my legs while walking on the sand. I ate farm-fresh food from the farmer’s market, drank charged water with MSM every morning, cleansed again, this time with MMS, and felt fresh and new again. My leg was getting stronger than I ever thought it would, my body trimmed up again, and with a healthy tan from my regular time at the beach; I felt beautiful and alive.

Over all of this time I came to cherish the following: sunshine, fresh and local produce, charged water, and positive thinking. It may seem that the more we put ourselves down if we aren’t living the life we wish for ourselves, the more we’ll deter ourselves from making the same mistakes. I believe that the actual initial mistake is a lack of love. Give yourself better food and better health because you’ve worked out your thinking and realize that you deserve nothing but the best. If we don’t do this, we ultimately leave our happiness up to others, and this causes suffering and misery for ourselves and the ones we love.

My early life gave me access to incredible empathy and the ability to relate to others as myself, as well as some heavy emotional issues that inspire me to accept, allow, and expand. The trials during my adulthood have taught me about forgiveness and patience. Now that I am in control of my health, I now know there’s nothing that could get in the way of any goal or desire I have for myself. That’s freedom, and it’s what you deserve as well.

Thanks for reading and All the Best for You on Your Journey!
~Cat