
I had this wonderful spring break vacation all planned. We were to meet up with friends and our two families were going to do all these fun activities together. I rehearsed this wonderful trip in my mind for weeks before we left. My friend and I bought our (discount) passes and admission tickets in advance, and we worked on a detailed itinerary with all our activities planned for each day. It was going to be such a lovely trip!
However, life had a different plan and there was nothing I could do about it. After barely surviving our red eye flight (no one slept) we coasted into town on fumes. Exhausted from the journey, my husband, son and I all fell asleep before the sun went down in our tiny rented apartment.
The lack of sleep combined with the stress of travel must have lowered my immunity. On the second day of our vacation both my 12 year old son and I woke up with a fever, chills, headache and body aches. Yep, we caught the dreaded flu!
I can tell you being away from home and feeling so sick is certainly nobody's idea of a vacation. Yet here we were, stuck in an apartment 3,000 miles away from home, feeling horrible and without any of my natural remedies on hand. Gasp!
Let me clarify that I don't get sick very often. And it's been many years since I've had the flu. But my natural remedy cabinet is my treasure chest of cures. It's there to treat my family (safely) whenever someone happens to get sick, which thankfully happens less and less each year.
So there I was, lost without my arsenal of essential oils, vitamins, herbal supplements and healing foods. I began to panic, but was determined to not let this flu knock us down for a week, or two! We had friends waiting and sightseeing to do. This was our VACATION after all!
So, what did I do? I sent the only healthy person in the place (my husband) to a nearby store for specific items. They were:
1. A big bag of lemons
2. A jar of honey
3. Black Elderberry (sold as Sambucol at the local drugstore)
4. Chicken soup (there was a great Pho house around the corner)
5. Emergen C tablets
6. Green tea and herbal tea
7. Fruit juice pops (for the kid)
8. Fresh cold-pressed green juice and blueberry juice
And guess what, I made it work! I didn't have my juicer, Vitamix blender or my reliable supplements, but we did have a store nearby. Thank goodness. My son and I stayed in bed and slept (a lot) and we took the Black Elderberry (Sambucol) every three hours. We drank tons of warm water with lemon and honey and ate healing broth based soups. Just like magic, we were back on our feet within 48 hours.
So why did I tell this story? Because life is unpredictable and you can't always plan the perfect vacation. And if you happen to be unlucky like me, and get sick on vacation, there is hope you can heal when you're away -- without turning to risky over-the-counter cold and flu medicines. You see, when we acknowledge the body's amazing capacity to heal and give it the right supplements, nourishing foods and plenty of rest, it will recover quickly. Guaranteed.
On day three, I may not have sprung to my feet with loads of energy, but I was up and walking around, fever free and feeling normal enough to join our friends. Never mind what happened the day after I recovered (my husband caught our flu) which caused our vacation to be a total bust. Thankfully we made it home safely and all is back to normal. C'est la vie!
One other secret to bouncing back from a virus so fast, you need to keep your immune function strong. How do I do this? I try to eat clean as often as possible. My diet consists of colorful vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats. I don't overdo sugar or dairy, and I make sleep a priority. And yes, I do my best to let go of stress.
If you want to learn more about living a healthier life, I have this awesome 28 day program that teaches you how to eat clean, let go of stress and detox your body naturally. You can check it out here.