[Scpg] Gabriel Howearth - Six Months Later

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

Gabriel Howearth - Six Months Later

Dear Friends,


Up until now my health progress has been reported by my wife Kitzia 
and my doctor and friend, Dr. Karen Ferreira. And today, it is my 
pleasure to be able to report to you my progress since I have been at 
my mother Maria's home in Grass Valley in Northern California. As my 
right arm, from the shoulder to the tips of my fingers, is still 
affected by my illness, I am writing this report with the help of my 
mom.

First of all, I want to take this opportunity to personally thank all 
of you wholeheartedly for your support and prayers for my rapid, 
gentle and permanent recovery. I know your good thoughts and prayers 
have been an important part of my healing journey.

By now most of you are familiar with my health situation. For anyone 
who is not, my life was suddenly threatened while my family and me 
where living temporarily in the town of San Pancho, Nayarit, just 
north of Puerto Vallarta, to escape the hurricane season of Baja 
California. At the end of September the temperature was sweltering, 
so my 5-year old son, Aloe, and I went swimming. Soon afterwards we 
both developed severe earaches. Aloe's infection cleared up in a 
couple of weeks; whereas mine led to meningitis and pneumonia. I was, 
for a brief period, in a coma, subsequently unable to walk, speak, 
and swallow, so I had to be fed through a feeding tube. The extensive 
injury to my brain and nerves was substantial, and was accompanied by 
intense mental states. The pneumonia I experienced while hospitalized 
also took its toll, as did the powerful antibiotics and other 
medications I was given. After a three week hospital stay in Puerto 
Vallarta, I completely eliminated the meningitis and pneumonia and 
was well enough to be released to our temporary home north of that 
city. By the end of November I was finally able to swallow solid food 
and fluids, so my doctor decided it was time to remove my feeding 
tube in early December.

Unbeknownst to us, in early January '09 the house we were renting, 
and particularly the room where I spent my days and nights, developed 
an infestation of mold, which led to a further infection of my 
sensitive lungs. Once the mold infection was diagnosed, my friend, 
Dr. Ingrid Naiman, was contacted, as she is a well-known expert on 
mold infections. Kitzia developed a schedule and dosages on index 
cards that would properly treat the infection. Shortly thereafter it 
was decided it would be best for me to leave that area of Mexico and 
recuperate at my mother's home in Grass Valley, California. 
Fortunately for me, her home sits high on a knoll and is free of any 
molds. I have been here since late January. Once Ingrid prescribed 
the proper herbal tinctures to eliminate the mold infection, my 
mother generated a schedule of when to administer the proper dosages. 
I am very grateful to my friend, Dr. Ingrid Naiman, who has kept me 
supplied with all the medicines I needed to clear my lungs of the 
mold. Without her knowledge of the proper treatments for this 
infection, my mother would not have been able to give me the care I 
so desperately needed to rid my lungs of this debilitating infection. 
Dr. Naiman and Dr. Ferreira also advised my mother on the special 
diet I should follow, as well as giving my mother all the moral 
support she needed. This incident set me back, after having improved 
from my initial illnesses, for at least a couple of months - January 
and February.

Dr. Naiman, not only cleared my lungs of the mold, she took it upon 
herself to do fundraising towards the ear surgery I will need to have 
to replace my ruptured eardrum according to Dr. Krishna Gokul Gokani, 
of Ashland, OR. She was able to raise a major portion of the cost of 
this surgery. Dr. Naiman and I are presently looking into 
accommodations in either Portland, OR or San Francisco, CA to have 
the complete ear surgery, as I will need to stay in a set location 
for two weeks. Dr. Naiman supplied me with some parasite medicine to 
be taken around the full moon to the new moon of each month. She 
believes this medicine would help eliminate the parasites that could 
be microscopic to as long as 30', approximately. I took this medicine 
for the first month so far, and I believe it helped me eliminate some 
of the parasites which are affecting my arm and brain. I will keep 
you posted after I have taken the medicine at the next full moon.

At the end of February my brother Bob drove me to Ashland, OR to 
celebrate my birthday at Dr. Christopher Daugherty's home. It was 
wonderful to be able be with so many great friends I have known for a 
long time, some even for over 30 years. While in Ashland, my 
long-time friend, Dr. Gerry Lehrburger arranged for me to be examined 
by two neurologists, two throat, nose and ear specialists and a 
treatment with an excellent acupuncturist. One of the neurologists 
said, after examining me, he thought what I needed most to heal 
completely was to regenerate the conductivity between my skin and 
nerves. During my visit, Dr. Daugherty began treating my right 
shoulder, arm and hand, by soaking with Epson salt water and massage, 
as my arm and hand are not able to function normally. Since that time 
my mother has continued the treatments on a daily basis, and 
massaging both in the water and with oils. Because my thumb and my 
little finger are unable to straighten out on their own, my mother is 
placing a ball between these two fingers. My three middle fingers are 
not bending properly, so she massages these to try to loosen the 
muscles and tendons, thereby increasing their circulation. All during 
this time my massage therapist, Monique of Grass Valley, has been 
working on rotating my shoulder and upper arm, so now movement in 
this area has visibly improved. Another discomfort is some residual 
numbness on the lower right side of my face, from my upper ear to my 
throat and tingling on the left side of my body. I have been advised 
that these discomforts will disappear in due time. I am still 
experiencing discomfort because of my diminished hearing in my right 
ear, which my ear specialist stated is at 40% hearing ability. 
Fortunately, I have full hearing in my left ear.

Now, physically, I am doing amazingly well. To strengthen my legs I 
exercise on my mom's stationary bike and four times a day, I do my 
isometric exercises to all the muscles of my body. I can walk now 
without my cane, sometimes a little wobbly, but, hey, because of my 
fear of falling, especially down stairs and on uneven terrain, and 
hurting my right arm, I hesitate to walk at a regular pace. My speech 
is back to normal, although at times I will slur my words a little, 
because of the numbness of the right side of my face. My mother loves 
to cook, so I am eating wonderful organic food abundantly available 
here in Grass Valley, and taking all kinds of excellent supplements.

I know I am fortunate to be able to stay in the States, in the loving 
presence of family and friends, a necessary factor in my complete 
recovery. I believe I have come a long way. My illness nearly claimed 
my life, and at times it did not look promising my recovery would 
ever be quick or complete. Since then, this journey has been one of 
self-reclamation on all levels. I am a new man or rather I am peeling 
away the old obscuring layers, revealing my true self. For the many 
of you who knew me as a seedsman and a driven workaholic, giving my 
all for the sake of the planet, well, I am still dedicated to my life 
mission of educating and working to ensure that future generations 
will have plenty of healthy food to eat. Only now, as a result of my 
amazing healing odyssey, I have been transformed. My profound love 
and appreciation for my wife and family has deepened immensely, and I 
am taking a much more relaxed and joyful approach to life. Every day 
I am grateful for all my blessings.

Please continue to remember me in your prayers. Thank you for your 
caring and especially all of you who contributed to my healing. Those 
individuals who saw me through my worse days and responsible for my 
progress reports on my ongoing recovery were: my wife Kitzia, my mom 
Maria, my brother Bob, and my friends Dr. Karen and Antonio, and Dr. 
Ingrid Naiman. Forever I am grateful!!

Thank you for your prayers, blessings, considerations and donations. 
To continue on my healing journey I will need ongoing physical 
therapy, acupuncture and perhaps cranial sacral work, and of course 
an ear surgery. All of these treatments will aid in my complete 
recovery - the use of my right arm and hand, the numbness of the 
lower right side of my face and tingling of my body's left side, and 
hearing in my right ear. When my right arm and hand are back to 
normal, I will then be able to regain my balance and the ability to 
walk and run normally. I look forward to the day I can dance with my 
wife, play and run with my young sons, hike in the Rockies with my 
daughter, play my music, write my book and educational articles. If 
you wish to make a donation towards my recovery, you may contact me 
at <mailto:seeds.forever at gmail.com>seeds.forever at gmail.com, or 
directly deposit into our shared Wells Fargo account. For this 
information or if you need a Tax ID Number, also contact me at the 
above email address.


As I continue to improve please stay tuned for more updates. I will 
try to include some of my teachings on sustainability via learning to 
save seeds and create bountiful gardens for the security and health 
of generations to come.


Seedfully sprouting diversity, Gabriel




BACKGROUND:

Gabriel Howearth, Botanist, Landscape architect, Seedsman

Founder of Buena Fortuna Botanical Garden, in Baja Mexico (preserving 
3700 plant species of the tropical and dry tropical regions of the 
world), he is the president and co-founder of Siempre Semillas AC, a 
Mexican NGO whose main focus is to preserve seed diversity by 
teaching and planting. Gabriel with his personal seed bank collection 
of a living genealogy of plants containing many rare, endangered and 
exotic species of forgotten and little known food sources of great 
nutritional, cultural and genetic value he was an original Co-founder 
of Seeds of Change, the foremost GMO free organic seed company in the 
U.S. and half of the world.

Currently he is working with several ecological organizations in 
Central and South America and has been available to travel worldwide 
to teach about organic seeds and ways to preserve our genetic seed 
purity locally in order to contribute to global change in positive 
ways.

Recent consultations include:
Professional Consultation for "Dreaming New Mexico" towards a food & 
energy self-sustainable State by the year 2020; an ambitious and well 
supported project, initiative of Bioneers with the participation of a 
number of NGO's, Farmers, Indigenous Groups, Schools as well as 
Governmental support.

Professional consultation in Southern Oregon helping organize local 
seedsman and farmers work towards helping its people in the bioregion 
become seed and food self-sufficient - beyond sustainable.

In the early stages of developing a Polycultural- Permacultural 
landscape Design for state of the art Ola Brisa Eco Community in 
Todos Santos, on the Pacific Coast side of Baja California Sur, 
Mexico.

Some of his previous works include research with Sonic Bloom sound 
frequencies and music and pyramid enhancement for seeds and plants 
with documented success written in very popular books: "Secrets of 
the soil" and "The secret Life of Plants" by two famous 
authors/researchers Peter Tompkins and Christopher Byrd. The results 
of this research show how certain frequencies and music really work 
to greatly enhance plant growth production, yield, nutrition, flavor, 
quality and germination power of seeds especially enhanced by the 
combination of the use of Mayan pyramid seed enhancers.

He has traveled around the world and worked with many indigenous 
people to develop and increase diversity in organic farming and 
gardening. He has 30 years experience teaching and practicing 
permaculture, seed saving, biodynamic and organic agriculture.

QUOTES:

"Gabriel Howearth is a botanist, landscape architect and "seedsman," 
is the co-founder of Buena Fortuna Botanical Garden, in Baja, Mexico, 
and the president and co-founder of Siempre Semillas AC, an NGO whose 
main focus is preserving seed diversity through teaching and 
planting. Gabriel, an original co-founder of the company Seeds of 
Change, has traveled around the world working with many indigenous 
people to develop and increase diversity in organic farming and 
gardening, and has 30 years' experience teaching and practicing 
permaculture, seed saving, and biodynamic and organic agriculture." - 
from the Bioneers website

"Gabriel Howearth is an old friend of mine. His world-class 
biodiversity collection in Baja you have heard me speak of many 
times... He's a pioneer species of the seed-saving activists, he's an 
heirloom of the global heirloom movement, a botanical super-freak, 
designer and all around mad-scientist for humanity..."
Quote from the (r)evolution, L. Santoyo
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