06 - The Super Ball Tumor: What My Brain Surgery Revealed About Health Resilience
THE RESILIENT PATH: Forging Your Unshakable Life
After clean, uncontaminated water, salt, food and shelter, your next priority is your general health and first aid skills! When I say “Health”, I’m referring to physical, mental and spiritual. Like anything else in life, imbalances and deficiencies lead to poor performance or failure. If your immune system is deprived of salt, certain vitamins and quality water, at some point you’ll probably catch a cold, contract the flu or develop another illness. I’m going to focus on physical, but will share some observations and suggest paths to mental and spiritual resilience as well.
Physical Health
I can’t emphasize this enough - VITAMIN D (D3) is the literal foundation of your body’s immune and repair system. You get it only in one of three ways: Exposure of your skin to sunlight (specifically Ultraviolet B), Vitamin D3 supplements or particular foods. Try putting on swim trunks and laying in the sun for 20-30 mins on a chase lounge or flat surface in the late morning or early afternoon, first on your back, then on your stomach for another 20-30 mins. Do it with no music or distractions...after doing this a few times, it starts to feel almost like you’re a battery being re-charged! I’ve done it for years and it’s done wonders for my general health and well-being.
If you do a little homework, you’ll find that one of the keys to the world getting past the Spanish Flu pandemic of the early 1900’s was Vitamin D. Even the smallest increase in Vitamin D levels in your body is beneficial. Late in the Spanish Flu pandemic, hospitals started moving their patient beds outdoors on sunny days and VOILA - People started getting better!
This was in large part due to two things: having patients outdoors did give their skin some exposure to sunlight AND the UV light rays from the sun kill pathogens like the Spanish flu.
BEING RESILIENT TIP: I don’t worry about contracting the flu or a cold by grabbing the handle of a grocery cart that’s been outside – it’s had plenty of UV exposure to kill any germs and bacteria on the handle! A noisy or bumpy wheel on the cart however, is an entirely different matter!
As my closest colleagues know, I am rarely sick...and if I have an injury or illness, I tend to recover quickly! I pay very close attention to my exposure to the sun and Vitamin D3 supplement intake. You should too. Guess what happens when you put sunscreen on your skin when you’re on a beach vacation? You shut off your skin’s ability to convert the sunlight to Vitamin D. Coupled with excessive alcohol and eating poorly when you’re on vacation - it’s a recipe for getting sick!
Try this next time you’re on vacation or at the beach: spend the first 20 minutes in the sun with no sunscreen, then put your sunscreen on. Too much of anything is not good, including sunlight, so use sunscreen, hats and cover up as needed to prevent damage to your skin.
BEING RESILIENT TIP: Your skin is the largest organ of your body and quickly absorbs anything its exposed to! Educate yourself on the toxic ingredients of liquid sunscreen and avoid ingredients like oxybenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, and homosalate, which are all absorbed into your body.
If your blood has less than 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) of Vitamin D saturation, you’re very prone to illness and poor healing. There are VAST opinions in the medical and professional world about healthy vitamin D levels so I’m simply sharing my decades of personal observations and study which have resulted in an outstanding quality of life and minimal need for “health” and pharmaceutical industries except in the event of something catastrophic (bone break, ruptured appendix, etc.).
Here's an analogy to emphasize how Vitamin D works in your body:
Much like a bricklayer needs knowledge, experience, physical ability, bricks and mortar to build a building, Vitamin D also has essential complementary components to work best and support good health and re-construction in your body – they are Calcium, Vitamin K2, Vitamin A and Vitamin E. Applying the bricklayer analogy, Calcium is the BRICKS and MORTAR. Vitamin K2 is the physical bricklayer which knows how to physically place the bricks and mortar (Calcium) in your body.
Without K2, calcium often gets deposited in your arteries, which is not good for long-term circulatory and heart health. When a K2 supplement is taken with Vitamin D3 and Calcium, the Vitamin K2 “instructs” the Vitamin D to put the calcium in the best places in your body, namely your bones, teeth, etc. Think of Vitamin A and Vitamin E as the training and hands-on experience the bricklayer needs - to know how, what and where to use all of these to build the strongest structure possible.
These vitamins (A, D, E, K2) and minerals (Calcium) all work together in harmony as the literal “foundation” of your body’s ability to repair itself, fight disease, maintain strong bones, maintain strong vision and much more!
The D3, K2, A and Calcium are “fat-soluble” vitamins and best taken with meals, especially in the morning or midday – avoid taking on an empty stomach.
I strongly recommend at least once a year (late fall is best) to get your blood tested for Vitamin D saturation to ensure you’re taking the proper amount of Vitamin D3 supplements and/or getting an appropriate amount of sun exposure. In my experience and research, anything above 50 ng/mL of Vitamin D is great with 70 or more being ideal. As always, moderation is best, so don’t overdo it!
I recommend blood work in the late fall since many of us live in Northern latitudes and don’t get much sun exposure during the winter months. Having your blood tested during this time will give you a general indication of how much Vitamin D3/etc. you should be taking to maintain your immune system over the winter.
I always wondered growing up why I got terrible colds and flu over the late fall or winter months! Once I discovered the “secret combination” above, it all made perfect sense.
RESILIENT PATH INSIGHT - Much of the supplements industry products are tainted with chemicals and other undesirable ingredients due to the fact that their raw materials are sourced from China and India. Buyer beware - My recommendations with links in this chapter are from sources I know and trust. While they might not be perfect, they are far better than alternatives. Be diligent!
Keeping it simple, here’s one of the best ways with a good balance of several essential vitamins to supplement D, A, K and E - DAKE from Suppgrade Labs.
You’ll notice the link above includes Vitamin E – which also works with Vitamin D3 to support your immune system and deal with chronic stress, called “oxidative stress”.
Magnesium is a key part of your diet and overall health. Think of magnesium as the “great regulator” of your body’s systems - Nerves, muscles, blood glucose, blood pressure and DNA/RNA synthesis to name a few.
Magnesium is best taken at night – it helps with sleep and a general “recharge” of your body for the next day.
This one works great for me and noticeably improved my sleep at night - Magnesium 101 from Suppgrade Labs.
BEING RESILIENT TIP: Caffeine consumption via coffee, energy drinks and soda depletes the minerals and nutrients in your body, especially Magnesium! Be mindful of this and make sure you’re moderating your intake so as not to overly deplete your body and increase your vulnerability to illness.
Vitamin C, like Vitamin D in particular, is essential to your overall health and has an interesting “history of mystery” I’d like to briefly share with you.
Scurvy, the result of Vitamin C deficiency, is a dreadful disease. Often occurring with malnutrition in general, even today it can in some way affect up to 45 percent of refugees. Vitamin C is not stored in the body, so we as humans require constant replenishment, typically in the form of fruits, vegetables and leafy greens. Before the late 1700’s and the discovery of and broader understanding of Vitamin C being the cure, Scurvy was prevalent among global populations and often a common cause of death (Remember all the Pirate movies and shows with the reference to “SCUUUURRRRVVVVY”?. For centuries, scurvy was prevalent among sailors on journeys across the oceans for extended periods of time, usually a month or more.
Liposomal Vitamin C is ideal.
The good news is scurvy is not anything to truly worry about in our modern society, unless something catastrophic happens and you run out of nutritious food or supplements. I discuss ways to make sure you’re doing what’s necessary for sustainability and resiliency of your food supply in a later chapter.
Your body has a great way of handling Vitamin C, so it’s very hard to overdose. I have a big frame at 6’5” and 270 lbs and take anywhere from 1000 to 2000 mg per day. I don’t catch colds and am fortunate to have a strong stomach and regular digestive system.
Signs you’re taking too much Vitamin C are nausea, diarrhea and digestive discomfort. As with anything, excess is not good, so take it responsibly.
Me being aware of the REAL benefits and proper amounts of Vitamin D3 and Vitamin C in my diet has changed my quality of life profoundly for the better.
I’m not perfect and do get sick, but it’s a rare exception - usually due to neglecting something or unusually high stress from excessive travel or lack of sleep.
BEING RESILIENT TIP: It’s valuable to have on hand and understand the benefits of one of these 3 powerful antivirals that work quite well with your natural immune system instead of relying on overly-prescribed pharmaceutical antibiotics which negatively affect your gut biome:
2) Quercetin
3) Ivermectin
RESILIENT PATH INSIGHT: If you know anyone who works on septic tanks or at the municipal wastewater treatment plant, you may have heard that one of the things they see most in their experience working with wastewater is undigested vitamins! If you’re going to spend the money on vitamins, buy them in quality and the ideally digestible format. Anything else is a waste of time, money and potential health benefit.
The SECOND most profound thing that improved my general health and resiliency to stress was managing my body’s PH!
Oh, you didn’t know this was “a thing” you should manage? If you’ve ever owned or managed the chemistry of a swimming pool or hot tub, you’ll know THE most important thing to manage to maintain water quality is PH (Acid/Alkaline balance).
If you don’t, it goes to heck-in-a-hand-basket pretty quickly...algae, bacteria, yuck!
Your body is on average more than 60% water, and like swimming pool chemistry, must be maintained or it will be yuck too!
Kind of ironic the earth’s surface is covered by approximately the same percentage of water as in our bodies - a funny coincidence, eh?
You may be telling yourself, bah, I don’t have to do this! Well, let me share at least why it mattered to my health and quality of life.
Sadly, I experienced divorce after 17 years of marriage.
Stressful is an understatement. Chronic stress is one of the greatest slow killers and shows up in people in different ways – cancer, chronic illness, skin issues, etc.
Minimizing and eliminating chronic stress plays a big part in resilient health and quality of life.
Several years prior to my divorce, I learned of the importance of managing your body’s PH. In fact, did you know there’s lists available that show you which foods and liquids you consume have an acid or alkaline reaction with your body chemistry? Here’s one example:
Where’s your blind spot?
I’m a living example of what happens when you proactively work to ensure your body's PH is slightly alkaline by implementing a "micro-adjustment" to address a blind spot. I survived brain cancer because of the micro-adjustment I made to consistently manage my PH!
In 2013 (not long after my divorce was finalized), I had sudden chronic ringing in my left ear. Since this was completely unexpected, I went to a highly recommended ear specialist in my area for a checkup. As part of the protocol and my symptoms, he recommended I get an MRI to make sure he had the full picture for diagnosis.
Well, a week after my MRI and with a follow-up appointment, I received the bad news – I had a golf ball-sized tumor next to my brain stem! This is what was affecting my hearing, it’s called a vestibular schwannoma, or “acoustic neuroma”. Not typically fatal, but mine was in a very bad spot and had grown into my brain stem.
Yes, yikes.
Turns out, this tumor had been growing for more than twelve years in my head! This size is considered stage IV, so I had to act quickly because of the potential impact to my long-term health and quality of life.
In the only way I know to explain it, “divine circumstances” led me to a unique, pioneering surgeon who did the surgery endoscopically. Much like endoscopic knee surgery, this type of procedure would likely minimize the impact to my quality of life and reduce my recovery time to less than a year (the traditional procedure had an expected recovery time of up to 2 1/2 years!).
BTW...I have many witnesses to these life-changing “divine” events.
I figured out why on August 22nd of 2013 this was the surgeon who must operate on me – my case was truly unique. My surgery took nearly twice as long compared to more than three thousand prior patients (a normal surgery was 4 1/2 hours). Why did mine take so long? After the surgery when I arrived in recovery, the doctor, to my surprise, asked me “Mr. Atkinson, what do you do different?”. He asked me this because a normal tumor that he works on is the consistency of jello and is not difficult to remove.
He said mine was the consistency of a super ball.
This is why my surgery took so long – I had a super ball grown into my brain stem!
His surgical gifts helped him very carefully cut away and remove the hard, rubbery pieces of the tumor located more than 17CM deep in my head - without rendering me permanently disabled in some way!
My surgeon was a literal godsend.
For various reasons I cannot disclose his name, but if you, Dr. S. ever read this book, know that I’m eternally grateful to you!
My tumor was the consistency of a super ball because it had calcified from consistent management of my body’s PH in the several years prior to the surgery. It was the only major change in my lifestyle that would have done that. Tumors are acidic and cannot survive in a slightly alkaline environment, so my tumor died.
Normal, healthy cells maintain a slightly alkaline environment, typically hovering around a pH of 7.35 to 7.45. In stark contrast, cancer cells create and thrive in an acidic microenvironment, with pH levels dropping to approximately 6.5 to 6.9.
After much discomfort due to 24x7 VERTIGO and complete inability to walk for more than 4 months, I made a full recovery with one exception – I lost the hearing in my left ear, which is not uncommon with this type of tumor and surgery.
Now you know one of the real secrets to maintaining a resilient immune system - you must manage the PH of the water in your body!
How do I manage mine? Simple – about a tsp of lemon juice in an 8 to 12 oz. glass of water every morning immediately after I wake up. I can’t recommend it enough to people whose bodies respond well to citrus (some don’t so you’ll have to find what works best for you!) If you do this, be sure to rinse your mouth/teeth with pure water after you drink the water and lemon juice – to rinse away any remaining citric acid.
BEING RESILIENT TIP: Infections are bacterial and viral in nature – depending on what type it is, it will respond differently in acid, neutral or alkaline conditions. Understand that your first, best defense against viruses and bacteria is a healthy immune system and a well-balanced, stable, gut and microbiome. Did you know there’s a healthy debate raging about what mouthwash does to a healthy microbiome in your mouth? The same can be said for the over-use of antibiotics and their disruption to your gut biome!
RESILIENT PATH INSIGHTS: Everything you ingest or expose your physical body to has an effect on you, but don’t worry! Focus on what you have control over...which is quite simply:
what you drink
what you eat
what and who you listen to
your immediate physical environment (i.e. air quality)
who you invest time with
what you do with your time
Here’s another reason why a resilient immune system and quality of life should be an imperative - America and the rest of the world’s population in developed countries experienced an explosion in excess mortality starting in 2020. – I n fact, several insurance companies underwriting disability insurance policies have sounded the alarm in recent years due to this disturbing increase. Ed Dowd and the team at www.phinancetechnologies.com continue to provide us a glimpse of what to expect in the future and the implications of increased mortality rates around the world. Their work is outstanding and I encourage you to incorporate the data from their evolving research and interviews into any/all of your preparedness plans!
RESILIENT PATH INSIGHT: Due to the long term and likely civilization-altering trend of excess mortality for societies around the world, I intensely researched it. During my research, I also discovered this interesting statistic - there’s never been a documented case of SIDS in an un-vaccinated child in the US. Being a father, SIDS was always a concern with my young children...
The last major physical health topic I’ll cover is your teeth. If you have any dental issues, get them fixed asap. You’d be surprised how quickly you can be completely debilitated or even die from what appears at first to be a nothing burger in your mouth! Infection, Cavities, gum issues, root problems, whatever it is, if anything feels out of sorts, get it fixed and be proactive about your gums and teeth!
There’s an increasing body of evidence and research happening in the world of human teeth and the mouth biome - it’s looking to have a much greater influence on balance and stability of our bodies than previously known!
When the time comes, I’m sorry to say that many of our family and friends will suffer from the lack of access to modern dentistry.
Mental Health
If you’re not aware, at the time of this writing, we have a literal mental health crisis which feels like it’s everywhere, at every level - like all the parents are away on vacation and the kids have the run of the place. Bad decisions, inconsideration for others, zero situational awareness and general lack of respect for anything or anyone appears to be the current zeitgeist.
Find someone you can trust and talk to!
It could be our "My Resilient Self" AI resiliency guide, it could be your best friend or family member, it could be professional help...just remember you’re not alone and others really do care about your well-being! A large part of my inspiration for writing this book is because I’ve been there and understand how much it matters to quality of life – having a calm harbor (person) you can always find refuge with!
I would not be here and able to write this if it wasn’t for that person...literally.
That said, it's not a one-way street! “You Get What You Give” is absolutely true...and a very catchy tune by the New Radicals.
Personal responsibility is just that...personal.
Take responsibility for each and every one of your actions and make sure you're legitimately and honestly giving consideration to the perspective lenses of others! Elders, parents, siblings, cousins, teenagers, children, neighbors, veterans, teachers, active-duty soldiers, policemen, firemen, etc. – each and every one of them sees the world through a unique lens and deserves consideration!
You’ll find that as you begin to embrace this consideration, your life is altered for the better, forever.
As an example, in my travels through America and around the world, people from every country I’ve ever traveled to are generally good.
As each of us come to these realizations and stop mass stereotyping, I’m confident the world will slowly become a much better place!
RESILIENT PATH INSIGHT: As I've learned and refined The Resiliency Code, I've discovered one key feature: It flushes out in-authenticity and dishonesty almost instantaneously! In fact, they are incompatible with The Resiliency Code. In a rapidly changing world of opportunity and potential peril, what could be more valuable?
The Resiliency Code was created from life-experiences which demonstrated that when each of us discovers our own physical, mental and spiritual mis-alignments, we can take action in the form of "micro-adjustments" each day - small, meaningful changes in an effort to minimize the impact of our failures and provide us the greatest chance to "fail-forward". Failing-forward maintains our growth momentum such that we don't have to "burn out" or "reset" from zero.
That being said, the honest truth is that there are bad apples - fellow humans which have chemical imbalances, disorders, radical mentors or experiences in their lives, resulting in an incompatibility with society in general. There really is such a thing as psychopaths, sociopaths, murderers, etc. (you get my drift).
Be mindful of this in the years to come.
Spiritual Health
Our civilization is built on societies which have a common set of beliefs and customs, this is the literal glue that holds our society together. Each of us as individuals have a truly unique view of the world (as I shared above) – hence, it’s necessary to give consideration to others for their beliefs, especially spiritual beliefs.
Generally speaking, all people have some sort of common ground to work from - whatever your belief system is, it is yours, but likely has much in common with others.
Divisiveness and intolerance are toxic to a society and culture in general, no matter what your beliefs. That said – if you’re legitimately interested in the greatest quality of life, believe in what deep inside your heart feels right, listen to your natural intuition and then collaborate with others to do good things which improve the lives of others.
The greatest crisis we face in the world today is a crisis in leadership – be the exceptional example and do the right thing regardless of peer pressure or influence.
Whether you believe in the Most High or not, doesn’t matter...the fact is that there are consequences to each of your actions that affect others and if left unchecked, result in catastrophic events which have occurred throughout history (an outstanding book on this topic is Victor Davis Hanson’s recent book “The End of Everything”).
Given my personal experiences, I apply the concept of “reasonable doubt” to everything. After all, reasonable doubt is the bedrock of our unique legal system in America! If there’s reasonable doubt, a conviction is not possible without the legal burden of proof being met!
I’ve seen and experienced sufficient physical evidence to know there is something more than just our physical existence! In fact, I thoroughly enjoy deep philosophical discussions on the topic as part of my journey to understand what I don’t know.
In the meantime, I encourage you to seek, learn and understand as much as you can on this topic, doing your best not to limit yourself to extreme dogmas which demand divisiveness, victimhood and intolerance.
And whatever you do, do not in any way attempt to force your beliefs on someone else!
Share your experiences in a collaborative way to improve your quality of life, which ultimately improves the quality of life of those around you and on and on...you get my drift. Consequences are real and I have yet to see one example of a personal judgment which resulted in a benefit to anyone.
First Aid
Take a class in CPR - not online, an actual hands-on class where you learn how to perform compressions and the breathing techniques. The first place I recommend going to find a class is your local fire & rescue department. They often hold classes at a very low cost. They are the experts and deal with life and death every day!
Learn how not to be squeamish around blood or wounds – you or a loved one’s life may depend on it!
BEING RESILIENT TIP: take a fishing trip and hold a bloody fish or actually learn how to clean the fish.
Having grown up in a commercial fishing family and fishing my entire life, I can confidently tell you it definitely helps get over squeamishness around blood – I can typically treat and dress a profusely bleeding wound and if it’s not too serious, have a person back in action quickly!!!
Know your personal blood type and blood types of those most important to you – if you ever are mortally wounded and require large amounts of blood, a transfusion is your only hope. You must know that at any given time, you may or may not be able to get blood for a transfusion – the blood supply network in the US is becoming more fragile by the day. Be mindful of situations which could potentially result in deep lacerations, especially in your neck, underarm or groin areas!
Quickly address injuries, no matter how insignificant you think it may be – something insignificant today could be life-threatening in the future without proper supplies and treatment.
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION: Proper basic supplies – Ionized Silver Gel, quick-stitch sutures, gauze, band aids, self-adhering bandage wrap are all must haves in your first aid supplies.
RESILIENT PATH INSIGHT: Remember my reference to s Roving Blue products when it comes to first aid? The ozone-treated water produced by Roving Blue products is the best wound irrigation treatment you could ever use! Abrasions, burns and open wounds will heal in less time, minimize scarring and if done correctly, radically reduce the chance for infection when treated immediately with ozone infused water! I’ve seen it in action - incredible results.
Next: 07 - 07 Sh*t Happens: The Uncomfortable Truth About Where Your Waste Really Goes