About 18 months ago, Peggy urged me to send the extra $100 to my DNA lab to find out if I was positive for genetic hemochromatosis (GH), as she was. Our sister Connie discovered she was also positive for heterogeneous GH and briefly got on the liver transplant list. Too late — she passed away on August 15, 2020. Peggy and I got serious about mitigating the effects of this hereditary mutation. Neither of us had a diagnosis of GH and we learned that the only treatment was phlebotomy.
Peggy and I promptly signed up to donate blood and did so together, racing each other to see who could fill the pint bag first. I always won, and the phlobotomists at the blood center told me it was because I was better hydrated, but I have been recently told by a doctor that my blood is “runny” and that I bleed more than expected for simple needle-prick procedures. It may be because of the 18 months of Milk Thistle I have consumed in an effort to lower my Ferritin, a measure of the amount of iron stored in the liver.
In early March 2020, shortly after Peggy and I donated blood for the first time in many years, I got my first Ferritin test. My result was 150, the highest one could get without it being flagged. I had just squeaked by. If I had received a diagnosis of GH I would have to PAY to donate blood! I continued to donate blood as often as they would let me and added Milk Thistle to my daily supplements. I also employed the following techniques to lower Ferritin:
- aerobic exercise
- more beans and whole grains like brown rice cooked with turmeric
- cut out supplemental vitamin C, shellfish, uncooked fish
- limit alcohol, red meat, and cooking in iron pots
A few days after the first Ferritin test, we were locked down for Covid-19. I spent the next year feeling pretty crummy and took the test again in July 2021. My reading PLUNGED from 150 to 26!
That was too big of a drop. I think it would be smarter to be in the green zone above. I have cut out Milk Thistle and restored vitamin C and meat. I think the Milk Thistle may be a powerful, ayurvedic-type herb that interferes with iron uptake in the liver, lowers blood sugar and can interfere with estrogen levels. I did NOT experience it as a feel-good overall tonic. I am using my cast-iron pans again. I hope to feel more energetic and creative soon.
This theater does not cater to the kind of people who don’t get vaccinated, so I felt pretty safe.
A couple of weeks ago I got a frantic call from my friend Martha. She was at SFO and could not find her auto ignition key to drive home. Would I drive across town to get her spare key and drive it from Santa Rosa to SFO? I did. Because it was rush hour, it took four and a half hours to get back home. To thank me, Martha treated me to a zipline through the redwoods. Here is a video of Martha on the longest of the five runs. There were also two swinging bridges that demanded balance as well as hiking uphill, and a 60-foot rappel which was as fun as I hoped. This ziplining is not cheap because it supports the Redwood Alliance which sheltered homeless this Covid winter, and provides lodging and meals for firefighters working on summer blazes in the redwoods. 
Feeling stressed really impairs my ability to read. I find it hard to stay focused so I have been listening to audiobooks. Sapiens now has available a “graphic history.” I read part one as an accompaniment to the audiobook, and part two has just been published. I enjoyed seeing the images of the now-extinct animals. 
