Phoenix part 2

I have been here for about 4 days and it has been interesting.  In the above picture is Robyn Openshaw, otherwise known as the Green Smoothie Girl.  She has been studying under Doctor Lodi at the Oasis of Healing while mom (on the right) checks herself in.  It has not been easy for mom, a 76 year old woman having to change her eating habits in order to save her life from the ovarian cancer she was diagnosed with 2 years ago.  She went through 3 rounds of chemo and it did nothing but make her feel crappier.

So we are now here where mom is handed a green drink every morning and a smoothie later in the day.  They do give her some kind of something to eat for dinner, but I wouldn't have the patience.  Some of it is actually not bad, and I think this is the best thing for her right now.  I am learning as much as I can in the case that Steph or I get in this situation.  NO chemo, I am dead set against it.

We have met a number of people with illnesses that are serious, cancer and leukemia.  One woman in particular, Christine is a beautiful 40 year old woman with a family of 4 children and she runs several business.  When she found a lump in her breast a few months ago, she chose to come here rather then go through chemo or radiation.  It has made her come closer to her family and to God.

The doctor gave us a great speech about his mission.  Dr. Lodi is an interesting fellow and he definitely IS on a mission. I will not be surprised his life will be made into a movie.  He told us tonight how he has no friends because he lives what he believes.  He feels doctors are living a lie (not all intentionally) and quit his own practice to focus on helping people with cancer naturally.  In his personal life, he has a fiancee who is dying of cancer herself and will not go the natural way, but is on chemo.  But she's dying of the chemo.  So his mission has become personal.

Robyn has been checked in as if she was a cancer patient herself, so she is doing pretty much everything that my mother is doing.  She understands much more how this all works (plus she is very adaptive to the food and green smoothies and juices they are providing).   She has been learning a lot and I am honored to be here filming all of this.

Oh.. and I miss my wife.  Love you Steph.

More later...

Phoenix with my Mom

Kind of a long day.  Today is the start of a new journey for my mother.  She has been fighting cancer for the past two years and made a turn around that was basically timely.  I am still working on the whole story, but here is the scoop:

I have been doing a TV Pilot show for the Green Smoothie Girl, Robyn Openshaw.  While in post now, (which I am looking for a good voice over talent to cover) Robyn came to me about a new documentary about the effect on cancer while eating raw foods.  She started meeting with these cancer treatment centers that fight cancer naturally in hopes of getting to the meat of the problem.

All at the same time, my mother has been doing chemo for the past two years with little or no results.  Actually, she was told her numbers were good at one time, then told she was going to have to get used to it for the rest of her life.  Then, she heard the doctor accidentally talk about medicine that would be given to a younger patient.  She confronted the doctor and they had no answer.  In other words, there was rationing going on. (Like I said, still piecing the story together).

Now my mother has had enough and is going to take Robyn up on her challenge to meet with the place called An Oasis of Healing in Phoenix.  I decided to be a part of this documentary on my own merit.  I flew to Vegas this morning and then drove down to Phoenix with my mother and we are now in a condo. My mom will be here for about a month, with no idea what she is getting into.  I will be here for a week as well as Robyn, filming and researching.  I also brought the editing system down with me to see if I can finish The Green Smoothie Girl Makeover TV Pilot while I am in the mind-set (Blendtec has been keeping me busy.  A new blender is on the way.  Will be for another Blog post).

So I will keep this blog updated on the events of the day.  I have shot a little video so far, mostly of myself on the iPhone talking about the drive down.