222 the rice diet renewal
there are many avenues that one can take to unearth these ener-
getic roots and thus bring them to the light to heal.
Ultimately, I credit God with these revelations. As with all other
insights and new understandings, it is our responsibility to act on
the newly acquired wisdom and truth (or deal with the conse-
quences and create other learning opportunities!). Other times, as
with a viral encephalitis – like condition that I have been healed of
twice, there may not be an immediate or conscious understanding
of what caused it or a deep revelation of why, but it is more of a
mystery that makes you ever more dependent and reliant on the
power of God and prayer.
I refer to my previous condition as “ viral encephalitis – like ”
because that is what the doctors called it. The doctors never deter-
mined what it actually was but only knew that something had
crossed my blood - brain barrier and caused my brain to present
symptoms similar to viral encephalitis, which meant that I basically
checked out for three weeks. This happened twice, fi ve years apart.
My husband reported that both times, within hours, I could not
talk, recognize anyone, feed myself, or go to the bathroom. I was
basically in a vegetative state and smiled a lot. Fortunately for me
and my family, during the fi rst viral encephalitis – like episode, my
spiritual mentor and dear friend Reverend Tommy Tyson was still
alive. Besides being the most unconditionally loving, Jesus - like per-
son I had ever known, he was internationally renowned for his gift
of healing. Within a few days of my fi rst hospitalization, the doctors
were baffl ed, and it did not look hopeful from a physical perspective.
Tommy went to my hospital bed, prayed over me, and walked out of
the room. Bob, my husband, followed him out to the hallway to talk
outside of my hearing range. Tommy turned to Bob and confi dently
claimed, “ Fear not; she is coming back fully intact! ”
Bob knew that Tommy would not say that to someone unless
he knew it to be true. There followed a long few weeks, especially
for my husband, my two - year - old son, and my sister - in - law, who
is a nurse and generously moved into my hospital room to oversee
my critical condition. She later told me how she envisioned her
exhalations fi lling me with renewed life. I believe her intentions,