So today will be a post about HEALTH (and a special mom post, in time for Mother's Day.) Now if you've read my post on weight-gain, self esteem & dieting, you'll know I have a firm belief in keeping fit & staying as healthy as possible! Coming from such a fast-paced, move move move city like NYC, stopping by for some fast food on your way to work was the complete norm! And sure, I like to indulge myself every once in awhile, we're only HUMAN! But there needs to come a time where we need to accept & stick by our limits! HEALTH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN ALL OF OUR LIVES, KEEP IT SAFE! As a kid with strong allergies & irritation to most foods, I was sick most of my days. And I mean SICK; strep throats, ear infections, flu symptoms every other day. This was 1996. My mother was a fresh-off-the-boat Croatian immigrant who has only been in America for 10 years, barely speaking any English, with a child who was sick all the time & pediatricians who had no idea what was wrong with me. That's enough to make a woman go insane! I was in so many doctors offices as a child, I've lost count! We had a car, but my mom didn't drive, so we had to jump from train to train, city to city, doctor to doctor. My mother eventually had (and still does have) a huge resentment towards Western medicine & doctors. I mean, can you blame her? These were people with masters degrees in medicine, people who's jobs it was to HELP people. Before even turning 7, I've had MRI's, CT scan (which is horrible, never let your child be exposed to radiation! My poor mother had no idea, she barely knew the language!), had camera's shoved down my throat, into my stomach, sleep studies, emergency room visits...and yet, these professionally trained doctors all sucked on their lollipops & shrugged their shoulders, telling my mother, ''She'll grow out of it.'' It was like a nerve in her brain popped. One time, after another failed testing, she was so close to JUDO CHOPPING that doctor, a nurse had to escort her out of the office. What do you expect? YOU DON'T MESS WITH A MOTHER HAWK'S BABIES!
IMAGE FROM GOOGLE!
After years, no one could figure out what the hell was wrong with me. My mother was at her wits end. Before going to work, she would stop by the Barnes&Nobles, where in the little darkly lit corner of the room, with dust forming all around, she found HEALTH BOOKS! Yes, this was the late 90s & early 2000's people, who the hell cared about HEALTHY EATING & NATURAL MEDICINE? We literally had one little health store owned by a very nice Indian man in our town, where he sold hundreds of vitamins, dairy-free & wheat-free food. We were in there practically every single day. My mother read & read, that's where she learned most of her English. After lunch, she'd give me a vitamin cocktail, even some horribly bitter drops the kind Indian man suggested for my sinuses. And guess what? They really did help. Finally, when the internet started picking up in households, my older sister & mother searched far & wide for someone to finally figure out WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH TANJA!? This was way before Google! You would look something up, and perhaps 10 links would pop up at the most. And that slow AOL dial-up? UGH, KILL ME! To make a long story short, we found an allergy specialist in Long Island, he tested my BLOOD (which every other doctor failed to do), found out I'm allergic to mold & dust mites, and have a strong irritation to dairy-products. My mother changed my diet, she ripped off the carpets, we moved to a mold-free apartment, and lo & behold...I'M THANKFULLY FINE TODAY!My mom helped me live a happy, healthy life through her constant dedication, love & sleepless nights keeping me safe at night. Nothing compares to the strength of a mother's love ❤__________________________________MY DAILY VITAMIN COCKTAIL!My mother's teachings have really rubbed off on me throughout the years. As I get older, I try my best to eat healthy, exercise, drink LOTS of water & take my vitamins! My vitamin collection is chicken s**t compared to my mother's, but it's still everything I need! 1. FISH OIL:
3. COD LIVER OIL:
Liked this health-related blog post? Have any questions, comments, concerns? Let me know. Until next time,Stay beautiful ❤-Tanja xoxo
