A Duel with the Grim Reaper

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."

This is not a post about religion.  Faith is exactly that, "faith"; if my wife and I can believe differently but coexist peacefully, then so can everyone else... let me throw that out there straight away.  Our deity choice is normally driven by our fear of death and the promises that (insert deity) will offer at the ends of our lives.  Some of us mortals though choose to follow a different path, different but none-the-less ethical, moral or fulfilling.  But lets be honest, there aren't many subjects that us western folk avoid more than a discussion of death.

This is not a post about death either.  We all witness it in our lives, it is the single thing that unites every living thing on Earth, yet we don't do EVERYTHING in our power to prevent our earliest demise.  In fact, if you look at something as simple as say, our diet, you'd think we don't give two shits about how long we live.

This IS a post about me.  I want to tell you about my personal fight with the bastard known as "Heart Disease".

In my early to mid-thirties I started to experience intermittent and what the medical professionals in my life determined were atypical chest pains.  No big red flags, but there was something.  I drank, I still do, I smoked, I no longer smoke, I worried a lot, I still do, I ate a varied diet and I exercised in fits and starts (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/fits-and-starts.html).  I reached my forties and found my symptoms getting more frequent with the additional problem of tachycardia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachycardia) some nights, joy of joys!  Eventually after diagnosis including Asthma, Gastrointestinal Disease, Acid Reflux, Muscle Strain/Sprain, Hypertension and stress (that's all that comes to mind right now), I was sent for a CT scan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CT_scan) to check for signs of blockage and/or cancer.

I won't malign the NHS in the UK, it's a good medical system, hugely underfunded by central government to make it look bad, so they can sell it to private companies to fuck up even more... FACT!  Having said that it did take, from the time of the scan, to an appointment with a cardiologist, 4-months before I knew what the first findings were... to be honest I was shatting myself for most of that time thinking the absolute worse, I had a four-year old and a new-born daughter, how would they fair without a father?  I met with my cardiologist who quite simply stated I had heart disease.  Heart disease.  My left anterior descending artery was 60-70% blocked, they estimated, which sounded like a lot to me (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anterior_interventricular_branch_of_left_coronary_artery), but apparently no intervention is needed until over 75% blockage, so that's ok then?!?!?!?

I was advised to lose some weight, stop smoking (even those seemingly harmless "social" smokes), consider a lower fat diet and chill-out for (insert deity) sake.  I was lined up with a follow-up visit in four months to have a myocardial profusion scan and umm, off you go.  (http://www.rbht.nhs.uk/patients/condition/nuclear-medicine/myocardial/scan/)  At the very least, I knew who my enemy was at last.  Some bastard called Heart Disease.

Knowing your enemy doesn't make it disappear though.

I went home, discussed this with my family, impressing on my brother (twin) that this may be something he should be aware of, considering this diagnosis was not typical for our age, maybe someone 5-10 years older but still a bit early really.  Then three-weeks later, in our kitchen in France, my brother complains of discomfort in his chest (alarm bells).  My wife gets on the tinterweb to check symptoms as I continue to question him.  Chew some aspirin dude, we're going to l'hôpital... now this thread could have a post of it's own, but I value my brothers right-to-privacy, so in summary:  gets to hospital, tests and observation, confirmation of cardiac event, FLOWN to bigger hospital, two stents inserted, 4 days in cardiac ICU, 7 weeks of cardiac rehab, pharmacy-store amount of drugs to be taken daily, ad-infinitum.

A few weeks later, I felt proper shite, stress levels high, Christmas feasting excesses not helping.  On my return to work in the UK from a couple of weeks off in France, I self-presented (walked in off the street) to A&E (Emergency room)in Brighton.  My blood pressure was off the scale 199/119, I immediately had a cannula inserted (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannula) and was administered with cardiac medicines (aspirin, GTN etc).  After some observation and questioning from a cardiologist, it was determined I'd be taken to the "Cath Lab" for a more detailed look at the LAD blockage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath_lab).  The experience was, umm, interesting... they insert a very fine tube into your arteries via your groin which then is pushed along those arteries all the way to your heart.  They insert a contrast medium (ink) and use a camera to image the arteries, thus allowing them to see the condition of your heart and related plumbing.  It's magnitudes more accurate than a CT scan with the added advantage that if they find anything, they can also fix it whilst they are viewing it.  So what of it?  Well nothing!  The nice registrar (doctor) advised the blockage was around 50% and therefore no further action would be taken, here's a number of drugs for you to take, go speak to your cardiologist.

The follow-up Profusion scan, mentioned earlier discovered much the same as the CT and angiogram had.  A limit of oxygen getting to the heart in certain places, but nothing too bad!  Take your meds, they'll keep everything, we hope, in check.  Something for your blood pressure, something for your hearts work-rate, something for your cholesterol and something for anti-coagulation.  All bases covered with our scatter-gun.  See you in 12-months.

A lot happens in 12-months.  I gave up commuting from France to England every week.  I spent more time with my daughters, the one thing that brings me so much joy.  I watched the shell of my brother grow angrier and sadder, fighting his own scrap with the bastard Heart Disease.  I also watched my wife as she tried to hide her fear of losing one or both of her boys to heart disease.  I kept experiencing chest pains.  We all fought more, I think stress was going to kill all of us, I really do!  Then the family (not including my brother) took a visit to American family, in Wisconsin.

I think we can all agree that Christmas excess is not for me... again, 12-months after my last time of feeling PROPER SHITE, I was not well.  In 12-months of owning a GTN spray (http://patient.info/medicine/glyceryl-trinitrate-for-angina-gtn) I had used it once, maybe twice... this visit I was using it 2 or 3 times a day.  Was my wait at last over and was I going to have MY very own cardiac event?  Let's face it, that's what we had all been expecting ever since my brother had his!  I just wanted to get home to France... insurance or not, America is not the place you want to be sick!  It's very expensive.

We made it home.  Drug assisted, granted, but we were back in France.  The question really was, is 2016 going to be exactly the same as every other year.  Where we live is beautiful.  The WAY we live is beautiful.  The people in my life are beautiful.  My daughters are so, so, unbelievably beautiful. Why do I feel so bad? That bastard Heart Disease!

Like all good stories, there seems to be a turning point... I came across this in my Twitter feed: http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-film/ Now any of you that know me or my brother will know we are the biggest cynics, if it sounds too good to be true, then it is!  But some of the information was compelling: 

• a western diet of oils, fats and processed foods damages the endothelia in our arteries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endothelium),
• nutrition is not a new age medicine way of treating heart disease, but could be a primary way to treat and reverse it (http://www.dresselstyn.com/huffpost.htm),  (https://hms.harvard.edu/news/endothelium-heal-thyself-5-15-13), (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-01-30/health/sc-health-0130-heart-diet-20130130_1_nitric-oxide-heart-disease-heart-health), (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20620742)
• EVEN WINE FUCKING HELPS! (http://www.wellnessresources.com/health/articles/red_wine_resveratrol_for_cardiovascular_repair/)

Look, like I said above, I'm a huge cynic, but if this means that by choosing a plant based and whole foods approach to eating I could, REVERSE my heart disease and not have to take drugs then lets investigate this further.  Furthermore, a plant based and whole food diet is something that our modest 15-acres can provide me and my family with little change to what we are currently doing! 

Hey, it's early.  It's not going to be easy, I already miss cheese!  I live in France for (insert deity) sake, but honestly, for the first time in many years I actually feel optimistic about my health.  I feel that I can retake a modicum of control back from the spectre of death that has hung gloomily over me for years.  Please don't label me either with vegetarian, vegan, beyond vegan or whatever.  I'm fixing my Endothelia, one delicious vegetable at a time. It can help my brother, it can help my wives auto-immune disorder, it can help my daughters so they never have to face this bastard, Heart Disease.You never know, maybe, just maybe you might get a smile out of me yet in 2016.

Bonne Chance!

What tools we use - Permaculture Principals - Earth Care

We will avoid the Permaculture definition of Earth Care/Care of Earth and define this in terms of what we are actually trying to achieve at La Fieffe. These aren’t prioritised in any particular order, as far as we are concerned each of these are as important as the next. I will take a look at each one and advise on what we are attempting to do.

Soil Improvement - healthy soils are a complex mix of worms, bacteria and beneficial fungi.  These soils promote good plant growth and typically have fewer problems with pests and diseases. Improving soil condition needn't be the reserve of master gardeners or horticultural specialists.  Your soil is hungry for organic matter which can include, paper/card, weeds, grass clippings, manure, hair and kitchen scraps.  As these break down the nutrients from them are made available to growing plants and the action of decomposition improves the soil structure allowing free movement of air and water.  This soil also becomes better at holding onto both nutrients and water acting like a sponge for both.

(These images above are typical of most of La Fieffe at the time of buying it, devoid of anything other then over-grazed grass.)

So, what is the simplest action you can take to improve your soil?  Compost.  Give your compost pile a name and treat it like a pet.  You feed it with a mixture of organic materials ensuring your mix of carbon and nitrogen are kept in balance.  Too much carbon and you will not create enough heat, too much nitrogen and you will create too much heat leading to a gaseous emission of ammonia!  Treat it like a science experiment and you should be able to achieve admirable results in no time.

(In this picture you can see a mixture of cover cropping and mulching taking place.)

Other soil improvement strategies can include the planting of legumes or green manures and plenty or mulching.  Plants like peas and beans belong to a family of vegetables that "fix" nitrogen with the assistance of a beneficial bacteria called rhizobium.  Nitrogen is taken from the air in the soil and "fixed" on nodules that the bacteria live within.  Couple this with the planting of a fast growing "cover" crop like mustard or clover and a good amount of winter mulching or your beds, you will improve the organic matter, beneficial organisms and earthworm activity in your soil; you improve the soils moisture retention and it's ability to prevent erosion; you provide habitat, nectar and pollen for beneficial insects which in turn will reduce your pests; with any luck this dual approach will lead to persistent weeds being smothered.

(Careful management leads to improvement in soil condition which leads to production of healthy organic produce.)

Organic Food - one of the key principals of growing organic food is health.  Organically grown produce has more antioxidants, fewer pesticides (if any) and less cadmium (a toxic heavy metal).  In fact a recent study by Newcastle University found that in terms of the antioxidants you’re getting, a total switch to organic crops could be equivalent to adding another portion or two of fruit and veg to your daily diet! (http://blog.journals.cambridge.org/2014/07/new-study-finds-significant-differences-between-organic-and-non-organic-food/)

 (This image above shows palm kale, an extremely nutrient rich brassica with a legume to help the soil condition and a fast growing and insect attracting nasturtium.)

(Apart from my gorgeous daughter, you can see raspberries and strawberries on the left foreground, corn, sunflowers, beans and squash left background and more palm kale on the right foreground.)

(It's important to attract the beneficial predators, in this example, the human child Freya has been attracted by lupinus.)

By striving to grow organic produce, your actions are improving the health of the soil, the health of the animals grazing it, the health of the humans eating from it and the health of the greater ecosystem too.

Sustainable woodmanship - We only have 1.5 acres of, mainly, beech woodland, but if we carefully identify already stooling plants we can sustainably manage our small woodland area indefinitely.  This identification process is not the biggest challenge we face...

(The biggest challenge is getting the processed timber out of the valley, just take a closer look at the image above and below.)

(Processing a stool in the winter has made us pretty hardy, Shands in this picture modelling the very fashionable red head cover and matching hoody!)

(This is the same stool as in the image previous, Freya adding 'scale' to the picture.)

(Danny, our first 'volunteer' ahem, using a four foot cross cut saw to process our wood, in unison with me of course.)

The majority of the wood we process will be used as a fuel source as our entire house is run on it.  Heating, cooking and hot water all get their energy from wood.  Some of it though, is selected due to it's straightness (if that's a word), for our impromptu building follys as evidenced in previous posts.

(The more time you spend in the woodland, the more little lads and lasses you come across.)

Hedgerows - Biodiversity has a natural tendency to increase; an accumulation of plants, insects, beetles, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and birds will quickly fill ecological niches and develop a food chain. More plants mean more food, which means more insects, more birds, more reptiles, more mammals, which means more balance. Hedgerows play a hugely important role in supporting this biodiversity growth.

(These two pictures, above and below,  illustrate the type of hedgerow we find on and around our land.  It is stunning and needs our help to protect it.)

Sadly, as is evidenced by this report, http://www.hedgelink.org.uk/files/Hedgelink%20-%20Report%20Visit%20to%20Normandy%20May%202010.pdf, hedgerows are taking a pasting in Normandie!  But, by now you must be getting a feel for the Palmers of La Fieffe and we are intending to "buck the trend" and do all we can to improve existing hedgerows and plant some new ones too.

(Freya preparing the 'nursery' for its first little 'uns)

(The willow growth after 12-months.)

(Hazel and hawthorn in this image.)

(Both these images, above and below, were taken last weekend after 18-months of growth in our nursery.)

 

We intend to take the plants growing in the previous picture and combine them with some shrub-like plants (raspberries, blackberries for example) and develop them into new hedgerows.

(Above and below show 'building up' where we think hedges would be best located to protect plants and create micro-climates.)

 

(Above and below show a mixture of plants that we are using, this is the most developed of our hedges.)

Provide a surplus - we recognise how lucky we are to live where we do and the choices we make each year on what we should grow always leaves us with surplus food.  It's not hard to give away such beautiful produce, we are very proud of what we produce and know that those that eat it will benefit from the nutrient dense foods.  If there is anything you struggle to find in the area and want us to grow it for you, please ask... we may say yes!

(In both these images there are a number of veg growing, see how many you can identify!)

(Onions curing in the sun.)

(Kale)

(Plump raspberries.)

(The three sisters.)

(Our first garlic crop.)

(Sharing the surplus with friends and neighbours, above and below.)

(And not forgetting organic free-range eggs... delicious.)

Next, what tools we use, Care of People.