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In this episode, you will learn about Yolanda's journey with chronic Lyme disease.
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About My Guest
My guest for this episode is Yolanda Hadid. Former top model, television star, author of “Believe Me”, mother of three and fashions “it” girls Gigi and Bella Hadid, Yolanda was diagnosed with chronic neurological Lyme Disease in 2012. The invisible disease ravaged her personal and professional life, leaving little but doubt and despair on the horizon. She traveled the world to receive every treatment available, covering all western and eastern modalities including Ayahuasca and frog venom, all in the hopes of finding a cure to what may be the greatest unknown pandemic of our time. As her struggle continued, supported by the love of her family, Yolanda fought her way back to remission. She felt called to use her platform to bring awareness to a disease that has no cure, especially when she learned that two of her children, Bella and Anwar, also suffer from Lyme Disease. Determination to fight for those whose voices can’t be heard while living in a paralyzed cocoon only grew stronger. Today, Yolanda is the epitome of trailblazer, an honest advocate and leader in the fight to bring education, awareness, and compassion to the study of Lyme Disease. Yolanda is now an internationally recognized force, inspiring hope and determination in all those who struggle with this invisible, yet absolutely debilitating disease. She has been honored for her work in bringing global awareness to Lyme disease by The Lyme Research Alliance and stands as a symbol that together anything can be overcome. Her book “Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease” is beautifully written and has tremendous detail on the path that she took to regain her health.
Key Takeaways
- How as Yolanda's health as a teenager and young adult?
- What was the moment where Yolanda could no longer will herself to keep going?
- What are Yolanda's thoughts on the diagnostic challenges of Lyme disease?
- How important were antibiotics in Yolanda's recovery?
- How did Yolanda become the Lyme advocate that she is today?
- What did Yolanda feel learning that two of her children were also dealing with chronic Lyme disease?
- What does Yolanda suggest for those that do not have the means to do everything she has done?
- What role did parasites play in Yolanda's journey?
- How infuriated was Yolanda learning that the expense of treatment makes it difficult for many to access the care they need?
- How significant were stem cells in Yolanda's recovery?
- What was the role of breast implant illness in Yolanda's recovery?
- How critical was Yolanda's dental work?
- What attention needs to be given to the mental emotional realm?
- Would Yolanda change her journey if she could?
- Why is Yolanda passionate about light and frequency and her work with the WAVE1?
Connect With My Guest
Instagram: Yolanda.Hadid
Twitter: YolandaHadid
Related Resources
FREmedica WAVE1
Save 10% off your FREmedica WAVE1 device with code BETTERHEALTH
Interview Date
December 2, 2020
Transcript
Transcript Disclaimer: Transcripts are intended to provide optimized access to information contained in the podcast. They are not a full replacement for the discussion. Timestamps are provided to facilitate finding portions of the conversation. Errors and omissions may be present as the transcript is not created by someone familiar with the topics being discussed. Please Contact Me with any corrections.
[00:00:01.08] Welcome to BetterHealthGuy Blogcasts, empowering your better health. And now, here's Scott, your Better Health Guy.
[00:00:13.20] The content of this show is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any illness or medical condition. Nothing in today's discussion is meant to serve as medical advice or as information to facilitate self-treatment. As always, please discuss any potential health-related decisions with your own personal medical authority.
[00:00:34.19] Scott: Hello everyone, and welcome to episode number 132 of the BetterHealthGuy Blogcasts series. Today's guest is Yolanda Hadid, and the topic of the show is Yolanda’s Journey. Former top model, television star, author of ''Believe Me'', mother of three and fashion's it-girls Gigi and Bella Hadid, Yolanda was diagnosed with chronic neurological Lyme disease in 2012.
The invisible disease ravaged her personal and professional life, leaving little but doubt and despair on the horizon. She traveled the world to receive every treatment available, covering all western and eastern modalities, including Ayahuasca and frog venom, all in the hopes of finding a cure to what may be the greatest unknown pandemic of our time.
As her struggle continued, supported by the love of her family, Yolanda fought her way back to remission. She felt called to use her platform to bring awareness to a disease that has no cure, especially when she learned that two of her children Bella and Anwar, also suffer from Lyme disease. Determination to fight for those whose voices can't be heard while living in a paralyzed cocoon only grew stronger.
Today, Yolanda is the epitome of trailblazer, an honest advocate and leader in the fight to bring education, awareness, and compassion to the study of Lyme disease. Yolanda is now an internationally recognized force, inspiring hope and determination in all those who struggle with this invisible yet absolutely debilitating disease. She has been honored for her work in bringing global awareness to Lyme disease by the Lyme Research Alliance and stands as a symbol that together, anything can be overcome.
Her book ''Believe Me: My Battle With the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease” is beautifully written and has tremendous detail on the path that she took to regain her health. And now, my interview with Yolanda Hadid.
It is my honor today to have the opportunity to talk with Yolanda Hadid and discuss her journey with chronic Lyme disease and how her own struggle led to her being the vocal advocate that she is today. Thanks for being here, Yolanda.
[00:02:50.18] Yolanda: Thank you for having me.
[00:02:52.04] Scott: It is interesting that many people feel the start of their journey is when everything finally falls apart, but oftentimes there are earlier signs that may represent less than optimal health. And yet, that last straw that breaks the camel's back hasn't happened yet. Talk to us a little bit about your health as a teenager and young adult, your challenges with Epstein-Barr Virus and Hepatitis. What was your health like growing up?
[00:03:16.27] Yolanda: You know from early on, I was actually really good. But it's very interesting to look back and to really see, with the knowledge that I have today, to really analyze my own childhood, right? I was very healthy, and everything was okay until my father died at the age of, I was eight years old.
And I think that kind of really affected the emotional trauma from that affected my overall health. And then when I got Epstein-Barr Virus, that really knocked me off my socks. And looking back now, that was really, probably the start of my health journey.
[00:03:57.03] Scott: In 2007, you're diagnosed with a tumor on your thyroid, which leads to the removal of your thyroid and much of your parathyroid. That creates a lifelong reliance on thyroid medication. You later start having migraines several times a week and looking back, I’m wondering do you think that Lyme disease was already a factor leading up to your eventual health collapse?
[00:04:17.29] Yolanda: Yes, I’m sure that I, I’ve been on a farm with horses and all that. My whole life, I started riding when I was three, four years old. Again, with knowing what I know today, looking back at my thyroid issues. I should have never removed that thyroid, you know what I mean? Like I should have really gone down the path of discovering what was the underlying cause of my thyroid tumor.
Because it ended up not, you know, being benign, and so it could have stayed in my body. And if I just worked on taking down the overall inflammation that was caused most likely by Lyme disease, I think that I could have bypassed the surgery. That's aftertalk, right?
[00:05:07.17] Scott: So by 2010, you start having memory issues, cognitive issues. In 2011, you're having flu-like symptoms that come and go. You later notice that one side of your face is drooping while you're filming a television show, and so you think of Bell’s palsy. You rationalize that it could be a side effect from Botox injections, you keep pushing through, you will yourself to keep moving forward.
But your cognitive symptoms continue to worsen. You come to the recognition that it's not stress, and at that time, no one was looking for the underlying root causes, as you just mentioned, that could potentially explain your symptoms. So what was that moment where you finally realized that you could no longer will yourself to just keep going?
[00:05:52.00] Yolanda: You know, it takes a lot to get, for a type A personality like me. A single mom of three children, a career, running a household, kids, schools, and all that goes on. I didn't want to give in to something; you know what I mean? Like I kept going, no, it's the flu, it's this, I’m tired.
And at some point, when you finally get to that point, it's just like, oh my God, like I’m such a badass to push through all this, and why did I even do that. Like I’m going to win a medal or something, and you won't, right? So my advice to other women is always, you know, be your own health advocate and really take a pause, and look what's going on in your life. And handle it from there, right? Rather than pushing and pushing.
[00:06:40.16] Scott: Yes. And it's interesting that you mentioned the type A personality because my observation over the years is most people that develop chronic Lyme disease are type A personalities. And so I think that plays a key role in the development of these conditions.
In your book, Gigi says you were “the super mom with endless superpowers” but that you had lost your brain and your physical capacity.
So what was it like for you raising three children, being in the position of not being able to take care of yourself at that point? Take us back to 2011-2012, when your journey first started, and talk to us about that experience of losing the life that you knew. What were some of the symptoms you were dealing with at the time? And what was your emotional state when you were being faced with this new and unexpected unknown?
[00:07:27.27] Yolanda: You know it's devastating to that point where you go okay, I now need to ask for help. Like I can't do this on my own anymore. And then you know, finally being diagnosed and learning that there is no cure for Lyme disease.
And then, in the beginning, you're like you don't want to give in, but when you finally do give in and turn inwards and start dealing with it from down there, is where you find your true strength, right? I mean, you don't really know how strong you are until you're completely broken. And I had to learn that the hard way, and give into it and learn to really be more centered within myself, rather than trying to find answers out there.
[00:08:21.00] Scott: Yes, that's the beautiful part I think of this journey for me. I say that there are so many gifts that I’ve received from it, as challenging as it was. We do get new perspectives on life and what's important, and what matters.
[00:08:32.19] Yolanda: Yes. And it's a beautiful thing too, as hard as it is, while you're in it, now looking back, it also gave my children a huge sense of worth within the family, and they found their own strength. You know there are incidences where I remember one time I was so sick, and Gigi had to drive me to the emergency room at three in the morning, and she barely had her driver's license.
So she was driving, the other two kids were holding me in the back seat, and I was so sick. And you look back, and as scary as it was in that moment, I had to just give in and go like, okay, you guys have to help. And they all stepped up to the plate, and therefore I think, became very strong and independent human beings.
[00:09:17.28] Scott: Yes, that's a beautiful thing. As you start your work on the Real Housewives, your health declines to the point that it wasn't even safe for you to drive, and you actually got into an accident. Your migraines were getting worse; you're in the hospital, you failed a neurological exam.
Someone at that point suggested exploring Lyme disease, but your tests were negative. So did you at that point put the possibility of Lyme disease out of your mind? And what are your thoughts on the diagnostic challenges that still impact those with chronic Lyme disease today?
[00:09:50.15] Yolanda: You know, I think that that's the hardest thing, is getting diagnosed. Because even when they mentioned Lyme disease, but yet I tested negative, you kind of let it go and go on okay, what else? What can be wrong with me? Because obviously on paper, I look pretty good, but I can't function in the world. So that was a huge awakening of like of a face, I don't know. I think what I’m trying to say I was so scared in that moment.
When you've done so many tests, and like you said, you're not passing the neurological testing. They would tell me repeat words, and I couldn't remember the words like you go, you're just so helpless. But it also, I early on decided that I have to be my own health advocate, and I have to keep pushing forward and start looking outside the box. And engage people in different countries, and different doctors, with different ideas, different kind of testing.
And as you know, at some point, I got on the plane to Belgium to see a Lyme specialist in Belgium, Dr. de Meirleir. And I remember I got on the plane, and the minute we were up in the air, I just started bawling crying because the inflammation in my brain was so severe. That the altitude with my problem just didn't work together. And I cried the entire way there.
And I remember that they just let me lay down, they didn't even try to set me up at landing, because they were like let's get rid of this woman because she's been crying the whole trip, but it was so painful. But that led me on the right path, though. Once, he called six weeks later, saying, okay, you have neurological Lyme disease, and most likely already for a very long time, this is not something that just happened. I was on the show at that time.
You know how you think, I’m always positive. Like no matter what happens in my life, I can always see the positive in it. So I was like, okay, I’m on the show, I have a job, I’m making money. Like I’m not going to quit now like this is real life. Like on this kind of shows, it says real housewives. Okay, this is a real housewife problem, right? And as hard as it was to be judged for all that I couldn't do, I also think that it gave me an extraordinary platform to bring awareness to a disease that most people don't know anything about. And since that, it's been my journey to help find a cure that is affordable for everybody. And going back to what you were saying at diagnostic testing, I mean, that's still a problem today, right?
[00:12:47.26] Scott: Absolutely. So at that point, you had thought about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. You went to Belgium, working with Dr. de Meirleir, you talked about the challenges you had on the flight. Took several weeks after you got home before you got your results. But when you got home, you actually collapsed and fell. You needed 12 stitches.
Dr. de Meirleir eventually contacts you and tells you that it's not Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and as you mentioned, that he does find Lyme disease. What did you do at that point in terms of treatment when you first got your Lyme diagnosis? And did you find that IV antibiotics were ultimately a significant part of your recovery journey?
[00:13:25.23] Yolanda: You know Dr. de Meirleir was very, I mean, he wanted me to do IV antibiotics twice a day. So I did that for me, I don't remember six, seven months maybe and I got just sicker and sicker. Because what I didn't know, and you learn so much as you go. Doctor is only a doctor, every doctor is human, and they give you what they know.
But including Dr. de Meirleir, he's never had Lyme disease and never gone through a treatment like that. So yes, he can help you with how other people experience it, but I believe there are no two people alike. So for me, the detox part, the die-off from all these antibiotics, were just so hard for my body that I got sicker and sicker.
[00:14:09.20] Scott: It's interesting. There are definitely some parallels. I did IV antibiotics as well for about eight or nine months, and ultimately was not a significant part of my recovery either. After you did those antibiotics and found they didn't do a lot to improve your health, you then went and spent six weeks at a treatment center in Florida.
And during that stay, that's when you learned about the potential of mold and that impacting your body. So can you talk to us a little about how you might have been exposed to mold? What role did that have in your eventual recovery in terms of treating the mold aspect of it?
[00:14:42.28] Yolanda: You know I didn't know; I was so uneducated about all these little things that I was learning along my journey. I mean, I never knew yes, oh when they say mold, I’m like mold, how do you get mold? Well, a leak in your house, okay leak in my house. Oh, I remember the house that I raised my kids and had a little leak in the roof for maybe a couple of months.
Eventually had it fixed, but they had to redo the whole roof. So could that have been it? I traveled my whole life from hotel to hotel, country to country; I’m sure there are many countries that I’ve been in where there was mold in hotel rooms.
I mean, you just don't know, right? And does it really matter? Because you start go making yourself crazy with okay, where did I get it, how did I get it? So the most important thing is how you're going to get rid of it, and it's always the challenge with these things. And as I was going through that journey, once I got to Florida. I also realized that there are so many parts to the healing pie, right?
I mean, it isn't just like okay, here I am. I finally, after all these years, have a diagnosis, yet my god, there's another 15 parts to this pie. It's all the viral; it's the mold, it's the parasites, it's the bacterial infection; I mean, there are so many things that you have to look at before you can get back to your health. But they're all steps, right? I mean, if you don't treat the mold, you can't treat the Lyme. So here I am, throwing all these antibiotics in my body, yet I haven't dealt with the mold yet.
[00:16:20.14] Scott: So you left Florida, you felt somewhat better, but you realized you still had this huge list of things. You just mentioned parasites and viruses, bacteria, mold, heavy metals. You are a little bit better, but you don't feel well.
And you say at that point that you feel like a toxic waste dump. So as you're going through this chronic illness experience, you see a lot of things that are wrong with the world of Lyme disease. And I’d like for you to tell us a little bit about some of the things that stood out to you at that point and led you to your passion, your desire to become the Lyme disease advocate that you have become today.
[00:16:56.06] Yolanda: You know I remember, still just thinking about it, I just had goosebumps going over my back just the thought of that experience, is when I met this family that had sold their house. They had a son that had Lyme disease, sold their house, and they were literally living in a beat-up motorhome in the parking lot of the clinic.
And that, I mean when I met that family, in that moment said okay, I have to make a change. Like I didn't just get Lyme disease, God wanted me to see this. God wanted me to take this and use my platform and use my being to make a change. Because there's something wrong with this, these are normal families that work their whole life paying health insurance like everybody else.
Yet then you get sick, and you really need to help, and then there is no help, you know what I mean? Imagine the parents that they were older, and it just was the most the saddest experience I’ve ever had. But it also put me on the path of okay; I didn't get this for no reason.
[00:18:07.07] Scott: Absolutely.
[00:18:08.14] Yolanda: I was given this to do something with.
[00:18:11.20] Scott: So shortly after your visit to Florida, you learned that your son Anwar tests positive for Lyme disease. As a mom, tell us about the emotions that you experience finding out that your child is also dealing with chronic Lyme disease.
[00:18:25.02] Yolanda: It's devastating; there's nothing more devastating than having something wrong with your children. They're my pride and joy; I’ve taken care of them like they're my little. I always took such a pride in motherhood, so then to find out that Anwar was sick, it was devastating to me. And I was just like, just give me more, please take it away from him. But we don't choose our path, right? I mean, that was part of our journey.
And the confusion for me, was he bitten too? Did I give it to him through birth? You know, later on in life, I don't remember how many years later, I had my mom tested, and my mom had exactly the same I had. So could my mom have given it to me and me to my children? You know what I mean; there's so many. But again, like we get back to the same thing, sometimes you start stressing and focusing on the wrong thing, and so how did we get it. No, let's focus on how do we get rid of it, right?
[00:19:30.21] Scott: So you continue your search for more pieces of the puzzle, you go to the famous Paracelsus Clinic in Switzerland. There you learned about many of the dental components, the metal crowns, the root canals, the cavitations, and they suggested that you needed a lot of dental work. What were some of the things that you took away from your stay there, and what were some of the types of treatments that you explored while you were in Switzerland?
[00:19:53.19] Yolanda: When I was there, they did the hyperthermia, which didn't work for me. But then fast forward years down the line, I realized that I already had implant disease. And doing hyperthermia on a woman with implants should be a big no-no because the high temperature heats up the silicone in implants and then puts that through your system.
So looking back now, like I said, today I probably can have a PhD in this disease. But looking back to all the parts that we hadn't uncovered and hadn't worked through, so you may also make a lot of mistakes as you go. Because I don't think that no anybody should do hyperthermia that has implants, I just think that that's not a good idea.
The dental thing, now looking back, going as a child, I had terrible teeth, so that was already part of my health issues. Because my brother never had a cavity, never brush his teeth. I brushed my teeth religiously twice a day, and I always had cavities. And in that time, you got black fillings in your mouth. So I had literally a mouthful of toxins, basically, right? But when they told me that there, I was like, oh my god, this place is so expensive, like you start distrusting.
Are they telling me this because it's another twenty thousand dollars on my bills? Have this all taken out, or is this really true? Well, it was really true. And many years down the line, I had it all taken out, and it was definitely a big break in my recovery.
[00:21:39.20] Scott: So the next thing you explore is working with a neurologist, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to try and improve your cognition. You saw some improvement, but it wasn't a cure. Around that same time, your daughter Bella started having symptoms of her own; she fell off her horse. Kind of similar to your earlier car accident, there may be some question is there something deeper going on.
You have Bella working with Dr. de Meirleir as well, and he finds that she also has neurological Lyme disease. So your own journey at that point was such a struggle, but it seems that one of the gifts of your experience might have been finding out that your children also were dealing with Lyme so that they could access treatment before things got even worse. Tell us what you were feeling at that point, having two sick children and also still being unwell yourself.
[00:22:27.09] Yolanda: It just, I can't even find the words. The feeling is helplessness, hopelessness. Being as sick as I was at that time and then having the pressure off, I’m a fixer, like in my family, I’m the one if something happens mommy, what do we do? How do we fix it? And I couldn't fix it because I couldn't fix myself.
Of course, I was able to share with them all that I had learned up to then, but I hadn't found the cure. So it wasn't like, okay, let me fix you and cure you. No, it was like, okay, we're just going to do what we know has worked for me, but it is not a cure. But then, with that said. Also, the children responded a lot better to a lot of the treatments that I did. Because they're a lot younger, and it was early on in their life.
[00:23:21.10] Scott: So at that point, you start a new protocol of 150 pills a day, you start to improve, but you still don't feel normal. So you go to Bali, and you work with mushrooms like psilocybin to try and regain some of your brain function. You explored embryonic stem cells in Mexico, you had some improvement, but it didn't seem to last for very long.
You then went to Tijuana with Bella to explore other treatments. You worked with a practitioner in Malibu that was working with frequency therapy out of his garage, and you did see some progress. But not the progress that you had hoped for.
You then went back to Mexico to do some injections and a skin salve, and at that point, you said it was another “Dallas Buyers Club moment” and ''not a cure for Lyme''. What are your thoughts on the lengths to which Lyme patients are forced to go to find solutions to recover their health?
[00:24:15.21] Yolanda: Well, it's a sad story. I mean, the reason you and I we're still talking about it because it's a sad story, and it shouldn't be that way. Why did everybody, the whole world pulled together to find a solution for AIDS and found, today, AIDS patients can live a very normal life?
Why can't we pull it together for Lyme disease? Lyme disease existed already before HIV, and HIV has gotten so much, and we've gotten so little. And there's just something wrong with this story.
[00:24:49.13] Scott: At that point, you and Anwar start to explore Low-Dose Immunotherapy or LDI in an attempt to modulate the immune system to the various pathogens. You then go to Seoul, South Korea, to do an autologous stem cell treatment. Anwar and Bella both followed you there and did the same treatment.
I think oftentimes, many of us are drawn to maybe more aggressive, more expensive interventions. Thinking that they're going to really move the needle. But ultimately, come back to that foundational pieces that are really missing. And so what can you say to people that maybe don't have the means to do all of the things that you've done to recover your health?
[00:25:28.15] Yolanda: Just slow and steady, and be very clear what, in my kitchen, I made a huge storyboard. Because at some point, I said this is like uncovering my own murder mystery. So I need to be very intelligent and work strategically. So I put all my diagnosis on the back wall; I put a huge pie of what I had realized that the round pie, the healing pie is not just Lyme disease like we just said; there are many different pies.
So make a pie for yourself and know what, through diagnostic, what have you learned about your own pie and then work slice by slice. And I think that a lot of people forget that the detox part of it is so important, diet and detox part. If I didn't have the means today and have to start over, that's where I would start. Is be religious about detoxing. Epsom salt baths, hot baths every day, coffee enemas, charcoal, other binders, Spirulina, diet hugely important.
So if there's nothing you can do, just do that. I’ve just been; I mean at this part of my journey, I spend so much money, I traveled the world, and I’m now 103 days into a diet that is only fruit and vegetables, and it works. I mean, it works. I mean that a couple of months ago, I got hit with another flare-up of Epstein-Barr, and I just cut out everything. No sugar, no dairy, no nuts, no oils, no butter, nothing just fruit and vegetables. And I feel amazing; I walk five miles every morning, my energy is a lot better. So the food component is hugely important, and I think quite often that gets overlooked.
[00:27:23.04] Scott: Absolutely agree. I feel like I’m talking to my soul sister here because so much of your journey I can relate to.
At that point, you started working with Dr. Richard Horowitz, he consulted on your case, and his finding was that you weren't just dealing with Lyme and co-infections like Babesia. But maybe you had Q-Fever, another tick-borne infection.
You had heavy metals, mold toxins, detox problems, nutritional deficiencies, mitochondrial dysfunction, hormonal abnormalities, insomnia, and an imbalance in your autonomic nervous system. Did that make you feel hopeful that someone was able to validate your condition and your experience at that point? Or did you feel discouraged that after you had done so much, that there was still so much road to travel?
[00:28:09.26] Yolanda: You know kind of both, right? To be honest. Like anybody that's on the same journey that we're on, getting a label, getting a name. Thinking okay, that's something that isn't a reason for why I’m not functioning, right?
On the other hand, a lot of what Horowitz said at that time I already knew, so it was not that it was anything knew. I just kept looking for different doctors, different perspectives. Combining western with eastern medicine, I just want a different perspective. I didn't feel like putting all my eggs in one basket was going to get me there.
[00:28:50.13] Scott: So, at that point, you started antiparasitics and anti-malarials with a focus on Babesia. How did the cost of these medications push you even more into your role of being a Lyme advocate? How infuriating was it for you that many patients don't have the means to access the treatment that they so desperately need?
[00:29:08.17] Yolanda: You know I get emotional still because it makes me so angry. And in that time, I was so down and out. I had like 22-inch parasites coming out of my ass, yet everybody said you don't have parasites, and then you get the medication; it's $500 and then and it's just like so unfair.
I remember there was a treatment once, another stem cell treatment. And the bill was fifty thousand dollars, and I said to the guy thank you, but no thank you. If I can't share with other people what I do, I don't want to get better that way. Because who can afford fifty thousand dollars to go fly to the Bahamas and get a treatment, who can afford that?
[00:29:51.14] Scott: Absolutely.
[00:29:52.22] Yolanda: As much as I wanted to get well, I also I’m very stubborn and righteous. At that point, I was going against everybody, like I felt angry for others, not for myself. Because I could do it, but just for other people that who can afford that kind of treatment, like we all deserve medications and help when we need it, and there should be no just because I’m Yolanda Hadid, I shouldn't be getting better care than anybody else, and we're all the same, we're all equal.
I come from a country with social medicine, so I was raised. You go to the hospital; even when my mom died last year, I got off the plane in Holland and went to the hospital. Got there, she was in a room with five other people, and I said, mommy, I got really upset because she had cancer; her immune system was down.
And I’m like I want you to have a room alone, and she said no, we're all equal. Like she put me so in my place in that moment. At 76, she's like, no, this is the way it works here. We're all equal; we all deserve the same care.
[00:31:03.08] Scott: Wow, that's powerful.
[00:31:05.24] Yolanda: Yes, it was very powerful. And I looked at my boyfriend, okay, this is why I am who I am. Because the core of me, I was raised that way. So I truly believe it, and I feel it in my heart.
[00:31:17.10] Scott: So from there you go to Singapore, you meet with more doctors that suggest essentially the same problems that you're already working on. You have a colon hydrotherapy session, where you had a 16-inch ''creature'' come out of you, and you started researching parasites. You noticed that you actually started feeling better, and you became fascinated by parasites.
At the recommendation of Dr. Oz, you send your samples to Dr. Omar Amin in Arizona. I have done the same thing, and he confirms that, in fact, you were quote loaded with creatures. You continue working on these with various protocols. How much of a role do you feel the parasites were in your overall gluten-free, dairy-free pie?
[00:32:01.04] Yolanda: Huge. I just had never imagined that something like that could live inside of me. It was fascinating. And I must have been a scientist in the past life because normal people would just flush everything. I needed to understand, lay it all out. I took pictures of it because I thought I wanted to learn, and nobody would have ever believed me.
That's why when I wrote my book, I had a big fallout with my publisher, who said, you can't put that many pictures; I said then here, let me give you back the money because I don't want to write a book unless I can tell the truth. And I can tell you there was a 22-inch parasite coming out of my ass, and you go like, oh yes, sure.
But if I’m going to show you a picture of it, you go, oh, shit, that's real. And we all have parasites; why do people that are raised, born and raised in Mexico since childhood get four times a year an anti-parasitic from their mom. Because they know. Here in our culture, we don't even talk about it, but we all have parasites.
And for somebody like me that traveled the world, I left Holland 16 years old. I would shoot on the streets in India or Indonesia and just sit down with the people and just eat meat right from a little grill on the street. Like I had no fear or no boundaries as to what was hygiene, no clean food was all about. They eat it, so I can eat it, right? But no, it doesn't work that way.
[00:33:34.24] Scott: So you then meet with your health coach, Daisy, and start down the Klinghardt path, which is coincidentally the path that recovered my own life from Lyme disease and mold illness. In 2015, you flew to Seattle; I’ve made that same trek many times, starting in 2006. On your first visit, Dr. Klinghardt suggests that your metal crowns are blocking your healing.
You had heard that once before. He feels the biggest factor in your brain function is your metal crowns, and he also identifies ''creatures'' in your gut which you already knew and had even seen.
For me, finding Dr. Klinghardt was the first time I really felt some mental relief. The first time I felt like I could let go a little and trust that I was working with someone that had the ability the treatments the framework to move me in a good direction. What was meeting Dr. Klinghardt like for you, and what role has he played in your healing?
[00:34:30.04] Yolanda: You know it felt like coming home. It was the first time that I felt that I was in the right place, that I was talking to somebody that really truly understood what was wrong with me. And it was like this father type, right? I just wanted to melt in his arms and have him hold me and say, you're going to be okay little girl; you know what I mean. I mean, he was such a bright light in my journey, and he came at the right time.
And you know I hang on to him and every word that he said. And he often said like there's no patient like you because I said just tell me what to do. Like if you tell me to eat bark for three months, I’ll eat bark, like I’ll do anything. And he held my hand and walk the journey with me, and I got out on the other side. So it was a great experience for me.
[00:35:30.12] Scott: At that point, you went back to Mexico to do recirculatory hemoperfusion with ozone. You did more stem cells in Germany; you continued with your Klinghardt protocol. Around that same time, you had a full-body scan that leads to a breast MRI and unexplained black spots all over your chest. They're determined to be free-floating silicone from breast implants that had ruptured and were later replaced.
But that silicone had traveled throughout your body and was potentially serving as an ongoing trigger for your immune system. That leads you to another round of stem cells to prepare for an explant that was in the Bahamas. And then, you started working with Dr. Lu Jean Feng. Your explant procedure was eight hours long and one of the most difficult she had ever seen. The silicone granulomas extended all the way to your clavicle.
The explant resolved your chronic cough, you continue to detoxify the silicone that could not be removed, and three weeks later, even though you had a long road ahead, you were on the treadmill at the gym. How much of a role do you think that breast explants, that procedure, and the silicone detoxification. How much of a role do you think that played in your illness and ultimately your recovery?
[00:36:46.03] Yolanda: I think that was a huge breakthrough for me. I think that discovering that was something that, like I said, was overlooked by so many different clinics. Like you fill out your forms when you come somewhere, and I always tell people I had breast implants, you know what I mean. That nobody ever looked at that before that moment is incredible. I mean, I think that anybody that has implants needs to be really cautious and aware that it affects so many things.
And then when you start researching implants, and implant disease, it's huge, there's so much out there. And you ask your doctor, and I remember because I think also getting well a lot of it is also your own intuition. Really going inward and really following. We're so busy in life, but when you're shut down like we were where you don't live life anymore, you're just existing, right?
Use that time to go deep inside and find little pieces of information within yourself, because I remember years before that I had called my doctor and I said, doctor, do you think my implants have anything to do with that? No, and this is one of the top doctors in Beverly Hills. You're fine; there's no proof.
When I started research, I learned so much about implant disease and how it affects your immune system. And it makes sense. When I came to Feng's office, and she took an implant, like this she says this is a brand new implant, we're going to put it on the glass table and talk for a while. Half an hour later, she lifted it up, and you could see like a layer of oil that was released just from room temperature.
Imagine when it's in your body, and you're running, jogging, saunas, hot baths; imagine what goes through your system; we're not built for that, we're not built to carry around plastic objects. And how are we brainwashed, and how are we made to believe that it's okay. That's like a billion-dollar business like you know what I mean? These things just make me crazy, right?
[00:39:09.14] Scott: You had some very powerful pictures in your book after your explant as well. So people can get a visual for what that was like also. Knowing what you know now, you did several different types of stem cells throughout your journey. I’m wondering if you felt like the stem cell therapies were a significant part of your recovery. Or where did those fall in your overall recovery?
[00:39:31.07] Yolanda: You know, I don't think, I think stem cells is a really good treatment. I just think it's a treatment that one does at the end of their journey.
[00:39:42.20]Scott: I agree.
[00:39:42.29] Yolanda: I think that it's a waste of money to do it during because you've got to be working through all the things that we are discussing right now before you spend that money on doing stem cells. I do believe it's a great; I think that you can have a great benefits from it, but it has to be done on the right time.
[00:40:03.25] Scott: You have said that hair extensions, Botox, and breast implants were a mask of who you were not. And this quote ''I’m kind of embarrassed and disappointed with myself, knowing that at one time, I allowed my sexuality to be based on those fake things. What a lack of judgment and intelligence. Whoever decided that we need big breasts to be sexy, and how stupid was I to believe that? Why is superficial or augmented beauty revered over natural beauty?''. You say that your implants were your number one screw up, that you are quote going to be a “toothless, boobless wonder”.
Ultimately, you feel empowered by your transition to your ''original 1964 model'' and say that it feels so good. Talk to us about the journey of going from a more superficial place to the deeper realizations and new perspectives that something like Lyme disease often brings.
[00:41:04.00] Yolanda: You know what, I have to re-read my own book because that was actually really good; I haven't heard that.
[00:41:09.23] Scott: It was really good.
[00:41:11.21] Yolanda: Actually, really good. You grow into, let's first talk about how we grow into like I was born on a farm always close to the earth. I was a very earthy woman, but coming to America, my career, being a model early on, you start to fall into these little traps, right? And then you get to that point. Until you're faced with all that I was faced with.
And then you come to the realizations of all that you just said. And I just for the longest time I was so disappointed with myself, and thinking God punished me because he gave me the perfect gift, there was nothing wrong with me. Like what made me everything that I needed, that implants or hair extensions? Yes, I have shitty hair, well, so what?
It doesn't change the human being that I am, right? But I guess those were my life lessons to learn. And I’m grateful today that God has given me the opportunity to learn them and get out on the other side where I can now look at my beautiful farm and be out in my vegetable garden. And go to my meditation place, and really live from within and be grounded in this world, rather than my previous life.
[00:42:31.00] Scott: Yes. I’m definitely a very different person now than before my Lyme disease and mold journey as well.
Around that same time, you prepared to have your nine metal base crowns removed that were triggering your immune system.
Dr. Klinghardt continues to serve as a guiding light, as you say in the book, and identifies your next step, which includes removing five root canals, fixing two cavitations, removing your tonsils to address PANDAS. And doing a procedure called TVAM, or Transvascular Autonomic Modulation, to reset your autonomic nervous system. You use his quote, which I’ve heard many times, the only way out is through. Tell us about your dental interventions and how important those ultimately were in your healing process.
[00:43:16.02] Yolanda: You know, I think the dental issue is a huge part of the pie that we're talking about. It definitely cleared up my brain, less swelling in the face. There were just little things that started to shift after I did all my dental work. It wasn't fun. Also, it's a very expensive journey the dental part, but I think it really works.
And I do think that the cavitations, which also is something that we're not educated about, right? As a child, we pull out the molars like it's nothing, yet a lot of people have that low-grade infection that is just brewing there at all times.
And then for somebody that has no immune system that just knocks you off your socks, just that will knock you off your socks. Then all the other things that is in our pie that adds to it, but it's something so overlooked by so many doctors, and I think very important thing to discuss and be looked at.
[00:44:22.02] Scott: Absolutely agree. You've mentioned the mental, emotional work. It is often so key to healing from chronic Lyme disease. Dr. Klinghardt, at that time, tells you it's 50% of the healing pie. You had experienced a lot of trauma in your life; you already mentioned that. Tell us about some of the tools that you used in this realm?
Did you think that the mental, emotional component potentially set the stage for your health decline? Or did the invalidation, as you're working through your illness, become a trauma of its own that needed some attention? And how much would you encourage people to explore the mental, emotional realm?
[00:44:59.16] Yolanda: I can say now that, yes, 50% of the healing pie is your emotional and spiritual healing. The day he said that to me, I remember looking at him like, really? Like I always thought I was such a together person. Like if I have a problem, I call my mom in Holland, and she'll set me straight in a second, right?
And I was born and raised in a culture that is self-taught to self-find, figure it out, like find your own tools. Like I wasn't raised in a culture where you go to see a therapist and talk about your problems. Like maybe I should have, looking back, yes maybe I never really dealt correctly with losing my father. But I did a little bit later on in life; I went to retreat once to deal with that. But I wasn't a child that was sexually abused or like it could be a hundred times worse than my childhood.
I had a pretty good, clean childhood. But there's stuff we go through in life, right? I mean, we all have our stuff. And when Klinghardt said that to me, I was like, okay, well I’ve done everything else you told me to do, and I am not going to fail for lack of trying this, so where do I start?
So he told me what I should do and the things I should do, and then once I start getting into it, I was like, okay, I got to take this to another level. And that's when I started doing did mushrooms; I did Ayahuasca for a couple of times. And I really started to dig deep and educate myself as to how I could help myself. And I think that after I did a lot of it, I got to a place where I realized yes, okay, maybe I did have a lot more than I anticipated.
[00:46:54.04] Scott: It's funny again, my experience very similar. When I started working with him, I wanted to kill the bug, detoxify, and then put very little on the mental-emotional. And now I flip it completely the mental, emotional first detoxification, and then the microbial piece is actually relatively straightforward if you get all the other pieces right.
[00:47:14.13] Yolanda: Yes. I’m dating a guy now that is 35 years sober, that is so in his life that self, the part of the self-care is so important. And it's kind of great for me because it keeps me in check too. Because I know that I was doing so well for the past year and a half, and then my mom died. And all of a sudden, I started getting sick again for six months.
And I did the same thing hard-headed; no, I’m good, we're in quarantine, planting and busy at the farm. But I just could feel myself go down and down because I hadn't dealt with, you know, really truly mourning my mother, the loss of my mother the way I should have.
[00:47:56.17] Scott: Around that time, you did Ayahuasca and Kambo or frog poison in Tahiti, working with a shaman. You felt something shift in your energy. Can you tell us a little about that experience, and was that helpful in your mental, emotional, spiritual focus?
[00:48:11.24] Yolanda: Yes, I think the Ayahuasca part was huge for me. I mean, that was a big step, because I’m not a person, I don't do drugs. I don't drink alcohol; I mean, I live a pretty clean life. But the more I educated myself about it, I started feeling it. You can't tell somebody go and do Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca finds you, or you find it like it's like you have to be drawn to it, to be ready for it, to truly do an experience like that.
But for me, it was huge. I let go of so much stuff that I collected throughout my life, starting with the loss of my father, just things that being alone, traveling the world at 16, leaving my country like there's a whole stuff. So much luggage that I’ve taken on.
And then also the part of my health journey, you know, losing my marriage in that and moving away from my life in California. I mean, I’ve been through a lot. And so it was good to really work through that, and from within and come out on the other side.
[00:49:21.16] Scott: You continue at that point, working on Dr. Klinghardt's marching orders and have your tonsils removed, which is not an easy procedure for an adult.
You start making your own LDI or Low-Dose Immunotherapy from your tonsils, your dead tooth, stool, urine, blood, saliva with the goal of modulating your immune system; that it's not always the bug, but the host response to the bug and that we need to create immune tolerance to our own microbiome. How important was LDI in your journey, and how much did you actually enjoy the process of exploring it?
[00:49:56.02] Yolanda: You know what, once you take control of your own journey and you start being educated. I mean, Klinghardt laughs at me because I would show up with like 150 little models with different strengths, homeopathic strengths of my stool, my urine, my teeth, and he's like, you're a crazy little scientist.
But the better I started getting, the more of my pies I could mark off that I had gone through that; it just kept empowering me to get better at it. To get more educated, to talk to people, to read, to buy books and make my own version of it, and it worked for me.
[00:50:41.06] Scott: You hesitated, but weighed the benefits and risks, ultimately decided to do the TVAM procedure to reset your autonomic nervous system. You explored Lyme-N. You continued with your Klinghardt protocol. And at that point, it seems like you've come quite a distance from where you started in 2011. Tell us how you're feeling at that point in your journey.
[00:51:03.02] Yolanda: The TVAM that was one of the things that scared me a little bit, right? Because it's this big, I don't know; it scared me. But it definitely was a huge breakthrough for me. As I go through it, I feel stronger and stronger, mentally, and spiritually. At that point, my outside world, my outside life was really gone. I was really introvert; my main focus every morning waking up was getting well, finding answers to my own questions.
And it wasn't anymore about what am I going to wear, who am I going to see who I’m going to dinner with. I had no life left, just that and taking care of my children. But I don't know you're just deep inside yourself, and you're just going through life and emotion of trying to get, you're in the maze. I always felt like I was in this maze, make a left turn, no wrong, okay. Back to the right, and then one circle around. And you know what I mean, you go through these. Thinking back now, it's such a strange, it's a strange experience, right?
[00:52:21.02] Scott: I think sometimes, the journey of the illness, that part of the message is that we do need to prioritize and value ourselves. And that maybe we somehow lost that, and part of the message of the journey is to put ourselves back at the top of our focus and priority.
[00:52:39.07] Yolanda: And you don't have a choice because it's do or die, right? I mean, there are many nights that I would lay there thinking I’m never going to make it through. When you wake up in the morning, and you keep fighting because you know you have a family to fight for.
[00:52:54.14] Scott: Most of us in the chronic Lyme disease world understand that eradicating Borrelia and co-infections like Bartonella and Babesia is not very likely. You alluded to that earlier that there is no ''cure'' if we think of cure as complete eradication of these organisms. Fortunately, many of us are able to regain our health and have a productive joy-filled life; even when these microbes still remain as part of our microbiome, we don't have to eradicate them in order to regain our health, regain our life.
What are your thoughts today on what cure means? Do you feel cured? And what do you think it will take in the future to bring a cure to those that are still struggling with this condition?
[00:53:36.17] Yolanda: Well, I don't believe that there is a cure. I believe that all this, everything from this side, we learn to live together. Like the bugs are still there, as long as I can keep them at bay and they don't bother me, I don't bother them, you know what I mean? So you kind of go the same with the parasites.
We all have parasites; they can't be stronger than we are, but as long as I’m the host and you pay rent, you can live inside of me, but I’m still the boss. You know what I mean? Like at some point, you have to come okay, this is part of my life, this is part of my being. And we're all going to live together, and hopefully for a very long time.
And I will manage symptoms; I know I’ve learned now the hard way that as long as I do my meditations, I eat right, I sleep right. I mean, there's so much that goes in it. Exercising, like I can keep everybody at bay, and I can live a pretty good life. So I think that that's the conclusion I came to.
[00:54:50.08] Scott: I agree with that as well, yes, for sure.
[00:54:54.09] Yolanda: Because eradicating, like I tested with Klinghardt after the first year that I was on the WAVE, and doing all my, I have a whole treatment room here at home myself. Like I do my IVs, I do my shots, I did my peptides, I do my whole routine myself. But at some point, Klinghardt tested me, and he said everybody's quiet; like I can't feel anybody.
He said, great, good. And he didn't say, oh, Yolanda, you're cured, but it was like, okay, everybody's at bay, I can't find anybody right now. Sure they're there, but nobody is having a party. And then, like I said, when my mom died, the emotional stress of that probably changed the frequency of the bugs. And also that's why my WAVE wasn't working so well. But now I’m at a stage where okay, it's management, right? You manage a business; I manage my health. That's my biggest business.
[00:55:58.00] Scott: Throughout your time on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, you used your platform to bring needed awareness to the struggles that one faces when dealing with chronic Lyme disease. As I remember watching the episodes to see how you brought mainstream awareness to the condition, it didn't always seem like you got a lot of support from your co-stars.
And as hard as it was for you to continue to push to be on the show, did you feel the support coming from the audience? From all of those with similar health challenges, that maybe for the first time, were seeing someone like themselves on television and connecting with you through your willingness to be so open and vulnerable?
[00:56:35.29] Yolanda: Yes. I knew that as I was going through filming the show, and all my everyday struggles, and the reaction of the other women on the show towards me, it was like wow, people deal with this ignorance every day of their lives. I’m just going through it on television. And maybe that's the purpose of why I’m on this show, because the day before I signed my contract to go on the show, I remember standing in the shower saying God, just give me a sign of why I should do that.
Yes, I need to go back to work; I want to make my own money and be financially independent. But there has to be a purpose for this; what am I going to do with creating this platform for myself. In that moment, I didn't get any answers, but soon after, I did, and I was like, well, maybe this is the reason. It was devastating to see how much pushback you get from people that are just ignorant.
Like oh, you look so beautiful, how can you suffer? Oh, all this judgment around me just saying hey, I feel really bad, like I can't get out of bed, I can't talk, I can't hold the conversation. I can't argue with you, because my brain doesn't work. Like I was dealing with so much.
[00:57:57.13] Scott: One of the challenges of chronic Lyme disease is that most of the time, we look fine on the outside, but we are often a disaster on the inside. Did you find that most people understood what you were going through, or did they question and invalidate your illness and your experience? I remember at one time you were accused of Munchausen. Did you feel like people were empathetic? Or did you feel like people felt you were making up your illness?
[00:58:24.05] Yolanda: You know, I think that having them say that I have Munchausen disease was such an insult to my integrity because I’m so honest when it comes to these things. Listen, having this all play out on television wasn't fun because of these kind of incidences. But it also gave me the strength, like how dare you?
I’m going to prove you, and I’m going to solve this on the show, and I’m going to come to the end of this, right? Where I can say okay, this is victory like I’m better, and now I can take these women on and really explain it. But as I was going through it, I also gained such popularity with the audience because there are millions of people that suffer from the same thing that I’m suffering from, you know what I mean? So people out in the world, went oh my god, I feel the same way she's feeling.
People started going to the doctors; please tell me for Lyme disease. A lot of people got diagnosed and put on the path of healing because of my journey on TV. And once I realized that that was you know the purpose of my journey, I’m a soldier, I’m one of this lying army, and I will always be.
When I feel better, I always promised when I was really sick; I promise God just give me the ability to get to a place of health so that I can really get to work, roll up my sleeves, and continue the work of advocating for people that are in the same situation, looking for a cure that is affordable for everybody. And that there's no separation and divide in who has money, no money, you know what I mean? Like we have to find something that everybody can afford.
[01:00:06.27] Scott: And was that where the title of your book, Believe Me, originated?
[01:00:10.14] Yolanda: Yes, of course. I mean, they didn't believe me, they thought I was like, the more popular I became, they didn't believe me. They were accusing me of doing that in order to gain popularity.
[01:00:27.05] Scott: Right. What words of encouragement can you give to those that have family, spouses, and friends that don't understand their journey and are not able to provide the necessary mental and emotional support that we so desperately need?
[01:00:41.07] Yolanda: You know I also have to be honest and have to be fair to the caretakers. It's really hard to be sick with Lyme disease, but it's also really hard to be the caregiver of somebody with Lyme disease. And not truly understanding the journey. It's not like when your partner gets diagnosed with cancer, where you have a diagnosis.
There is a treatment plan, with Lyme disease, like there is no, you know we learn as we go. But it's not like okay, in nine months from now, you can start detoxing, eating healthy, and get back with your life. It almost feels like this is a life sentence, right? So my advice is just have compassion, have empathy. This is real; people are not making this up.
Nobody chooses to be sick; nobody wants to be in bed seven days a week. Like who wants that? We all want to, you know; any normal human being wants to be out, live life, be with family, be with children. Have a boyfriend, have a girlfriend. If life takes that away from you, it's because that person is suffering. So be gentle, be compassionate.
[01:01:58.04] Scott: I love that. Let's now talk a little bit about the broader experience of going through an illness that literally changed your life in so many ways and has made you a strong advocate for the community today. You've said if Lyme wasn't such a controversial disease, I’d probably choose to deal with my journey in a more private manner.
But the amount of suffering that goes on behind closed doors all over the world is unconscionable. And I feel it is now my duty to be a voice for those who can't be heard. I want to shine a light on a disease that so many know so little about. Tell us about some of the feelings, the frustrations, the injustices that you've observed, and how being an advocate became your ultimate purpose.
[01:02:40.21] Yolanda: You know it's like I said, it's so sad and frustrating to see well, the first thing is it's hard to get diagnosed with, but then to realize that there's no prescription for this, there is no answer, right? You learn as you go. Like there are so many doctors that are not Lyme educated, like then you don't have the money to get treated.
Well, I mean, it's all a big giant mess. It's like I can't even talk to, and we can't really blame a doctor because one of my really good friends in LA that treated me in the beginning, at the end he came back to me said I’m so sorry, I misdiagnosed you. But in medical school, I didn't learn about it. And I was like, that's fine, but just now get educated. He still calls me today and says Yolanda, what's your advice on this? This patient comes in; these are the symptoms; what do you think? So at least he's come to a point where he wanted to be educated and came over to the other side. But a lot of institutions, a lot of hospitals they still don't believe in chronic Lyme disease.
How is that possible? I mean, we're all the living proof that it exists. Like what is the stigma around this? And it still angers me; it still frustrates me. So for me to go to the white house is not going to make a difference; you know I tried that.
So I think at this point, I’m like, okay, I’m just going to keep searching for things that have made me better and try to share these things that have worked for me. That are somewhat like I said that are financially doable for most of us.
[01:04:27.24] Scott: You say in the book that you've never suffered as deeply as you did with Lyme disease. Do you think that your suffering had a positive side? Do you think that your journey has made you a better person? Changed your perspective on life in a way that you're now grateful for? And if you could blink and make it all go away, would you?
[01:04:49.18] Yolanda: That's a good question. I wouldn't wish that kind of suffering onto anybody, and I wish I never had to go through it. But this is my life journey, this is what God had planned out for me, so I had to take the beating. You know what I mean? But no, I wouldn't want to go through it again. Have I learned from it?
Yes, but I also think that I could have developed in a much easier way and gotten to this point. So you know what I mean? If I look back, I go like I was raised by a mother. I was extremely conscious about giving back; she sent me with a money pot, ring the doorbell, ask for money for Africa since I was eight years old. So I was raised in a way conscientious about giving back to the world.
So I don't know if I had to come through all this suffering to get to this point where I’m really so passionate about it. But there are also things you take away. I mean, I look at my family, the way my children developed, the strength they got so early on in life. Helping take care of me, you know it shaped and formed everybody in my family in a positive way. But the suffering was deeply, and it was a steep road, I’m not going to lie.
[01:06:14.24] Scott: As we start wrapping up, we're going to talk about another one of your passions. As you continue to work on further improving, maintaining your own health. Looking for tools that could help others, you became interested in light and frequency, eventually started using the WAVE1 from FREmedica, which you've mentioned a couple of times.
Albert Einstein is reported to have said future medicine will be the medicine of frequency. I personally am a big fan of light and sound and vibration and frequency. I think that's where the ultimate solutions may lie.
You had already said that you wanted to shine a light on a disease that so many people know so little about, and maybe you're shining a light on this disease in more ways than one. Tell us about your experience with the WAVE1 light and frequency emitter and how it helped you and your family to further improve your health.
[01:07:06.10] Yolanda: You know, going back to where I started discovering, I remember being really sick. I had high anxiety; my brain was always shaking inside my skull. And I remember that at nights, I would go naked in my robe downstairs and lay in the garden on the earth, and that's where I would just lay there naked on with my rope on the top of it and just sleep there with my pillow.
And I always felt that there was a frequency coming from the earth that really calmed my system, which is very interesting. I was introduced to frequency and light pretty early on in my journey. But in the beginning, it was kind of too early, and I was like, yes. As I kept going working with Klinghardt, he introduced me to; he works with sound, light, and all this.
So then I start really educating myself on frequencies. And I’ve been using the WAVE, and it's changed my life. I’m not going to say it's a cure, because like we just discussed, I don't believe there is a cure. But it's definitely managing 90% of my symptoms, which for me is a dream come true, right? I mean that alone, there 90% of my symptoms are gone. So I love it; I sleep with my device every night, don't miss a night ever. And I’m really excited for the future of this device.
[01:08:36.25] Scott: So you continue using it today, is it a tool that your children also found helpful? And respecting their privacy, how are your children doing today?
[01:08:47.15] Yolanda: My children are good; they're all very health conscious. Obviously, seeing me go through this journey, so they see their own holistic doctors, they do their IVs to keep their immune system up, but they're doing pretty good. They all use the WAVE as well for different things. They're educated, right?
They know so much because of this last decade of hell journey that they've been through with mama. And I think it's a gift, looking at that I can already see that it's something that they can give to their children. My son was saying the other days he says mom, I’m so glad that I was raised by a mother that knows so much about holistic healing because a lot of kids don't have that knowledge. And I said thank you, I’m glad you mentioned that because it's good to know.
[01:09:46.10] Scott: You are collaborating with the FREmedica team on a new project called The Wave Station. Talk to us about the wave station and how you see that further evolving the use of frequency and improving the lives of those with chronic health challenges. What is your passion around The Wave Station?
[01:10:03.06] Yolanda: Well, I love the way I got off sleeping medications on the WAVE. I remember wearing it; I used to for years now take Xanax at night or anything that would just put me to sleep. Because I have severe insomnia. When I started wearing the WAVE, after a couple of days, I go oh my god, I was falling asleep before I could take my sleeping pill.
So that's when it really got my attention. Obviously, I was working on all my Lyme symptoms, but the first thing that really helped me was my insomnia issues. The more I started to use it, the better I started to feel. The more inspired I got about it, and the more I wanted to educate myself. So the amazing thing is that we can take the frequency of anything and put it on our body and use it to heal, right?
So that's an amazing gift that we need to use, and it's been used for hundreds of years. This is no new technology; this is knowledge. Like you said, Einstein already knew about it in his time. So when we came up with the idea of doing The Wave Station, I was like, why can't we help different people with different problems. Why can't we just use the idea of a library? Like, remember, listen, if I want to start studying about, I want to know things about cancer, just specific cancer.
I go to the library, I get the book on cancer, or I can get a book on health or skin or this, we can take the frequency of anything. So the idea of a library, where people can use their own device and download the frequencies of what they're dealing with in that moment, just seemed like a brilliant idea to me. So I’m really excited about it, and hopefully, people will enjoy it as much as I have. I mean, like I said, I don't sleep a night without it.
[01:12:04.26] Scott: Yes. I use mine every day as well, and I’m also excited about The Wave Station. Because then it'll broaden the things we can potentially use to support our body.
[01:12:13.01] Yolanda: Yes, and it's endless, right? I mean, it's like owning a library. It's endless because there are books on everything. I think the same for frequencies. I mean, we can take the frequency of anything. So the possibilities for the wave station is endless.
[01:12:31.00] Scott: As we wrap up our conversation, I want to urge listeners to get your book ''Believe Me''. We covered a lot of ground today, but it was only the tip of the iceberg of what you cover in the book.
When I read the book personally, I felt like it was just so beautifully written, and I really appreciated the detail, the vulnerability, everything that you shared about your personal journey. What is the best way for people to continue to follow you and your Lyme advocacy work?
[01:12:58.27] Yolanda: You know I’m on social media. I mean, as you know, Instagram is a huge platform; I'm on Instagram, on Twitter. I have an email account on my Instagram page; I answer at least maybe 15-20 people a week that I help of finding tools for diagnostics of doctors in their area. So I’m always willing to answer those kind of emails.
And hopefully, I can really help people with the WAVE. I mean, that's really for me is the one thing that I found that I feel really passionate about because it's done so much for me.
[01:13:37.08] Scott: Beautiful. My last question is the same for every guest; it may be difficult for you to answer. But that is, what are some of the key things that you do on a daily basis in support of your own health?
[01:13:47.21] Yolanda: You know I’m very, how do you say that? Regimented. I get up in the morning; I do my lemon water, then I have 20 ounces of celery juice. Then I go on my five-mile walk, and I come back, I do a heavy metal detox smoothie from the Medical Medium. And then I start my day, so that's really my morning regimen.
[01:14:20.01] Scott: Beautiful. You have literally been to the ends of the earth and back, in fact, many times. You've left no stone unturned; you've sought solutions for yourself, but then taken your journey and turned your pain into your passion, your mess into your mission.
A mission to help others find answers and to not have to struggle like you have. I thank you for your work; I look forward to continuing to follow you and see the difference that you're making in the lives of others. And thank you so much for your generosity today in sharing with all of us.
[01:14:52.17] Yolanda: Thank you for having me; I appreciate it.
[01:14:54.23] Scott: Thanks, Yolanda.
[01:14:56.02] Yolanda: Thank you.
[01:14:57.02] To learn more about today's guest, find Yolanda Hadid on Instagram or Twitter. That's Yolanda.Hadid on Instagram or YolandaHadid on Twitter. YolandaHadid on Instagram or Twitter.
[01:15:11.17] Thanks for listening to today's episode. If you're enjoying the show, please leave a positive rating or review, which will help the show reach a broader audience. To follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you can find me there as BetterHealthGuy.
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Disclosure
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Disclaimer
The content of this show is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any illness or medical condition. Nothing in today's discussion is meant to serve as medical advice or as information to facilitate self-treatment. As always, please discuss any potential health-related decisions with your own personal medical authority.
