Scott’s Healing Journey — Part 3: Initial Encouragement

The First Changes We Made

Scott’s Healing Journey Part 3: The First Decisions After His Initial Liver Appointment

Scott’s Healing Journey Part 3 documents the first decisions we made after his initial liver appointment — before transplant care was even on the table, and before we understood what was really happening.

After that first liver appointment, everything shifted.

We didn’t leave with a plan.
We didn’t leave with hope.
And we knew immediately we couldn’t go back.

I remember walking out knowing one thing very clearly: we couldn’t afford to wait for answers. Scott might not have the strength left by then.

Before we ever found the right doctors — before there was a diagnosis that made sense — we made a decision. We were not going to sit still while his body continued to decline.

We focused on the only things we could control: what went into his body, what surrounded him, and what we allowed into our days. If there was any chance of stabilizing him, we had to start removing what was clearly hurting him and supporting his body in whatever ways we could.

This wasn’t about curing anything yet.
It was about stopping the free fall.

Easing In — Making Change Sustainable

I knew I couldn’t change everything overnight.

Scott still craved carbs and sugar — deeply. He was exhausted, foggy, barely present most days. And one doctor had even told him to eat peanut butter and jelly. That advice didn’t sit right with me, especially as I watched his energy crash and his symptoms worsen.

Through my own research — and what I was already seeing in his bloodwork — I had become convinced that sugar, refined carbs, and gluten were adding fuel to the fire. The markers were pointing toward metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance, and a system already under serious strain.

But this wasn’t the moment for food rules or perfection.

So I focused on easing him in.

I explained what I was learning — not as a lecture, but as a lifeline. How lowering sugar and refined carbs might calm inflammation. How stabilizing blood sugar could give his body a better chance to hold on.

And I made sure whatever replaced those foods still felt familiar. Comfort mattered.

I also knew — from everything I was learning at the time through Houston Holistic, Dr. Berry, and Dr. Boz — what a typical peanut butter and jelly sandwich does to blood sugar, especially in a body already under stress.

For anyone curious, this short video from Insulin Resistant 1 shows what a standard peanut butter and jelly sandwich does to blood sugar when measured with a continuous glucose monitor. Individual responses vary — but it helped explain why the advice felt misaligned with what we were seeing.

Food as Support, Not Punishment

We started with simple transition foods.

Smoothies became an early bridge — lower carb, lower glycemic, made with unsweetened almond milk and just a few strawberries. Nothing extreme. Just enough sweetness to quiet the craving without overwhelming his system.

Meals were basic and nourishing:

• Pan-sautéed fish cooked in butter
• Low-glycemic vegetables like asparagus and French-cut green beans
• Low-carb yogurt with a single tablespoon of low-carb granola
• Ready-to-drink lower-carb protein shakes kept cold in the fridge
• Even a few low-carb Atkins-style bars early on, when cravings hit hard

These weren’t foods we planned to rely on forever. But in that moment, they mattered. They helped Scott feel supported instead of deprived — and gave us something solid to hold onto when everything else felt uncertain.

We weren’t trying to be perfect.
We were trying to make it through the day.

When Things Got Worse Before They Got Better

The truth is — at first, things went downhill. Badly.

Scott was still sleeping 18 to 20 hours a day. He was barely present. And even though we were doing everything we could, there were moments when it felt like nothing was working.

We wondered if his body was detoxing — or if things were taking a turn for the worse.

We didn’t know yet.

But we stayed the course.

Within about a month, his bloodwork showed some improvement — small, but real — even while he was still extremely weak. That early shift told us something important: his body was responding, even before he was.

Those three months were the longest of my life.

By the four-month mark, the changes were undeniable. His energy began to return. His presence came back. And the lab results finally started telling a different story.

In just three months, Scott’s MELD score dropped from 26 to 19 — something we had been told was impossible without hospitalization or aggressive medical intervention.

And this happened after our first transplant appointment — long before any treatment or follow-up care.

Creating a Healing Environment

At the same time, we became fiercely protective of Scott’s environment.

We turned off the news.
We avoided fear-based conversations.
We chose calm wherever we could find it.

Laughter became part of our daily rhythm — old comedy specials, funny movies, anything that could lift the heaviness, even briefly. Not as denial. As relief.

We often kept the TV on ocean waves. The sound, the movement, the steadiness of it all felt grounding when everything else felt fragile.

These choices weren’t clinical — but they mattered. Stress is not neutral to the body, and we wanted to give Scott every possible advantage.

Moving Forward with Medical Guidance

At this point, we still didn’t have the right doctor.

The earliest appointment we could get with a top liver specialist was six months away. And while that wait was terrifying, it also gave us time — time to see what food, environment, and support could do on their own.

During this period, we began working with licensed naturopathic physicians — Doctors trained in clinical nutrition, metabolic health, and organ support. They were the medical professionals guiding Scott’s care at that stage, helping stabilize his liver function and overall health while we waited for access to transplant care.

This wasn’t casual or alternative.
It was deliberate, informed medical support.

From the very beginning, these doctors provided hope when we had very little. The supplement protocols and nutritional guidance they recommended played a meaningful role in stabilizing Scott’s body and allowing healing to begin.

Timing matters here.
Scott was first diagnosed with a serious liver condition in June 2022. At that time, the initial specialist refused to consider hemochromatosis, and we were unable to obtain genetic testing or an order for therapeutic phlebotomies. As a result, phlebotomies did not begin until late January 2023 — roughly eight months after diagnosis.

In hindsight, that delay became an unexpected gift. During that period, the only variables that changed were mindset, lifestyle, food, the removal of gluten, and targeted supplements. No phlebotomies. No iron removal. Just daily choices. And his labs began improving anyway.

That time allowed Scott to build a completely new way of living — one that addressed inflammation and metabolic stress at the root, rather than relying on phlebotomies to do the heavy lifting while old patterns continued.

By the time we finally reached a liver transplant specialist — whose role ultimately became monitoring labs and managing phlebotomies — Scott’s body was already showing significant improvement. Had it not been, that appointment would have been about preparing for transplant. Instead, it became about continuing forward.

That early response changed everything.

Coming Next Part 4: Turning Point →

You can view Scott’s full bloodwork progression and MELD score changes here → Scott’s Bloodwork Timeline

✨If you’re new here, you might also enjoy 💖 Our Story, The Joy List 🌟— Our Ultimate All Day Playlist — the Recipes we lean on when food becomes part of healing — and 🐶 Fur Baby Tales, where we share life through Jack’s eyes.