It works.” ~ Rev. Eddie Hodges
A few times during the weeks before Rev. Eddie Hodges visited Creative Health Institute he and his wife, Linda, worried he didn’t have long left in this world – unless a miracle happened.
Eddie had been in bed, barely able to move, for seven weeks. He couldn’t even brush his teeth, let alone stand up in the shower. His wife and children were beside themselves with worry despite their strong faith. Eddie has been the pastor of the Church of God on Maple Road in Joliet, Illinois for 16 years.
Finally an older doctor who promised not to prescribe drugs until he figured out the problem admitted Eddie to the hospital and ordered a complete round of tests. Weeks earlier Eddie saw an emergency room doctor who told him he wanted to treat him very heavily with drugs to knock out whatever was causing the symptoms. That doctor only wanted to treat the symptoms, Eddie said. He didn’t feel like the doctor really cared enough to figure out what was going on with him; so he threw away the drug prescriptions and stayed at home trying to recuperate with the love and assistance of his wife. No matter how long he rested under the loving care of his wife, his symptoms did not improve.
“He couldn’t do anything himself. Weight was falling off him daily. You looked at him one day and the next day it was a drastic change,” Linda said. “We had to spoon feed him. I would have to help him to the bathtub and then get on my knees and wash him up.”
It had all started with a virus of some sort. His kids had it, too. But they recuperated after a few days. Eddie just got worse and worse. Finally Eddie visited the office of a doctor who seemed to really care about what was going on with him. He looked in Eddie’s blank eyes, took his blood pressure and told Eddie he couldn’t risk examining him any further at his office. Eddie was just too sick and needed to go to the hospital right away. On his fifth day as a patient after a battery of tests, the doctor told him he had septic blood, liver disease and an enlarged prostate. He gave Eddie a list of medications he could start taking to improve his condition. And then the old gentleman doctor sat back and looked Eddie right in the eyes.
“And he said, ‘but eating right could correct these problems.’” Eddie said with a happy look that seemingly mirrored the epiphany he had at the very moment the kindly physician leveled with him. “That’s what the doctor said!”
When the doctor leveled with Eddie about the fact that he could improve his eating habits for better health, the Hodges knew just what to do. Linda Hodges already had been to Creative Health Institute for a detox program and through the raw living food traditions of Dr. Ann Wigmore had healed the sciatic nerve problem that had been causing her severe pain for many months.
She had taken some of the things she had learned home with her when she left CHI. For instance; she and Eddie quite frequently had been drinking green energy smoothies for breakfast. But when Eddie’s work life became extremely stressful because he was pastoring two churches in two states, some of his healthy habits slipped away. He wasn’t sleeping. And the stressful lifestyle apparently created the environment in which illness took hold.
As soon as the Hodges knew what the problem was – and that better dietary habits could help, they checked Eddie out of the hospital and packed up for a trip to detox at Creative Health Institute. It wasn’t an easy three and a half hour ride in the car for Eddie, who had trouble getting in and out of the car – let alone trying to walk.
“I could barely walk in through the door. I had no energy. I had no strength. I could barely move,” Eddie said.
The first night at Creative Health Institute, Eddie was able to eat some raw lasagna and a salad for dinner. But he didn’t have the energy to do an enema as guests typically do before going to bed. The next morning he got up and ate raw organic berries for breakfast – with green energy smoothie. He rested quite a bit during the next few days but could also feel his energy coming back. He started participating in morning rebounding exercises on the miniature trampolines with other guests.
And on the fifth day at CHI he walked outside for a whole mile.
Since then he’s been walking and rebounding every day. Days before the Hodges returned home following their three-week stay at Creative Health Institute, Eddie was highly energetic during morning rebounding and inspiring everyone – including the class teacher – to “do more jumping jacks.” His balance was great. His voice was loud and clear — and there was joy in his eyes that might make you think about Lazarus in the bible.
“God showed mercy on me,” Eddie said. “This way of eating is awesome. It is beyond your imagination. It is mind blowing how you can just eat properly and it will correct issues in your body.
“I can shout this thing from the mountain top. It works.”
Linda said she overjoyed that her husband’s health has returned and happy about his new commitment to the raw living foods lifestyle.
She said they’ll be back at Creative Health Institute again.
“This truly is a haven of rest,” she said.
Sending love and blessingsto all our friends and family
Robert Morgan – Bobby
Creative Health Institute
866.426.1213
