I was listening to the radio this week, and the host was interviewing the author of a book titled "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist." What an intriguing name. It makes me want to read the book.

I've been tossing a blog around in my head for a couple of days, and thinking about what to name it.

Knowing when to cry "Uncle"

After battling a sore throat for more than two weeks, Tuesday I had to admit that I was getting worse. When I swallowed there was pain in my right Eustachian tube. I was getting a discharge from my left eye. The sinus passages near my jaw were starting to hurt. This was not a virus; it was a secondary infection. It was time to take the antibiotics.

All out fight

I devoted last weekend to fighting the virus. I was already taking antivirus protocols. Over the weekend I alternated gargling with salt water one hour and hydrogen peroxide and water the next. I drank hot water with lemon and honey. I juiced carrots and pineapple. I threw every natural remedy I knew at the virus. I woke Monday morning with the same sore throat.

Could have been worse

I was discouraged that I could not beat this with natural remedies. My gut feeling is that as stubborn as this germ was, if I had been eating a normal American diet, I might have been much sicker. Except for the one day of fever, and the sore throat I have had plenty of energy and have kept up my daily routine (excluding strenuous exercise).

Sleep deprived

Before the BTD I would get tired at night. Maybe the wheat I ate at dinner made me sleepy. Maybe it was the peanuts and cheese. I just know that my eyes would get heavy, and I was ready to go to bed. I don't feel that kind of sleepiness any more, so I tend to stay up later. Most of the fall I was sleeping about 6 hours a night. Looking back, I see that though I didn't feel tired, I was not getting enough sleep. It's a hard habit to break, but since Christmas I've made a real effort to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.

Much better, thank you

After 24 hours on the antibiotic, the sore throat was better and the Eustachian tube pain was gone. After 48 hours I feel almost normal. No question about this being a secondary infection.

All of those titles miss the point of what's really on my mind following this illness. It's the idea that if you follow the BTD you will never be sick again. I think I will call it Faith Healers and the BTD. But this blog is already too long, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.