Nicole and John Manley with son Jonah.

December 2013. Nicole Manley found herself in the neurological ward at University Hospital in London, Ontario. The clock ticked past 11:00pm. Most of the day had been spent in emergency. For the ninth time a nurse ran through a long list of questions to test Nicole’s brain function.

“What city are you in?” she would ask.

“Carrot,” Nicole would reply. “No. No. Not carrot. Dog.”

Her husband, John, stood by, wondering if she would ever be able to speak properly again. The doctors said it wasn’t a stroke. “Some type of brain seizure.”

Born in 1967, Nicole had been diagnosed with type-1 diabetes at age 9. 39 years later, she has suffered from kidney failure, neuropathy, gastroparesis, anemia, hypothyroidism, severe depression and tachycardia. For most her life her HgbA1c hovered between 7.0% and 8.0%. Blood sugars would dip so low she’d loose consciousness and go so high she’d end up in emergency.

Waking up the next day in the neurological ward, Nicole found she could talk normally again. The doctors discharged her two days later. Migraines and back pain followed, leaving her unable to eat for days at a time. All the while, she still had to show up for dialysis treatment three times a week.

“I think we need to try something different,” said John. They ordered Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution and fired her endocrinologist. They changed her diet to low-carb, high fat. They cut her insulin regimen in half and became fanatical about dosing and timing. In less than nine months, Nicole’s A1C went from 7.0% to 4.5%.

“I didn’t really think it was going to work,” said Nicole. “I’ve tried so many things in my life. Nothing really helped.”

“It made me realized how off-course the medical system was,” says John. “There’s no need for diabetics to suffer the complications that go along with high blood sugars. ”

Fast forward to 2015… Nicole and John have been experimenting with multiple therapies, including targeted supplementation based on hair mineral analysis, coffee enemas and sauna therapy.

Nicole no longer suffers from week-long bouts of horrible depression. She is off thyroid medication and appears to have doubled her own thyroid function. She has recovered approximately 1.5% of her kidney function. Hair mineral tests show a dramatic increase in elimination of toxic aluminum, manganese and iron.

Through DiabeticDharma.com John, shares an account of the experiments they are conducting to reverse type-1 diabetes, kidney failure and other complications.

The name of the site refers to an ancient Sanskrit term. “Dharma” is about finding the right way to act in a given situation (such as dealing with type-1 diabetes). It also refers to the need to fight one’s battles and overcome the challenges life confronts us with. It’s not about enduring and suffering, but finding ways to overcome and conquer our troubles.

“They’ve been saying they are close to finding a cure for diabetes ever since I was a little girl,” said Nicole. “I’m tired of waiting”

“I don’t think the problem is really with the pancreas,” says John. “The work of Dr. Paul Eck points to the theory that the body is quite capable of repairing itself. We may not have to directly ‘fix’ the pancreas. Instead, we need to fix the energy,  immune and detoxification systems in the body. Balance the entire biochemistry. Once this is done, the body may be able to naturally heal type-1 diabetes, as we’ve already seen in some isolated cases with children.”

Today, Nicole has managed to avoid the emergency room for over two years. The healing process has proven to be an intense physical, mental and spiritual journey.

“It’s about more than just healing type-1 diabetes,” says Nicole.

“Seeing the level of deception and incompetence surrounding the care of type-1 diabetics,” says John, “has really made me hopeful about the possibilities that truly do exist to manage and cure the disease.”

John publishes new posts of the Diabetic Dharma E-Letter every Thursday (or thereabout). You can read past posts or subscribe for new ones. You can also contact John or Nicole with questions, comments or to setup coaching or consultations.

Nicole and John live in Stratford, Ontario with their eight-year old son Jonah.