318 Jerry’s Creek Road
Chilhowie, VA 24319
March 3, 2011
Dear Nature Lovers,
After three and a half years of existence, Nature’s Powers is strong and healthy. However, I must now shut the doors and take a leave of absence from my business. My husband Charlie has advanced prostate cancer. That means that his prostate was removed but not before some cancer cells escaped to other parts of his body. His cancer is growing rapidly; thus we must begin treatment immediately. The standard medical community has no cure for advanced prostate cancer. However, the Gerson Institute has been helping people get well from this and many other types of cancer for over 60 years. It is an alternative treatment that uses guidelines from nature. Well, that’s right down my alley. And it is incredibly strict and time-consuming. I will be working more hours a day taking care of Charlie than I have been putting in at Nature’s Powers! And there are no vacations allowed! We don’t know how long it will take to get Charlie healthy, but the usual time is two years.
We have canceled our vacation to St. Croix to visit our daughter. Instead, we will leave on March 20 to spend three weeks at the Gerson Clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. Then we will come home and continue the therapy on our own. We will be confined to home almost 100% of the time. The silver lining in that thought is that we have a beautiful home that we love. We will be fine. Charlie is not showing symptoms at this time—no pain or debilitating weakness. By starting treatments now we hope to avoid such symptoms altogether.
During this time of quietness in our lives, we will enjoy remembering the fun we have had at Nature’s Powers and the wonderful companionship we have experienced with people who have come to learn a simpler lifestyle closer to nature. Thanks for the memories.
I like to say that I am taking a leave of absence from Nature’s Powers in order to experience nature’s powers as it heals Charlie’s body. You can learn more about what we are doing at www.gerson.org.
My final event at Nature’s Powers will be the Homeschool Science Class on March 16. Until that date, it will be business as usual. Please contact me if you have any questions.
All the best,
Mary Alice Hardin