When the Healer Has to Listen…
When the Healer Has to Listen: A Lesson I Didn’t Want to Learn
I almost didn’t listen.
It started as a whisper…
That little tickle in the throat — the uh-oh tickle.
The one you know means something is coming.
But I had places to be.
People to help.
A mission to fulfill.
So I pushed.
We had just come off a meeting in Madison and were headed to St. Louis for a training that only happens once a year. One of those “you don’t miss this” opportunities.
And I wasn’t going to miss it.
Even when my body started to say otherwise.
Wednesday was supposed to be an easy day — just a new patient visit.
It wasn’t.
It turned into a full day. More pushing. More output. Less listening.
Thursday hit… and I knew.
Classes ran from 8:30 AM to 7 PM.
And I could feel myself slipping.
By dinner break, I couldn’t do it anymore. We left early so I could sleep — just enough to get up and do it all again the next day.
Because I told myself:
👉 “My warriors need this information.”
👉 “I have to bring this back to the clinic.”
But here’s the truth…
The universe doesn’t negotiate.
By Sunday, I was hanging on.
That was supposed to be a wrap-up day.
But at the last minute, more content was added.
And we had already planned to leave for Chicago to take my mom out for Mother’s Day.
I didn’t want to let her down.
I didn’t want to let anyone down.
So again…
I pushed.
And then my body said:
Enough.
Sitting on the runway… stuck for over an hour…
My breathing tanked.
I couldn’t catch my breath.
Gio looked at me like he might need to call a medical emergency.
And for a moment…
I wasn’t sure my lungs were going to hold.
I made it through the flight.
Because I knew…
👉 I had everything waiting for me at home
👉 IVs
👉 Nebulizers
👉 Red light therapy
👉 PEMF
All the tools I use to help others.
But even with all of that…
I struggled to breathe.
This wasn’t chronic illness.
This wasn’t the slow burn we all learn to live with.
This was acute.
104 fever
Oxygen saturation dropping into the 90s
A chest-breaking cough
The kind of sickness that makes you question your strength
Pneumonia is no joke.
And I will tell you honestly…
There were moments I wasn’t sure my lungs could take much more.
I tried to push through.
I tried to not cancel patients.
Because that’s what we do, right?
We show up.
We push through.
We don’t stop.
But this time…
I had to listen.
Because if I don’t let myself heal…
👉 I cannot heal anyone else.
No matter how much I want to.
No matter how hard I try.
So today looks different.
Today looks like:
Nebulizer treatments
Rocephin IVs
NAD
High-dose Vitamin C
Doing everything I can to give my body what it needs to fight.
Not override it.
And maybe… just maybe…
This is a turning point.
Maybe this means my immune system is finally waking up after years of being suppressed.
Maybe it’s learning how to fight for me instead of against me.
But here’s what I know for sure:
🚨 This is your sign.
If your body gives you a check engine light…
👉 You yield.
Not later.
Not when it’s convenient.
Not when your to-do list is done.
Now.
Because your body does not care about:
your schedule
your meetings
your patients
your plans
👉 It cares about survival.
And I got dangerously close to the edge of that line.
So now?
The volume is up.
I’m not just hearing my body…
👉 I’m listening.
Because if I don’t…
I won’t get back to what I love most:
Helping my warriors find their healing path.
💛 Take care of yourself.
💛 Don’t wait until your body forces you to stop.
💛 Healing starts when you finally listen.
— Dr. Lyday