Every one of us at some point in our lives has at least one day where one cannot imagine having the strength to endure the next. This weeks’ Neighbor to Know has faced that challenge day after day for many years now, and found her way to get up again and again. Meet Lisa Douthit.
Lisa is a rare fourth generation Californian whose great-great grandfather and Edward Doheny were partners in an oil grant in L.A. Her family moved in and out of the state many times as she was growing up, and her online biography will tell you she attended no less than nine schools before heading to Cal State Long Beach to study journalism. It was during college that she got her first taste of Seal Beach when she lived on Ocean Avenue with friends.
Upon graduation she did not find journalism work, but instead found a job in a sales role that would be serendipity all the way around. Because of the job, she met the man she would marry, Doug at the most pivotal point in her life. Their first date was on Valentine’s day of 1991, and within weeks of that date at age 26, she would be diagnosed with a halo mass around her heart requiring open heart surgery. Her family was on the east coast at that time and Doug became her family. From the surgery it was discovered that Lisa had Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and she began treatment designed by City of Hope, but treated at Long Beach Memorial. The treatments nearly wiped her out but Doug was with her through it all, and married her on Christmas Eve 1991 at Sea-Coast church.
For most people simply surviving the Non-Hodgkin’s would have been enough, but Lisa was to be diagnosed with three further cancers; thymoma, thyroid and skin cancers. The harsh treatments were worse than the disease and yet, she knew her survival was dependent on them. At one point, the doctors told her that she was never going to be able to have children, a terrible blow to her and Doug. But then a miracle happened: she got pregnant and her first child was born, defying all the odds and doctors opinions.
They moved to Belmont Shore shortly after their first child because she felt more at home close to the water. To help begin to recover from the years of destruction the cancer treatments had wrecked on her, she turned to holistic medicine, beginning the journey to heal from the inside and rebuild her immune system. Her second and third children were born, to the further amazement of the medical community.
By the time all three were in grade school, they decided to make one last move and came home to Seal Beach. The kids attended McGaugh where she can remember loving the walk through the neighborhood in the mornings so much that many times they lingered so long the kids were late to class. She returned to school to work on her training in homeopathy, or homeopathic medicine, a medical philosophy and practice based on the idea that the body has the ability to heal itself. This led her to her new career as an Integrated Health Consultant, integrated because she focuses on all areas of health, body, soul and mind. She believes that without this healing process she would not be here today.
But her personal battles were not yet over. Eight years ago, Lisa began experiencing double vision, fatigue and other systems that were finally diagnosed as autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases develop when the immune system decides that the healthy cells are foreign and as a result attack the healthy cells of the body. Depending on the type, it can affect different types of body tissue or organs.
Lisa’s body was resistant to so many things and nothing seemed to work. She spent weeks in the ICU fighting for her life and at the point where she almost allowed herself to slip away from all the pain and hard work of living, she chose the latter. It was this turning point that led her to where she is today, using her own personal battles to help others back to health. But now she is also using her journey to affect change for the common good. Earlier this year, Lisa journeyed to Washington, D.C. to lend her name and her efforts to two different pieces of legislation that will help ease the red tape quagmire of insurance companies for people who are battling in similar circumstances.
The first piece, The Medicare Home Infusion Site of Care Act of 2015 (S. 275 / H.R. 605), will ensure that Medicare beneficiaries can receive infusion treatments in the home, where today they are required to travel to a facility for this common treatment, incurring unnecessary time and costs. The second, H.R.971 – Orphan Product Extensions Now Accelerating Cures and Treatments Act of 2015, will require the FDA to extend by six months the exclusivity period for an approved drug when the product is additionally approved to prevent, diagnose, or treat a new indication that is a rare disease or condition also known as an “orphan disease.” In short, it will help bring down the costs of medicines developed for one thing that seem to be working for another such as with autoimmune disorders. She spent days meeting with Assemblymen and Senators, seeing first-hand the federal government in action and doing what she could to bring her personal message to the needs of so many. Both bills have passed the House and are currently pending action by the Senate.
She is also an Amazon #1 book author of “Wellness Warrior: Fighting for Life in Fabulous Shoes,” a book she wrote while confined to bed, finally using those long put away journalism skills. She wants to use her days to stand up for those who cannot speak anymore.
Her heart is sad for those she sees who spend the valuable time they having focusing on the illness rather than their health, and who allow their disease to define who they are.
She has allowed me to share her journey with you, not for sympathy for what she has endured, but to stand as an example of one who has had every conceivable obstacle thrown at her, and refused to allow them to stop or define her. She is living her days boldly and courageously in spite of it all. She has certainly won my admiration for what she does every day that makes her such a special neighbor and life inspiration to us all.
You can learn more about Lisa, and her journey at lisadouthit.com.
