The Martha Brasell Story

THE STRENGTH OF ENDLESS LOVE…
The Dave and Martha Story
by Charles Foster

Sometimes, you are introduced to people and feel you have known them forever. This unique connection was the case with a special lady named Martha. One of our business partners had been friends with Martha for years, and one day, while looking for a healthier lifestyle, Martha decided to join our company. We met Martha and knew from our first conversation that there was something special about her. As time progressed, we discovered just how special our relationship became.

Martha and her husband, Dave, were married for 53 beautiful years and had three exceptional children together. We got to work closely with Martha and had not met Dave yet except for a couple of conversations on the phone, but just like Martha, he made us feel like life-long friends.

Our relationship was one where you had only known each other for months, yet it seemed like we had known each other forever. They lived in Houston for many years, but before we met them, they had moved to Alabama. Dave, a highly decorated Army officer, had commanded a post in the Houston area and loved his platoon, but his heart was always in his home state of Alabama, where his dream was to retire. When an opportunity to command a post in Alabama came available, he took it, even though he loved his soldiers and staff in Houston. They had already been in Alabama for a while when we met Martha.

As I said, Martha is one of those special people you meet, and you feel like you have known her forever. And she is such a friendly person that you instantly fall in love with her. She worked hard to settle in Alabama and helped Dave understand he needed to care for his health. He has always taken care of everyone else yet neglected his health. Martha is one of those dedicated wives who did everything for her husband and family. That steadfast Spirit would be valuable because what her future held would require her to use all her skills and talents.

Shortly after we met Martha, she told us they had a trip planned for the Holy Land in a tour of a lifetime. They saw that sacred land where Jesus walked and witnessed the sites that changed world history. On our trip, Dave had the opportunity to be Baptized in the Jordan River. Martha said it was the trip of a lifetime, and this experience had even brought them closer together as a couple, even after 53 wonderful years.

The next event for them was the wedding of their middle daughter, but they both enjoyed the trip so much that they booked a river cruise later that year.

Not long after returning from the trip, Dave began having stomach pains and went to see their doctor. After running a battery of tests and waiting over a week for the results, they went in to hear what the doctor would do. This day, thought to be a typical easy fix, upset and turned their world upside down forever and would set in place a whirlwind of activities they never expected to face.

Making that trip to the doctor to get the report they had expected to be an ulcer or some other simple problem was a shock when the doctor informed them that Dave had Cancer. That statement alone was difficult enough to hear, but the doctor continued. Dave has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer, which has spread all over his whole body. That devastating news took time to digest as they discussed what they would do. This power couple was not the kind of people to give up. Dave was much more willing to listen to doctors than Martha. From what Martha knew, she respected modern medicine but also believed in common sense. When a medical professional doesn’t consider the facts backed by science that nutrition can help the body heal, Martha knows she will have to intervene on Dave’s behalf. Even though modern medicine can help, without all the tools, modern medicine is just a band-aide and not a solution. When a terminal diagnosis is said to you, and you can eat whatever you want because your life only has weeks, that does not make common sense. Martha was not going to accept such a foolish idea. Martha puts a plan in place to save Dave’s life or at least extend it. After 53 years of marriage, their lives were just getting started.

Surviving a life-threatening disease was a huge mountain to climb, but as all good parents do, they were thinking about their children. The fact that their middle daughter had planned her wedding added to the size of the mountain, and the wedding was still about four months away. The biggest obstacle was the doctor had told them that Dave had less than one to two months to live. The event was four months away and involved air travel again outside the U.S., away from any U.S. medical facilities. This wedding would take place on a beautiful Caribbean Island, Paradise, yet the doctor did not think he would make it long enough to attend.

Martha was not going to accept such a thought. She took charge of the situation over the doctor’s advice. The doctor told Dave not to listen to her but for him to do whatever he wanted and eat, drink, and be merry for the time he had left. Martha knew better and was not going to give up. First, she put her foot down and changed his food intake. She also made some phone calls and got a natural plant-based protocol that would give his body fuel and give the body precisely what it needed to repair. It usually takes time for the body to respond naturally, and time is minimal. She was relentless in caring for him. The doctor said to give him whatever he wanted, but Martha said, I want him here, and your prescription would only put him in an early grave. The doctor left, and Martha took charge.

Martha, wanting her husband to survive for as long as possible, put in place the necessary care and a healthy protocol for Dave. They did come to Houston for some treatments because Dave wanted to try Chemo, yet Martha kept providing the natural plant protocol she knew his body needed.

Wow! What a story. Dave’s blood work came back with excellent results after his first Chemo treatment and being on the protocol for only two months. The Houston doctors said they had never seen anyone respond to Chemo with such great results. Martha knew it wasn’t the Chemo but the healthy way she fed him. She felt the Chemo was only weakening him, and her care for her husband and many people praying for Dave were getting great results. She kept the protocol going even though the doctors did not like her helping because what she did was beneficial. The poison Chemo treatments were weakening his natural defenses. The doctors could not believe Dave was doing so well, yet Martha felt he would be doing better without the chemicals getting in the way.

Martha would tell you that she believes in good medical care and in doctors who have the patient’s interest first, but when a patient has no hope and a short time to live, why add more poison to the body along with the disease? Why keep trying new experiments and tests only to weaken the body? Maybe the medical profession doesn’t know any better, but how can a doctor go to school for years and not know much science about the human body? Money’s bottom line drives our medical work.

The purpose should be to give the body the tools to fight a person already in a weakened state, and the chemicals weaken it. The bottom line was that Dave listened to Martha, and he was able to attend his daughter’s wedding. He walked her down the aisle, enjoying the peaceful tropical paradise and relaxing time with the whole family. Even though the doctors did not think he would ever make it that long, he made it with flying colors and felt better. Martha continued her protocol. She knew that if she had not taken charge of his health, Dave would have never made the wedding.

When they returned from two weeks in the Caribbean and came to Houston for a checkup, the doctors told him that he was doing so well that he could return to work. Great news for Dave because he loved his work. They returned to Alabama to continue their routine and would be back in Houston a month later for the third time for another treatment.

After that treatment, Dave began to weaken. Martha believes the chemicals continued to tear down his system to the point that her healthy protocol of giving his body a chance to heal naturally derailed. This time, when the doctors told them that he was getting worse, Dave lost hope and began a downhill spiral quickly. Martha knew that if Dave knew the doctor suggested she put him under Hospice care, he would give up and not last long. She did find an excellent Hospice care facility not far from the hospital and told Dave it was a self-care facility to help him get better. It was a wonderful place where the family could be there, yet provided meals that were an excellent help for Martha and the family. Dave was there less than three weeks before his body gave up and expired. His whole family surrounded his bedside as he passed in peace. A loving family lost an extraordinary man who had done much for his family, community, military, and others. He had waited until all the family was present to give in to death. His love for his family overshadowed even the pain of hanging on. In life, like in death, Dave was a man of honor.

The following week, a memorial service held in Katy, Texas, honored Dave by the Veterans of Foreign Wars post he had commanded for years. We heard more stories of this remarkable man’s service and the legacy he left behind. One week later, Martha and the family held an even larger memorial service in their hometown in Alabama. Like in Texas, the Alabama memorial service honored Dave with Military honors.

Dave passed in peace, knowing two things. First, his steadfast love and devotion for Jesus Christ, and second, that he had left his family well-equipped with his legacy to face the future in his absence.

One month after Dave had gone home to Heaven, Martha decided to take that special river cruise she and Dave had planned. Martha took her brother and sister-in-law with her on this trip.

It was a bittersweet time for Martha as she sat on her balcony, watching the beautiful view that she and Dave had wanted to take together, yet knowing the view Dave sees now is unlike anything. Still, it must be tough without your life-mate beside you to share such an experience. One comforting thought for Martha is that she did everything possible to help Dave and cared for him as no one else could. There must be some comfort in knowing that Dave is with her in Spirit, even on this trip. While traveling, the loneliness and solitude will be cathartic, healing, and sad, yet Martha must feel she continues to complete the plans they set together.

Martha’s strength over their 53 years of marriage allowed her to finish strong in caring for the man she loved. Martha is a testament to her genuine and authentic love for her spouse. She demonstrated love in her relentless care of Dave, even after he was gone, even to the point of completing what they had planned together.

What an excellent example for her children and grandchild as the family continues to build upon their father’s legacy. Martha validated her love, fought the good fight, and finished what they had begun together. Now, she will not only survive the loss of her spouse but will continue to make Dave proud as she survives her loss to live a life of meaning and purpose.