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For eighteen years I was on and off of drugs. For almost six years out of that eighteen I was strung out on heroin and crack cocaine, prostituting to support my habit. I hadn’t planned it that way – no one ever does.

Born in 1968 I was raised by my Japanese-American parents in a middle class family with one younger sister. By the age of fifteen I had left high school and joined an Asian gang. By the age of 20 I was shot in a drive by shooting in West Covina with a .38 in which the bullet entered by the upper left arm, shattered the bone, went through my arm and entered my left side where the bullet passed by my heart and then went through my liver, left lung and diaphragm and lodged in my back, ½ an inch from my spine.

The shooting occurred at a Catholic church and a priest was there who gave me my last rites with the holy water – at which I became very angry and cussed him out that I wasn’t going to die. I was taken to the hospital twenty minutes later by ambulance. In the ambulance I attempted praying (I didn’t know how) by saying the ‘Our Father’ and ‘Hail Mary’ over and over in my head. But the whole time while I was in the ambulance there was a figure sitting at my right side, and it gave me peace. I knew it wasn’t my time yet.

After I was released from the hospital I continued to run with my gang friends who had started to use harder drugs, both cocaine and methamphetamine. We had always gotten drunk, smoked pot and dropped LSD, but once we began doing cocaine and meth – getting high became a priority.

I began hanging out in Hollywood with my sister, and soon after decided to leave my husband (we married when I was 17) and because I believe that he truly loved me, he let me go without too much trouble. (Regarding leaving the gang)

After I left my husband I got deeper and deeper into cocaine and smoking crack, and lived with a couple of my old ‘homeboys’ who were always more involved in the drug lifestyle than the gang fights and drive bys. One day, after being up all night, one of my roommates came home – ‘glowing’. I thought he had been taking some great drug and asked what he took. He said “I got ‘saved’! (Oh no) and I told him that I didn’t want to hear it. But I watched him change before my own eyes, and one day I prayed and asked God to forgive me for all the crap I’d done and to set me free from drugs and smoking cigarettes. He did, almost overnight!

I began going to church, got married, went to Beauty College and got a great job. Then I got pregnant and had a wonderful, beautiful son. But things were hard, and everything that went wrong – I blamed on God. Long story short, the pressure of being a new mother and being upset that I had just started my career and it had been interrupted – I began to start smoking and drinking again, and before I knew it – was using cocaine again. I was angry that God didn’t ‘fix’ my life and make it better.

Before long, I was a MESS. I don’t blame my husband at the time. He needed to get away from me before I hurt my son. I had begun bringing him with me to the drug dealer and couldn’t believe what I started to become. (It only got worse) He told me that he was leaving me one night when I came home from work, and I freaked out and left. I had to literally pry my son off of my neck while he cried, “Please don’t leave me, mommy.” I walked out and only came back once while no one was home to get some clothes. From the day I left, I would not allow myself to be sober or I’d literally FREAK OUT. The guilt I felt for leaving my son was so overwhelming that I kept a Vodka bottle near the bed wherever I ended up the night before so that I could drink as soon as I got up and if possible, a line of cocaine or a hit of crack to wake me up.

To come down off of the cocaine - I began smoking heroin, and before I knew it I was strung out and needed it to ‘get well’ and function as a normal human being. I couldn’t work ‘dope sick’ and one day my boss noticed me after I had been out all night and had done all my dope and had to go to work sick. He thought I was high. (Quite the opposite – I NEEDED to get high to get normal!)

After losing my job, I started prostituting to support my habit. I would get so freaked out whenever I got dope sick, I became suicidal. When I had first gotten strung out I didn’t know it – when I didn’t do heroin for 24 hours, I became sick and thought that I had the flu. I called a friend (who soon after became my boyfriend) and he told me that I was strung out and brought me some dope. Once I started smoking it, I felt fine and swore that I would ‘never let myself be sick like that again. I had a saying, “I’d rather be dead than dope sick.” It wasn’t long before I was using the needle.

I attempted suicide numerous times, overdosing and slicing my wrists. I was SO MISERABLE. I hated myself for leaving my son but was powerless to stop using the drugs. Heroin had become my god, I was a slave to it and would do anything for it.

My boyfriend was all I had and he stuck with me through anything and everything – even after all the times I had gone to jail and he’d find out about my prostituting over and over. Yes, we had a seriously codependent dysfunctional relationship at best, but I loved him very much – so when I found out that he cheated on me with my best friend while I was in jail – I was DEVESTATED and became even more suicidal.

My superior court judge, Stephen Marcus (who started ‘Drug Court’ in LA and who I still keep in touch with and who even came to my wedding two years ago) had threatened to send me to prison if I left the 5th rehab he sent me to because I left the all the others he sent me to. Well, I left again and the judge put out a $200,000 warrant for my arrest. I didn’t want to go to prison, so I decided that the best thing would be for me to end my life for certain this time.

My boyfriend and I lived in an 8 (eight) story apartment building where we could climb up to the roof and hang out. I would sit up there every time I was upset and smoke cigarettes, and ‘plan’ on jumping off the roof. I believed that it would be a sure thing.

One day my boyfriend and I went and got 16 klonapins (sp.? Anti-anxiety pills that put you to sleep or at least make you seriously out of it) and decided to ‘kick’ heroin. Apparently, we each took one, my boyfriend fell asleep and then I took the other 15. I took a train to a friend’s house, called my drug connection, got both heroin and cocaine and shot up a bunch of speedballs. I then called another friend who picked me up and took me back to the train station, where I took the train back home and went up to the roof. Whether I jumped or fell is unclear, but either way, I hit a tree on the way down which broke my fall before hitting the ground. I completely shaved off one side CLEAN.

I woke up in the Cedar Sinai hospital four days later after being in a coma and after a craniotomy. I was brain damaged, my motor skills all messed up and I didn’t know how to read or write anymore. I was in the hospital for only almost a month, but about a month after my released I jumped out of a second story window from a Christian women’s home (The Walter Hoving Home in Pasadena, ‘Mom B’ and her husband who started the home still remember me) while kicking heroin and methadone. This time I broke my back. I re-broke it when I was in the county jail and jumped off of the second tier to get sent to the hospital to get drugs. (It worked!) While at the hospital I was told that I had a full blown staph infection from not being ‘sewed up’ properly – the hospital had left a 1 inch by ½ inch hole in the back of my head here the infection entered.

To finally finish this up, I ended up on Skid Row downtown where God spoke to me, “Look around, Laurie – you’re going to die out here anonymously if you don’t turn around and serve Me.” I went home with a ministry from Orange County where I got clean and then went to the LA Dream Center (you may remember them, they helped out some Katrina victims and were on the news and Dr. Phil) where I began reaching out to both prostitute and pimps.

One of the reasons I finally decided to write is because I want to give hope to people who are involved with drugs or prostitution or are suicidal. I have been off of drugs and alcohol for over 5 ½ years now and am reaching out to other people who are living the way I used to when I was on drugs.

I have remarried a wonderful husband who I actually met at a tattoo parlor while ministering to people at tattoo shops on Hollywood boulevard. He gave his life to Jesus, and is now serving God with me. (He also used to use drugs, has been in prison, etc.)

We are starting a non profit ministry to specifically reach out to pimps, prostitutes, drug addicts’ gang members and convicts. I would also like to write a book (but I’m not exactly sure how to go about it) and a friend of mine has been working on an independent film/documentary about some of my experiences and the power of God to change lives.

I am HONORED to share my life with you and with anyone else. You can ask me anything – I am very open about the things I have done, the mistakes I’ve made and the PAIN I went through because of my own foolishness. I feel that if sharing my mistakes will help even just one person, it is all worth it. People, especially young people - who are dabbling with drugs and alcohol, need to see that there are consequences for our actions -not only physical, but spiritual and emotional as well.

People also need to know that there is HOPE. When I was strung out on heroin, I thought that I would never, ever be able to get off of it. Heroin is SO difficult to get off of. I have met numerous heroin addicts, who believe the same thing I used to believe – that I would always be strung out and die a dope fiend, either overdosing or killing myself one day. I want to show people that there is hope! If God could set me free, He can do it for anyone!

God bless you!

Laurie Ishii
213-399-0057 (cell#)
Daryl (husband’s cell#) 213-361-0057
749 East 84th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001

I have never submitted anything to anyone about my suicide attempts, but yesterday I wrote to Oprah. Your web site came up when I looked Oprah up. My biograhy is pretty much my story/article above. I am now a missionary to the inner city, reaching out to drug addicts, prostitutes, pimps, convicts, etc. I have been clean for over 5 1/2 years and I love people.
I am willing to share anything about my life with other people if it may be of help. If you have any questions about my story and want referrences or need to contact people to confirm my story - I was in Cedar Sinai hospital in 1998. Going in and out of jail, my judeg at the time was Judge Stephen Marcus who started drug court and who works in CCB, the Criminal Courts Building on downtown LA.
I have been in numerous drug rehabs, Tarzana Hospital, Impact in Pasadena, the Walter Hoving Home, AADAP and also most of the hospitals in the LA, and some in the South Bay and Valley hospitals.
I do some speaking engagements at mostly churches, and really enjoy speaking.
I am grateful to God for sparing my life & give Him all the glory!

Tags: anxiety, Heart, sleep, smoking

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Tags: anxiety, Heart, sleep, smoking

Studies show that most kids don’t get the calcium they need. In fact, more than half of teenage boys and girls don’t get enough calcium. Bones grow most during the childhood and teenage years.

By eating and drinking foods with calcium, children and teens can build up calcium-rich bones for now and for when they are adults. This calcium helps keep bones strong and may prevent them from getting fragile and breaking later in life.

Milk and other dairy foods are excellent sources of calcium. Calcium is a mineral that helps make teeth strong and healthy. Even before baby teeth and adult teeth come in, they need calcium. And after teeth come in, they continue to take in calcium so they can develop fully. Calcium makes gums healthy. Getting enough calcium as a young adult may help prevent gum disease later in life. Calcium makes jawbones strong and healthy too. Jawbones need to be strong - they hold the teeth in place.

According to the Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, National Academy of Sciences, 1997, one 8-oz glass of milk contains 300mg of calcium. Children between ages 1-3 need about 500mg of calcium (one and on-half glass of milk). Children between 4-8 years old need about 800mg of calcium (two glasses of milk). And children of 9-18 years old need 1300 mg (four glasses of milk).

Kids can get calcium from:

• Milk and other dairy foods, like cheese and yogurt, are very good sources of calcium. One 8-ounce glass of milk has about 300 milligrams of calcium. Just a few glasses can go a long way toward giving kids the calcium they need each day. Milk also has other vitamins and minerals that are good for teeth and bones. The vitamin D in milk helps the body absorb calcium.

• Other healthy foods with calcium are dark green, leafy vegetables; orange juice with calcium added; and soy milk with calcium added.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following types of milk for children:

• Babies under one year old should have breast milk or formula with iron added.

• Children ages one to two should drink whole milk.

• Children ages two to five should be gradually switched to fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%) milk.

Food labels can tell you how much calcium is in one serving of a food. Look at the % Daily Value next to the calcium number on the food label.

• Try to eat and drink foods with 20% or more Daily Value of calcium (like milk). These foods are good sources of calcium.

• A food with 5% Daily Value or less has just a little calcium.

• For most adults, 100% Daily Value = 1,000 milligrams of calcium - but children ages 9-18 need extra calcium, or 130% of the Daily Value. This age group needs 1,300 milligrams, an additional 300 milligrams of calcium each day. That means one extra 8-ounce glass of milk or extra servings of another calcium-rich food.

Not everyone can drink milk. Some people get an upset stomach if they drink milk or eat dairy products. This may be (but is not always) a sign of lactose intolerance. Lactose is the sugar found in milk and dairy foods. When lactose is not digested it may cause an upset stomach, bloating, diarrhea, and gas. Lactose intolerance is not common in young children. It is much less of a problem if milk or dairy foods are taken with meals. Talk to your pediatrician if you think your child might have trouble digesting milk and dairy foods.

For information, contact Dr. Nguyen at

Tags: breast milk, diet, lactose intolerance, mineral

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People infected with HIV may benefit from micronutrient supplementation, according to a report published in the February 2007, issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The main focus of this report was with HIV-infected persons not receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), but also reports that additional study of those receiving HAART may show benefits as well because HAART therapy is shown to deplete many micronutrients in the body.

HIV medications are relatively easy to obtain in developed countries, but only 1 in 7 in Asian countries and 1 in 10 in African countries have access to HIV antiviral drugs. Micronutrient deficiencies are commonly observed in those with advanced HIV disease and are associated with higher risk of disease progression and mortality. In those receiving HAART, immunologic function is restored but these drugs do not eliminate weight loss and wasting. Because of these factors, micronutrient supplementation can be an inexpensive way to improve quality of life and possibly reduce health care expenditures in those suffering from advanced stages of HIV disease as well as those who continue to suffer from disease effects not treated by HAART therapy.

In one placebo-controlled study, HIV-infected patients were given Vitamins A, C, and E for six months. At the beginning of the test, all patients had lower levels of these important nutrients when compared to a group of HIV-negative healthy volunteers. At the end of the study, the levels of these nutrients were normal in the patients given supplementation and not in the placebo group. The study also showed that the supplemented group had substantially better antioxidant defenses and lower levels of oxidative stress than the placebo group.

Because HIV medications have a direct effect on the synthesis and metabolism of micronutrients in the body, restoring these depleted levels through dietary supplementation may also provide substantial benefit for those on HAART therapy. A small study showed that greater intake of Vitamin E in adults receiving HAART reduced the outcome of HAART-related complications which include body fat redistribution, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. Other studies have been shown to stimulate glutathione peroxidase activity and reduction of oxidative stress.

Such studies demonstrate the significant need for optimal nutritional support in HIV-infected people. It also calls for the need of further studies to provide additional validation and solutions for people not able to receive HAART therapy as well as to support and improve the overall health of those who are on HAART therapy. The long-term benefits may be seen in reduced health care expenditures, around the world, as well as improved quality of life for those suffering from the effects of HIV infection.

As a national speaker on glycowellness.com health and wellness, Dave Saunders has been helping people discover the amazing truth about how the body is able to restore, defend and protect itself against the effects of injury and disease.

Make optimal health a reality: Discover vital truths about health and wellness at glycowellness.com glycowellness.com

Tags: antioxidant, diet, quality of life, weight Loss

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Tags: antioxidant, diet, quality of life, weight Loss

Since real beauty comes from within, it’s important that your beauty products bring out your best natural qualities. Natural beauty product reviews can help you choose which products are best suited to your own individual needs.

One popular type of natural beauty product is stretch mark removal cream. Since stretch marks are pretty common–their causes range from pregnancy to body building–a lot of people can be helped by a natural, effective treatment for them. While reading natural beauty product reviews, I noticed that the best stretch mark remedies contain high amounts of Emu Oil, Aloe Vera Gel, Collagen, Elastin and Vitamin E. When these key ingredients are combined in a highly concentrated cream, they can not only help reduce stretch marks you already have, but actually help prevent new ones from forming!

One of the most helpful things about natural beauty product reviews is that they tell you about the ingredients in the best beauty products out there. Whenever you’re looking for skin treatments–whether it’s cellulite cream, spider vein therapy, sunless tanning or stretch mark removal–you want to make sure that the ingredients are safe and actually make your skin look better, not worse. What’s the point of diminishing stretch marks if the skin around them becomes red and irritated? Natural beauty products tend to be safer, because they don’t include a lot of harsh chemicals in their ingredients.

If you’re fair skinned like I am, you know how hard it can be to enjoy the great outdoors. There’s nothing unusual about stretch marks or cellulite or spider veins. They are the natural effects of having bodies that grow and change. Using natural, high quality products to safely improve your skin’s appearance can help you feel less self-conscious at the beach or in the bedroom.

Then your natural, individual beauty can shine through!

David Stanton
Dermaglow provide natural and organic skin care products to help stretch marks, cellulite and spider viens.
dermaglow.co.uk/index.html dermaglow.co.uk/index.html

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