Saving Livia (2026)

30/08/2021

Oh I'm almost at the 3 month mark and acceptance of the situation is beginning to rear its head.
For many of you, I'm sharing this horrific news for the first time.
Livia died on June 8 in a hospital in Cozumel, Mexico from a medical accident.
The second surgery to implant a pacemaker resulted in tragedy.

The cardiologist punctured her lung, and due to complications from the accident, she died after a very, very brave and valiant 5-day fight in the ICU. She was so strong and determined. Just fierce.

She was in the coma most of the 5 days but we both got the most incredible gift two days before she died where she came out of the coma, raised her eyebrows when she heard my voice, and mouthed the words over and over "I love you I love you I love you."

She was on life support and could hardly move or open her eyes but we had the most incredible moments just being able to communicate with one another and share in our joy. She was somewhat alert and I knew one thing for thing: she did not want me to leave the room. She loved having me there. I loved our time together, although it was terribly wearisome for me. Seeing her in that state. I just can't describe the feelings of helplessness. I couldn't hug or kiss her because of all of the tubes in and out of her and of course the required mask and sterile robe and gloves I had to wear.

But what kept me going was the word from the doctors that while we could lose her, she was gradually improving.

So, on that dreadful Tuesday morning, when I received a BANG BANG BANG on my B&B door with the hospital on the phone telling me to sit down, my life as I knew it fell apart.

It took me 2 months to even go to her condo, where we had been roommates together since Nov 2019. I'm here now and have only just started opening up drawers and cabinets to see what's inside. It's just felt too personal. Like, those are HER things.

I didn't want to move or touch or alter anything. Today, I cleaned a toilet, vacuumed the rug, put away our dishes from the load we put in just prior to hopping on a plane to Mexico, and put away her shower cap. It's been a lot.

But I wanted you to know the story and the reason for our sudden disappearance.

The story of Livia is far from over.

I'm only diving deeper into learning everything I can from everyone and anyone about Brain Health, I'm going to film school next year to bring to life a full-length movie called Saving Livia, and I'll launch my Brain Health coaching business in the spring once I graduate March 1 with my Functional Medicine Coaching credentials. I will also be getting my advanced education in RECODE (Reverse Cognitive Decline) through Apollo Health. A lot in the pipeline for the next year.

And along the way, I want to connect with anyone and everyone who has been impacted by Alzheimer's disease in a way that has moved them to learn more, to do more, to advocate for awareness, to support those seeking to alter what they've been told is a fixed, hopeless destiny, and to advance the cause. I hope that through Livia's story, we can be inspired to move through the world with as much grace, beauty, gratitude, and hope as she did.

Please do reach out if you'd like to connect with me directly.

There will be a memorial fund set up in her name to help support the Saving Livia project and make the film a reality. I am interested in having conversations about creative collaborations to elevate all missions of wanting to eradicate this monstrous diseases. Please let me know how I can be of best service to you and others who desperately need to know that there are choices when it comes to Brain Health.

My mission is simple: to make Brain Health a household word. In order to serve my mission, I'm going to need a lot of help.

Please reach out for more information directly to me at Chris McClay modernvegan74@gmail.com.

In time and with more clarity, I will be posting more regularly to this page. Thank you.
Chris & Livia

03/06/2021

The backstory of Livia's health history (with updated link of raw video footage from 2013).

This week of double heart-related procedures didn't happen overnight, of course.

In fact, 35 seconds into the Saving Livia trailer you'll see a very different-looking Livia. This was circa 2013, when she was 20-25 pounds heavier. This was Livia's normal appearance and weight, I'd say, throughout her 50's, 60's, and 70's. A long time.

This portion of the trailer was shot in light of the second of two scary events that prompted us to do a "kitchen clean-up," where I transitioned Livia overnight to a heart-healthy plant-based diet. She agreed to it because she was frightened by what had happened to her.

The prompting events were fainting spells - or so they were labeled by the doctors in the emergency room. All along, I doubted that these were innocent events due to fatigue and dehydration, as they explained.

Bu****it, I thought. I was so pi**ed that any concerns of heart disease were chronically dismissed by physicians. And after a discovery by me that her cholesterol had been chronically in the 290-300 range with her doctor saying, "Everything is OKAY" to my face, I knew something had to be done. It was time she took charge of her own health. With my help.

And it made sense. I was already teaching others in my community how to do it. I had recently become a certified plant-based chef through Rouxbe, I owned and ran my own plant-based meal delivery company where I was head chef, and I had become a local owner/operator of The Wellness Forum, teaching a 10-hour Wellness 101 course which essentially educated people in principles in how not to die.

My mother would become a student and food service customer of mine!

So, for the next year and a half, she did fantastic. No more scary events. Happy Momma.

That is, until I shut down Modern Vegan and The Wellness Forum (Portland, Maine) in late 2014. Then, things quickly turned back to normal for Livia. Homemade pies, cakes, ice cream, breads - sweet and otherwise, scones, muffins. Anything and everything. Unlimited animal products. Gluten galore. Fat, sugar, salt in any form. It just didn't matter.

Over the last 6 years, I saw her blood pressure become chronically high for the first time ever, her cholesterol go back up to a moderately high range from the cozy 180 I had gotten it down to, and then...in April 2019, the acquisition of two autoimmune diseases, massive inflammation, and...the dreaded massive and sudden cognitive loss and change in personality.

And then - if you know our story - I stepped in all over again with the biggest intervention of her life, where I moved in and we began the Bredesen protocol in November 2019.

Not wanting to sit idly by, I put her back on a plant-based diet using the Mama Sezz meal delivery service in May of 2019 and I kept it going until late September, when it was clear to me that she had stopped consuming the meals and was lying/confabulating about it. The months during which she was consuming the meals were critical and I am convinced that this kept her from falling deeper into "disrepair."

So, here we are now. In the hospital awaiting her 2nd procedure this week.

Please take care of yourselves.

More soon. Thoughts and prayers for Livia's safety, please.
Chris xoxo

P.s. if you're wondering what I'm up to now in my career, stay tuned. I'll do another post on that.

**Raw video footage from 2013 that I haven't watched in ages so some of exact details from above may be slightly off. A great watch!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C7tO7Lh4jUI&feature=youtu.be

02/06/2021

Oh, just when I thought the excitement was letting up. The cardiologist came to talk to me just now.

Bad and good news. First, the bad. Wait, it's actually pretty good news all around.

*The artery block that he addressed successfully with a medicated balloon may have been something he just happened to find in looking at his advanced imagery. I believe this is called an incidentaloma. I know about this term from prior studies in informed medical consumerism, something I believe everyone should take an interest in.

*Based on the traumatic presentation of symptoms at the restaurant on Friday night - near-death as he called it - he thinks that the real problem may still be lurking.

He is proposing a defibrillator, which I guess is a type of pacemaker.

He said that arrhythmia can present as dizziness, weakness, difficulty with exercise, fatigue, AND cognitive impairment.

BINGO.

These are things Mom has mentioned repeatedly for years and years.

I'm going to tell him to go ahead with the procedure. He said he can install it as soon as tomorrow. Quick procedure, he said.

I figure, it's gonna be free...we've already more than likely maxed her out of pocket for the year. Why delay. Get her fixed. And seriously, she has the best cardiologist ever.

He's going to WhatsApp me the photos of her blocked artery in a bit. I saw them on his phone. Fascinating. I will share!

P.S. I found out that this hospital is a hub for passengers coming off of cruise ships in the Western Caribbean in need of medical attention. I imagine lots of heart attacks. So they see a ton of American tourists and designed the hospital with this in mind.

01/06/2021

Solo cocktail hour.
Self-care ❤

01/06/2021

The food and service at this hospital is magnificent. Better than a hotel. To say we are being well taken care of is the understatement of the century. Unbelievable place.

The staff is so extensive, well coordinated, attentive, thorough, kind and warm, and as Mom's family member, I am equally tended to. No separation between my needs and hers. They literally customize each meal to our needs every day, a.k.a. Okay, we can make your carrot soup with almond milk and air fry your tortilla chips. I have a comfortable bed with everything I need. Even slippers.

Those of you who know me know that when I say that I'm SO glad we're in Mexico for this and not in the US, I am dead serious.

I once fell off a motorcycle into concrete in northern Thailand while touring the region and had to go to the ER. Not only did I walk right in (because there was no one waiting in line...same with the ER here in Mexico), but the whole visit including doctor exam and the mending of my knee took an hour. It cost $24. No insurance. Paid cash 😄

I can't even tell you how much I'm enjoying this rest.

01/06/2021

She's amazed.
And singing.
And with an appetite.
Things are good!!
Thank you EVERYONE 💗🥰❤☺😘🙏🥑🎉

30/05/2021

Hey everyone.
Livia has had better days.
Same here.
My birthday yesterday sucked.
Just 10 minutes after making a post on my personal page about how pleased we are on our first trip to Mexico, Livia said to me, I don't feel so well.
Her eyes closed, her head fell forward, and then, in the most terrifying twist, her head fell back and her lips and face were white and lifeless.
I yelled at her, shaking her. Nothing.
I'm telling you, I thought she was on death's door step.
I was frantic. Yelling for help from anyone at the restaurant. Everyone including me was in a panic.
Next thing I know, a guy from the restaurant comes over with smelling salts and her eyes open 😃 I poured ice water on her head. She said, That feels good. 😄
The ambulance came and here we are in the hospital in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.
Tomorrow we are transferring to a larger hospital on the nearby island of Cozumel. Oddly, we were actually moving to Cozumel tomorrow anyway 🤷‍♀️.
Diagnosis?
Still testing but it's looking like atherosclerosis may be responsible for her symptoms. Two blocked arteries. One is 50-60% blocked and another 50-75% blocked.
Prognosis?
Good, I think. Because of her otherwise excellent health and vigor and quality of life and relative age of 78 in relation to life expectancy (her mother died at age 93), they are recommending a catherization procedure. They will see images of detailed workings of her arteries and make a decision on adding a stent or balloon.
Her cardiologists say that her Alzheimer's could be perpetuated by shortage of blood flow to the brain.
Because if you have a compromise in blood flow in the arteries, you have compromised blood flow everywhere.
WOW.
We literally had no idea of the extent of this problem.
I guess I'm asking why not?
Her total cholesterol was 290 for years. Her P*P said she seemed fine.
Hmmmm.
Eventually, I fired him.
Mom is not in great spirits and doesn't feel well, but we are in great hands and we have each other.
Please think of us in the next few days. I'll try to keep you informed.
Chris and Livia ❤

P.s. we realize there is much kindness and love behind advice but she really is in good hands. I promise.

28/05/2021

Updated post (new photo showing actual sunshine which I sat in for 20 minutes prior to taking this photo):

Cortisol. The stress hormone.
It's a very sneaky thing.
You simply cannot talk about healing without talking about cortisol.

When I asked Dr. Rudy what did the correlations all mean from yesterday's analysis of Mom's best, most optimized, least disturbed nights of sleep (measured in terms of apneas), here's what he said.

They all impact cortisol.
Ah!

*Walking barefoot on the beach, or grounding as he called it
*Sunlight
*Spending time with friends and family who lift you up, make you feel good, and with whom you laugh.
*Infrared sauna
*Hyperbaric chamber

One of the first tests we did in Nov 2019 upon starting the Bredesen protocol was a cortisol test. It measured Mom's cortisol at 6 or 7 points throughout the day (including 3am, which I did not appreciate very much! 😝).

It showed almost no cortisol throughout the day minus a huge spike from 11am to 1pm. This is not what a day's cortisol SHOULD look like. Nowhere close.

In fact, the lab called our attention to this saying we may have made an error in collecting the samples. Nope, I can assure you we didn't.

She was having massive trouble waking up in the morning, staying awake mid-afternoon, and her overall energy level was really low. Let me tell you, starting out a rigorous protocol in this fashion was a bucket of monkeys! (What is the expression?? LMAO)

We retested her cortisol a month ago and although we did not test at the 6 or 7 points across the day, it showed cortisol in the normal range now. This was HUGE!

I suspect there may still be irregular patterns throughout the day. Reason being...I've got those irregular patterns already. I took an Everlywell test recently. And I have been aware of my problem with cortisol since the early 2000's. More on that later...

So let me bring this back around.

>>>>Laughter, sunshine, positivity, and joy.
It really is the best medicine.

28/05/2021

Cortisol. The stress hormone.
It's a very sneaky thing.
You simply cannot talk about healing without talking about cortisol.

When I asked Dr. Rudy what did the correlations all mean from yesterday's analysis of Mom's best, most optimized, least disturbed nights of sleep (measured in terms of apneas), here's what he said.

They all impact cortisol.
Ah!

*Walking barefoot on the beach, or grounding as he called it
*Sunlight
*Spending time with friends and family who lift you up, make you feel good, and with whom you laugh
*Infrared sauna
*Hyperbaric chamber

One of the first tests we did in Nov 2019 upon starting the Bredesen protocol was a cortisol test. It measured Mom's cortisol at 6 or 7 points throughout the day (including 3am, which I did not appreciate very much! 😝).

It showed almost no cortisol throughout the day minus a huge spike from 11am to 1pm. This is not what a day's cortisol SHOULD look like. Nowhere close.

In fact, the lab called our attention to this saying we may have made an error in collecting the samples. Nope, I can assure you we didn't.

She was having massive trouble waking up in the morning, staying awake mid-afternoon, and her overall energy level was really low. Let me tell you, starting out a rigorous protocol in this fashion was a bucket of monkeys! (What is the expression?? LMAO)

We retested her cortisol a month ago and although we did not test at the 6 or 7 points across the day, it showed cortisol in the normal range now. This was HUGE!

I suspect there may still be irregular patterns throughout the day. Reason being...I've got those irregular patterns already. I took an Everlywell test recently. And I have been aware of my problem with cortisol since the early 2000's. More on that later...

So let me bring this back around.

>>>>Laughter, sunshine, positivity, and joy.
It really is the best medicine.

Saving Livia

30/08/2021

03/06/2021

02/06/2021

01/06/2021

01/06/2021

01/06/2021

30/05/2021

28/05/2021

28/05/2021

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