01/15/2026
In August 2025, I began meeting with a 61-year-old woman whose life changed after a severe COVID-19 infection in 2021.
Within just a couple of months, she began losing her vision and strength in one leg. She has been profoundly deaf since age 5, and she is one of the most extraordinary humans I’ve ever worked with.
She had seen every specialist you can imagine — neurology, ophthalmology, a functional medicine doctor, you name it - and still left without answers. One MRI showed reduced blood flow to one of the optic nerves in her brain.
Her vision loss became so severe that she hasn’t been able to drive for well over two years.
COVID-19 is known to injure blood vessel linings and create “microclots” that can literally choke off blood flow to tiny capillaries - including those feeding different parts of the optic nerve and eyes.
This insight became our starting point.
Her diet was incredibly clean – whole, real foods, no added sugar - but also extremely restricted. A previous nutritionist had advised her to remove most whole grains, beans, nightshades, nuts, nut butters, and seeds, leaving her with very few foods she felt “allowed” to eat.
She was taking multiple anti-inflammatory and nerve-support supplements, but there was very little change.
Here’s the problem:
🚫 Long-term food restriction = nutrient gaps
⚙️ Nutrient gaps = sluggish metabolic pathways
🧠 Sluggish pathways = the body can’t repair, rebuild, or restore
Lab review showed chronically and historically low lymphocytes - likely worsening her COVID severity and recovery.
So we changed the strategy.
✨ First: More food, not less
She brought back beans (her favorite!), a greater variety of colorful vegetables and fruits, and nut butters - the foods her body was craving for nourishment. And she missed them so much!
✨ Next: Support the blood vessels
We switched to a vascular repair protocol - protect the blood vessel linings (the “endothelium”), dissolve microclots, and improve blood flow throughout the body.
She started a vision-specific multinutrient (containing lutein, zeaxanthin, bilberry, and ginkgo), brain-targeted choline to increase blood flow, and specific enzymes to help clear those microclots, and repair the damage and debris within the blood vessels. And yes — simple beetroot to boost blood flow as well.
🌈 And then the update that stopped me in my tracks:
Her vision is improving.
She used to only see high-contrast objects - black on white, white on black.
Recently, she spotted a brown object on her brown rug.
She’s noticing outdoor details she couldn’t see before.
She can read text from farther away.
And she is hopeful - truly hopeful - she will drive again.
And all the while, she has maintained an incredibly positive attitude and fully embraced each challenge and the blessings that have emerged.
When we first met, she told me, “Paula – I only want to focus on all of the good stuff!” And so that’s what we did. ❤️
Nutrition doesn’t cure everything, but I’m here to tell you it’s one of our most powerful tools. Many times, the right nutrients unlock the body’s ability to heal in ways we never expected.
