New Subscribers: Welcome to The Giggler! My name is Alexa. I started this newsletter to share my comedic fiction with fellow goofballs, starting with my adventure novel Over the Top Secret. Then my husband was diagnosed with ALS just before our wedding and our entire world turned upside down. Though we accepted the diagnosis from “experts,” we did not accept their advice to get our affairs in order. We immediately set out to save Kealoha’s life. This newsletter is now a documentation of our adventures in our mission to save Kealoha from ALS. For more info, visit the about page. You can read my previous update here.
Hey, Giggler!
So much has happened that I’ve wanted to share, but life keeps moving at breakneck speed, and I haven’t had the time to write an in-depth heartfelt update for each milestone that has occurred since my last update! So today I’m going to share the latest in Kealoha’s adventures battling ALS, followed by a list of other life news and lots of pictures. Here we go!
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Through sitting in on a free Zoom call with Dr Lee Cowden as part of HealingALS.org, we discovered traumatic brain injury (TBI) plays a huge role in the onset of ALS, especially early-onset ALS, if the TBI took place before age 18. (This applies to Kealoha! He played football as a kid with numerous hard hits, three of which resulted in a broken collarbone and one leading to a root canal at age 12!) We also learned an effective way to treat damaged brain tissue— EWOT (exercise with oxygen therapy). We immediately set out to start daily EWOT with a system we can use at home. We’ve noticed it seems to give Kealoha an energy boost. Hallelujah!
We had a few appointments with a recommended Dr in CA who believes Kealoha’s core issues involve mercury toxicity, traumatic brain injuries, and psychological stressors. This doctor recommended we reach out to a clinic in Las Vegas focused on treating ALS patients using non-invasive analysis and treatments tailored to each individual’s needs based on the individual’s root causes. (How had we not discovere them before?!)
We flew to Vegas and went to the clinic for testing, where we learned Kealoha has toxicity of mercury, silver, aluminum, bismuth, and cadmium, dehydrated cerebral spinal fluid (something apparently every ALS patient has in common to differing degrees), psychological stressors, mold toxicity, and potentially also dental issues! Plus a slew of peripheral problems that the clinic believes are downstream symptoms of these other core matters.
We decided to stay in Las Vegas for a month to try the treatments offered at this clinic. Kealoha attended the clinic from open to close every weekday for four weeks straight. All the therapies were focused on Kealoha’s biggest issues— detoxing heavy metals, calming the nervous system, pumping cerebral spinal fluid to the brain, energizing mitochondria, aiding the body in correct protein folding, taming inflammation, stimulating muscles and connecting new neural pathways, oxygenation, relaxing the vagus nerve, brainwave therapy… the list goes on!
By the end of the third week of daily treatments, Kealoha’s energy had noticeably improved. He went from hardly having the energy to sit on the patio for twenty minutes in the sun to doing his daily EWOT session on top of a full day of treatments at the clinic! He started enthusiastically planning trips to visit family and even his sleep improved! (Just recently, we had family visit us in Maui, and Kealoha was able to keep up with ALL the outings— including going to a rodeo!)
We got to know a handful of couples who traveled to Vegas from around the world to visit this clinic. They had all tried everything Kealoha and I had either learned of or tried ourselves, and had been left without any real answers and, in some cases, worse off. I connected with other women who are, like me, full-time caretakers, advocates, and detectives for their husbands. Kealoha met other ALS patients from around the globe, bonding through shared experiences and challenges. We all shared stories and tips and laughs and theories, and it felt refreshing to share a space with people who know exactly what we are going through because they are going through it, too. It’s a blessing to have found this community.
It was also shocking to see that many of the ALS patients we met were diagnosed around the same time as Kealoha, but were far more progressed. Kealoha was the only ALS patient still walking at the clinic, albeit with assistance. The rest were in wheelchairs, and one was even on a feeding tube, unable to speak whatsoever. Yet despite the immense amount of work it is for these people to go about existing, some of them travel the world and are living their lives to the fullest. It was a beautiful dose of perspective for us. Overall, the experience helped remind us that all the effort we spend on living our lives as healthily as possible is absolutely worth it. Also, and more importantly, we are incredibly blessed right now.
We didn’t expect Kealoha to experience any improvements at all after only four weeks of non-invasive therapies, but we were ecstatic that he experienced such a noticeable boost in endurance and energy. We plan to return to the clinic for more treatments whenever we can make it out to Vegas for a few weeks at a time. In the meantime, we have a much better idea of what we can be doing at home to help Kealoha’s body overcome his core issues as well as how we can help calm his nervous system to stay in healing mode more frequently. (This seems to be very important for Kealoha’s healing— in fact, Kealoha shared with me that the treatments focused on getting his brainwaves to a calm state were the ones that made him feel “like brand new.”)
God absolutely hears our prayers and has led us on the most incredible journey of discovery and faith.
Now for random and unrelated tidbits! I’ve been waiting to tell you about some of these things for over a year, but there simply wasn’t room in previous newsletters to share about them! (Plus, they’re so random they don’t exactly fit in with the ALS topic.) Today I’m breaking the cycle. Behold… random updates:
A super secret project my siblings and I produced back in February of 2025 FINALLY CAME OUT, and we can talk about it now! A Star Wars Parody by The Hillywood Show is live and ready for you to enjoy. In case you don’t know, Hillywood is a sister duo (Hannah and Hilly Hindi) who make musical parodies of pop culture movies and TV shows. They’re known for matching their sets, costumes, makeup and performances to the original movie/tv sets detail for detail. It’s this painstaking attention to detail that sets them apart… and their Star Wars production took it to another level. Hillywood asked my siblings and me for help, and we enthusiastically signed on as producers! If you’re a Star Wars fan, you have to check it out— I know you’ll appreciate how we recreated everything to a T!
The official poster for the Hillywood Show Star Wars Parody! I had a tongue tie release surgery back in March and now I no longer get debilitating tension headaches, my posture has improved, I’m more articulate, I have way less acid reflux and a handful of other little improvements! Also, I have an ALF appliance in my mouth now to gently expand my palate (it takes up hardly any space, which is why I am able to continue VO with it). My smile is slightly different and will continue to change as my upper palate expands!
Kealoha and I celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary.
I discovered a new favorite author and series— Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson! I devoured the trilogy during our one month at the clinic in Vegas. (He’s adapting it into a film for Apple+ right now!)
I figured out how to play old Nancy Drew PC games on my Mac and had an absolute blast playing The Final Scene and Secret of Shadow Ranch (I’m going to play Warnings at Waverly Academy next!)
When our flight was delayed, Kealoha and I took the opportunity to explore the Centurion Lounge at the Vegas airport! We ate like royalty, and I even took a shower… at the airport!!
Our garden exploded with life after the long rains in Maui… then all but died after our month away. 🤪
We named the rooster that’s been impregnating every hen in the neighborhood Genghis Cock.
I got back into Fortnite and am loving the current season featuring cute magical little sprites, which give you special boosts while playing! Kealoha and I even submitted designs for the design-a-sprite challenge. Fingers crossed our ideas get chosen for the game! (For some reason, I doubt mine will… LMAO)
Kealoha and I are in a good place right now. Thanks for your support, love, and prayers. We appreciate you!
Life is good. Let’s live it now.
Until next time,
Alexa (AKA The Giggler)
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