Sarah Laucks, York, PA, wellness educator, (2017): Sarah Laucks is a former education director of an organization that stages events in the U.S. and Canada for people with disabilities, their caregivers, and healthcare professionals. She shared her grounding experience with us in December 2017:
“My ‘adventure’ with pneumonia meant four trips to the ER (three in an ambulance), 4 full days in the hospital, three doses of the powerful antibiotic Levaquin followed by an allergic reaction to that antibiotic, and lastly intense digestive trouble as a result of nearly 20 days on antibiotics.
“To resolve the iron-deficient anemia I was taking iron supplements which are known to cause digestive troubles. I needed to rebuild my reserves after the pneumonia, had constant shortness of breath due to the anemia, and a stomach that couldn’t handle much in the way of food.
“While I was in the hospital a long-time friend and colleague was also hospitalized for a pressure sore (she has spina bifida and is a wheelchair user). We texted each other while in the hospital and she told me she was using grounding mats. I had heard of grounding a full four years prior but had never looked deeper or tried it for myself. When she got out of the hospital in half the time compared to her last pressure sore (which was approximately 15 years prior) I decided to pay attention. I got out of the hospital on March 9. I continued to hear from my friend about how well she was doing. “Meanwhile I was trying to get better with nutrition, probiotics, and other supplements. I’d feel better for a few days, then have a few bad days. I was very frustrated. Finally, on May 17 I bought two grounding mats. I was somewhat skeptical. I thought, ‘this is ridiculous.’ But I went ahead, read the directions, tested an outlet, and put my bare feet on the mat.
“Within 60 seconds I could feel it. Twenty minutes later I felt significantly better. I started using those two mats obsessively. I slept with them at night. I had them under my desk during the day – with my bare feet on them at all times. Used them on the couch at night – resting my feet and ankles on them. My husband thought I was crazy but there was no doubt to me that the grounding was helping, and it was helping more than anything else. “When the weather warmed up, I was also outside in my bare feet constantly. I spent at least a full hour, often more, outside from the end of May until the weather got cold in late October 2017.
“The improvements I’ve experienced are like nothing I’ve ever had before. I’ve been on a wellness adventure since I was 19 and I have tried everything including chiropractic, massage, acupuncture and acupressure, nutrition, supplements, juicing, smoothies. I’ve tried a lot of things. I have a litany of long-term health challenges including three herniated discs in my lumbar spine since I was 23, Celiac disease and more. Nothing has helped me as much as grounding.