Sunbow Farm CollardsAbout Cheri Clark
Cheri was born in Fresno California in 1951. Her mother came from England 1945 as a WWII war bride where she worked for General Eisenhower and had been a model. Her father returned from the signal corps to a career in women's clothing window display and design. They moved to LA from Fresno. When Cheri was two her parents divorced.
Cheri grew up in Culver City, North Hollywood and around Sunset strip. Her mom had a nursery school and worked in accounting. She and her mom and her little brother moved to Huntington Beach where she graduated from High School. At that time Cheri was "totally a cheerleader".
Cheri left home, dropped out, and became a hippie as she realized that her whole suburban, southern California up bringing was the life style fueling the Vietnam war and other life-threatening, although commonly accepted, atrocities. She, like her whole generation, lived with a constant fear of nuclear holocaust. She began working in health food stores seeing clean and wholesome food as a way to bring about change. Eventually she went to work for Yogi Lajpatrai Sharma where she learned that he after all was only a man. With that disillusionment, she then began another channel of her quest and left for Oregon in 1975 with her first husband Geoff. They dreamed of a better life.
Via a decision to live in Bend in sunshine and cold, what was then a pristine small town, Cheri learned about snow and black ice. She and Geoff decided to move to Corvallis in 1976 through the Dorn family connection. In the small college town she worked restaurants, worked for a chiropractor, and helped her friend Ruby Moon established Light House, a health goods store, and an ethnic boutique called Golden Crane, and a co op vegetarian restaurant on the Willamette River known as the West Bank Café. Geoff has been working at New Morning Bakery for many years now as the soup chef.
Through a series of seeking adventures Cheri ended up in Wrangell Alaska. Her partner worked in the woods, she worked cafes and bars. They went to Petersberg working the fish cannery on salmon then crab. While there she had an ectopic pregnancy, which changed her life. She returned to Corvallis alone.
Cheri left Corvallis 5 more times over the next 23 years and always came back. Something drew her to the feeling of community and her friend Ruby. She was married to Larry, a mural artist, and they ran the business together. His work is displayed at First Alt Coop here in town. Her final move back was in 2000. She had lived in Seattle, Portland, Ashland and Grants Pass.
She met Harry MacCormack in 2001, although she had known of him when he and his wife made tofu at Sunbow Farm in the 70s. Cheri and Harry came together in April 2002 she fell for him when they went to Finley wildlife refuge and spent 4 hours sitting in a meadow talking. The first thing they did together was remodel his old farm house and landscape. They set up the Institute and a web site. Went to Europe one year and New Zealand and Australia the next.
Cheri's physical health started to really slow her down. She has been trying to work with MDs and ND.s to figure her issues out. She does a lot of medical research and has learned so much that it could fill up a book. If you have questions about your health- she'd love to help you. Harry and Cheri have 2 cats — her children — Princess and Sarah, 2 retired chickens, and 5 entertaining ducks. The new addition this year is a blue heron that hangs out and eats the mice.
UPDATE: Cheri finally got a diagnosis for her disabling health- Chronic Lyme Disease. In 2009 Usha Honeyman, ND felt strongly that she had it and it was confirmed with a blood test. Usha estimates that Cheri has had it for over 20 years. Dr. Honeyman is a Lyme literate physician and a member of ILADS.
She had been told over the years: fibromyalgia, anxiety disorder, anorexia, hypochondria or the Dr.s didn't know. She has developed Lyme symptoms: sleep apnea, gastroparesis, severe muscle pain, stiffness, chronic frozen shoulder, sleep issues,anxiety, hormonal issues and cardiovascular problems. As exciting as it is to know why she is ill- the treatment is long and difficult for Chronic Lyme Disease.
The following is from www.lymeinfo.net. See the movie www.underourskin.com!
If you have any questions for Cheri please feel free to email.
LYME DISEASE OVERVIEW
Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, poses a serious health crisis both nationally and internationally. Transmitted by the bite of a tick, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the spirochete (spiral shaped bacteria) Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme disease is a systemic infection that can affect almost any part of the body. Although Lyme disease is the most well known of the tick-borne infections, multiple infections can be tranferred at one time by a single tick. The presence of multiple infections tends to further complicate diagnosis and treatment.
Lyme disease is found in many countries worldwide. In the United States, Lyme disease has been reported from 49 states, with the highest prevalence in the northeastern, north-central, and Pacific coastal regions. However, ticks are creaping inland as they are carried by travelers and migrating birds. It is important to take proper precautions nation-wide to reduce the risk of contracting tick-borne pathogens.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Lyme disease should be diagnosed clinically, which includes factors such as symptoms and exposure to infected ticks. Lyme disease must not be ruled out solely on the basis of a negative test result. While a "bulls-eye" rash is diagnostic for Lyme disease, the types of rashes seen in Lyme disease vary greatly. Further, a significant number of patients do not recall any rash or tick-bite. Symptoms can appear quickly or develop over time. Since Lyme is a multisystem disease, the list of symptoms is long, and it is common to see symptoms affecting multiple systems. Early in the illness Lyme disease can be confused with the flu, but as the disease progresses it can lead to cardiac, musculoskeletal, neurological, and/or other system involvement. Patients with chronic Lyme disease often experience severe headaches, fatigue, pain, insomnia, and memory problems. Chronic Lyme disease can render people completely disabled. For a comprehensive list of symptoms, please see the symptom checklist.
Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics, either orally or intravenously. Prompt and thorough treatment early in the illness is the most effective method for preventing a persistent, disabling condition. There is no known cure for chronic Lyme disease, and its treatment is surrounded by much controversy. However, many patients find improvements when treated long term, either for Lyme disease bacterial infection and/or for the presence of co-infection.
According to the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), "Lyme disease is the latest great imitator and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of MS, ALS, seizure and other neurologic conditions, as well as arthritis, CFS, Gulf war syndrome, ADHD, hypochondriasis, fibromyalgia, somatization disorder and patients with various difficult-to-diagnose multi-system syndromes." Not only can Lyme disease be incorrectly diagnosed as other conditions, it can also occur concurrently with other conditions or be diagnosed incorrectly. Therefore, patients who suspect Lyme disease must have a full clinical evaluation by a knowledgeable, "Lyme Literate" physician. The best referrals are obtained through local patients and support groups.
In addition to Lyme disease, the following infections are also transmitted by ticks: Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Bartonellosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Tularemia and certain viruses. See the "other tick diseases" section for more information about these diseases.
To view incredible pictures of the Lyme bacteria click on pdf.
Biofilms of Borrelia burgdorferi and Clinical Implications for Chronic Borreliosis