Placer West Insurance Services

Paul D. Harrison

Paul began his insurance career in 1987. He has been married for 30 years and has four daughters and one son. Paul and Cheryl built their own home and have lived in Lincoln since 1980. He has operated a small farm for the last 18 years. In 2001 Paul decided to expand his insurance practice. He included other insurance professionals and staff to make sure that his clients will always be taken care of in the event of disability, death, or retirement.

His specialties are Group and Individual Health, Workers Compensation, Long Term Care, Disability, Life Insurance, and Annuities. He is also versed on General Liability, car, and home insurances. Working his farm where he raises chickens, beef cows, and bees, as well as reading, bicycling, and volunteering in the local Boy Scout troop in many capacities, fills Paul's free time.

My February 2005 Heart Attack

Each day I live to protect my heart. I do not protect my heart because I believe that life is that precious, but to me the quality of my life is the most precious thing I have.

When I was 27 years old, my father had his ninth heart attack and died at the age of 51. February 5, 2005, at the age of 54, I had five heart attacks in one day, which caused me to be hospitalized and have two stents placed in two of my heart arteries and in one more year I would need two more in two other arteries.

I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at the age of 41. I have been on blood pressure medicine ever since. I have exercised ever since I was 18 years old. 50- and 100-mile bike rides in my fifties were not uncommon. 12-16 hour workdays were the norm. I also took two or three vacations a year.

I eventually went on cholesterol lowering drugs and stopped eating all meats, milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, and cream, and stayed away from high cholesterol foods in general. I have always had a hard time keeping my weight down no matter how I exercised, ate, or dieted.

After February 5th (knowing I had taken care of myself), I was very surprised to hear I had had a heart attack. I had basically followed the advice of the medical doctors all my life and I continued to do so. They gave me seven more medications at the cost of $1250 per month and told me I had 8 - 11 years to live, but that I would die from a heart attack. The first two weeks after the attacks, I wished I had.

One week after my attacks, I saw an acupuncturist (www.acupunctureadvantage.net) and he gave me two books to read, "Left for Dead" by Dick Quinn and "21 days to a Healthy Heart" by Alan Watson. Two weeks after my attacks and after reading Dick Quinn's book, I took a bold step. I decided that if I had only 8-11 years left (according to allopathic doctors) that I wanted a better quality than I had had for the last 13 years.

I stopped taking all medical prescriptions. I also followed Dick Quinn's recommendation and started taking capsulated cayenne pepper (1-800-CAYENNE). Heart Food caps contain equal amounts of high heat cayenne, garlic and hawthorn. While high heat cayenne and garlic reduce fibrin (Blood clots are held together by a protein called fibrin. Fibrinolysis is the body's intrinsic clot dissolving process, which reduces fibrin. The factors that cause excessive clotting, like a high sugar diet [processed foods with added sugar], slow or stop fibrinolysis), antioxidants in hawthorn gently nourish the heart and dilate (open) coronary arteries. I am taking 690,000 heat units a day.

After reading Alan Watson's book part way, I started eating red meat again, this time only free-range chickens, and grass-fed pigs and cattle. I maintain a flock of 26 hens and eat as many fresh eggs as I can. I have also modified my diet to include raw milk and raw butter (which may not be available in all states, but can be obtained through www.organicpastures.com), and I only cook with lard, butter, and coconut oil, which all are heat stable.

In two months I dropped seven pounds with very little exercise and worked my first post-heart attack 11-hour day the second week of April. I felt great! People commented on how good I looked. I never felt hungry, and got my first perfect blood test in my life (even though my cholesterol was very high.)

In five months, I dropped 15 pounds and exercised by walking three times a week. My heart thallium test showed no blockage of the arteries. I'm hooked on this new way of taking care of myself, and I hope my next 8 plus years will be better than the last 13.

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Cynthia Elkins

Cynthia began her venture into the insurance business in 1981 while she was attending college. After completing a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree at CSUS, she was an educator for three years. In 1993, she started working for William R. Finney Insurance Agency. While working there, she obtained her Property and Casualty Insurance Agent’s license. She gained valuable experience in the fields of home insurance and auto insurance. Also, she had some exposure to commercial insurance lines.Cynthia specializes in personal insurance lines, such as auto, home, motorcycle, recreational vehicles, and other personal liability risks. She also has experience with business owner insurance, general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, worker’s compensation insurance and life insurance.

Cynthia is a real Placer County girl, having graduated high school in the Nicolaus area. She returned three years ago and greatly loves Lincoln. She feels she has "come home to her roots". She keeps busy with family, a variety of hobbies and church services. She speaks French and is learning to speak Spanish.

In a real "Oprah" moment, Cynthia was reunited with her 2 brothers and her sister, who live in Canada. Cynthia was separated from them at age 5, when her parents divorced. Her half brother found her when a random search brought up our Web Site. Reconnecting with her Canadian family has been a source joy and vacation destinations for the past 2 years.

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Esmeralda Guzman

Esmeralda is the first voice you will hear when you press “0” when you call Placer West Insurance Services. She started working as our receptionist and office assistant when she was a senior attending Lincoln High School in 2003. Esmeralda was enrolled in an R.O.P. class called Business Management and Operations. This class gave her the opportunity to go to a jobsite and learn office procedures hands-on instead of from textbooks. We are very fortunate that she was assigned to us here at Placer West Insurance Services. Even before being hired full-time she was able to help us out numerous times when we called her to cover for staff member’s vacations or unexpected absences. While she enjoys her job as a receptionist, she and is looking forward to qualifying for her license and becoming an agent. She is currently the only bilingual member of our staff and is quickly becoming indispensable in assisting our Hispanic clients. Esmeralda is fluent in Spanish and English.

She was raised in Lincoln with her two brothers and two sisters. She married Alonso Guzman Jr. on March 27, 2005 in Reno, Nevada surrounded by their friends and family. They live in Lincoln with their daughter, Darleny Isabel Guzman who was born on April 14, 2006, and son Isaac, born in 2008. Esmeralda spends her spare time watching movies with her family and going out for walks.

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