YOU CAN OVERCOME ANY DIS-EASE

When I was 17 years old my mother had her first episode of what we later learned was what doctors call multiple sclerosis. At the time it was thought she had probably had a mild stroke. It was several more years and several additional episodes before she was diagnosed with MS. I had watched MS devastate my mother and gradually over the years saw her become trapped in a body that no longer worked, eventually leading to a wheelchair and finally to the last 18 years of her life confined to a nursing home.

Interestingly mother never gave up her belief that doctors were going to help her, even after the medications at the least did not help her nor slow the progress of her disease, and at the most made her situation worse. It never occurred to her that she could do anything to help herself.

When my first neurological symptoms gradually appeared, I was my mother’s only contact with the world. MS is a very insidious neurological disorder which is thought to result from a deterioration of the myelin sheath which insulates the brain and spinal cord, causing ineffective signals between the brain and/or spinal cord to various parts of the body. Because the central nervous system is so vast it effects everyone in a somewhat different way.

As if that wasn’t enough, there are two primary kinds of MS. The most common kind is called relapsing remitting (RRMS) and primary progressive (PPMS). As seems obvious, relapsing remitting means one’s MS is characterized by acute periods, followed by periods of remission. Primary progressive is normally characterized by a continuing gradual decline without any periods of remission. My mother had RRMS, by far the most common kind, accounting for about 80 - 90% of all MS.

When I was 55 years of age and encountering the symptoms of menopause, I found myself after three years of searching for the answer to my “strange” symptoms, sitting across the desk from a neurologist and hearing him say, “Betty, there is no doubt after a careful examination of your thoracic spine MRI, that you have primary progressive MS.” Inasmuch as there is a familial predisposition to MS in many families, when I was diagnosed the symptoms were so completely different than my mother’s that two previous neurologists, over a three-year period, even knowing my family history, never suspected MS.

Today, after 16 years, I have totally defeated MS and live a very normal and active life. I often think of why the difference between the path of my mother’s MS and mine.

I wasn't willing to accept the

inevitability of life in a wheelchair

as the neurologist predicted!

My mother had a traditional belief in the medical intervention of doctors. Conversely I had been a student of metaphysics for quite a few years prior to my diagnosis, and I totally accepted that I - and only I – created and controlled my world. I believed that my body was/is designed to be self-healing, and I set out to discover how to correct whatever imbalances were responsible for my MS.

I also believe that whatever dis-ease our body may be demonstrating – whatever name doctors choose to call the symptoms – it is merely demonstrating a body out of biochemical balance. I also believe that we are ALL triune beings, with equal physical, mental and spiritual aspects, and in order to heal and return our body to that state of healthy biochemical balance, we must address all three aspects of our being.

Based on my own experience, I believe the greatest healing energies are love, and our own mental attitude, as well as a stress-free lifestyle, and connecting to divine energy, however one defines that. Please understand that I am not talking about religion. I am not a religious person at all, but I am a deeply spiritual person. Anyone can develop a connection to the Universal Power by developing the skill – and it is truly a skill – of meditation.

A major part of my transformation came from learning the self-healing power of Qi Gong and its powerful breathing practices. I believe the breath is a very powerful connection to the Universal Creative Power of the Universe.

My formula for creating health is:

GENTLE MOVEMENT EXERCISE OF QI GONG OR YOGA WITH

SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE BREATH, MEDITATION, A HEATLHY DIET,

SUPPLEMENTATION WITH OMEGA 3 OILS,

AND THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF VITAMIN D

in that order of importance.

Consistency is of utmost importance.  And please remember that there is no free lunch or magic formula.  There is a price to pay for everything, and my message for you is that you can do it too, whatever physical challenge you may have, if you want to badly enough to pay the price!

If you truly want to change your life, go to my primary website, www.BettysHouseLifeAfterMS.com to explore my story further. I have written an e-book, Four Steps to Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis, which is not just about MS but rather about how to heal your life. You’ll find all the details at my Betty’s House website.

You'll find me at THIS WEB ADDRESS or E-MAIL ME if you have questions. You may also connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.      


I am not a medically trained person, and I do not give medical advice.