LIVING WITH MS AND KEEPING IT NATURAL - PART 3

Life was busy in a wonderful way with three children, and the two big sisters were super helpful with their little brother. The oldest often was my substitute when I had to leave the house, and she was a fun “mom” and big sister for young Ben and his other older sister. 

The construction industry was severely challenged in the 1990’s, and my husband worked very long hours for less money to make a living for all of us. We spent most Sundays attending a church, where we made many caring friends. I enjoyed singing in the choir and helping out in some of the committees there. When we attended their potluck suppers, I often brought my own salad or tea bag to be sure I had the healthy food my body was craving. After a while, I was beginning to feel selfish bringing my own “special” food, and tried to eat whatever everybody else was bringing. Back then, nobody told me about the importance of Omega 3 or vitamin D, even though I was more health conscious than most people I came in contact with. The fatigue was a combination of being a busy mom, wife, daughter, friend and volunteer as well as having a so-called “mild” form of relapsing-remitting MS.

 

My parents kept wondering all these years, if we would ever move back to Switzerland with the children, but with the construction business and three children in school, it seemed to be a move too far out of the comfort zone for us all. 

When dad went through some health challenges because of the Alzheimers setting in, he needed to be put into a nursing home.

 

We thought that we would lose him in 2001, so I traveled home by myself on that “famous” September 11^th to say good bye to dad. 

What does this all have to do with MS you wonder? Well, our emotions have a huge impact on our health. If you picture an onion with all its layers, the emotional well being is the first or outer layer. We cannot fix the physical without first addressing the emotions in our lives. But the big “blow” never happened until 2003, when my husband was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and announced that he was in love with one of my favorite people from church. After 23 years of decent family life and three wonderful children, my world fell apart. I did a lot of the grieving about his loss before he died in 2005. And to top it all off, my dear old dad fell asleep peacefully the day after, just within a few hours, in Switzerland.

 

That year in the fall, I took the kids out of school and went to visit mom for a whole month. We had a lot to catch up, and she was beginning to have some health issues. Money or work never held me back when I could feel that something needed to be done or happening. It always worked out for the best if this was what I believed! 

I had (and still have) many friends and relatives supporting me emotionally, physically and even financially. My job was challenging and full time hours made it difficult for me to cook nutritious meals and get enough rest. Instead, I resorted to chocolate, coffee and some red wine to numb my feelings and relax me. I had to let the house get dusty and even let my former pride and joy, the yard and garden, get messy and out of control.

 

That was about the time when my left leg started to get weak, but I just kept trying to ignore it, concentrated on my kids and friendships and found a new “church”, the Joy of Life Center. I began to concentrate on my spiritual life and wrote poems and journals. At the same time, I got back into African drumming, since I still couldn’t do the singing without breaking down emotionally. I noticed that it was easier to create poems while having some red wine.

 

I started having thoughts of getting back on track with the MS society and reconnect for some appointments, which I haven’t done since 1994. That whole time, I never took any medication for MS, but met with many alternative practitioners. I concentrated on the best supplements like Omega 3, vitamin B including B12, C, D (mega doses), E, important minerals like calcium/magnesium and signed up as a distributor with Juice Plus for more vegetable intake. 

Stay tuned for more on my MS story!