Lemons and Lemonade
I seem to have just one or two posts a year in me for this little project. So here in the waning days of summer (and frankly September has never felt like summer really, has it?) I shall write something that hopefully has relevance for at least future me as I look back.
In fact, I DID just look back at the last several posts, and oddly enough the January post where I whinge over people pressuring me for product is exactly where I have been all year, answering customers who are frankly pissed off (pardon my rudeness) that they can't just get what they want. As I have constantly repeated, I get it. I want my 24 year old body back but THAT ain't happening either. So I shall not burst into a rant over how entitled we (myself included) have become or how I can only carve so many original pieces in a year and so on. For the love of all things Christmas however, give a girl a break!
I am about to turn 50 in late October. I am still enjoying (most of the time) incredible success thanks to Keith and the Hallmark movie. I am still madly in love with my partner Jeff who is also my partner in business as he quit his job as a carpenter last year to become a full time Elf. He base coats Santa and does all the jobs that would otherwise take me away from carving, the one job no one but me can do.
I also still have Multiple Sclerosis. That is not going anywere and is now my constant companion. Now I am a tall gal as you may glean from the picture above. Likely 6 feet in that pic as I have heels on, and I have never been what you'd call graceful. MS is making me stagger occassionally, bump into things regularly, and sometimes need to just rest, something I have NEVER been good at doing.
Would it sound strange to you then, to hear that getting MS is probably the best thing that could have happened to a nearly 50 year old me? Perhaps "best" is not the right word but let me explain.
As I had mentioned last year, I have chosen to follow an exercise and diet regime rather than taking the not-remotely-appealing drugs and suffering their side effects. Along with discovering Matthew Embry and his approach to maintaining his health, now 25 years with MS and mainly symptom free, I discovered Dr Terry Wahls.
I have been following the advice and protocol of both of these folks for the past 11 months. Dr Wahls' story is amazing and still makes me cry every time I hear it, but let me summarize quickly by saying, MS had taken a vibrant mom and wife, doctor and researcher, and put her in a tilt-recline wheel chair. Her career was threatened as was her mind and entire life. She had done everything a good doctor should do. Take the drugs, read the research and so on but she just got worse by the week.
She heard of the Embry's and their approach using food and began her own experiments on herself. It took months and many trials and errors and frustrations but over time she discovered the combination of physical therapies, foods, and supplements that truly changed her life. Within the year, she was not only out of the wheel chair, she was riding her bicycle with her wife and kids!
Now if you've not yet rolled your eyes and gone back to watching Netflix, let me say, this is not a wing-nut notion and I am not following a guru who will turn up on Dateline someday. The whole plan is simple. Eat foods that make you stronger. Stop eating foods that make you sick. No crystals to wave over my head, no weird powders to put in my water, just healthy eating and regular exercise.
I have not felt this good in YEARS. Like the frog in the pot of water who is unaware the burner has been lit, I was unaware I was getting more tired, more foggy, more clumsy, etc as the symptoms were always attributed to something else. Until I went numb of course, at which point the water was on full boil and I was in real trouble.
The subsequent research done by Dr Wahls has proven that damage done by MS is NOT permanent. That there is healing that can happen and that with effort, the symptoms can be reduced and many eliminated.
The benefit of having decided to follow the Wahls Protocol for the rest of my life is that I no longer have to fight my weight, it has just slowly self-regulated, I feel stronger and more focussed, not dealing with brain fog regularly, and I am very likely preventing many issues that could have arisen as I go into the next decades (hear that universe?) of my life.
I still get dizzy now and then. I still bump into things (but didn't I always do that?) but overall, I feel like ME again. I am jumping out of the pot of boiling water.
So why should you give two hoots about any of that? Well I have not only followed this new lifestyle approach but so have my parents and some friends. My dad Mike is diabetic and has other serious medical issues arising and following this diet has his doctor shaking his head in disbelief. His numbers measuring blood sugar and white blood cells are better than they should be for a 74 year old coot and its wonderful!
My mom is healthy but since beginning this new diet approach her weight is also slowly going down as her body moves toward its ideal weight.
It is not easy to make huge life changes and frankly it would be so much harder without Jeff who is on board, eating like me, buying the groceries, and preaching the word to anyone who has the misfortune to get cornered by him! He is a true believer (but if you see him in the grocery store, for heaven's sake don't ask him about it).
It is the easiest, most obvious way to maintain and restore health and we have known it all along. Eat your veggies! It is more than just that of course and the implications for Dr Wahls research impact Alzheimers, Parkinsons, autoimmune diseases, as well as depression and anxiety. It is certainly worth looking into BEFORE you get a diagnosis like mine but even if you have already gotten the proverbial 'shot across the bow' and are dealing with a health issue, there is nothing but benefit to eating a healthy diet.
Life is so precious. In my small town where everyone knows everyone else, we are losing friends and loved ones regularly and perhaps by sharing my journey, you or YOUR loved ones can make some positive changes that will prevent the heartache of premature loss.
I have an amazing life. I do what I love every single day and I am so grateful for my family and friends and for the love and support of Jeff. I am even grateful to MS for teaching me patience, forcing me to learn and grow, and for that new knowledge to be benefitting my parents and friends.
If you are at all interested in anything you've read here, check out the links I am including and of course feel free to reach out to me.
Just don't ask me for a special order Santa!
Wow, been through alot. So glad to see diet & exercise is doing its thing to help and heal. Thank you for sharing your story and these links, sure worth looking into....merci...❤🦋
ReplyDeleteSorry I didmt write my name....Aline..😁
DeleteThanks for this, Liz. Fabulous to hear of your progress in managing MS and the challenges of this stage of life. I’m going to investigate the protocols you are following for myself. Also really glad I already own Santas :)
ReplyDeleteHAHAHA! Damn Hallmark. If you have questions just ask! THe book is excellent and available on Amazon.
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