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============================== In "From MS to Wellness" author Betty Iams invites you to share her heartwarming narrative of how she learned to manage and overcome this unpredictable neurological syndrome, which she now chooses to call her "uninvited guest." Betty masterfully leads the reader from the early signs of a problem through two distressing years of efforts to determine what was wrong, then the diagnosis, Primary Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. She shares the "stark terror" she felt upon hearing the words multiple sclerosis. Her mother had lived with MS from the time Betty was a teenager, and was confined to a wheelchair for over 30 years before she passed away at age 86 from unrelated causes. This very determined author, however, refused to accept what seemed to be the inevitable. Instead she chose to interpret the neurologist's comment, "Remember, Betty, you are not your mother," as a challenge to prove she could indeed overcome this disease rather than accept being a victim. With inspiration and skill, in "From MS to Wellness" Betty shares every soul-searching detail of her years long journey to wellness that is as much about healing the mind and spirit as healing the body. From the first page to the last, this book will speak to your soul about the true meaning of life, and your life will never be the same again. "From MS to Wellness" is a... COMPLETE SELF-HELP GUIDE TO HEALING AND TRANSFORMATION Betty states that "Healing is not just about physical healing; it is about changing anything in your life that you want to change." And this book is not just for people with MS; it is for everyone. And now, here are the Prologue and first two Chapters of "From MS to Wellness."
FROM MS TO WELLNESS MY PERSONAL STORY OF OVERCOMING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS By Betty Iams Copyright (c) 1997 by Betty A. Iams THE PROLOGUE I invite you to come along with me on the most challenging journey of my life. Please know that it is not my intent to lead you to believe that I think I have found all the answers in my search for how to teach my body to heal itself. Does that phrase "teach my body to heal itself" surprise you? That is truly what I believe I had to achieve. I believe the healthy body can and does heal itself. Having said that, I must hasten to add that there are many things I can do to aid my body in that healing process. Some are physical -- diet, nutrition, stress reduction, lifestyle changes, and exercise, while others are spiritual -- learning to tune-in to your higher self through meditation, forgiveness exercises, giving up judgment, etc. Whether physical or spiritual, all lead inevitably to the same goal - to return your body to a state of homeostasis or perfect balance. When we learn how to help our body re-learn that state of balance, we will have taught our body how to heal. For some people the physical aspects are all their body requires in order to heal. For others the most important aspects of the healing journey are spiritual. And for some of us we need to concentrate on the physical and spiritual aspects. I found that for me both the physical and spiritual aspects were important. In the Conclusion I will rate the percentages of importance of each of the various healing techniques I utilized on my journey to wellness. One of my current projects is campaigning for the funding of major scientific research studies into the efficacy and role of diet and lifestyle changes in both the etiology and management of MS. Ten percent of all proceeds from the sale of every copy of "From MS to Wellness" is being designated to help fund this much needed research.
Chapter 1 HOW IT ALL BEGAN
It was a magnificently beautiful fall day in Southern California, a Tuesday morning following the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 1994. As I maneuvered through the heavy rush-to-work morning traffic I thought how fortunate I was to live in such a beautiful area. And as I drove, I sang along with a favorite Jimmy Buffett CD. I was indeed a happy person. I had no idea that my life was about to change in ways I could not possibly foresee. That morning was typical in my busy office. I remember briefly pondering whether or not the neurologist would pressure me to take yet another round of tests to try to find the source of my continuing physical problem. Two weeks earlier the neurologist had arranged a second MRI of the thoracic (upper) spine. At that time he had attempted to get my agreement to then have another one of the neck, and then one of the brain, if the upper spine picture was inconclusive. He then said the next step would be a spinal tap. I had interrupted him in mid sentence and emphatically said "no" to all of them. I was tired of all the tests, which invariably showed no abnormality. Then he finally convinced me to agree to at least one more MRI of the thoracic spine. I told him, however, that if it was inconclusive I was through with their sophisticated tests. He said he would call me in one week after the MRI if it showed anything. Since it had now been two weeks and I had d nothing, I assumed the results were either inconclusive or normal. Then about 10:00 a.m. the phone on my desk rang. There were three people sitting in my office for a brief but important meeting, which had just begun. I picked up the phone and answered with my usual cheery "Good morning, this is Betty." The next few words I heard, spoken by the neurologist to whom I had been referred a couple of months earlier, changed my life forever. My face turned ashen as I quietly replaced the receiver on the phone, and buried my face in my hands on my desk. The other three people quietly slipped out of my office, closing the door as they left. My life would never be the same again! But that phone call is not the beginning of my story. About two years prior to that November morning I had first talked to my chiropractor about something strange I had just noticed - that I could not lift my right leg as high as my left. At that time the chiropractor had been treating me regularly for months for a chronic low back muscle spasm problem, and he assured me the leg weakness (we didn't even identify it as a "weakness" at the time), related to my back problem. I remember specifically asking him, as several additional months went by and the problem seemed to ever so gradually be getting worse, if he thought I should have some neurological tests done. He repeatedly assured me that my symptoms were totally unrelated to any kind of neurological problem. My HMO medical plan physicians had up to that time also thought the problem was related to the spasms in my back, and they had offered only months of physical therapy several times a week, which had failed to help. So I began a search on my own for alternate sources of help. I spent a great deal of time and money for several months exploring various modalities of physical therapy, as well as working with a neurologist and rheumatologist, a Feldenkrais therapist and several additional highly respected physical therapists. A neurologist ordered an MRI of my lower spine, which he followed with a CAT scan of the brain, EMG muscle strength testing, etc., all of which were normal. In quiet moments of reflection the "everything seems to be normal" reports were like a polyphony of voices intermingled in my head. Everyone agreed there was obviously something wrong, yet no one seemed to be able to determine what it was. Finally after about one year I came back full circle to my HMO, with all the test results in hand, and insisted that they keep looking for the problem. By now I had developed a limp which I could no longer hide, the right side of my body was always cold to the touch, and I was using a handicapped parking placard, as I found it increasingly difficult to walk. The bladder incontinence had also become acute. All the while I continued carrying a very heavy workload in an extremely stressful, high-pressure sales and marketing career requiring a lot of cross-country traveling. And now, three months later, another neurologist telling me I apparently had what to me was almost a fate worse than death, Multiple Sclerosis, stunned me. My mother has had MS for about 45 years, and I was, I had thought, an expert on MS. Mother had been in a nursing home for about 10 years at that time and in a wheel chair for over 25 years. She cannot read, nor can she write. For years her attempts at a signature have been illegible. So you can understand my reaction. It wasn't fear I experienced, it was stark terror! I had never in my life experienced such fright. I remembered how many times I had thought that I would rather be dead than helpless like my mother. As a single lady living alone the future seemed to be even bleaker. When I recovered from my shock I arranged to meet with the neurologist later in the day of the phone call, accompanied by a wonderful, supportive friend. I was shown the MRI films and arrangements were made to take an MRI of the brain in a few days in an attempt to confirm the diagnosis. If I had needed to ask the doctor what multiple sclerosis was, it would have been much easier. But I knew MS so well, in its harshest form, and to me that was automatically what it meant. The neurologist told me that day that they do not know any more today about what causes MS than they did when my mother was diagnosed all those years ago, nor is there any treatment for it, except questionable symptom relief during an acute period. He said the prevailing theory today is, as it was then, that its origin is a virus, which invades the spinal fluid and causes the immune system to go awry and attack the myelin sheath, which surrounds and insulates the spinal cord and brain. I have since learned that no two people have MS exactly the same way. The disease can best be described as a degenerative process wherein the myelin sheath develops lesions or hardened areas called a sclerosis (scar), hence the name multiple sclerosis, or many scars. There may also be demyelination of individual nerves. The individual symptoms vary widely depending on severity and location of the lesions along the spinal chord or brain. He suggested that I go on with my life, do whatever I wanted to do and was able to do, and to call him if I had an acute episode (commonly called an exacerbation). He said that I was in a high-risk group of one in 50 because my mother has MS, versus one in 1000 in the general population, even though it is not considered a genetic disorder. He said medical science does not understand the link from parent to child, especially from mother to daughter, except that there is an obvious common predisposition of some kind. I was very angry that I had never been told there was a genetic predisposition from mother to daughter. "Why had neither my mother nor I been told that?" I angrily asked the neurologist. He had no answer for me. He went on to explain that MS is becoming increasingly more prevalent in our society, and that medical science does not know why. He suggested that I should not be deceived by anyone who claimed that it could be cured, and that I could save myself much heartache and money by just accepting the inevitable. He did say that it could stay the same, get progressively worse, or as had happened in a few cases, go into spontaneous remission. Inasmuch as I had never experienced an acute episode, he said it appeared that my case was one of continuous gradual decline with no acute episodes or periods of remission. This type is called Primary Progressive MS. His last words to me, as I tried to compose myself and stop the flood of tears, were "Remember, Betty, you are not your mother!" That was the phrase I kept repeating to myself, while I struggled with my desperation for the next few weeks. I am a fighter by nature and. after a few weeks, with the help of wonderful friends and an incredible support network, I began the battle of my life. This book is about my journey from the diagnosis to wellness, a wellness that has as much to do with my spirit as my body. I still deal with a weakness in my right leg, as well as fatigue in my legs from walking, but I truly believe that I am healthier than I have ever been in my adult life. MS has a way of tapping me on the shoulder from time to time, just to remind me that it is still around. I have come to believe that my purpose in this journey is that hopefully by sharing it with wonderful people like you I can encourage you to know that you can heal (change) whatever you wish to heal in your life. Healing is not just about physical healing; it is about changing anything in your life that you want to change.
Chapter Two YOU ARE IN CHARGE Two things the neurologist said to me became strong motivators - one from a positive standpoint, and one from a negative standpoint. I have always believed there are two kinds of motivation. The first (positive) is to be like someone, or to move toward something, and the second (negative) is to not be like, or to move away from being like someone or something. The positive motivation I received that day from the neurologist was, "You are not your mother." I interpreted that as meaning that MS need not mean for me what it had meant for my mother. The negative motivation was his statement that, "There is nothing that you can do for this kind of MS." That was wonderful motivation to prove he was wrong. An old Chinese proverb says: If we do not change our
direction, I was certainly not willing to accept ending up in a wheelchair, so I began my search for alternative methods of healing. The first thing I did was build a wonderful support network of marvelous friends and professionals. Within days of the diagnosis I had an appointment with a very loving and caring clinical psychologist, who specializes in the mind body connection in healing. He said to me, "Betty, you can be a good patient and produce all the symptoms the neurologist expects, or you can be a bad patient and produce none of them. It is your decision." He also suggested that I take charge of my own healing and use what he called "the shotgun approach," and try everything. I made a commitment to myself and to him that day that I would somehow defeat MS, even though I had no idea how I would do that. I later came to know that the mere act of making that commitment was courageous and significant. I have a very small family. Except for my aged mother in a nursing home, the only family I have any relationship with is one son, his wife and a wonderful little angel grandson who live about an hour and a half away by airplane. While I am very close to my son, and have a wonderful, loving relationship with him and his wife, he was too emotionally close to me to be of much support at the time of the diagnosis. He was as upset early on as I was. I very rapidly learned that the support network I built of close, loving friends and professionals was absolutely essential to my success. When my courage was slipping, I could always count on them to remind me of my commitment and help keep me on track. I have been a student of metaphysics for many years, and I truly believe that I create my reality. I refuse to accept that I am a victim of anything or anyone outside of myself. Now was my chance to demonstrate what I had said I believed for so long. If I truly believed that I create everything and everyone in my life, then I had to accept that I had created the multiple sclerosis also. The positive side of that was that if I accepted that I had created the MS, then I could certainly believe that I could "uncreate" and heal it. I did not have to understand the "how" to accept the concept. But saying it and doing it are worlds apart, or so I thought at the time. It was easy for me to tell a friend that I was totally committed to healing myself, but in the privacy of my own thoughts it was much more difficult to hold on to my belief. I did not lose sight of the fact that it was my body and my life. I refused to give away that power to anyone else. I knew Medical Doctor is not spelled G O D! I decided I would not live my life as a puppet on the end of someone else's string, no matter what the circumstances. I do not believe there is any physical problem that cannot be healed. I look at challenges as disguised opportunities to grow. The first key to my healing was that I truly believed I could defeat my MS. Second I was willing to let go of non-supportive friends and old belief systems. I could not allow non-supportive or negative physicians, friends or family members to clutter my mind with negative input. And I was willing to work on myself and to grow spiritually. I know that my body is designed to heal itself. I had observed that natural healing response when I had cut a finger, scraped a knee, or observed a friend's fractured bone mend in a few weeks and be as strong as before the fracture. I do not believe it makes any difference to my body whether the injury is a scratch on my skin or a multiple sclerosis lesion on my spinal cord. If I believe my body is designed by the creator and/or conditioned by evolution to heal itself, then I must believe that it is no more difficult for the body to heal one than the other. The perfect example of nature's healing response is the periods of remission that people with relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis experience. Obviously for periods of time the body does "heal" itself, only to fall prey to another attack in the future. Sometimes, of course, the remission is permanent and the symptoms never return. Sharing with you my personal concept of the difference in spirituality and religion is an important part of my story. Please note that I do not believe I have all the answers. I am a seeker like all of you. I see religion as a creed, dogma or set of rigid beliefs. In that context I am not a religious person. I am, however, a very spiritual person. I see God as the collective genius/creator of the universe, the glue that holds the galaxies together, the master overseer of all that is, was or ever will be. I believe that each one of us contains a portion of that collective genius. Whether we call that our soul, higher self or whatever does not matter to me. I like to think of all human beings as little "godlings." Jesus the Christ said that we are made in the image and likeness of God. He also said, "When you have seen me, you have seen God." It seems to me that He made it pretty plain that we at our essential nature are part of the God source. I also believe that we are eternal spiritual beings. We tend to forget we are spiritual beings having a human physical experience. We think the persona (our physical mask) we show the world is who we really are. We see ourselves as our body, when our body just happens to be the "house" we are living in at this point in time on this physical plane. Actually our life span on this planet is just a mere infinitesimal parenthesis in eternal time. I see our life as a classroom, an opportunity to learn lessons and grow through our challenges and by the choices we make. And as we grow and develop spiritually, we move closer to our essential spiritual nature, to rediscovering who we "really" are. But first things first. I have come to believe, through my own healing journey, that: 1] We must first accept what is before we can change it. It is probably endemic to the human condition that our ego wants to blame someone or something outside of ourselves. We must first accept that "I am cause." Acceptance frees us from the struggle of "Why me?" and "What did I do to deserve this?" Until we accept what is, and that "I am cause," we keep our body constantly on the defensive and thereby block our body's natural healing response. 2] If things in our life are going to change, we must change! We must change our thinking and our perception. Our thoughts are the most powerful force in the universe. Everything begins with a thought. Dr. Ernest Holmes, founder of the Science of Mind philosophy, said, "to learn how to think is to learn how to live." In Dr. Wayne Dyer's book, Real Magic, he reminds us that we have custody of our mind. In physics a paradigm is a model, standard or belief. Our personal paradigm is how we perceive everything. We must change that model, that perception, the glasses through which we see our world, before we can change our experience. On the wall in my office hangs a saying by Anais Nin: We don't see things as they are... 3] We must get acquainted with the healer inside ourselves. That's right. The healer is inside of you. I believe that all healing is self-induced. Anyone or anything else involved in the process, be it physician, therapist, radiation, chemotherapy, homeopathy, herbalist, healer, etc., merely facilitates the process. In his book, The Body Electric, Robert Becker, M.D. says, ". . . there appears to be one fundamental force that heals." He goes on to say that this ". . . inner force can be tapped in many ways, but all are variations of . . . faith healing, magic healing, psychic healing, and spontaneous healing." He places organized medicine in the "magic" category. The most important thing I have to share with you is you are the healer! Because you are in Spirit, and Spirit is in you. And Spirit has all the answers. You simply must do the work on yourself to tap into that eternal wellspring within. There is a marvelous book by Alan Cohen, I Had It All The Time. In it Mr. Cohen says, "Deep within our heart, each of us knows the truth. The answers we seek, the power we strive for, and the acknowledgment we attempt to gain, abide inside us. Given the opportunity (being placed on the cushion) or the challenge (being pushed against a wall) we know what we need to know, to do what we need to do." Having been pushed against that wall, and having been forced to go within to find the answers, I can attest to the accuracy of Mr. Cohen's treatise. I spent two years looking for someone to diagnose my problem, for someone else to heal me, while my body continued to deteriorate - two wasted years. I spent thousands of dollars with physicians, chiropractors, kinesiologists and many excellent physical therapists, while the healer was waiting inside of me to be recognized. Actually the years were not wasted. They afforded me the opportunity to experience tremendous growth and to know myself at a level I might not have attained otherwise. In Dr. Andrew Weil's book, Spontaneous Healing, he states " . . . most people do not have to look Out There for healing. . . healing comes from within, its source in our very nature as living organisms."
Synopsis of Chapters 3 through 8 Chapter 3 - My Personal Journey to Wellness, tells how I began my search for healing, and what I found. I explored Ayruveda, Psychological Kinesiology, Homeopathy and worked and studied with a master herbalist. In the process I learned a great deal about the body's natural healing process. Along the way I made some very important discoveries. Voila, there were many things I could do about my MS. Chapter 4 - How to Heal Your Body and Your Life covers the "tools" I learned to use in order to change the mental and spiritual side of my life. I began programming myself daily to change old thought patterns, and to truly forgive both myself and others. I learned to accept that, "No one but you has the power to make you happy or unhappy, successful or unsuccessful!" Chapter 5 - Meditation covers the most profound tool of all, Daily Meditation. This chapter leads you through the process of learning to tune in to the all-knowing force inside. The results can be truly profound. Chapter 6 - Learning to Know Yourself includes sections on Perception vs. Reality, Your True Self, The Role of our Thoughts & Feelings, Living in the Moment, Why am I Here? Non-judgment, and The Treasure Awaiting in Silence. Chapter 7 - Lifestyle Changes covers in detail the physical aspects of my wellness program, including the diet I follow and for what reasons, as well as my daily nutritional supplement and exercise programs. Each of these is very important in my total wellness program. Chapter 8 - Summary of Why People Don't Heal, and how we so often sabotage our own recovery. Many times at a subconscious level we truly do not want to recover. Many people tell me that reading this summary is like looking in a mirror. The book ends with my conclusions. One of my favorite quotes from the book is: "I would certainly not tell you that it is all going to be easy. But I will tell you that it is worth the effort. And if I can do it, you can do it too! There is a phenomenon call "drafting" with which sports enthusiasts who run, bicycle or swim are very familiar. It involves running, riding or swimming directly behind another person, and being pulled along by the wind blocking done by the person ahead, thereby overcoming wind resistance. My biking friends tell me drafting can improve performance by up to 30%. It is my hope that by sharing my healing experience I have provided such a drafting experience for you."
Available for immediate shipment in a softback bound version for $10.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling. You may call 1-800-651-3155 or 530-753-5595 and place a credit card order using (AMEX, MasterCard, or VISA), or by sending a check to: Iams House You may also order by e-mail to Betty@BettysHouseLifeAfterMS.com with credit card information, or giving me your phone number and I will return your call promptly. This is my story. I lived it, I am still living it, and I love sharing it with everyone. I truly believe that everyone who has MS, or who has a friend or family member with MS, needs to read "From MS to Wellness." Please remember that "From MS to Wellness" is not just about MS. It is about changing (healing) anything in your life that you wish to change. I call my MS my "uninvited guest." And as we travel this journey we call life, we sooner or later will all have an uninvited guest or guests. And please remember that love, hugs, smiles and laughter (big belly laughs are best) are the very best medicine. They are totally free, and they have absolutely no negative side effects. Sincerely, Betty Iams |