Journey to Wellness 
Summer 2012
 THE GOOD NEWS,  NATURALLY HEALTHY NEWSLETTER

Hello to everyone from Davis, California, U.S.A. Thank you so much for joining me and welcome to my Journey to Wellness newsletter.  I'd glad you are here. This is where I have an opportunity to  muse about the events in my life and what I have learned from my own healing journey overcoming Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. 

I just had a inspiring experience  that I want to share with you.  When my MS symptoms were at their most trying, I had a severe foot drop.  So bad that I had sprained my ankle severely on a couple of occasions.  My neurologist referred me to a physical therapist who specialized in working with neurologically challenged patients.  He fitted me with an effective but oh so ugly custom brace that I was supposed to wear all my waking hours.  I wore it for a while when I would leave my house, but I absolutely hated it.

Flash forward to today, 16 years later.  I have a rather large walk-in closet in my bedroom, with lots of storage area.  Today I was searching for something in that area, and I came across that old brace.  I had totally forgotten that I had it.  I had even erased the fact that I had once worn it from my memory.

As I held it in my hand, I remembered how much I hated that thing, and how I simply refused to make it a permanent part of my life.  Comparing how I felt 16 years ago, to having no hint today of either a foot drop or even any weakness in my right leg and foot, led to tears of joy.  Then I put it in a container for trash pickup this week!

    IN THIS ISSUE: 

     
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   Bon Appétit - Healthy Food Tips and Recipes
            by Mardy Wilson, the Playing with Food Lady

Happy summer to all.  Here we are in mid-summer; cool foods for hot weather make me happy. We have needed lots of cool meals this summer where I live in Colorado.  Grilled foods are delicious, but the heat from the grill is not my best friend; so here are some of my favorite cool ideas. 

Items on hand and cold in my fridge:  yogurt, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, canned Albacore tuna, a large wedge of pecorino/Romano cheese, fire roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, poached chicken and salmon.  

Fresh stuff: limes, lemons fresh herbs in abundance, green peas, beets of all colors, corn, asparagus, berries, scallions, lettuces and greens, white cabbage, etc., all ready for quick, easy eating with a minimum of stove time.  

In my freezer are: bags of frozen shrimp, salmon, frozen fruit, nuts, some frozen vegetables and an abundance of ice cubes.

Grilling: 
Pit, peel and halve fresh peaches.  Brush with a little butter, grill - you do not need to add sugar.  Yum!
Also wonderful on the grill;  zucchini, thickly cut on a long diagonal, onions cut about ½ in. thick, Portabella mushrooms, about ½ in. thick pineapple slices brushed with a soy, olive oil and garlic mixture, or plain olive oil, are quick, easy, and delicious. They are tasty cold, and wonderful added to a salad. "

My #1 “go to” for summer:  No-Cook Tomato Sauce 
The basic recipe serves 4 generously.

        6 large tomatoes, diced
        4 cloves garlic, finely minced
        1 bunch basil - rinsed, thinly sliced
        ½ c. olive oil, or enough to cover tomatoes
        pinch salt

Place tomatoes (pulp and juice), garlic, basil, and olive oil into a large bowl. Thoroughly and gently combine ingredients. All should be just covered with oil.

Cover the bowl and let marinate for about four hours on the counter at room temperature.  Juices from the tomatoes will be released and flavors will meld. Serve over warm pasta of choice,  with more fresh basil as garnish.

Variations to add: Parmesan cheese, diced buffalo mozzarella, or crumbled feta.  Add some cured black olives.  This is delicious over grilled fish or chicken.

Until next time, continue to play with your food!

Mardy

   OUR BODY'S NATURAL INNATE HEALING ABILITY

The natural healing ability of our body is one of life's great phenomena.  Even though it sometimes feels illusive, it is available to all of us.   That's right.   Everyone was born with it.

I was just this morning talking to a neighbor who is very ill with advanced stage cancer of the bile ducts.  He was telling me that his daughter and granddaughters (aged 8 and 6) had come to visit him yesterday, and that their visits always made him feel better.  He knows my healing story and he asked me if I understood how that happens.  I shared with him that the healing power of love is well documented.  Also that hugs feel so good because by giving and receiving hugs we share each other's body's energy.

I then asked my friend if he recalled the world-wide best seller by Norman Cousins, Anatomy of an Illness, published in the early 1980s I believe.  Mr. Cousins was a medical school professor and researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles.  In his book he documented how he was very ill in a hospital with a serious disease.   Told that he had little chance of surviving, he developed a recovery program for himself incorporating a positive attitude, love, faith, and laughter induced by Marx Brothers slapstick comedy films.

"I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep," Mr. Cousins reported. "When the pain-killing effect of the laughter wore off, we would switch on the motion picture projector again and not infrequently, it would lead to another pain-free interval."  

Mr. Cousins primarily credited his recovery to day after day of hours of laughter.   If you have never read Mr. Cousins book, I highly recommend it.

   SOME VERY INSIGHTFUL QUOTES:

Change your "I Can't" to "I Can."   It all depends on your point of view, your intention, and your belief. 

                                                                                 - Anonymous

"Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was." 

                                                                                 -  Richard L. Evan 

Two simple truths... All things are possible and nothing is as it seems.

                                                                                  - Anonymous

"By believing passionately in something that does not yet exist, we create it.  The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired."
                                                                             - Nikos Kazantzakis in Zorba the Greek

THE FOLLOWING  QUOTE FROM ALBERT EINSTEIN IS A FAVORITE OF MINE:
 

"Logic will get you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere."

   EXERCISE THAT HEALS - From Self Healing Made Easy

Our bodies are meant to move.  As technology has brought us more and more conveniences, we have become more sedentary.  Please hear me.  The body cannot heal unless and until we develop a consistent exercise program.  Which one will work for you?  The one that you will stay with consistently! I credit exercise with playing a major role in reversing my multiple sclerosis.

It makes no difference what your physical condition is, you can still do some exercise.  You may sit in a chair to exercise if you cannot stand, even if you are confined to a wheelchair.  If you happen to be confined to a bed, you can still do simple movements.  Raise your arms and move them about, and do self massage of your arms and whatever parts of your body you can reach. There is always a way when one makes a decision to JUST DO IT!

Early in my own healing journey I learned of a video then called Pathways, Exercise Video for People with Limited Mobility.  Later it was renamed Yoga for MS, which is modified Hatha Yoga.  That video greatly helped my body begin the healing process. It is a very powerful routine for anyone with limited mobility, or who needs an easy program.

Then a couple of years later a friend gifted me with a video of QiGong (the healing form of Tai Chi).  It comes to us from ancient Chinese medicine men, and after many hundreds if not thousands of years it is still practiced all over the world.  Today, after about 15 years, I still maintain a daily half hour practice of QiGong.  QiGong masters tell us the best time of day for doing QiGong is in the early morning, before breakfast.  I have one program that I think of as a moving meditation, so I do it in the evening just before bedtime.

If you need help with exercise, write to me and I'll be delighted to help develop a program for you, based on your abilities.  Nothing is more rewarding for me than helping the person who thinks their limited abilities do not allow them to exercise.  Be sure to check out the exercise videos that I have used and that I recommend for everyone.

   One of my favorite QiGong exercises:

OPEN PALM EAR MASSAGE:  Using your open palms, vigorously massage your ears using a slow circular motion (both ears at the same time).  Close your eyes and allow yourself to feel the circulation of your chi throughout your entire body as you do this massage.  Several QiGong masters I have worked with teach you to then carefully massage every part of your ears, inside as well as outside, and the back of each ear.   It is important to carefully massage the ear lobes.  I personally begin each day with this very simple exercise while sitting on the side of my bed.  It really wakes up every part of my body.

Ancient Chinese medicine men believed that the palms of our hands, the soles of our feet, and our ears are microcosms of our entire body.  This theory is the basis for reflexology.  The above exercise is simply reflexology for the ears.  If you have ever had either a foot or hand massage, you know how good it feels and how it relaxes every part of your body.  The power of simple Chinese healing techniques cannot be overstated.

   GEM FROM DR. WAYNE DYER                                                                           

The willingness and ability to live fully in the present moment eludes many people. While eating your appetizer, don’t be concerned with dessert. While reading a book, notice where your thoughts are. While on vacation, be there instead of thinking about what should have been done and what has to be done when returning home. Don’t let the elusive present moment get used up by thoughts that aren’t in the here and now. . .

To practice living in the moment, stop and take notice of all that’s in your immediate space—the people, animals, plants, the sky, buildings, everything. Stay in the present by meditating and getting closer to the ultimate now…God (your Source, or whatever you call that infinite power).

Think about this.  Your Source will not be doing anything different one hour from now than he/she/it is doing now. And that power is not doing anything different now from what he/she/it was doing a thousand years ago.

Edited from Dr. Wayne Dyer's July 2012 newsletter:

   Featured Books, DVD Exercise Programs and Videos

Please, everyone, do not sit around and wait for testing and treatment if warranted for CCSVI.  Even if that becomes the standard MS treatment down the road, you need to get moving and improve your quality of life NOW.  Even those who have the corrective procedure done still have to work to recover their quality of life. 

How do you do that? I suspect that you already know. Start a simple daily meditation ritual, and move your body with healthy exercise and breathing exercises.

Oh you say you can't exercise? Excuse me, but everyone can exercise. There is no such thing as a person who can't exercise. You can do a very effective exercise program sitting in a wheelchair, or even lying in bed.  You just begin with some simple deep breathing and very simple arm movements and upper body massage.   Actually just move whatever you can move!EVERYBODY CAN IMPROVE HIS/HER OVERALL HEALTH WITH A COMMITMENT TO EXERCISE.

If you don't have them, order Yoga for MS (for strength) and/or Tai Chi/Qi Gong for Seniors (for healing) or  Gentle Fitness (for overall fitness) and get moving. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT!  Then pick two or three things from one or two of these programs and get started. Soon you won't believe what a tremendous improvement you will experience. The only thing hindering you is your own lack of enthusiasm and passion. There is no person who cannot improve the quality of his or her life with exercise.  Just get moving!

I absolutely know that one of the primary reasons I live a normal, healthy life today is because of these exercise programs.  If you have DVD exercise programs gathering dust, please get them off the shelf and get started today!  I guarantee you will thank me. 

CHECK OUT THE DETAILS OF THESE EXERCISE
VIDEO PROGRAMS AND FEATURED BOOKS HERE

If you don't have my FOUR STEPS TO OVERCOMING MS e-book,
I urge you to order it today, either from
Amazon's Kindle Store, or directly from my Shopping Cart.
Four Steps contains everything I used to reverse my PP MS.  I wrote
it to answer all the questions I am always asked about my experience.
Details HERE.

   RESEARCH NEWS

I have always avoided attempting to interpret research jargon.  Instead I prefer to refer you to the various reports available on the Internet written by physicians and researchers, as well as other well-respected sources.  One particular subject that falls into that category is what we have come to know as CCSVI.

The CCSVI Alliance is one of those highly-respected information sources.  I am pleased to refer you to:

               http://www.ccsvi.org/index.php/the-basics/what-is-ccsvi

For an easy-to-understand treatise of CCSVI, this is an excellent source.  It covers exactly what CCSVI is, including a basic definition, a technical definition, as well as its origin and history.

I salute the CCSVI Alliance for their excellent contribution to our knowledge bank on CCSVI.  For the individual it is difficult to stay informed on what is actually happening on this important research topic.

Their mission statement says it all:

"CCSVI Alliance promotes education and research about CCSVI and its

relationship to Multiple Sclerosis (MS) by providing objective information

to the MS community, supporting medical investigations of CCSVI, and

fostering collaboration among patients, advocates, and professionals."

I salute the founders of this organization, headed by President Sharon Richardson.  Its contribution to the CCSVI story is phenomenal.  In short, CCSVI Alliance is a very effective class act.

         Another CCSVI success story - before and after three months - His CCSVI was performed by Dr. Sclafani at American Access Care, Brooklyn

         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnfu9O1xL1s

         This is a very powerful video. 

Pasted from <http://ccsvi-ms.ning.com/profiles/blogs/another-ccsvi-success-story-before-and-after-three-months?xg_source=msg_mes_network

        Retinal abnormalities in multiple sclerosis patients with associated chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency

        http://www.pagepressjournals.org/index.php/vl/article/view/427

        This llink will take you to a fascinating report from Northwestern entitled:
        STRESS REDUCTION THERAPY PREVENTS M.S. BRAIN LESIONS

        Study finds most MS experts surveyed have seen patients in last year who've been misdiagnosed

It is relatively common for doctors to diagnose someone with multiple sclerosis when the patient doesn't have the disease - a misdiagnosis that not only causes patients potential harm but costs the U.S. health care system untold millions of dollars a year, according to a study published online today in the journal Neurology.

The study is based on a survey of 122 multiple sclerosis specialists nationwide and was conducted by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Neurology is the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The survey found that all but six of the multiple sclerosis specialists - more than 95 percent - had seen at least one patient within the past year who had been diagnosed with MS by another medical provider, but the MS specialist "strongly felt [the patient] did not in fact have MS."

Almost three-quarters of the MS specialists said they had seen at least three patients within the past year who they believe had been misdiagnosed. More than one-third of respondents said they had seen six or more patients within the past year who had been misdiagnosed. In total, the study estimated that the 122 MS specialists had seen almost 600 patients within the past year who had been misdiagnosed with MS.

Many of the MS specialists said a significant percentage of these misdiagnosed patients had already begun disease-modifying therapy for MS, which carries potentially serious side effects and can be very expensive, often at least $40,000 per patient per year. Based on the responses from the MS specialists, the study estimated that the 122 MS specialists had seen approximately 280 patients who had been misdiagnosed and were receiving MS treatment - costing the health system at least $11 million per year in unnecessary and inappropriate treatment for that group of patients alone.

"What we found was that the misdiagnosis of MS was common -- perhaps more so than previously thought. This has significant consequences for patients and for our health care system as a whole," said Andrew Solomon, M.D., the lead author of the study.

Solomon worked on the study while he was a post-doctoral fellow in multiple sclerosis at OHSU and at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Solomon is now an assistant professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and is a member of the University of Vermont Medical Group Neurology Service at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

Dennis Bourdette, M.D., the senior author of the study and director of the OHSU Multiple Sclerosis Center, said the misdiagnoses not only meant patients were getting expensive and potentially harmful treatments they didn't need, but they were also not getting the appropriate treatment for the diseases they may have had.

"These patients were getting the wrong treatment - and missing out on the correct treatment," Bourdette said.

The survey also detailed the emotional and ethical challenges of informing a patient of a misdiagnosis. More than two-thirds of the MS specialists said that informing a patient with a diagnosis of MS that they likely did not have the disease was more challenging than informing a patient of a new diagnosis of MS. And, in an especially surprising finding, about one in seven of the MS specialists said they had sometimes chosen not to inform a patient of their suspected misdiagnosis, citing among their reasons the fact that the patients were not receiving MS treatment, or the potential psychological harm in changing a diagnosis.

The study underlines a significant but underappreciated problem within the U.S. health care system: the dangers, costs and physician challenges associated with misdiagnosed diseases.

In recent years, medicine has begun paying more attention to medical errors and adverse medical events -- giving a patient the wrong drug or too much of it, for example, or not preventing avoidable infections. But less attention has been paid to the rate of diagnostic errors - which experts estimate average about 10 percent across a wide variety of medical conditions.

Often, these diagnostic errors happen with diseases, like MS, "that don't have a definitive test," said Eran Klein, M.D., Ph.D., the third co-author of the study and an assistant professor in OHSU's Department of Neurology. "These diseases instead require well-honed skills of a professionally trained clinician who is knowledgeable about the disease, can study a patient's medical history, perform a detailed physical examination and evaluate additional medical information to make the proper diagnosis. This study sheds light on the importance of clinical expertise in recognizing and correcting diagnostic error."

Source: Oregon Health & Science University

Pasted from <http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120510/Misdiagnosis-of-MS-more-common-than-previously-thought.aspx>  

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's all from me for this issue.  As always I hope you found something featured that will benefit you in your own journey to wellness. I'll be back next month with the next issue. Meanwhile, please remember that love, smiles and laughter are the very best medicine, they have no negative side effects, and can be liberally administered by family and friends. 

And please don't forget to love yourself and recognize your own magnificence as a perfect child of the universe.  I suggest you do something wonderful today just because it makes you feel good inside.  Remember -those feelings are true healing elixirs.

Love and {{{hugs}}} to you all.

Betty

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