Guest Post: Life With MS

Hello dearest readers!

Today I have quite the treat for you!

Chronic illness comes in many different forms and varrying degree's. You guys have heard me talk about Fibromyalgia, since it's what I have been diagnosed with. I want to bring awareness to other chronic and invisible illnesses. They affect more people then you might realize.

Today I want to introduce you to Jacki, my first guest post on this blog. 

I picture Muliple Sclerosis as having a whole lot of mice running around in the attic chewing on the electrical wires.  The attic is my brain, and the wires are the myelin sheath around the nerves.  Imagine the results of this; nothing works properly because the electricity isn't getting through. 

I was diagnosed with MS in 2010 after years of running my own business selling succulent plants online. I kept on going with my business, but it just got to be too much with my balance going, dizzy spells, numbness especially in my hands, and no strength.  So, the business had to go, and it found a new home.  I decided to concentrate on my websites and build those into a source of passive income for those times when I just couldn't do anything else.

The visit to my neurologist in February of 2015 was somewhat depressing.  As I was leaving, he told me that in his opinion, I would soon be severely disabled.  Nice news for someone that used to be really active, walking every day and gardening, building things and generally not thinking twice about taking on new projects. 

By the summer, he was right.  I depended totally on my cane, a hand carved twig from our property in the bush.  As the heat got worse, so did my ability to balance, and at times I was reduced to using a walker.  It had a seat and everything, so I could sit and rest and recover my strength.

The stress of nearby wildfires didn't do anything for me either, and the fall was worse than ever.  We had discussions about how we could afford to move somewhere that didn't have steps or rough ground so I could still get around. 

At about that point, I got serious about my diet and decided to follow to a T the Wahls Protocol which is derived from the Paleo diet - everything that our ancestors would have hunted and gathered. This means no wheat (which I hadn't been eating anyway, since about 2009), no sugar, no caffeine, no dairy.  Some of it's been so hard, for a person who loves cheese. 

I also take several supplements to help my poor beleagured brain recover, like Omega 3, Bromelain, CoQ10, and probiotics.  I've just started taking Vital Greens, which is a herbal tincture containing many phytosterols. The difference is amazing.  I now feel almost back to normal, even recovering my ability to touch type, which was devastating to me when I lost it.

In time, I may still become completely disabled, but for now, the benefits of a strict diet are clear; I won't be backsliding any more; no chocolate, no cheesecake, no candy, and no coffee, only lots of vegetables, fresh or raw, and meat, cashew or coconut milk, and as simple as I can make it.

I realize that this kind of diet probably won't work for everyone, but in my case, those were obviously the things that my body didn't like and it triggered an immune response that did a lot of damage.  I'm not cured, and most likely will have to watch this for the rest of my life, but it's about quality, not quantity. 

Thank you Jacki for sharing your story with us. Personally, I don't know much about MS personally, but I have known one or two people who suffered from it. 

I've been living in rural areas for years now, and it never ceases to amaze me how much is going on around me; birds seeking out insects and seeds to eat, a bobcat wandering through, snakes and lizards, frogs and butterflies.  I've made my garden and surrounding areas into a wildlife sanctuary.

As a Certified Horticulturist and webmaster of six sites all about the plants, the gardens and the house,   there is no end to the interesting stuff that goes on.

Camp Cammidge is where it all happens;

The succulents; www.drought-smart-plants.com

Rustic Garden Art; www.bluefoxfarm.com

Rustic Home Decor; www.my-trash-to-treasure-life.com

E-courses and E-Books all about gardening; www.xeria.ca

Organic Vegetable Gardening; www.o-garden.ca

Building our tiny house was an experience too;  find out more about it here; www.nofrillsbuild.ca

Jacki Cammidge, Woman of Many Sticks

Hopefully I will have more guest posts for you all in the coming months as part of my 2016 goals!