Julie

Thank you Dr. Swank!

My story.

In 1985, I was 29 years old and just accepted into a nursing school program. My life had finally found a purpose and my future was bright. In October, two months into the nursing program, I was lying in bed, cuddled with a relatively new electric blanket (Michigan Winters were so cold), when I felt a sharp, electrical-type pain shoot up my great toe. I moved my foot around the bed but the stabbing pain intermittently continued. In the morning I mentioned it to my husband and we both agreed the blanket must have an electrical short in it. We threw the blanket out. We bought another and all was well... for a month. The sharp electric toe-pain returned. Interesting enough, I was not worried about it. In fact, I laughed out loud at the remembrance of throwing out a perfectly good electric blanket! Besides, the pain in my toe wasn’t constant and eventually stopped all
together.

On one day in January 1986, I was sitting at my assigned desk at school when my right hand felt odd and as the morning progressed, a cold sensation began in my pinky-finger and the palm area just beneath it. It soon became extremely sensitive to any stimuli to include air. It was so bothersome that I could not comfortably rest that hand on the desk. Within that same day, this annoying symptom spread to the next finger and half of my palm. These symptoms lasted for two weeks followed by a numbness traveling up the arm. The weakness I felt in that hand would prevent me from holding onto a cup or opening a catsup-pack.

So began my year-long routine of tests and conjectures of "what's wrong with Julieanne"? The first few weeks were eliminating any life-threatening possibilities like Guillian-Barre or a brain-tumor. The symptoms worsened as numbness advanced into my face causing a slight drooping on my left side. Now I was really scared.

By August 1986, I had completed all required course work and graduated as a Practical Nurse. My health was not good and fatigue was a daily battle. The symptoms had advanced into my right leg and the pain in my right thigh was teeth grinding. My right foot was extremely numb making walking difficult at times. The medical tests had slowed down and I was a baffle to my physicians. Possible diagnoses were tossed round: Post-viral Syndrome, Polio, Multiple Sclerosis, and so on.

By the end of 1986, I could barely walk to and from our curbside city mailbox without holding on to the car or experiencing total exhaustion once back inside the house. I spent a good deal of time either in bed or on the sofa.

The diagnostic testing started again with a new set of physicians; MRI, ECG, blood work, spinal tab…clinic exams. In December 1986, I spent 3 weeks in
the hospital running these tests and hooked up to IV medications in search of relief. At the end of that 3 weeks, the medical team shook their heads
and said something like this; "We are very sorry to tell you but we are pretty sure you have Multiple Sclerosis and you may be in the 1% of those that decline quickly and do not recover. We are sending you home. The good news is we will hook you up with a pain-management clinic to help with the pain."

So, I went home and went to bed. Just prior to leaving the hospital, however, I visited the hospital library to research MS. It was there that I first read Dr. Roy Swank's M.S. book.


I don't remember how long I remained in bed before beginning my fight back. It was shortly thereafter that I began reading anything and everything about MS and how the body can fight against autoimmune disorders. My nursing training, along with my childhood memories of Tigers Milk and Adele Davis, lead me to begin my research with nutrition. I remembered the book I'd briefly read written by Dr. Swank. I remembered that Dr. Swank had done a lengthy research project with MS patients and from that research, had developed a dietary regime that improved symptoms of MS. I sent my husband out to find that book. In 1987, there wasn't the Internet to locate such rare finds. Nevertheless, my husband knew this was important and he eventually found it.

Those early months of recovery were filled with fear as well as with hope. From my bed I began plotting my road to restored health. I included three elements in my daily routine. Dr. Swank's dietary regime, positive thinking and God's grace. For one year I did exactly as Dr. Swank suggested...I did not deviate...it was too important.

Within just a few months of following Dr. Swanks diet and incorporating positive thinking into my life, I made significant improvements. I even took my first part-time nursing job. I was absolutely exhausted after each shift and the pain was still debilitating but I felt it was important to be in the land of the living rather than at home where all I could do was focus on my losses. By the summer of 1987, I was ready to start cycling again. Bicycles and I had a long love relationship. I'd toured on my bike while in high school and had a dream of cycling across country some day. There were many days in 1985 and 1986 I thought that dream would never happen. Now, I had hope. My husban surprised me with a Specialized Mountain Bike that Summer of 1987. I'd always had road bikes but I wasn't able to tolerate the drop handlebars and height of a thin-tired road bike. The Mt. Bike was much more stable and manageable. My right foot was still severely numb, so to compensate, pedal cages locked my tennis shoe in place. The trick was to dismount on my left side otherwise I would come crashing down when coming to a stop. Remember how important I felt laughter was? Well, when I would stop suddenly on my bike and forget to dismount on my left, my right foot was not cooperating and tucked into the pedal cage causing me to tip over and crash to my right. While it sometimes hurt, the laughter would rise up...after all, it must have been a funny sight!?

I got better and better about riding this bike and learning how to compensate for the numbness of my right foot. By the end of the summer, I was able to ride 10 miles with frequent stops. By the end of that yearlong change in my dietary intake, coupled with my determination to see the cup always as half filled, I was working full time,
riding my bicycle most weekends and feeling very good. Thank you Dr. Swank for giving me back my life!

Julieanne

Postscript: I did cycle across the United States in 1996, starting on the
coast in Washington and ending on the Atlantic coast in Georgia.

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