The January LDN Newsletter is full of inspirational stories, but this one got to me:

LDN/MS update - Zillah Damon

Since my last report, my life has undergone some fundamental life-changing events.

The first began on Boxing Day 2006 when my stepson, Adam, complained about discomfort in the hip and his mobility was affected. My husband ended up spending a couple of hours with him in casualty. He was booked in for a hospital appointment in early January but none of us suspected how serious his condition was. Neither did the hospital at first then suddenly everything changed and an oncologist was called in.

He was suffering from a very virulent form of cancer of the ligament which is extremely rare. My husband and Adam’s mother took it in turns to be at his bedside, with my husband usually there at night. I visited as much as I could, although the shock hadn’t done much for my health. In fact both sides of the family were regular visitors to Adam’s bedside.

The way he dealt with this final illness at only 14 years of age was inspirational, but it claimed his life in April, only 4 short months after being diagnosed. You can imagine our feelings at his loss.

My husband was devastated and although I tried my best to support him, he was unable either to share his grief with me, or to witness any evidence of my personal grief. Unfortunately he became more and more distant, spending more and more time away from home. We eventually parted without acrimony just before Christmas 2007, when I finally made the move to live geographically closer to my family as my health was now suffering considerably; I spent a short while living with my mother until I felt able to move into my new home.

So I have just gone through 3 major causes of stress-bereavement, a marriage break-up and moving house (twice). I am convinced I would have been in hospital and on steroids if it hadn’t been for the LDN. These 3 events so close together did cause a relapse, but nothing as bad as one would have expected in normal circumstances. I am working on building myself back up again.

On the positive side, I am able to work four days a week (2 in the office and 2 from home). I have been seeing a physiotherapist who has helped with mobility, but unfortunately these appointments meant I couldn’t take additional time off to go for oxygen therapy. I do find myself getting tired and getting aches and pains. Pins and needles are more pronounced at the moment, so I plan to get back to Nailsea to resume the oxygen therapy as I feel that it and LDN combined seem to work really well for me.

It is now 14 ½ years since I was told that I would be in a wheelchair within a year. Although I do use a scooter to walk the dog (he’s a collie and needs a lot of exercise) and I use a wheelchair for going shopping (e.g. for clothes), on the whole I’m still using my own two feet; although with crutches on occasion. Strangely enough, my situation has helped others. A friend and colleague’s wife was recently diagnosed with M.S. and immediately came to see me for some advice since they felt I was doing quite well. I wish I’d heard about L.D.N at those early stages. There isn’t a cure for M.S. yet, but I’m convinced that LDN is a great help in neutralizing its effects.

http://www.ldnresearchtrustfiles.co....s/Jan_2009.pdf

Cherie