A WOMAN'S COURAGE
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By Anna May Kinney, Canada (You can visit her website which is filled with pictures of her garden, pets and her section changes weekly:
http://aradece.tripod.com/Default.htm

It was over 25 years ago that my illness first showed it’s ugly face. At that time they were only just beginning to know about what multiple sclerosis (MS) was and they thought I had some rare flu at first, or some rare virus and ran all kinds of tests, nothing of that kind showed up.
During the winter months, I was pretty well, but as soon as it got warm the following summer, I began to ache all over, my balance deteriorated and my legs would suddenly turn to rubber, making me wind up on my behind in the middle of the sidewalk.
It took many years of hearing doctors tell me there was nothing wrong with me or it was all in my head, before a observant MD gave me some test, asked a lot of questions and said, “I think you have MS”.
Well at this point, instead of being depressed, I was relieved to find out what was wrong. I always felt that once you know the enemy then you know how to rage war against him. I also feel that God does not allow something to hit you like this unless He has a reason to do so. Everything we suffer is to help us learn to understand the needs of others and to make ourselves stronger in this physical world as well as the spiritual world.
As I went to doctors, I was told to limit my lifestyle, told I should rest most of the day, not do this or that. I wanted to adopt another dog after my beloved Athena passed away, but was told it was too much responsibility, that it was a time in my life to focus on myself. That I was NOT going to get better and that slowly every year I would get worse and that everyday stress, lack of sleep and rest would only make matters worse.
For about three years, I was forced to use crutches around my farm, and a wheelchair for shopping. While still on crutches, I adopted Faith, my dog, and wrote my cookbook on a very old 286 computer that was donated by a Baha’ i family. It crashed just as I was finishing it.
A year later, I found that the doctors were making me depressed with their negative attitudes and lack of treating my entire body. I decided to use only natural healing and said good-bye to all the regular doctors. Since then my health has been on the constant road to improvement. Even before this point, I had started taking Ginseng every morning for energy, but soon I found I was changing everything I ate and especially eliminating bad fats, transfats, such as hydrogenated vegetable shortening, even margarine. I do eat natural butter, olive oil and some corn oil. There are a lot of things I have eliminated from my diet and anyone who is interested in knowing what they are and why may contact me.
Then I decided to adopt a few more dogs and they have given me so much love that my body has been healing. Every year since my dogs have arrived we all walk together around the huge perennial flower garden I designed to thank God for letting me walk again and every year with their love and encouragement I walk better. Then this year, for the first time in 23 years I was strong enough to jog around the garden. No it wasn’t a great jog, but I did it....
In January 1997, against doctor's advice, I started a writing course and a month later sold my first article to a local newspaper. A month after that, I had my own weekly column called Nature's Way.
I strongly feel that the medical profession feels it is doing the right thing, but telling people to ‘give up’, go on welfare, forget about their dreams, become dependant on the system, is not helping them. Yes, if you are too ill to do anything that is what a person should do, but if you can do anything, the more you do and keep doing, the more a person will be able to do.
I do have a lot of pain in my legs at times, and it takes me a lot longer to do things than it used to. In order to achieve anything in a day, besides doing meals, dishes and other housework, I have to put in a lot of hours. I get up at 4:30 a.m. and go to bed often at 11 p.m. Doctors will be the first to tell you this is not good, I agree, but if I want to change my life style I must do this. I have done nothing on my own, if God would not have been there holding me up through all of this, nothing could have been achieved. With every step I praise His Holy name. I know without a doubt that God will open the way for me.
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