FAQ - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS  ARE YOU MS FREE? 
UPDATE September 2007 I am alive and well, and very active, with no symptoms. 

HOW DID YOU STRENGTHEN YOUR FOOT TO OVERCOME TOE-DROP? 

As an undergraduate student at McMaster University, I was privileged to join the neuroscience research team 
led by Dr. Alan McComas. See the project references. 
Starting on page 229, I write about our project to investigate the strength of the foot. 

The long extensors of the toes, and four muscles act to dorsiflex (turn up) the ankle, and turn out the foot. 
The tibialis anterior, TA muscle was found to contribute a large portion of turning force of the ankle. 
The TA runs along the outside of the shin, below the knee. 

To strengthen these muscles, 
I first sit comfortably and stimulate circulation by massaging my foot and ankle. 
Then I sit with my feet flat on the floor, 
and raise my heels, putting a bit of weight over my toes, 
then I relax. I can do this anytime I am sitting. 

The next stage is to stand at the kitchen sink, hang on, and lift one heel, then the other. 
Then I life both heels, and rise to my toes. 

A simple way to strengthen the TA is to sit and drop a tissue on the floor. With bare feet, I crunch up the tissue. My girls and I used to have "crunching" contests. Hilarious!! These simple maneuvers, along with walking, strengthened my feet and ankles. 

In our project it was observed that joint position has an effect on the excitability of nerve cells that convey motor impulses. As I walked, my foot and ankle went through the whole range of positions, and the rough edges of my gait smoothed out. 

DO YOU THINK THAT YOU HAVE CURED YOUR MS? 
With insights from NLP courses, I am mindful of the power of words and although doctors reviewed my symptoms and attached the label ms, I no longer say "my ms," thereby claming the disease for my own.  

I have not cured the ms virus - I have familiarized myself with virus history, and live with it until it mutates itself into a state of "permanent arrest."  I am symptom free and do not use energy monitoring something that will come and go according to it's own timetable. I take care not to stress myself by pushing too far beyond my personal limit. I do what I can to look after myself and to stay as healthy as possible. 
My body knows how best to use the fuel and resources for self healing. 
My experience demonstrates that there is an alternative to chronic decline. We can take advantage of remyelination (self healing), and recover from the damage caused by disease activity. 
Recovery requires intention, information, strategies, and the decision to direct our energy in a new direction. 
One important strategy is visualization. 
The brain is working just as hard when we visualize, as when we make physical effort. Brain pathways must be refreshed as we work to make physical pathways operational.  
Recent advances(Healing) prove the power of our thoughts and intention to initiate the healing process.  

WHY IS MS IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYBODY? 

The damage in the brain and spinal cord can be in different locations and of greater or lesser extent. 
Even though many people appear to have similar symptoms, the course may be drastically different for each of us. 
Many authors observe that individual reaction to the disease is the prime factor in modifying its course. 

LETTERS FROM READERS 

Many just give up. Others make a determined effort and still decline. Having determination is admirable; we also need information and ideas to design strategies for recovery. Help is only helpful when it enables a person to recover or extend the limits to his or her own ability. 
Caregivers must take care not to interfere in the self healing process. It's all too easy to justify taking over in the misguided belief that "It's all for the best". 

It has been suggested that ms is caused by a virus. 
McAlpine writes that if we consider a virus as the cause of ms, we must broaden our view to recognize not only the acute stage, but also subclinical, or 'mild' forms. 
This could explain what appear to be different kinds of ms. The natural course of a virus is often characterized by lesions, and may terminate in recovery with the total disappearance of evidence from the body. 
Some animals and people are naturally immune to a virus. Some cannot be reinfected by the causative agent, a condition called natural acquired immunity. 
This process of self-immunization has been redefined as auto-immunity, leading to the description of ms as an autoimmune disease. 

What is an episode? 

Definitions of an episode depend largely on the patient/observer/interpreter and doctor/observer/interpreter. 
In my case, episodes have been quite distinct because 
of the obvious bouts of damage followed by complete recovery. 
Changes in symptoms do not necessarily indicate of an episode (cycle of disease activity/damage/repair). Research has always shown that episodes of damage/repair at the cell level often occur without noticeable clinical symptoms, and there can be serious decline, with no evidence of disease activity. Many people regard changes in symptoms as more trouble, when in fact, they may be indications of healing, that has yet to be properly reconnected and "retrained" to do the job we want. On p161, I write about muscle spasms and &"burning pain." These symptoms did not indicate a new problem, but were related to the process recreating nerve pathways to repair damage that had been caused by the November 1972 episode. 

Think of an inexperienced telephone repairman incorrectly hooking up wires after storm havoc. 
It is up to the supervisor to point out where repairs to the repairs are needed. In real life, this process of 'fixing connections' never ends. 

However we experience episodes, or whether we can even distinguish episodes, in the microscopic universe, ms runs its course and arrests itself. Please draw consolation in that fact. That incidentally, is the classic course of a virus ... 

As disease activity continues, it sometimes results in symptoms, and sometimes it does not. 
We still do not have the techno sensitivity to see the whole picture. WE also need to keep in mind, that only 3% of cells stimulated by magnetic waves of an MRI actually respond! See latest research on unrelaiability of MRI scans. 

MANY THINGS HAVE IMPROVED, BUT MY WALKING JUST GETS WORSE ... 

A reader reported that he had been doing exercises and walking with some success since reading my book. 
He described a blip of tremendous energy and walking 10 or even 20 times as far as usual, when he was particularly happy, or relieved about life's demands. 
All the while, he was under the stress of a bad living arrangement, a search for new accommodations, and finally a move. This reader's gait and stamina got gradually worse. It occurred to him that he might not have been getting enough rest and asked how many hours I slept. 

MY REPLY The amount of sleep we require depends on many factors. Our physical condition, lifestyle, and stress all deplete our energy reserves. 
With large muscle movement, positive attitude and laughter, the body produces a flood of endorphins. 
This biochemical produces a natural high, and can act as a painkiller leading us to ignore signs of overwork! 
We need to relax and recuperate our energy. 
This pause allows endorphins to do their real job - strengthening the immune system. 
The nervous system needs time to plateau and reorganize resources, before attaining the next level of progress. If we go too far beyond our personal body limit, we will re-gress, not pro-gress. 

Yoga tries to impress the importance in listening to our body language. In yoga, as well as sports training, we are advised to go to our limit + 3 seconds more. 
Just a small added effort extends the limit safely. 
Pushing too far uses up the energy and stamina we have worked to build. It's like trying to drive on fumes, instead of refilling the gas tank.