"Hi Guys,
My name is Michelle. I am not a personal trainer, nor a nutritionist, nor a motivational speaker, I am just a woman, like most of you who follow Hadee's Twitter & Facebook pages for tips and ideas. I eventually emailed him for a diet & exercise plan. (If you haven't done this yet i strongly advise you too!) Hadee became interested in my story and asked me to share it with you, so here goes...
Have you ever heard of the sayings 'you only live once', ' Carpe Diem', (seize the day) 'life's too short'? Well after my beautiful big sister died of cancer at the age of 38, I took on those sayings with a vengeance! I partied hard & pushed my body to extremes with a clouded view that i was living fit and dreaming of being a Zen Artist. I gave up my car and walked on average 10 miles a day in my job as a street youth worker. In the evening i would do an hour ashtanga yoga, an hour on my pole, then fire dance outside clubs or at friends parties. Through the haze of alcohol & feeling fit i thought i was living and loving life the right way. Then out of nowhere it all went wrong.
I began to feel tired quite quickly and my body ached. I put this down to not wearing the right shoes for walking and promised to buy myself some. A few weeks later in August 2010 i collapsed at work. Unable to move i was taken to hospital and given a multitude of tests including MRI scans and nerve testing. The MRI ruled out Multiple Sclerosis which was a massive relief, but i was still ultimately left with a mysterious condition that rendered me completely bedbound and in severe pain.
A few months later i discovered i was pregnant. To me this was great news. I had convinced myself that my mystery illness was due to stress & overworking my body after my sister died. In fact i even joked about it saying my sister had taken away my legs until I had learned to slow down. I believed i would snap out of it and walk within days. Months past. Nothing changed. I was now a wheelchair user.
My pregnancy was awful. I spent most of my time in hospital, I bled a lot and it felt like my pelvis couldn't carry the weight of my growing baby. I went into early labour at 23 weeks but by some miracle the labour stopped and the pregnancy continued full term. I was told to not move or attempt to walk as it was too dangerous. Without movement my bump and my body grew. I put on nearly 5 stone. I felt huge! I felt awful. The birth of my daughter was of course complicated. I was unable to have pain relief as i was injecting myself daily to stop clots forming. My pelvis snapped as I gave birth, but my baby was beautiful and healthy and that’s all that mattered.
Throughout the following year i was dragged from pillar to post trying to find a diagnosis. My physio said i had zero % muscle tone in the left side of my body and 1% in the right. I could hardly lift myself up to sitting position. I just led in my bed all day feeding my baby while my partner cooked for me and took me to the toilet. I looked at my baby sleeping in the cot next to my bed and thought about my son who was now being teased at school because of me. I used to be his super hero mum. Then my thoughts went to my sister who i had promised with all my heart that i would live a full life for the both of us. Then i looked at myself unable to move and knew i had become deeply depressed. Something had to change. I had to change.
I began researching and eventually booked a private appointment with a specialist in London called Professor Grahame. I hadn’t been to London for years so we made a day of it and went to the 02 to see a show before my appointment. I remember looking at a bunch of excited people about to do the 02 walkway. I felt sad as the old me would have been up there doing that. I decided if I was ever able to walk again then that's what i would do.
Professor Grahame diagnosed me with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome type3 (EDS). EDS is a rare connective tissue disorder inherited from birth. The body produces faulty collagen. Collagen is the glue to your body and is found everywhere, therefore anything can go wrong. People with EDS including myself commonly dislocate joints on a daily basis and live in constant pain. People with vascular EDS face an increased risk of life-threatening complications. Even minor trauma can lead to an arterial rupture causing instant death. There is no cure. With that bombshell, the only question i found myself asking the specialist was 'can i walk again?', Yes’ he said, ‘in fact I suggest you do’. That was all I needed to hear.
The very next day I found an amazing physiotherapist and began the hard and painful slog of rebuilding my body. I got out of my wheelchair and began small steps around my garden. The pain was immense. My knees, hips and ankles dislocated. It was too much. My physio told me that I needed to wake up my muscles and strengthen them. If I worked on the muscles around my joints, then it was possible that I would dislocate less. But first I needed to strengthen my core. I began pilates at home. I felt disgusting. I was overweight and couldn’t shift it as quick as I wanted to. I felt guilty as I couldn’t walk my daughter in her pram like other mum’s. I couldn’t even get out the front door! I grieved for my old life, but I knew for the sake of my family I couldn’t give up.
I began doing twice as much as my physio instructed me to. This wouldn’t always work in my favour. The more active I tried to become, the more I dislocated. The more I dislocated, the longer I would end up back in bed. However I persisted. I had now taught myself to relocate my joints. Most EDSers do. Eventually with the help of a home care worker, I was able to walk down my street with special crutches (NHS ones dilocated my wrists) with my care worker pushing my daughters buggy. I felt good, but not great. I had lost some weight with help from several diets I had tried, but not enough.
Social networking became my only connection to the outside world. I joined a few EDS support groups and chatted to them on twitter and facebook. I was browsing my twitter feed when I noticed a follower had retweeted some healthy eating advice from Hadee's page, @GymForWomen (www.twitter.com/GymForWomen). I clicked onto the page and was immediately impressed with an abundance of recipes and health and fitness advice. Reading through Hadee’s twitter page was like a light going off. I realised I actually didn’t have a clue about food. It wasn’t a diet that I needed, it was a healthy lifestyle!
I contacted Hadee and asked him for his help. Hadee was very supportive. This surprised me. I had dealings with a personal trainer before and found him to be a complete self centred n*b head that was only interested in my money. Hadee was interested in my wellbeing and lifestyle. It was decided that he would draw up a menu for me for a very affordable price. Shockingly affordable in fact! He made it clear that my exercise plan should come from my physio. I was ok with that. With his questions asked Hadee drew up my menu that totally reflected the foods I liked. I could even see where I had been going wrong. I realised I was not eating enough, then blowing out on sweet foods . The meal plan looked totally achievable. He even added a few healthy snacks for my children! I couldn’t wait to get started!
As soon as I printed off my menu plan I went into my kitchen. My partner was shocked as I had not been able to stand up long enough to cook in 3 years. Unfortunately as I cut up the raw meat I dislocated 4 fingers. I felt defeated until my partner came to the rescue and took over. Our first meal was Lamb tagine. It was gorgeous! Even my fussy eater teenage son loved it. Whilst eating my partner announced that he was going to follow the plan too. He even bought some exercise DVDs and began a daily workout. Some of the exercises I could do with him, we motivated eachother. My healthy lifestyle was becoming my families healthy lifestyle!
After a month of using Hadee’s meal plan I had managed to lose 7lb, my partner lost a stone! By losing weight I had become less lethargic and able to exercise more. My walking improved and I dislocated less as my muscles became stronger and kept my lose joints in place for a little longer. I had managed to tone up by losing half an inch off both arms, two inches off my waist and hips, and 1 inch from my thighs. My confidence boosted and I felt powerful! The best part was that I was now able to take my daughter over the park using her buggy as stability. She was finally getting out the house and living an active childhood like I gave her brother. As for her brother, well he is a BMX addict. He now asks for protein shakes or pancakes after a hard ride. Hadee’s meal plan and support really had motivated and improved the lifestyle of my entire family.
It has now been a few months since we began using Hadee’s plan. Both myself and my partner have lost more weight. For me now the weight is not the issue. It’s the fact I am pushing myself to live the life I promised my sister. I truly appreciate every little thing that comes my way. I am more happy and content. I still live in pain, dislocate daily and have the odd bed day, but im back at work and experiencing life again. My partner and I even managed to go on holiday abroad a few weeks ago. Something I thought I would never do again.
As for me right now, well I am looking at that 02 walkway! My physio says I am bonkers but knows my determination and said he will be on standby. I got out of my wheelchair in August 2012 therefore its fitting that i conquer the 02 walkway at the end of this month! (31stAugust 2013). Although it became my personal obsession and something I wanted to achieve, I have decided to do it to raise money and awareness for other Ehlers Danlos sufferers. If you would like to sponsor me my just giving page is at the end of this blog. As it is a rare disorder the funding that goes into researching a cure or supporting families is next to none. So every penny really does help. If you can’t sponsor me, that is fine. I hope my story has helped you a little way into achieving your own goals.
It just goes to show you should never EVER underestimate what YOU are capable of. Do not let general beliefs or statistics dictate your life. If you don’t like your situation, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you feel about it or get a decent personal trainer haha! But seriously open your eyes to life and be everything you can be. Most of all feel happiness, love and give love. When you start to believe, the magic always happens. Carpe diem!
Love and light.
Michelle Xx "
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