Exclusive Interview with Dr. Terry L Wahls, a Doctor with MS

The Voices of Multiple Sclerosis is truly a wonderful book for anyone with MS or anyone who knows someone with MS. I have already purchased copies for my friends with MS.

It is hard to choose just one author to interview, but I have learned so much from Dr. Terry L. Wahls, M.D. and her story, "Telling the World." My own person goal of walking again with secondary progressive MS is coming along slowly, which is fine, but something was missing and I knew it. My answer may just be in Dr. Wahls' own goal of reversing her MS progression.

My question was simple: "Do you feel you are a better doctor now that you have MS? In what ways?"

Dr. Wahls: "I have become a much better physician. 1. in medical school, memorizing mountains of facts - they have no meaning until we have our patients' stories. Then we can begin to convert the facts into long term memory that is retrievable and then understandable. Having the illness experience has given me much more profound insights into the experience of a chronic progressive disease, and what it takes from the individual and their family to survive. I also understand why people take and then discontinue medications/ treatments. I acknowledge that when I take care of patients - and have a more balanced conversation about what they are doing and want to be doing with their treatments.

I also understand that function may be more important than life. Finally, now that I have seen the results of intensive, directed nutrition at restoring my health, I have changed my practice so that I emphasize understanding what people are eating, teaching them that our bodies require building blocks to do the chemistry of life. If we don't eat those building blocks, the chemistry of life does not happen properly and we begin to become ill.

Through the intensive focused nutrition I went from being wheelchair dependent, walking very short distances with two canes, to being able to walk through out the hospital, biking 5 miles to work each day and again doing trail rides by horse. (2 years). I see excellent results in my patients with traumatic brain injury and in my primary care clinics. \My future - I am planning a prospective study which will test my interventions in others with MS and advanced parkinson's disease. We are testing these interventions in the traumatic brain injury clinics. I am finishing a book which details my descent into profound disability and my remarkable assent back to the walking world. I teach food as medicine to the public and to the health professionals in the community."

Along with her inspiring personal story in "The Voices of Multiple Sclerosis," I also found her blog fascinating and very educational. "Up from the Chair - Defeating MS" http://terrywahls.blogspot.com/

The Voices of Multiple Sclerosis is available at retail book sellers, on line, (click on side bar), and many libraries. Ask your library to carry it. 100% net proceeds go to The Healing Project.

For more info on Dr. Wahls visit her website http://www.terrywahls.com/