Let me say right from the beginning: doctors are wonderful. The allopathic medical profession does amazing things for the health of human kind. But we cannot leave out wellness into the hands of anyone else. We must take charge in some way and in some manner to heal our own bodies.

When I had a stroke from herbs in 1988 I was in great shape. I was fit as a fiddle as it is said. I jogged, skied, did yoga daily, lifted weights and went swimming at a health club each night after work. I was a walking example of health. I was 38 years old. I felt I was in the prime of my life.

I bought an herbal formula to help my thinning hair that reached to my thighs. In drinking the herbal formula for three days as I was told as a tea, by the fourth day I had a stroke-like-event. The details are in my book The Breath of Dawn, a Journey of Everyday Blessings. www.createspace.com/3546000

Although I lived alone, as luck would have it, I was at a new boyfriend's house in the mountains. Ironically I lived across the street from the hospital. As I was wheeled into the ER I quickly started losing all ability to function. I was totally surrendered to the capable hands of the medical profession. I praise them because I knew they saved my life.

But the actual healing part, I began to realize as I awoke from a coma, was in my hands and the use of my mind. While the doctors spoke over my inactive voice stories of gloom for my future, I saw myself running on the beach in a long cotton dress, my straw hat upon my head with the water glistening from the bright sun. I kept my mind as active as my concentration allowed making sure every thought was put on a healing vision.

I surrounded my body with green light and only let positive people in the hospital room. When someone with a negative attitude, fearful that I might die entered the room, I broke out in a wail and the nurses had to remove that person. I knew I could die at any moment. I needed the energy to remain positive.

My recovery happened. That was amazing enough. But my expected stay in the rehabilitation facility which was deemed to take three months, took three weeks. I spent every minute I had telling the staff what I needed, refusing the things that depressed me, and reading, albeit only one sentence a night because of my inability to concentrate, positive and healing books.

I have been told my book The Breath of Dawn www.createspace.com/3546000 has changed lives. As soon as I got home I taught myself to type again. That was 1988 and I only owned a small Smith-Corona typewriter. My hand couldn't write well but I practiced my letters with a huge Styrofoam pad around a pen so I could grip it and wrote furiously for as long as I could which usually lasted about 45 seconds. I felt obsessed with having to write my story, not just for my own healing but because I was healing and overcoming obstacles I felt obliged to pass on. The experience was so big that there was no way I could not give it up to others.

I would love to hear what you think about my story and if it relates to you or someone you know who has suffered at the hands of an illness or traumatic injury. My rehabilitation doctor said my book changed the way he viewed his clients and staff.

Until next time,