[su_social_media_top]I was bedridden six years ago, and just a few years ago, I had given up on life. I was knocking on heaven’s door. Really. I had foot drop and could not talk or function. I was on 15 heavy-duty medications, could barely move and slept day in and day out.
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Cassandra Glynn Kutner on a 3-mile walk up a mountain. Above, she exercises on a treadmill. This New Jersey woman has lost 145 pounds and is reversing symptoms of multiple sclerosis on a vegan and, since spring 2014, low-fat raw food diet.[/caption]
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 17 years ago, and my doctor had told me I would be in a wheelchair in 10 years, when my daughter was just 1 year old. I decided I would do everything I wanted to do in the next 10 years. I was living life but not healthfully at all.
I ate 100 percent garbage such as pizza, soda and ice cream and tried different diets such as Weight Watchers, pills and shakes, and the weight and medications kept piling on. I kept getting sicker and sicker. So within 10 years, I was bedridden and, yes, if I had gotten a wheelchair, I certainly could have used it. But I woke up one day and realized I still wanted to live life. I do not know what woke me up or how this happened, but I woke up.
I started to move and research everything, and this was the start of my long road to getting my health back. I had to drag my right leg and arm around. I also put the medications down. My physical therapist had given me a cane and brace to walk with, but I was not giving up. I was given a WalkAide to help me walk. This tool sends electric stimulation to create movement in the legs to raise the foot up, creating a more natural walking pattern.
My body was so badly abused that my bones literally hurt. I am regrowing my bones and muscles and brain and everything else, including my bladder and kidneys. I went vegan in 2009 and then kept learning more information. Someone suggested I read The 80/10/10 Diet, and then I went mostly raw vegan (95 percent of my diet) in April 2014. Soon enough, I went all raw.
I am very lucky to live near a co-op where I get fresh fruits and vegetables. A raw food diet works for me. I feel energized. I can wake up with my kids, something I could not do before. I could not feel the right side of my body and was very tight and spastic, and this was very uncomfortable, to say the least.
When I got the brace on my right leg and arm, I started going to a gym every other day and exercised on a treadmill very slowly. I would get up to just half a mile per hour at first. I lifted weights, but my right side was very weak. I swam in a pool and also practiced yoga. I walked, but it was not always pretty. I fell a couple of times and was seriously injured, so I had to slow down.
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Cassandra Glynn Kutner before and after her switch to a vegan and low-fat raw vegan diet.[/caption]
I can now jog. Yes, I said it! I can jog on my treadmill! I can stand on my tippy toes. I went from not being able to walk without a brace to walking for miles and miles. Now I am able to jog at 3½ mph and am so grateful. I can type with my dominant hand but very slowly. I used to not be able to move my right arm and hand. It was so tight or spastic. I was partially paralyzed on the entire right side, even my face. I’m getting there. It is pretty incredible!
I watched videos on a raw food diet and found [Arnold’s Way owner] Arnold Kauffman, my great friend who I love very much, and watched many of his videos numerous times. He suggested I get a rebounder, and I did and rebound at least three times a week. I also have an inversion table and use it almost every day.
I want to live life to the fullest. I do not know exactly what made me do a 180-degree turn but thank God. I love life. I have a profound love for every animal. That is why I went vegan, and then I went vegan for my health as well for the planet’s health. I would never go back.
Over the past six years, I have lost 145 pounds! I love life and love myself! I could not believe the day when I could jog. I was so happy, and my next goal is to run. It’s all about the mind, body and spirit. I meditate every morning and every night to Louise Hays on healing. I sleep at least eight to 10 hours a night. I get at least half an hour of fresh air and sunshine and supplement with Vitamin B12.
It has been an amazing journey! I am going to run again. I don’t know when, but I will run again! I will not ever give up. Look how far I have come! I know it is working. I can now jog after being bedridden. Yes, I am a miracle! I thank God!
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Cassandra Glynn Kutner poses with her family on a beach along the Jersey Shore.[/caption]
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Hungry for more? Check out Cassandra's Banana Green Smoothie recipe![su_social_media_bottom]
