Sonia's Story
Mama We Need You
It was the end of Autumn of 1994 in Australia when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 43, one month before my 44th birthday. My children were only 6 and 8 years old at the time.
It wasn't long before I was fully immersed in its unremitting fury that left every part of my body and flesh screaming out in torment. Indefinable pain and suffering was now my constant companion. I was in such deep despair over the agony I was suffering from this insidious disease it was all I could do to stay alive for my children. Finally I became bedridden on and off for the next year and a half.
My children dressed me, fed me and positioned me in the right place to pull me out of bed so as not to hurt me in any way. They took me to the toilet and placed me on the bowl, and waited while I sat, pondering my life and the continuing misery before me. The hardest thing for me was simply being alive. The thought of ending it all to relieve my anguish would have been a welcome relief. Growing up in orphanages and children's homes, I was past the point of wondering, 'Who would love my children if I died?'
It was beyond me now to hold onto my children's hands as I took them to bed, to feel their flesh against mine. Now they took me to bed, and were no longer allowed to touch my flesh, as it left me wailing in pain. Yet, I could see in their eyes that they needed me.
Night time was the loneliest time as I lay in the darkness of my room, alone with my thoughts, knowing I could not call out to my young ones, as God knows they needed their rest. I averaged 2 hours sleep a night because of the pain. My tears were constant and flowed most of the time. Sometimes in the darkness I asked, "Oh Lord, have mercy on me!" and in those tears I cried out, "Where is my miracle?" I thought that I would never recover from the way the disease had altered me, or shake off the despondency into which my personality had sunk.
As the light of day dawned through the Venetian blinds, I pondered on how I could recover from this tormenting, crippling disease. I did not want my children to have any part in the burden of my sorrow any longer. I had to recover for them.
I started reading books on diet and disease and finally came up with my own regime that worked for me. I had no idea what I was doing at the time, or even if it would work, but I knew in the deepest recess of my heart that I would be free from rheumatoid arthritis. I started thinking outside the square, and not believing in what the doctors told me about the disease. I was now thinking for myself.
The beauty of a high raw diet or a 100% raw diet is that there is much less stress on the digestive system, therefore, the body goes to work in healing itself. It allows the immune system in its genius to do what it was designed to do - heal your body. Pharmaceutical toxic, poisonous, chemical drugs won't heal you. They mask the disease leaving you with horrendous side effects. In fact, if you take the road of drug therapy, you will end up with a poor quality of life and an early demise. If you take the road of live foods you will give yourself a fighting chance to recover, and be the person you were meant to be.
After changing my diet from a typical 'Australian Standard Diet' to a high raw diet, I became well, pain free, and disease free. I was once again able to physically love my children and take care of them. We laughed, we danced, we had fun, and I was caught up in the spirit of my children. They told me, 'Mama, we love you'. It was beautiful.
In early 2008, after years on a high raw diet I have become a 100% raw/vegan. Now, that is the secret of health, longevity and quality of life.
If you want more information regarding my story, you can contact me through my website www.ffra.com or PO Box 1256, Runaway Bay. 4216 Qld.
Sonia St. Claire