"MIND OVER MATTER"...By Michelle Theall...(Click for the full article - The News Sentinal:
"In 2003, I was diagnosed with MS. It's a progressive disease with no cure. My immune system went haywire and started attacking the protective insulation (myelin) around the neurons in my brain as if they were foreign matter, a virus to defend. The scarring left in their wake caused short circuits between my mind and body. I'd get tired walking up a flight of stairs or holding my cup of coffee. Turning pages in a newspaper felt like I'd done a million pushups. My fingertips lost their distinction between sharp and dull, and their numbness caused me to fling objects across a room rather than holding onto them.

I was a mess. But, I firmly believed in the power of movement. Sending signals from my brain out to the rest of my body became even more critical given my disease. If I wanted to remain mobile, I'd have to commit to winning the battle.

I became an athlete all over again and started training for my marathon with MS.

My diligence paid off. I've successfully held my disease at bay. While I'm still plagued by irritating symptoms, I'm not debilitated by them. My MRIs are stable. I'm winning.

On a trip to New York to be interviewed by NBC, I took time to have lunch with a twenty-three year old woman who had recently been diagnosed with MS. As a producer for MTV, she ran in fast circles, kept late hours, and rarely worked out. During lunch she confessed, 'I tried this week to run on the treadmill at the gym, but my leg started tingling and then went numb. So, I stopped.' 'What would have happened if you had kept going?' I asked. 'I don't know. I've never tried it.'
'It's your brain, not your leg that's acting up. In our case, our symptoms are all in our heads!......"
[Michelle Theall is the founding editor of Women's Adventure magazine, and the author of several health and fitness books. For more information on Women's Adventure magazine, go to www.womensadventuremagazine.com.]