I was affected throughout my childhood and as a young adult with server allergies and respiratory illnesses and infections.  The physical and emotional demands of a large family (4 children in 10 years of marriage) brought me to a specialist to try to determine the cause of the chronic urinary tract infections that were becoming resistant to treatment.  After extensive tests the urologist informed me that the problem was a partially blocked ureter that led from the right kidney to the bladder. He showed me on the x-ray how the tube was crimped like a bent garden hose and the kidney and collector nodes were enlarged and lined with scar tissue from all the infections.  He suggested an operation to open and straighten the ureter but warned me that long term antibiotics would be necessary to hopefully encourage my body to replace the scarred tissue with smooth healthy tissue that would be less likely to trap and grow unwelcome bacteria. He suggested that I would probably need antibiotics the rest of my life, the way some people need blood pressure medication.  

I decided to put off the operation and for the next ten years I took a daily treatment of a drug called proloprim (a sulfa based antibiotic), moving to more powerful antibiotics for the frequent acute attacks, especially in the first few years.  Yeast infections and digestive problems were the unpleasant side effects of the drugs and exhaustion was the precursor to may complications (allergies, pneumonia, skin disorders). I began seeing a chiropractor for the nagging backache that often disabled me.  At 30 years of age my x-rays showed a 2 inch “S” curve in my spine.

In 1987, when my youngest child went to nursery school, I attended my first yoga class.  The stretches began as a compliment to a fitness program that I hoped would build a healthier body, but I soon became “hooked” on the internal aspects of this ancient practice.  I became an avid student of Ilse Gordon’s and greatly appreciated the knowledge she imparted to her students. I was fascinated with the idea of going inside the body and using movement and breath and the mind to work on the whole person in a more spiritual way.  I began taking vitamin supplements with essential fatty acid therapy to help heal my cell membranes. During the next 5 years my allergy symptoms gradually disappeared, and my energy level was raised, along with an improved state of mind. In 1994 I began taking meditation classes (with Ilse) and was introduced to “Healing Tao” practices, and a year later started practicing Tai Chi (also with Ilse).  

In 1997, during my last and final series of test to monitor my kidney condition the ultra-sound and x-rays revealed that my kidney was healed and normal.  The ureter was open and cleared of scar tissue. My last spinal checkup (1998) showed less that ¼ inch curvature and the scoliosis was minimal. After a couple of attempts to withdraw the antibiotic drug therapy I was at last successful in remaining healthy without it.  The fears and resentments that were part of the negative thinking that fed my health problems are just part of the reason for continuing this important and beneficial work.