Project Description
Mary Anne, BC, Canada
“It was as though I had an elephant on my chest. I just could not get air. And when I was breathing, I wheezed and coughed and I would cough in the night. None of that is going on anymore. Even my voice, I’ve got a voice again. I was like this quiet person because it hurt to talk, I would run out of energy. Now they can’t stop me. It’s a different life. Hopefully at some point in the near future I can get rid of all the inhalers. I can’t believe in three weeks what has happened to me after two and a half years of hell. It’s unbelievable.”
Improvements with: Breathing / Lung Issues, COPD, Depression, Difficulty Walking/ Flexibility, Post-Smoking Lung Healing, Weight Loss/ Obesity.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Difficulty Breathing: I have very serious COPD. I couldn't breathe. It was as if I had an elephant on my chest. I just could not get air. And when I breathed, I wheezed and coughed and I would cough in the night. My doctor told me that my COPD would not get better. He showed me an X-ray of my lungs before I left and they were half full and so I only had 50% oxygen. Was previously smoking for 32 yrs. | I was breathing in four days. None of these symptoms are happening anymore.. I want to prove my doctor he was wrong. I want to go back and get an X-ray and just see what happened. You can’t breathe like I breathe now without something changing. Something physically has changed. I hope that at some point in the near future I won’t need inhalers at all... I can't believe in three weeks what has happened to me after two and a half years of hell. It's unbelievable. |
| Difficulty Walking: Consequently, I couldn't walk. I couldn't walk 10 feet from my bed, so I was in essentially bedridden for a couple of years. I haven't walked a staircase in three years unless I absolutely had to and it would just about kill me. The day I arrived, I had to take a lift up the stairs. People were sort of helping me walk and I was just not really great. | I am walking stairs... You know, I live on a beach. I would walk that beach every day of my life. I have not even got been able to get down to the beach for three years and it's only 100 yards away from my place. So now I'm ready to walk the beach. I am wow…. Part of that has been the healing massage. The masseuses here are just wonderful and there are different kinds of massages that all helped me. My knees are so much better than they were. And I'm not hesitant now. If I had to go downstairs before, I would sidestep. Now I just go down. I have to hold on to the railing because the last thing I want to do is fall. But and I may do that for the rest of my life because I'm 74 but my legs seldom hurt anymore. |
| Weight Gain: I gained weight while I was in bed for all that time. | I did lose some weight. That was really good to lose 11 lbs., but I sort of put it on the back burner because it just wasn't as important. |
| Multiple Inhalers: I had five different puffers that I had to do twice a day, but I had what they called an emergency puffer (rescue inhaler), which is really for emergencies. Well, I had four or six emergencies every day. The minute I got out of my bed and walked to my kitchen, couldn't breathe, couldn't breathe. The rescue inhaler just became my best friend. | I got here and within a couple of days, I didn't seem to need my puffers. In the entire three weeks that I've been here I've probably used the rescue inhaler four or five times because each day I would have progress, which I just didn't imagine. |
| Sleep issues: I had a lot of sleeping issues because I was coughing all the time. I would wake up, couldn’t get back to sleep. If I had to get up to the bathroom, that meant I had to have my rescue inhaler because by the time I get out of bed I couldn’t breathe. And then I walked slowly and then, you know, go back to bed and try to sleep. So it was very interrupted sleep. And so I got into the habit of watching television at night. | When I got here, I was reading the note about the lights out at 9:00. Oh, OK! So I've done that since I've been here. There was just one night when I was restless, whatever was going on. But the rest of the nights I slept like a baby.It's lovely. Never done that before. I don't cough.If I do have to get up to go to the bathroom, I don’t need my puffer. |
| Cough: It was constant. I could not get my breath no matter what I did. I'd be trying to puff my inhaler and it just would not help because I couldn't take any air in. So it was very, very stressful and I would be in tears, you know, because I just could not stop. There were times when I really thought I'm just going to pass out and it was pretty horrifying. | I don't think I've even had a coughing spells since I got here. I I not recall one at all. |
| Losing Voice: And I'd also lose my voice. | My voice is strong. |
| Could not hold my breath. I couldn't breathe in enough to take my medication, my all my puffers. It was hard to hold it. | I can hold a breath now for 20 seconds. Like, that's ridiculous. But it's wonderful. |
| Weak Legs – I really got almost an atrophy affecting my legs because I spent a lot of time either sitting or laying down and so my legs got very, very weak. I was taking 10 Tylenol a day. Even sitting in my bed, I was aching. When I stood up, the pain between my left leg and my lower back was excruciating. | The first day I took a couple of Tylenol and I think maybe four more through the day. And I haven't had any for a week and a half. None, from 10 a day. That was just my regime. My pain is healing. It is because I'm moving, moving, moving, moving. Wow, this is so awesome. |
| Depression Score: 30 (moderate, borderline severe) | Depression Score: 9 (no depression) |
Experience Highlights:
- The chef here is absolutely fabulous and shares her recipes. And it’s, it’s really good food. So I don’t have to go back to being the BLOB in bed eating whatever I want, whatever I want. I don’t need the chips, I don’t need the cheesies. Now I’m a green freak!
- Counsellor
- Healing Massages
- Breathing Coach
- It’s like coming to the warmest place in the world. It’s hard to describe to people, but it’s open, it’s welcoming, it’s healing. And you can’t do anything wrong because they let you be who you are, but they help you grow and change. And the more you engage into the program, the healthier you become in your heart, in your head, in your spirit.
The information above is based on the following resources:
- Unedited Video Testimonial Materials
- Before and After Self-Assessment
- Program Participation and Progress Sheet
- Emotional Wellness Test
Disclaimer : Results of participants differ and the Fresh Start cannot guarantee that you will experience your improvements in the same way as in this testimonial. The Fresh Start is not an allopathic medical facility and does not claim to either diagnose or treat any disease. The Fresh Start does not guarantee a recovery from any specific disease or a health symptom.
