Acquired Hope

This article is not about illness, injury or disease; rather, it is about recoverythe recovery beyond medicine for those persons coping with a severe injury, illness or medical condition. This article is for those individuals who may be coping with a chronic illness or disabling injury; individuals who have struggled with pain and are seeking to learn how to change their way of thinking in order to manifest a life experience full of hope, joy and fulfillment. This article is for anyone and everyone who has a strong, steadfast desire to obtain a higher level of function, better health and a better quality of life when presented with a severe and disabling chronic illness or injury.

My Story of Chronic Illness

I have always been an active person, enjoyed exercise, and worked passionately. Several years ago, when I was thirty-two, I nearly lost it all. I became seriously ill. Many of those coping with a chronic illness or injury share the same or similar experience. After many invasive tests and procedures, I had my diagnosis: Myasthenia Gravis. Like many dealing with a chronic illness, I was both elated with finally having a diagnosisand frightened by finally having a diagnosis.

The Diagnosis

According to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is the most common primary disorder of neuromuscular transmission. The prevalence of myasthenia gravis in the United States is estimated at 14 to 20 per 100,000 populations, there are approximately 36,000 to 60,000 cases in the United States. In myasthenia gravis, the immune system attacks the muscle receptor cells of the skeletal muscles. Symptoms include: difficulty with breathing, swallowing, speaking, impaired vision and mild to severe muscular weakness and fatigue. The disease manifestation can lead to mild or severe disability depending on several factors such as age, sex, promptness of diagnosis and treatment, thymus gland tumors or tissue growth, general health status and ones ability to cope with chronic illness.

Basically, my immune system developed antibodies which were now attacking my own muscle receptor cells; therefore, the communication from the nerve to the muscle to tell the muscle to move, to function, was severely disrupted. Myasthenia Gravis literally means grave muscle weakness. This grave muscle fatigue and weakness proved to be my biggest challenge and worst symptom. For several years, I suffered from severe to moderate and continuous disability. To make things worse, the symptoms often fluctuated from minute to day, often times without rhyme or reason. I eventually went through the cycle of negative emotions that many individuals with chronic illness experience: powerlessness, self-pity, frustration, isolation, anger, envy, fear and anxiety, jealousy and grief. I felt frustrated and powerless that my own body did not work. I felt sorry for myself, now that I had a big challenge that many people did not. I even felt jealous and envious of those with healthy bodies. In the darkest moments, when I became overwhelmed with the physical symptoms and emotional changes within me, I even felt isolated. I began living in a state of fear. I became fearful to try to do anything active for fear I would relapse. My negative emotions fed off one another and I became even more overwhelmed and even more exhausted. The dark cycle repeated itself over and over again, and I continued to experience losses in every aspect of my life.

Almost everything I was told, or that I researched, indicated that I would have to live with this disabling medical condition for the rest of my life. Working, functioning, and certain activities were things that were either gone, limited, or would remain extremely difficultand part of a daily challenge. Although with the medical treatments my disease stabilized, I remained significantly impaired in daily and work function even three years later. But I wanted to truly live an abundant life.

My Journey to Recovery

Despite my education and experience in healthcare, I was unable to heal myself. I wanted better functionality and a better quality of life. I sought out other means of recovery. I repeatedly asked myself, What can I do to improve my condition and to experience life again?

This is where my true journey to recovery began. I studied, found resources, and acquired knowledge about the art of healing and the power of the mind. An individual must seek out and try different methods and adopt those practices which are in alignment with his or her personal belief system. One must explore how to obtain and maintain a higher level of function, hope and healing.

Who Are We?

A book written by Daniel Anderson, Ph.D. informs us that of all the healthcare problems in the United States, nearly 80 percent relate to chronic illness or disability. We are many in number. We come in every age, shape, size and color, and from every ethnic group and socioeconomic background. The medical community is well equipped to manage our acute episodes; however, it is not well equipped to give us the kind of support we really need to lead fully functional lives.

I have written a book titled: Acquired Hope: A Journey of Advanced Recovery and Empowerment. This book is intended for anyone who is coping with an illness, addictive disease, disability or injury-related condition. How we choose to deal and cope with our pain and struggles is largely up to us. Unfortunately, most often our response to coping with the disease causes just as much stress and emotional pain as the disease or condition itself. We tend to focus on the fear, frustration, pain, fatigue, anger, limitations and even guilt. These are all negative emotions. This focusing on negative emotions may limit us even more and further diminish our quality of life. However, we have the ability to change that. We can learn to change the way we think. We can learn to guide our thoughts and emotions, so that we experience only positive emotions such as joy, happiness and hope. By acquiring this skill, we can stop our physical problems from getting worse and can lead happier, more fulfilling lives. By acquiring hope, we can recover. My book presents a details process on how to advance recovery and obtain high levels of function and life fulfillment. For more information and free resources for creating better health, please read Acquired Hope, visit: .acquiredhope and please visit the Secret to Getting Rich website at: .inspirednhopeful.theSGRprogram for opportunities on creating income to allow time and energy to focus on better health.

Nicole Matoushek, MPH, PT has 15 years of experience in clinical managed care and disability management. She is founder of ErgoRehabinc. She has authored two books "Acquired Hope: A Journey of Advanced Recovery and Empowerment" and "365 Days of Abundant Hope" both available on .acquiredhope. She is inspired by .inspirednhopeful.theSGRprogram. Nicole is passionately dedicated to helping others succeed in obtaining abundant health, wealth and a fuller life!Bipolar Affective Disorder
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Iron Supplements For Breastfed Babies -- Are They Necessary?

Many parents are led to to believe that routine iron supplementation is required for breastfed babies once they reach 6 months of age. Some studies, however, suggest that iron supplementation is unnecessary, unless signs of iron-deficiency anemia are present.

Iron plays an important role in the development of a baby's brain and a lack of iron can significantly affect a baby's ability to learn in later life. Iron is also required by the body to make hemoglobin, which supplies oxygen -- through the blood -- to the cells of the body . In addition, iron gives red blood cells their color, which is why a lack of iron is often suspected when someone appears particularly pale.

Babies are born with stores of iron, obtained from their mothers during pregnancy. For full term babies, these stores will usually last for at least the first 6 months of life. Some babies, however, are born with inadequate iron stores and have an increased risk of developing iron-deficiency anemia. These include

1. Premature babies. Babies obtain the majority of their iron stores from their mothers during the final months of pregnancy. This means that babies born prematurely may be more likely to have lower stores of iron at birth.

2. Low birthweight babies (generally below 6.5lb). This applies whether or not the pregnancy was full term.

3. Babies born to mothers with poorly controlled diabetes.

At some point, these babies may require iron supplementation, on medical advice.

However, it is the ROUTINE supplementation of full term, healthy, breastfed infants at 6 months that many experts are calling into question.

Whilst you may hear that the iron levels in breastmilk are low, a fact very often overlooked is that iron from breastmilk is extremely well absorbed, at a rate of 49 percent of the available iron. This is because breastmilk contains lactoferrin and transferrin, two specialized proteins that ensure efficient delivery of iron from the milk to your baby. These proteins also prevent the growth of "unfriendly" bacteria, such as E. Coli, by ensuring that no iron is made available to them.

In addition, breastmilk contains high levels of vitamin C and lactose, both of which assist with efficient iron absorption.

For these reasons, many experts now feel that an exclusively breast fed baby receives sufficient iron to keep his levels within the normal range BEYOND the first six months of life. It is, of course, a sensible precaution to have your baby's iron levels tested, to ensure that no deficiency is present.

Once iron supplements, solid foods or mixed feeding (ie breastmilk plus iron-fortified formula) are introduced to a baby, the amount of iron available to him from breastmilk actually reduces. This is because the specialized breast milk proteins can become saturated by the extra iron he is receiving. They then become less efficient in their job of delivering iron to the baby.

Therefore, it is very important to make sure that, when your baby is eating solid foods on a regular basis, his diet contains plenty of iron rich foods.

These will compensate for the reduction in the amount of iron he is receiving from breastmilk. Good sources of iron include

meat
peas
dark green vegetables
beans
tofu
avocado
yam
barley
whole wheat cereal
broccoli
blackstrap molasses
amaranth
quinoa
millet

It is useful to serve foods containing vitamin C along with iron rich foods, as this combination aids iron absorption . Cooking in cast iron pans is also helpful, as the acids in some foods will "pull" the iron from the pan.

It is important to remember that a nursing mother cannot increase the iron levels in her breastmilk by increasing her own iron intake.

Christine Albury is the editor of homemade-baby-food-recipes, a complete guide to solid feeding during baby's first year.Bipolar 2 Medication
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