Article April 17, 2006 Issue

WHEN HEALING BECAME A POSSIBILITY

BY BEVERLY SPILLER

I WAS BORN with a heart condition, medically diagnosed as a congenital birth defect. It was considered incurable through the medical means available at that time.

Later, when I was about seven, I contracted rheumatic fever. After that, I was never really well. I was given a permission slip releasing me from participation in physical education classes in junior high and high school, and I was put on prescribed regulatory medication. I couldn't drive a car because of the medication, and didn't seem to have the energy and stamina to swim, run, ride a bike, or do any of the things growing up that other children could do. Also, I seemed to be susceptible to every strain of cold and flu.

It seemed there was nothing my parents or I could do about my condition. They tried every medical option they knew of, and nothing seemed to help. This continued into my early adulthood.