My name is Heather Petrie. I am 31 years old and have 2 children, Morgan 9 years, and Marc 5 years. I live in and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. About 4˝ years ago I had my first onset of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is an autoimmune disease that attacks the nervous system. Although MS is not directly inherited, there is a clear genetic susceptibility. My Aunt has just had her first onset in her 40's and is in the process of being formally diagnosed with her level of the disease. I also suspect (by descriptions and observations) that my maternal Grandmother had MS.

I had my first bout of MS when I was 27. It was a pretty typical onset brought on by stress, both bodily and emotional. The beginning symptoms were: foggy vision, numbness from the neck down, and to walk I had to think:" pick up foot, put it down", I walked with a gait, my feet were "flappy" and felt like cement bricks. My handwriting became large and loopy and I had the sensation that my diaphragm was being squeezed, which felt like I wasn't completely filling my lungs when I breathed in. I couldn't sense when I had to urinate (I would feel sick to my stomach when I had to go urgently, although I didn't loose control of my bladder, I did have slight leakage from the pressure). I was stuttering and slurring a little bit, had short term memory loss and when driving to a destination even one I had been to several times I could not reason out how to get from point A to point B and my surroundings would seem unfamiliar. I was dropping everything because I couldn't sense how tightly I was gripping or my hand would just let the object go. When I went to bed at night I would have light flashes when I closed my eyes and my head jerked.

I visited three Doctors and kept getting unacceptable responses to my symptoms, everything from telling me to come back in a month if I didn't get any better, to take aspirin and the best, to take calcium, vitamin C, and a multi vitamin. I demanded a full spinal MRI from the last Doctor and he ordered a lower spine. (Ugh!) I immediately went to a 4th Doctor who listened to my symptoms, ordered a full spinal MRI, and referred me to a Neurologist. The MRI showed several "bright spots" (areas that the MS had attacked) on my brain and one area in my spinal cord, between C2 and C3. The neurologist then gave me a physical; ordered a spinal tap, blood draws, and more MRIs.

Every patient has different symptoms; some have more, some have less. Despite the unpredictability of MS, most patients fall into 4 different types, which can be found on most MS web sites. It can take up to 5 to 10 years for a person to be placed into one of these categories. I have yet to find out which type of MS I have.

Directly after the onset, which lasted over a month, I have since been in "remission" and have not had another relapse. Now this does not mean that I don't have any symptoms, I have something or another everyday. The onset ebbed, but left some residual effects.

I had been left with occasionally (sometimes a few hours a day, sometimes not for a few days, weeks, or months): vertigo, numb fingers and toes; my toes feel as if some are missing, then they start to feel as if there is a lot of pressure and they start having a burning sensation as if they are going to pop off my feet. I can have the sensation that ants are marching around between my shoulder blades (a result of the muscle not receiving impulses). Other times it feels as if a bug has landed on various parts of my legs, face or other areas of my body (I call this the creepy crawlies). I would get leg cramps or muscle tears in my calves, quads, and especially in my forearms, which was the most painful and exhausting symptom.

I also had mock Rheumatoid arthritis, to the point that I would lay in bed in the morning for ˝ - 1 hour before I could start to move. My foot would sometimes release (called drop foot) causing me to stumble. I can have some memory problems and other cognitive dysfunctions.

I get MS fatigue in which I become very tired and my inner legs go numb starting at my ankles and fading as it climbs up my thighs and/or trunk. This is usually a sign that I have just done too much or need to catch up on sleep. My blood pressure occasionally has gone as high as 140/90, which seems to happen in the winter. I have also noticed that my body will quickly gain weight if I don't watch what I eat (7 lbs or more in a week!), but that goes into a whole other thing about people with MS having slow digestive and lymphatic systems.

When I found T-Tapp in November of 2000, I was mostly concerned with losing weight. On my own I've lost well over 115 lbs, give or take 15 lbs depending on what is happening in my life. I had dropped down to a size 8-10 from a 24, but started to gain back the weight I'd lost after 3 years of keeping it off. I went back up to a size 12; although I was running 2 miles in the morning and in the evening weight lifting 1˝ hours, then the elliptical trainer for ˝ hour, and drinking protein drinks as meal replacements. I was starving, not seeing the results I wanted, and wow did the MS flare up! I was desperate not to gain the weight back.

For 3 years I had self educated myself on fitness and nutrition, so after I read about the T-Tapp Workout in Women's World magazine it made a lot of sense to me. The first week after starting T-Tapp, I noticed my lower back pain had dissipated (problems from the spinal tap and a car accident) and I didn't need to go to the chiropractor 1-3 times a week anymore. I lost 18 inches in the first month and my clothes became loose. I then started following the healthy God Made/Man Made eating plan Teresa suggests and did the 2 days on / 1 day off. By Christmas I was in a size 8 again. Not only was I eating and not feeling guilty, but also started to understand my body size and shape and feel proud about the way I look. By the following April I could wear a juniors size 8.

The part I hadn't even expected to improve was my MS! But what could be better for a person with a neurological disorder than to get the neurokinetic flow going and pumping the lymphatic system! Almost as soon as I started T-Tapp and began taking Teresa's Premium Blended Alfalfa the Rheumatoid Arthritis started to dissipate. I haven't experienced it since, unless I run out of the Alfalfa, which I don't let happen very often! I would say the rest of my symptoms have improved by 90%. I haven't had the muscle tears since the winter of 2001-2002. If I don't take care of my body with nutrition, the T-Tapp Workout, or enough sleep I will get some symptoms, mostly the numbness in my body, but that is to be expected when I am pushing myself past my limit.

T-Tapp has changed my life in very profound ways… even ways I didn't expect. I am working toward my Personal Training and Nutrition Certification to gain a deeper understanding of the body. I have started attending massage therapy courses at the Body Wisdom Massage School. Best of all I am able to give more of myself to my two beautiful children, Morgan and Marc. I have heard if you would do what you do for a living free, you truly love what you do. Well, that is exactly the way I feel! I hope to bring T-Tapp not only to the general public, but to the MS community as well. I am so happy and grounded in my life and I am looking forward to what the future will bring, it certainly has become much brighter since the article in Women's World almost 2 years ago. I owe Teresa a very big THANK YOU!!