Shelley’s Thank You: “The words ‘thank you’ are not enough….”

Dr Sarno, I have been meaning to write a letter to you for a year now. I am crushed that it will never find its way to you.
I cannot even put into words how your brilliant ground breaking work has impacted my life and the lives of my family and loved ones. Just 1 year ago I had just about given up and was dealing with the “reality” that I would be in horrific chronic pain for the rest of my life, unable to function without assistance. I was medicating myself to get through the long days & nights. I would wake up and by 11am look at the clock and shudder….oh my god….still 10 more hours before I can go to sleep again!! It was that bad. I could not bare the long painful day. I couldnt even lean forward an inch to brush my teeth as my back would go into spasms that brought me to my knees. I could not sit for 10 months without shooting burning pain going down my leg making my foot go numb. (funny how this started right after my physiotherapist told me this was the worst thing for me)
I mourned the life that I once had and grieved the thought of ever enjoying anything again with my children or family. I could not even watch TV seeing people outside playing sports, enjoying life etc. It would bring me to tears and sink me deeper into the dark meaningless void of my new state of being. I was basically bed ridden.
I had an MRI to prove my back was a mess. Herniated & bulging discs, stenosis, scoliosis, bone spurs, osteophytes, sciatic nerve root involvement and osteoarthritis. Several GP’s, Physiotherapists, Chiropractors, Chinese Dr’s, acupuncturists & massage therapists all confirmed my worst fears. There was nothing that could be done.
I read Healing Back Pain. Honestly thought you were a quack and returned the book to the library. Things got worse. Thought I’d give it another try as I had nothing to lose and got The Mind Body Prescription. As thousands of others have said….I thought the book was written about me. Saw myself on every page. I started slowly with tmswiki website….did some journaling and battled with my brain. After several attempts of sitting and telling myself “your back is fine, strong & healthy. There is no reason for your pain. All of those findings on the MRI mean nothing. They are part of the normal aging process of your spine. There is NO reason for your pain it is created by your mind and nothing more” when all of a sudden I sat and the pins & needles and burning pain left my leg like magic. I gasped in shock. That is when I quickly created my evidence list and challenged each and every thing I did during the day. My list grew & grew over the next couple of weeks….with baby steps I conquered new movements. Within a few weeks my pain was 100% gone. A thing of the past. Like being reborn, cannot even put into words how it felt.
Everyone I know was in awe. I called my friends & neighbours and showed them I could do jumping jacks! I ran to my Dr and she threw her arms around me jumping up and down (she always wanted to help me but didn’t know how….I cant fault her for that) Thanks to you Dr Sarno, my kids have their Mom back and my husband has a wife again. I no longer take life for granted and celebrate each and every day that God has given me. I have no restrictions physically and embrace new and challenging things on a regular basis. When my TMS tries to creep back, and it does, I use the same challenging methods and poof! like magic…the pain disappears. I have defeated carpal tunnel, knee pain, achillies tendonitis and frozen shoulder within days.
My hope is that many many more people (including medical professionals) will soon open up their minds to your teachings. It is truly nothing short of miraculous. Dr Sarno, you are my hero. From the bottom of my heart…..I owe my life to you…..Rest in Peace…your legacy will live on changing lives for hundreds and hundreds of years to come.
With love & immense gratitude,
Shelley S.