From Crutches to The Wedding Dance Floor

This picture is from her wedding in May 2018. It was an amazing day, perfect for a wedding. Sarah looked forward to this day so much and she wanted it to be the best day of her life.
For most of us, it’s easy to be on the go all day long, but you know that a wedding implies many preparations, planning, meetings, calls, parties and the last very busy few days just before the actual wedding. For everyone, this requires a lot of energy, agree? Then, the wedding day comes, and you want to be fresh and full of energy, to receive the guests, to have photos, to dance, face to the emotional surprises etc.

Finding the right therapy for her

For Sarah, the preparation of the wedding could be a challenge. When I first met her back in the autumn of 2015, she could barely walk on crutches. This is because she suffers from fibromyalgia pains and degenerative disc disease in her back following a car accident in 2010. The fatigue was so bad that she would need to rest after simply having a shower. She would need 10-12 hours of sleep at night time and a 4 hours nap or sometimes longer during the daytime. Also, Sarah used to often have headaches and migraines which would stop her from daily activities.

Sarah, supported by her partner, decided to improve her condition, to enable her to enjoy life again. She started to try other therapies but they were too painful for her and didn’t help. Her partner (now her Husband) suggested she tried Bowen therapy. After experiencing intense pains with other therapies, you can imagine she was afraid to try a therapy again. She didn’t want to have more pain than before as happened with the other modalities. As you may know, a fibromyalgia sufferer can feel pain at a simple touch. I reassured them that I would work carefully, using very gentle pressure, and I wouldn’t touch the spine. So Sarah booked her first Bowen appointment. And that was the beginning of her fabulous journey.

The day she came the first time, she was walking with difficulty using crutches. When I saw her for the 3rd time, she was using a stick instead of crutches. Small changes, but my heart smiled when I met her for the 4th time – she came alone, feeling confident enough to drive the car.

Over the months she got gradually better, more energetic. She managed to do a lot of packing and moving into a new house, doing activities like lifting a new fireplace. This lifting brought the pain back and the crutches were needed for a few days, but after the Bowen session she recovered and didn’t need the crutches.

Things improved with ups and downs, and in 2016 we set a goal for her Bowen sessions: to make her able to dance at her own wedding. Things were going really well, getting off Gaviscon, fewer headaches, more active (the truth is that her friends became my clients after seeing her doing so well), then bang: another car accident in 2017 brought up the old pains. But Sarah didn’t give up, and with medical care (injections) complemented by her Bowen sessions, she got back on her feet stronger and steadier than before this last car accident, to be in great shape by her wedding.

Sarah made all the preparations for her wedding; she used her crafting talents to do beautiful decorations, I can’t help myself to put at least one picture with them. Then the day of the wedding, she was on her feet all day long, and she danced and laughed all night. I personally enjoyed their wedding so much, and I can say it was the best day of her life!

I am happy for her major improvements but I also admire her strength to not give up and look to the positive things she acquired. Because as I said, this journey has had ups and downs, but we are happy she is more flexible, she can now enjoy more time with family and friends, and if she wants to dance, she can dance.

Never give up!
The sun can shine again on your street! Just find out what works for you! Big hug! Camelia Pop, Bowen Practitioner Manchester