Dr. X provided me with excellent health care, and followed the progression of my MS like the true Sherlock Holmes in his chosen field that he was, constantly monitoring, testing, and micro-observing the strides this monster made in ultimately taking over my life, and then systematically destroying what was left of it.

But not to worry because Dr. X had the answers, he said. And so, if one prescription drug didn't quite do the trick, he'd prescribe me another to take it's place,.... and then another,.... and then another, until my medicine cabinet was chock full of prescription bottles filled with pharmaceuticals with odd sounding names as if they were selected labels belonging to an elusive language all their own.

But .....back then I didn't care. I understood my doctor knew what he was doing, and had only my best interests at heart. That is, until one fateful visit to his office that would mark the beginning of the end of my relationship with Dr. X, and lead me onto an unexpected path of greater understanding, and eventual healing.

Here's what happened.......

Dr. X came into the room with more of a somber look on his face than usual. He wasn't your usual happy-go-lucky type of guy anyway, but leaned more toward the highly intellectual, pensive side of life . But this time, his face had more of that droopy-hang-dog look, like he was holding on to the other shoe he was about to drop.....the kind of demeanor that makes you want to look for an open door out of there.

I held my breath. This wasn't going to be good, I thought. And I was right.....it was a bombshell!

With pen and paper in hand, Dr. X sat down beside me and drew a kind of graph. He drew what looked like a row of mountain peaks, with each consecutive mountain peak becoming smaller than the one before it, until they didn't look like mountain peaks anymore, but more like bumps.

I tried to be an attentive student. "So what's this all about"? I asked. And his reply was.....

"This is a picture of your future".

HUH?!

The peaks and valleys he drew symbolized my MS attacks, followed by periods of remission. Over time, he said, just like in his drawing, the attacks would eventually take over, and there would be no more remission.

"So what about.....? I mean, what....what happens when those big mountain peaks turn into really little bumps like those over there?"

The look on my doctors' face grew even more solemn now, and in silence, put pen to paper again...... this time drawing a straight horizontal line out to the paper's edge, flat lining everything..

"You mean....? You're telling me this is IT? It's over....my life is OVER?!"

"Oh, no you don't! Are you nuts? You're kidding, right? You can't tell me my life is OVER!" That defiant spark of survival instinct raced to the surface, scorching my fear, and manifesting into a loud battle cry.

I refused to believe it, and I let Dr. X know in no uncertain terms. I refused to give in to the monster. I didn't know exactly how, but I wasn't going to give up without a fight......and now Dr. X knew that too.

He did his utmost to calm the firey Irish in me, but it didn't work. Too late. I was already ablaze from the onslaught and ready for anything else he could throw my way.

And then it happened. Maybe it was his only defense to get me to calm down and lower my voice so as not to scare the other patients. Or, maybe it was his way of letting me in on a closely guarded secret when he said......

"Green tea."

"Green tea?......What?"

"Shhhhhh...." He didn't want others to hear. "Get some green tea" he said in a slow, heavily pronounced whisper. And with that revelation, as if letting me in on an elite secret code, in his own Sherlock Holmes way, Dr. X was out the door and gone in a flash.

So what did Dr. X really know about natural healing? What else did he know that he wasn't telling me? I'll never know for sure, but none of that matters now.

What's important, is that he gave me the key to open one of many doors that would ultimately lead me to discover hidden truths and greater understanding about natural healing that you don't hear about in everyday life....or in most doctors' offices....that natural healing works. Afterall, Mother Nature was here long before the factories were built that produced all those pills in my medicine cabinet.

And Mother Nature will still be here with all her natural healing wonders, long after they've turned to dust. But for now Dr. X, I have to say......"thank you!"