My Story: How I Got Here
Meghan Telpner
Just three years ago I was sick, I was tired and I was so afraid that this was as good as it was going to get. I didn’t know how to cook, had done maybe a handful of yoga classes and was surviving on rice cakes and margarine. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that this is where I would be today, healthier, stronger and happier than ever before in my life- living a dream I never even knew existed.
I am now over two and a half years symptom-free from a disease that is believed to have no cure. As far as I’m concerned, I am cured. With the support of my family, and the help of my acupuncturist, yoga teachers, spiritual guides, friends, pure determination and a little sunshine and bicycles, I cured this disease. Without a doubt in my mind, I know that anything is truly possible.
Through my disease, I learned the importance of the simple things. I learned that without our health, we have nothing. I learned that a cute outfit means nothing if we feel like crap. I learned what true friendship was and I learned what it was to be well. These are the greatest lessons of my life.
It began in 2003, after graduating from university with a degree in fashion, I hopped on a plane with the intention of backpacking for several months around Africa on my own. I would joke that I was going to be a hippie in Africa with a fashion degree. My parents couldn’t figure out why I was going and kept saying that I was going to get sick. I insisted they had no idea what they were talking about. No matter how old you are, it’s always a little annoying when your parents are right and you are wrong.
I was sick from the time I got my vaccinations, before I even left. After ten weeks backpacking through Africa, I couldn’t handle the way I was feeling anymore and so I returned home. There began a three year nightmare.
I was working in advertising, and spending most of my free time trying to work out what was wrong with me. I was going from doctor to doctor and they kept telling me different things- IBS, stress, depression… I started doing my own research. I knew exactly what I had. It took half a dozen more doctors before I found one who would look past my teary and terrified eyes and take my complaints seriously.
A month later, in the summer of 2006, I was diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel disease that causes severe pain, bleeding, malnutrition and nervous system disorders. My doctor gave me a list of medications I could take and suggested I come back in a few months to discuss surgery. He said to me- “You’re young, have fun. Go ahead- eat your cheeseburgers and drink your milkshakes”. He told me there was not much I could do, that there was no cure for what I had and to just learn to live with it.
I couldn’t believe this was my life and that this was what my future was. At 26, I was looking at a lifetime of medication and surgery. Intuitively, I believed there had to be another way. I believed in my heart that if the body, mind and spirit received what it needed, health would be the inevitable result- that health and happiness were the natural birth right of all human beings.
Going against the recommendations of my doctors, I took a holistic approach to my healing. I quit my job, put my life in storage and moved down to California. While there, I underwent intensive acupuncture treatment, where six days a week for three months, I was turned into a human pin cushion. I made healing my full time job. I knew that if I was going to recover and be well, I had to believe that it would happen with every part of me.
From the moment I landed in LA, I was dedicated to getting better. Everything I did was for my health. I walked on the beach every morning and got around the sweet beach town of Santa Monica by bicycle. I went to yoga, meditated twice a day and ate only whole, organic food that I prepared myself. There were definitely times when I felt wholly overwhelmed by the burden and responsibility of what I was doing. I had taken total and complete responsibility for my health, and should this ‘alternative’ approach fail, I would have no one to blame but myself. I was terrified.
Should I succeed, however, I knew that I would understand the true meaning of empowerment.
I remained in high spirits through most of this time as I knew instinctively that lightness in my heart was integral to getting better. I did have bad days when I didn’t feel well and just wished to return home to my friends and family and be ‘normal’. I often felt overwhelmed by the burden of having to be mindful of every thing I ate, what I thought, how much I slept… There were times I felt completely alone, that no one could understand what this was like for me; no one could understand the fear I had that this would not work and that I would be sick and suffering the rest of my life.
I returned home three months later healed, vibrant, and happier than I could ever remember.
Two weeks following my return, I found myself sitting in a fundamentals of nutrition class, wondering how I went from advertising to nutrition school, working towards my certification as a holistic nutritionist. In December of 2007, I graduated with first class honors and was elected class valedictorian.
I now have the greatest job in the whole world. My job is to give people hope that they might live their best life possible, and provide the skills, knowledge and support to help them achieve this.
Meghan’s Making Love In The Kitchen blog…
- Posted by Guest Blogger on September 3, 2009 at 8:14 am
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Tagged as: acupuncture, healing, nutrition, Spirituality, whole foods
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I’m a huge fan of Meghan’s and have been since I found her website 6 months ago. I’m so glad that she guest blogged today! Two of my favorite things coming together! Having been diagnosed with a myriad of health problems – depression at 14, anemia at 17, and cancer at 18 (which came back at 20 and 21), among other things – I take great inspiration from her personal quest to heal herself. I think doctors do their best to heal you the way they’ve learned you need to be healed – but when you are given a “sentence” that has you taking meds and getting surgeries all your life, it’s just devastating. 9.9 times out of 10, it’s not the only answer. I hope that those practicing modern medicine begin to open their eyes to a more holistic approach. One that concentrates above all on prevention.
I highly recommend her videos and her blog. It’s become a daily addiction for me. I hope to make it to Canada one day to take a few of her classes or maybe attend a retreat!
Thanks so much!
Health/Wellness Blog: http://healness.wordpress.com
Personal Blog: http://samtaters.wordpress.com
You’re story is amazing and so inspirational! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks for sharing Meghan! You are my inspiration, I think about you everytime those acupuncture needles go in me!
I hope one day to be able to say I am cured from Crohn’s as well. <3
This is an inspiring and wonderful testimony to the wonders of yoga and health!
Blessings!
Jean
So happy to see Meghan featured today! She is a huge source of inspiration and support to me.
If you’re in Toronto, I highly recommend her classes. I had an amazing time meeting new people and cooking delicious, healthy food that was free of things that I couldn’t eat (As a result of also having Crohn’s, I eat gluten & dairy free and have recently gone vegan) Her enthusiasm is infectious and her journey has inspired my own.
Great post, Meghan! You are a true testament to the notion that hope and a great attitude, combined with a healthy approach to life, can heal pretty much anything. You’re a true inspiration!
Megan,
Thank you for sharing your story. I felt like I was reading my own.. replace ibs with cancer and a few details and there you have it. It is wonderful to be healed, know you have the empowerment to do it yourself and know just know that life can be more.. Little did when know that the doctors and specialist and programs would fail and sheer will some nutrition classes and years of work would suceed. Today I taught my second culinary arts class in ten years.. heavens.. and it was all about nutrition. Le Cordon Bleu did not begin with a lecture in gastronomy on healing cancer… but we did.. control and appreciation are miracles. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to viewing your blog and Keep on with the good work. Callie
Love this post and your blog – I am always so inspired by you, Meghan! I do hope you let that doctor know about your success (the one who told you to eat cheeseburgers and drink milkshakes).
Thank you for all your sweet comments. I never did get back in touch with that doctor. But life has a way of working out. Today I booked my first Family Physician as a client. She said to me, ‘The more I read, the more I realize how much I have to unlearn in order to achieve health for myself and my patients’. We are all getting it out there and getting through!
So happy to see you featured here Meghan… your blog and this one are my two must reads every day. I hope more people benefit from your blog after seeing your story here.
keep up the good work!
Michelle
Hi Meghan,
I too am a Crohne’s disease survivour, drugs/surgeries(3) and today I am radiantly healthy….because of a whole foods diet/vegan/gluten free and I am a passionate student od Ashtanga yoga. I too give workshops on how to heal with natures medicine, food!!! Keep up the awesome work and stay healthy!!
Thanks for your stoy, which is similar to mine!
It’s amazing to watch cause an effect in action!