Determination helps man find nature’s cure

• Dawson native Joseph Wilson shares how a healthy lifestyle helps him deal with multiple sclerosis.

Ashley Hindsman

ALBANY — Of all the results Joseph Wilson thought his doctor would return with, he never expected to hear multiple sclerosis.

He had always assumed he was a healthy man, but after four years of putting off seeing a doctor about his inexplicable stumbling and about two months of testing once he finally decided to get himself checked out, he couldn’t believe he was dealing with something so serious.

“Never had I experienced a major illness in my 40 plus years,” said Wilson, a Dawson native in a phone interview from his Atlanta financial services company.

He said he had no prior knowledge about the disease and didn’t expect to also hear that he was far into the muscle deterioration stages.

“I knew not a thing. In fact, they were like, ‘You have to start taking these drugs now,’ ” Wilson said. “I was stumbling all over the place. I was losing control of my muscles and I didn’t know it.

“I couldn’t walk without stumbling,” he added.

Eight years after his diagnosis, Wilson said he now lives a healthy and physically active life and explains how he does so in his self-published book, “How I Rebuilt My Immune System After M.S.”

CHECK IT OUT TITLE: How I Rebuilt My Immune System After M.S. AUTHOR: J.L. Wilson PUBLISHER: iUniverse PAGES: 92 AVAILABLE AT: www.iuniverse.com or can be ordered at the Albany Mall Books-a-Million

In the book, he explains how changing his entire lifestyle, from the food he ate, the amount of sleep he got and his general attitude about life, helped drastically reverse the affects of his multiple sclerosis.

“It took about six months. I saw a difference in two months, but every month I noticed a difference. The tingling was gone and I noticed my walk was better. I walk with a strut now,” Wilson laughed.

He said he became interested in finding a more natural approach to his disease after dealing with the side effects of his medication and the fact that he had to inject himself with his medicine once a week.

“I was like everybody else, I was scared of needles,” he said. “Plus, it had bad symptoms. I would have bad headaches afterward, I had to take eight Tylenol during my down time of the week.”

Wilson said he began reading studies and personal stories written by doctors who had seen the natural approach to multiple sclerosis work, and began to modify his daily routine to fit their suggestions.

“From there I started reading and trying things like vitamins and natural supplements,” Wilson said. “I saw so much stuff that made total sense as far as what I should do. I was so thrilled to know that everything that I had read about was happening to me.”

He said once he began noticing a significant change in his health, he threw away all of the medicines and other supplements he had ever purchased.

“I was so confident that I had rebuilt my immune system that I didn’t need it anymore,” Wilson said.

In the book, Wilson said his medical turnaround was so drastic that even his doctor told him to stop using his prescriptions until they ran more tests on him to make sure he was healthy.

Though he hasn’t been sick at all since he began his self-rehabilitation, Wilson said he refuses to deviate from his daily routine.

“I’m too afraid not to,” he said. “I’m afraid of going backwards. I fear if I don’t do those things, I’ll get sick,”

He said he makes sure he eats enough servings of fruits and vegetables and drinks enough water every day, and that he walks every morning before he goes to work. He also works out at least three days a week, gets at least seven hours of sleep at night, and tries to maintain a low stress level.

He also said keeping a positive attitude about his situation played a huge role in his good health.

“You have to have a never-say-die attitude,” he said. “My family has always had a great attitude. That wasn’t ever a thought of mine to sit there and just whine.”

Wilson also said his family and clients have noticed such a drastic change in him that they have decided to live healthier lives.

“At first, they looked at me like I was a freak,” he said. “They are seeing so many of their friends getting sick that it is changing their whole attitude.”

Wilson said he also gave away copies of his books to his clients during tax season. Wilson said he is working on writing other books about naturally treating diseases, like an update on his health after five years of treating himself and a book about naturally treating kidney disease.

“It wasn’t just the M.S. (multiple sclerosis.) I was always inquisitive, thinking what else can I do. I want to do something natural that cures everything,” he said.

Wilson said he hopes to keep being living proof that there are ways to get around having to take medicine for illnesses.

“I have had no headache, no sickness, not even a cold in five years, so I know something is right here,” he said.

“I’m not going to say I’m invincible, but as long as I eat right, exercise daily and do the 10 things I need to do daily, I know I’ll be OK,” he said.

Wilson said he does, however enjoy teasing his co-workers and family when they get sick.

“I tell them, ‘Breathe on me and I bet you I won’t get sick.’ They are always surprised when I don’t catch it.”