To help keep all of you inspired, we ve asked some

remarkable individuals to share their raw food stories with you. Enjoy!

(Today's "My Raw Story" is also a special installment for our

Diabetes Awareness Week!)

I want to warmly thank Wendi for allowing me to share my healing journey with you. Over 42 years ago, at the age of two, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Those days were truly the stone age of Diabetes control. My care consisted of a single injection every morning delivered via a glass syringe that my Mom boiled every day for the next day s use. The dietary guidelines my parents were given were simply to not give me any sugary foods. They were not given many guidelines in terms of how many non-sugary fats, carbs or proteins I was to be given. There was no such thing as home glucose meters to measure blood sugar levels in those days, so they had to guess to figure out when my sugars were low and I needed to be given something containing glucose. They could easily tell when my sugars were high because I would become very lethargic and grumpy and my cheeks would become neon-red cheeks. In spite of knowing my sugars were high, they were never told to administer extra insulin to get my sugars down to a normal level.

As the years progressed, I am very thankful my parents never let my diabetes stand in the way of anything I wanted to do. I attended many overnights at friends? homes, went to summer camp, and did everything any other child would do. I did have frequent low blood sugars, some of which were so low I even had seizures, and I also had extremely high sugars that caused nausea or vomiting on some occasions. It wasn t until the 1980s that glucose meters became readily available. Until then, glucose levels were estimated with urine tests which were very inaccurate. I was in the hospital multiple times due to uncontrollable high blood sugars until I got my first home blood glucose meter. As an adult, I took meticulous care of my diabetes and did everything possible to maintain perfect control. In spite of having Diabetes, I had a beautiful son in 1994 and a beautiful daughter in 1995, neither of whom had complications, and I lived a fairly normal life. However, throughout the years other problems began appearing. In 1995 my Thyroid gland effectively died. My doctor claimed he had never seen Thyroid levels that low in anyone who was still breathing. (Gee, thanks, doc!) Around that same time, I began experiencing debilitating fatigue in spite of being on replacement Thyroid hormones. I also began experiencing severe, alternating constipation and diarrhea, my weight fluctuated by as much as 30 pounds every few months, I developed severe hypertension, and my joy for life began to disappear in spite of having two beautiful babies and a life filled with many blessings.

Around that time I developed a passion for herbs and natural healing, but I was too fatigued and busy to apply what I was learning to myself. I first heard about raw foods in 1997 and played around with raw foods in varying degrees starting then. I never went 100% raw and I was never able to stick with a raw food regimen for very long. My health continued deteriorating. By 2001, I was almost completely bedridden. I was on 16 different prescription medications but still felt

horrible. I had been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and had such severe neurological symptoms (slurred speech, inability to walk without stumbling or falling, lack of balance, etc.) that I was incorrectly diagnosed with MS three times. My blood pressure continued to skyrocket; my resting heart rate was over 130 beats per minute; I had food allergies to more than 12 different foods; I had GERD so badly that I vomited multiple times every day; I was clinically depressed; I had environmental allergies to dust, mold and multiple pollens; I had chronic sinus infections that kept me on mega-antibiotics for over 15 months straight; I had chronic insomnia in spite of being exhausted all the time; I had chronic edema in my legs that caused severe pain; I had frequent boils; I had orthostatic hypotension that would cause me to black out if I stood up too quickly; and I weighed 180 pounds. My fatigue was so bad that if I took a shower I had to lie down for four-five hours after that because standing up for that long completely exhausted me. My husband passed away that same year, which sent my health into an even deeper tailspin. I was painfully aware that my kids needed me to be 100% healthy both physically and emotionally more than they ever had before.

That began my journey to better health. I began researching herbs and other alternative healing methods with a new dedication. I devoured everything I could get my hands on and determined to commit everything to memory. I started my own business making all-natural, organic soaps, lotions and skincare products so that I could support my family and still be able to rest when I needed to. Although raw foods kept coming to mind, I was convinced that I didn t have time to switch to that diet and that I didn t have the energy to make those foods. I don t beat myself up about it, but I often wish I had taken the plunge and gone 100% raw back then.

I continued studying as much as possible and began getting certifications to equip me to help myself and help others. Through the years, by using herbs, natural supplements, and making better dietary choices, I was slowly able to reverse many of my health issues and to lose a considerable amount of weight. However, I still battled hypothyroidism, very brittle diabetes, and frequent fatigue that interfered with daily activities. I was overjoyed to have lost about 40 pounds, eliminated my allergies, hypertension, GERD, etc., but was often frustrated that I didn t feel better. I still played with being raw, and was around 25-70% raw in varying levels throughout 2007-2008. I finally decided that it was time to stop ?playing? at being raw and that on January 1, 2009 I would go 100% raw, vegan overnight. My impetus for going 100% raw was the movie Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days. Seeing that movie finally convicted me to not only go 100% raw, vegan but to also follow the strict dietary guidelines that Dr. Gabriel Cousens outlines in his books Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine and There is a Cure for Diabetes. These books encourage those with Diabetes to completely avoid all fruits, mushrooms and other foods deemed ?mycotoxins? for a minimum of three months. I ve now been on that program for over four months and can personally attest that the healing benefits of this program are immense.

To date, the healing I ve experienced includes:

• A reduction in daily insulin intake from 70 units/day down to 4-8 units/day. I was able to take off my insulin pump forever and now simply rely on 1-2 injections of very small amounts of insulin on a daily basis. My insulin needs continue to drop and I KNOW I will be completely off insulin before June of this year.
• My Thyroid gland completely regenerated itself and I no longer need any form of medication.
• Adhesive Capsulitis (frozen shoulder) in both shoulders spontaneously healed and I regained full range of motion and no longer have any pain.
• Tendon damage that I sustained when I wrecked my motorcycle two years ago completely healed. I d been told this damage was ?permanent? and that I would require Cortisone injections on a regular basis for the rest of my life. I had been unable to write because holding a pen was so painful, but now have zero pain and full range of motion in both thumbs.
• My blood pressure runs a steady 90/70 even when I m stressed.
• My resting heart rate has dropped to around 80 beats per minute without adding additional cardio, which means my heart will beat 16 MILLION fewer beats this year than last!
• I have ZERO PMS and my periods have shortened to about two days total.
• I fall asleep without any problem and sleep more deeply than I have in years. I also only need about six hours sleep per night to feel fully, wholly rested.
• I am filled with joy every day and have a level of peace and love that spills over into every area of my life. I also have a closeness to God that is profound and incredibly deep.

Switching to a 100% raw, vegan diet completely transformed my health and my life. It not only transformed my life, but also impacted my husband s life. My new husband, who is the most wonderful man in the world, also went 100% raw, vegan after seeing the amazing healing I received. He shared that he d struggled with feeling helpless through the years we ve known each other because he felt so helpless as he watched me battle my health issues. After seeing my miraculous healing and reading several books on the raw food lifestyle, he went 100% raw vegan as a means of supporting me. (Tears are streaming down my face as I write this.) He has stuck with it and is also experiencing healing in amazing ways. Our goal now is to join forces to continue teaching others about the raw food lifestyle and helping them find the healing God desires for them.

I m mortified by the before and after pictures that I provided, because they don t show the real me very well. I never wear a dress, yet these pics were the only ones that provide a good example of how much better I look now. LOL ? the ?after? pic makes me look like the church lady. I promise I m not that uptight in real life! That was the only picture I had available! I was a size 6 before going raw, and weight loss really wasn t a goal. I have lost about 10 pounds, but the most amazing thing is that my cellulite is disappearing. I used to have softball-sized lumps of fatty scar tissue on my thighs, called ?fatty hypertrophy,? that I developed because I gave my insulin injections in the same spot over and over again when I was a child. Those huge lumps are disappearing. Mainstream medicine claims there s nothing that can be done to eliminate fatty hypertrophy short of liposuction. I m living proof that they are wrong.

My sole goal in life now is to encourage and teach other diabetics on how to eliminate Diabetes using raw foods. I currently work with many raw diabetics, am conducting research about Type 1 Diabetes and raw foods, and am writing a book that will provide nitty-gritty, day-to-day advice for diabetics living the raw food lifestyle. I am incredibly humbled and blessed that I will be sharing the message of eliminating Diabetes with raw foods at the Raw Spirit Festival in Arizona and possibly in Maryland. I also hope to be sharing an update from Dr. Gabriel Cousens, as he is unable to attend the Raw Spirit Fests this year. I invite you to contact me if you have any questions. I can be reached via any of the methods below.

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You can find out more about Pamela Reilly by visiting the following links:

WEBSITE: http://www.goodworkswellness.com

BLOG: http://rawvolutionaryhealing.blogspot.com

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/rawhealer