There will be examples of interesting medical stories, from which we can learn and share knowledge. Here's a rather remarkable case (they won't all be this sensational!).

Why is that such a big deal? read on...

One of the most moving stories of my entire medical career was a woman called Susan (her real name). She was 39 years old when she came to me. Her parents had read about me in the newspapers, talking about improvements despite brain damage, and wondered if I could help their daughter in any way.

Susan was indisputably mentally handicapped. Susan had the mind of a child. She could not read or write; she could not count or deal with money; she was a danger to herself in the kitchen, since she was extremely clumsy and forgetful – the sort of individual who might overlook lighting the gas and blow herself up, or forget that dishes from the oven are very hot could cause serious burns. She couldn’t even be allowed to cross the road unaccompanied, for fear of her safety.

But that was all about to change.

Just a few weeks into my Food Allergy Plan (then a book of that title), exactly as I will share with Wholesome Living Letter subscribers, Susan “woke up”.

In her own dramatic and moving words, she said “I just woke up one day and I was here!”

I find it hard to comprehend what that must mean for a woman of almost 40, whose life had been uncomprehending up to that point.

Not that she settled for moping about the lost years.

Susan began learning to read and write; she could count; she could go shopping on her own; she understood money and could obtain the correct change; she wanted to paint and live life to the full.

Her wonderful story was told and retold in the press, most notably by the German-based magazine Bella, under the banner “Prisoner No More”. The double-page spread began with Susan’s remarkable words, which I will quote unaltered:

“This morning I tied my own shoelaces – tied them into neat little bows. And I did it all on my own – without any help from Mum or Dad.

“You probably think that’s no great achievement for a 39-year old woman but, believe me, it’s a very big step and I feel terribly proud.

“You see for most of my life I have been classed as “mentally handicapped” and even the simplest tasks were well beyond me.

“Although I could see, hear, smell, taste--- I simply couldn’t understand what my senses were telling me. The messages were all jumbled. So the world passed me by in a confused, bewildering blur.

“It’s only in the last few months I’ve come out into the real world – and it’s fantastic.

“I feel as if I’ve been reborn or, at least, released from prison after serving a long harsh sentence.”

I could tell even the hard-nosed journalists were really gripped by this drama.

Susan’s allergies, when we had discovered them, were beef, dairy products, wheat and tomatoes. Of course she had been fed dairy products from birth and in any case had met all four foods in the womb. Susan was born off-center because food reactions developed before she even drew her first breath. In her case the target organ was her brain.

Here was a salutary case where over 95% recovery of brain function took place. Let it be a solemn warning to all, what sad stories may be out there, of people doomed to inadequacy because of unsuspected reactions to humble everyday foods.

Long afterwards I used to love getting the scrawly letters Susan wrote me. Possibly the deepest moment of all between us was when, on her final visit, she asked if she could work for me and help others in a similar predicament to hers: “I can answer the phone and write things down!” she said proudly.

It takes a lot to render me speechless, as friends and family will confirm, but at that moment the lump in my throat was so big I couldn’t answer. I just trusted to a hug.

(Susan and her Mom, photographed for Bella magazine

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