Multiple Sclerosis in Indonesia
Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis in a country it rarely exists
While I am doing quite good process in my head and strength and flexibility in my upper body, a recent strong cold (as I call it) or “flu” (like local people call it) tied me to my bed the last two weeks and forced me to interrupt my “learning to walk again”-program.
Just some minor and shaky steps in the backyard for the beginning. But hey, its a start, right? Slowly I try to teach my legs how to carry my body again.
As I experienced last week on the backseat of my OJEK-driver: I am doing okay and getting better, but I am far from being the old me already.
I followed a quite good and slow yoga-video for Multiple Sclerosis and doing the unused poses for the first time was freakin´hard and I bursted out in sweat and losing my balance.
Can somebody show me a shortcut, please?
Its hard and definitely not easy, but I keep on learning. This morning I tried to “run” again and realized very quick (to be more specific “at the first step”) my body seems to have forgotten how running works. So I decided to give me and my body more time.
Quite often I feel like a new born baby and before a baby can run, it needs to walk. So I keep on trying. Walking without the support of my walking-stick was a good and important decision.
I am constantly analyzing and trying to improve. 4 days ago I started a rather convenient but new point to my longer and longer daily schedule. I started walking in the mornings. Just 15 to 20 minutes, but without my longtime companion “the walking stick“.
I learned much about the importance of walking and realized I didn’t walk anymore since… well, since I am here. Its too easy to just jump on my scooter, taking the security of walls, pressing against trees and so on…
When I watched a youtube-video about the benefits of walking, I started to understand. Why my left side is loosing its balance so often, why my left side is generally weak, why the muscles on my left leg were decreasing more and more. I guess it was all because I didn’t use my left leg. To me the answer on most of this all lies in my not-walking.
Since 15 months I am here in Bali now. I left my safe European home, left any medical support I could get in Germany, hung out strictly with local people to learn from them why Multiple Sclerosis basically doesn’t exist in Indonesia and how to fight my disease.
I am about to move to the rather remote island of Sumba in July and this are the facts helping me so far the most: