On Thu, 4 Mar 1999, Caryl Wattman wrote:

> Wow, Les, your message is very inspiring to me -- a user of a motorized
> scooter because of obesity and various complications of it.  I have been
> eating paleo since September and have not yet abandoned by scooter -- but I
> can move much better and am hoping to join you on a walk one of these days!

Hi, Caryl: Thanks for writing. I'm glad to hear you're feeling much
better. Yes, there's an important point to be found in my introduction.

80% of a stroke victim's recovery occurs in the first year. For me there
was none at all. That's when the doctors first told me that I'd likely be
in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Late last year, 2 1/2 years after
my stroke, there still had been virtually no recovery at all. That's when
yet another neurologist told me that there was nothing he could do for me.
HOWEVER, he did suggest that I might recontact him in "a couple of years"!

The fact that I now -- after adopting the NeanderThin diet (and elimi-
nating all aspartame from my life) --, against all medical odds, am ex-
periencing a spontaneous recovery from my stroke AFTER ALL THIS TIME,
gives _real_ hope to you and everyone else on this list, too. The doctors
are NOT gods. They do NOT have all, or even most of the  answers and some-
times they don't even have the right questions! They spend their careers
largely treating symptoms, not causes.  The other day, when I had finished
my mile walk, my initial rection was that I wanted to go back to the
doctor who first told me to reconcile myself to spending the rest off my
life in a wheelchair, and PUNCH HIM IIN THE NOSE!

It has been said that "What the mind can conceive and believe, it can
achieve". I think this is true. I can now see myself making a full re-
covery. I can also see YOU, feeling better, getting your medical problems
under control, losing weight, abandoning your scooter altogether, walking
again and leading a nornal life. Believe, Caryl. If it can happen for me,
it can happen for you, too.

Les Smith

PS: Twenty, or so years ago, Minneapolis had a GREAT restaurant called
Murray's Steakhouse. Alas, today it's just a fond memory. For Old Times
Sake, we'll take our walk past where it used to be, okay? ( On second
thought, Murray's used to be located near Hennepin Avenue. So if we
take our walk after dark, we'll probably have to RUN!)