The Moral of the Story

Cindy Trane Christeson

“What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of life.” --

Emil Brunner

“Never give up hope. There is always hope,” Barbara Bowie said to me at a

brunch that we both attended last spring. When I first saw her that day,

I did a double take.

The last time I had seen Barbara, she was in a wheelchair. The time

before that, she was using a cane. But at the brunch it clearly was

Barbara and she clearly was walking effortlessly. And she was walking

toward my husband, Jon, and me.

She came over and greeted us with a warm hug. She obviously saw the

surprise in my eyes.

“I know, I’ve gone from a wheelchair to the dance floor,” she said with a

big smile.

We only had a chance to speak briefly that day, so we talked more at

another time on the phone.

“I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 35 years ago by my father,”

Barbara said. “And I’ve been looking for some means to reverse the

effects ever since. I knew curing MS wasn’t possible, but I had to do

something.”

Barbara tried all the traditional forms of medicine, but she continued to

gradually lose mobility, to the point of needing to use an electric

wheelchair and a cane.

“I didn’t dress myself for years. I couldn’t even hold a coffee cup. I

was perfectly helpless,” she explained. “One thing God helped me with was

that I was never bitter. I always knew God had a plan, I just didn’t know

what it was, but I knew to pray.

“Someone suggested that I try a personal trainer. I figured I might as

well, since I’d tried everything else,” she said. “I told the trainer I

wanted to learn to walk.”

Three years ago Barbara started working out in a local gym, using

machines and resistance training equipment. Not only did her body get

stronger, her enthusiasm grew as well.

“My personal feeling about MS is that it can be as much a crippling

mental disease as much as a physically debilitating disease,” she said.

Barbara’s prayer, persistence and positive attitude have paid off.

“It’s been a wonderful transformation. I just want to give people hope,”

she said.

Besides giving others hope, Barbara has also given people the opportunity

to work out in a new gym in Costa Mesa.

“My enthusiasm for this wonderful method of reversing the crippling

effects of MS led me to open up my own fitness center in July,” she

explained.

The center is for anyone who wants to exercise, but several of the

clients have MS and are improving.

“I get so excited about that,” Barbara said. “People call me from all

over the country and I’ll talk as long as they want to because I know

they’re as desperate as I was. I want them to know God has a plan for

their lives. I tell them not to give up. If I can do it, others can

too.”It’s exciting to see how God has used Barbara’s experience to help

others. It’s also a great reminder that we should never underestimate the

power of hope.

And you can quote me on that.

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks frequently

to parenting groups. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]

or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505, Newport Beach 92658.