Naturopath helping Bolton woman with MS
By ALAN LICZYK Staff Reporter

Theresa Anderson

With the help of a naturopath, a Bolton woman with multiple sclerosis hopes to get back to where she once was with her health.

Theresa Anderson, 41, started seeing her naturopath in December who is giving her alternative methods to medicine. She put Anderson on diet restrictions, telling her to eat chicken, turkey and fish, and to avoid dairy and glutone which promote inflammation.

"I hate fish, but she got me on to eating fish," she said.

Her naturopath has had MS herself for 23 years and she suspects hormones may play a part in the disease.

Anderson has noticed a difference in the three months since she started the diet.

"I think it has helped a little bit," she said.

She first started having symptoms of her disease when she was a teenager. She was experiencing numbness in her trunk and legs. Then in 1985 her right hand was paralysed for four months. Her doctors suspected she had MS, but diagnosis was difficult at that time. More symptoms cropped up over the years, but it wasn't until 1995 that she was officially diagnosed when she had an MRI done.

Her disease, however, didn't hold her back from attaining the career she always wanted.

"I wanted to be a teacher since Grade 2," she said. "There was nothing that was going to stop me."

She went to York University and obtained a faculty of education and faculty of arts. She's been working at a high school in North York for 16 years, first as an English and French teacher, and now as a guidance counsellor.

In April 2003 she suffered a setback in her health when she had a major exacerbation. She began to have difficulty walking.

"I had to use a cane," she said. "I use it for long walks now."

She was taking a medication called Rebif at the time, but she still had the exacerbation. She stopped taking it after a year because she was having side effects.

Anderson had to go on disability for 16 months before returning to work in September 2004. While she was off work, she finished her qualifications to become a guidance counsellor. She had actually started her courses in 1993 at York University and then finished them online on her computer in 2004 through Queen's University.

"I always wanted to be a counsellor anyway," she said. "I love it. I love my job."

She currently works from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. While being a guidance counsellor isn't as physically demanding as being a teacher, she still finds it tiring. She has 70 kids she provides counselling to, all of them in Grade 9 and having special needs. For example, some don't function in language or math as well as others.

Anderson's husband of 15 years, Andy, said she is always advocating for the kids.

"She really wants to stick up for them," he said.

The couple have lived in Bolton since 1997. They weren't able to have children of their own.

Anderson has no family history of MS. She has three sisters, but none of them have it.

She is now taking another medication called Copaxone which she researched. It comes in a more natural form and has no side effects. She asked her neurologist about using it and he agreed with her going ahead. She has five areas on her body that she injects with the Copaxone, but she only injects one area daily and rotates the injections to a different area the following days. The injections can cause bruising. She sees her neurologist annually at the MS clinic at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

Some of the things Anderson can't do anymore because of the MS are play golf or take yoga with the general public. She is able to do Pilates at home using a video and she can go walking if Andy helps her. She also serves as a eucharist minister at Holy Family Church in Bolton once a month on Sundays at 12:30 p.m., but she can only do it for 10 to 15 minutes.

She's very involved with the MS group in Bolton and has done administrative work the last five years for the local Zehrs Super Cities WALK for MS. This year's event will be held Sunday, April 15 at the Caledon Community Complex in Caledon East.

Anderson also facilitates a group of 15 teachers who have MS. They meet four times and year, and her naturopath will be coming to their meeting in April to speak. Their union is trying to spread awareness of MS in all school boards across Ontario.

"Yes, we might have an illness, but we can still function," she said.

She added her prognosis is very unpredictable. She needs to be aware and take the rest when she needs it.

"I hope I get better actually," she said.