It isn’t every day that you come across a bright, beautiful 26-year-old, who hasn’t lived a normal life for almost a decade. So when Ekta came to me, I saw her twisted fingers, her bent spine, her lack of energy, and my heart went out to her.

Ekta has Scleroderma, a rare auto-immune disease classified as a group of rare diseases that involve the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues. As per doctors, for unknown reasons, the immune system turns against the body, producing inflammation and the overproduction of collagen.

Her Scleroderma is classified as Reynaud’s Phenomenon, where she had an exaggerated response to cold temperatures or emotional distress, which can cause numbness, pain or colour changes in the fingers or toes. Plus she had severe acid reflux, making it difficult for her to enjoy most foods and absorb nutrients. Since the age of 16, she couldn’t do normal tasks that teenagers her age took for granted – like walking with energy, playing, sitting on the floor, sleeping in the a/c, seeing clearly (as her vision was affected) and eating some of her favourite foods.

Ekta came to me last November with all the symptoms in place, and was being treated by doctors with medications that were harsh, suppressing her immune system, and causing damage to her stomach lining (hence increasing her acid reflux), kidneys and liver. Her first email to me was heart-rendering:

“My name is Ekta Thakur, I am 26 years old and reside in Juhu, Mumbai. I came across your website some days ago and could completely relate to your sufferings caused by RA. For the past 8 years, I have been suffering from a disease called Scleroderma. It’s a mixed connective tissue disease.. and yes an Auto-immune disease 🙂 I was diagnosed only after a year of suffering, going through rounds of almost eight doctors.

I am on allopathic medication since then, I have steroids and painkillers. I also went for physiotherapy for 7 months initially and now I try to do some stretching and breathing exercise at home. 

My body is restricted in many ways, I have not sat on the floor for past 8 years, I cannot even squat and a whole lot of actions which even a kid can do that I can’t. I am living with it..  but there are times when these thoughts just get to you. I am sure you understand 🙂

By going through your story, I do see a ray of hope & I wish to see myself getting back to normal. I would like to visit your clinic this very week and get advice from you.”

Today, it’s been 6 months since Ekta came to me. She walks tall with confidence, has knocked off a few inches and looks like a wonderfully charming normal 26-year-old. Her boss tells me that he has seen an amazing difference in her energy levels and how positive she is. Her symptoms are receding slowly. An autoimmune disorder this severe and this rooted (8 years), takes a year to go. But Ekta’s determination is ensuring that she follows the diet, does her exercises, has even started walks (where a normal day would fatigue her!), her acid reflux is minimal now, and her blood reports are a big difference from Nov 2013, when I began to treat her. At her age, to see so much discipline, when everyone around her is partying and doing the pizza-pasta-chocolate-alcohol binges, is not just commendable, but an example of a brave, gritty girl who can conquer it all with just her spirit and determination. She recently went on a holiday to Dubai, and could do and enjoy most things any girl her age will, including going to an ice bar (this for a girl who couldn’t stand sleeping in the a/c)!

And her last email to me left me in tears.

“When you tell your story and it doesn’t make you cry, you know you have healed!!! 🙂 And I write this with full confidence, which I had lost way back, almost a decade ago, when I had just begun my teenage years. I was a girl full of aspirations, aiming for higher academic goals.

But destiny had some other plans. My body was in such a pain that I had to drag myself to the board exams and I had to drop a year after that… visiting innumerable doctors, trying out all kinds of medications but to no avail. Doctors couldn’t diagnose early on, asked me “what was wrong with me” .. giving me a blank look.

Finally, I was diagnosed with “Scleroderma” by a well-reputed rheumatologist, who gave me the good dosage of painkillers and steroids, which I must admit, made my life a lot easier and full of energy! 🙂 And I was told that this disease is incurable, that I will be getting more stiffness as I age and will be a cripple and bed-ridden one fine day! So the only way to control was to have painkillers and go for physiotherapy! I felt like I was already living the life of an 80-year-old at 16! 

I have been on painkillers and steroids for a decade now, and it’s only last year that I came across Rachna’s website. I just happened to read her story, and as I was going through it, my heart ached. I felt like I was reading my own story! I finally found a ray of hope. I met her, understood the entire procedure and followed it like a sincere patient!

The diet is restrictive, but it makes you feel so pure, so fresh and high on energy that you just don’t feel like binging on junk food! I have been on this diet for 5 months now and without any allopathic medication.. no pain killers, no steroids, no paracetamol 🙂

My pain has reduced considerably, my stiffness has to reduce to almost half and I believe I would be all normal again by following this diet for more than 6months 🙂 Impossible is really nothing!

Thank you Rachna for guiding me throughout, I have got back my confidence and I am really aiming to get this ailment out of my system totally! I believe I will one day, be able to sit on the floor, make a fist, clap my hands and do all other things any normal person would! 

And I will definitely come to you and show it to you. 🙂  I am a changed person now. Thank you once again! 🙂

Love,

Ekta”

Impossible is nothing, really, when you see amazing people like Ekta. I never gave her any medications, just changed her diet and lifestyle and increased her immunity. And today, her confident, energetic gait is my biggest reward. Thank you, Ekta, for being YOU.