RECOVERY STORIES

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Reports of those who have recovered from chronic illness
after training with Kate & Steve at the Rowan Centre

  "By the end of the course, CFS was a thing of the past"- Chloe

I was labeled with CFS in 2003, after failing to recover from a series of glandular fever type viruses and having suffered several bereavements. I learned a great deal from the illness, and after a year and half off work, pushed on through my PhD in spite of it, reaching a point where I was 'managing' it through a quiet lifestyle and balanced diet. However, I always remained sensitive and subject to sporadic relapses. After a bad relapse in Spring 2008 I suddenly felt that I had had enough and was ready to be rid of this awful this illness. I learned about the LP from my GP, who has seen several of her CFS/ME patients get well after doing the LP course. After reading 'An Introduction to the Lightning Process' and doing some research on the web I came to understand that I could get well again if I wanted to. I was struck by Kate Simpson and Steve Fawdry's understanding attitude and professionalism, and excitedly booked myself on an LP course with Kate in May 2008!

The course involved three days at Kate and Steve's wonderful country house, where I stayed in their cosy accommodation. As an eager group of four we learned how negative thought patterns can affect physiology and suppress our body's functioning, and then learned how to 're-program' more life-enhancing patterns. It was astonishing and an incredible joy to see others in the group get better, and especially one lady who couldn't walk at the start, but left her wheelchair behind after day one and did handstands in the garden on day three! By the end of the course I knew that for me, CFS was a thing of the past. I practiced the process for some weeks afterwards to reinforce my renewed wellness, and I still continue to use it for various things in my life, such as getting over colds and developing a more positive attitude to winter, which I used to dread.

These days I am working in research, running a life coaching business on the side, enjoying my social life and experimenting with exercise (e.g. cycling, dancing, roller blading) now that I am fitter.

I strongly recommend the LP training course to anyone who wants to leave CFS/ME or related illnesses behind, and would especially recommend Kate and Steve as excellent teachers and generous hosts!

Dr Chloe C-K.

 

  "The Lightning Process is amazing, it works very quickly" - Frances

"The Lightning Process is amazing, it works very quickly. I had M.E for 16 years on and off. I went from walking only a minute or two outside a day to walking for 30 minutes on my second day of the training! When I had M.E my husband did a lot at home, cooking, washing, shopping and only a month on I can do all of these plus I am driving which is a real freedom. I have started tai chi again which I love and can now walk for an hour or more. The other weekend I got on the tube to London, went for lunch and to an art gallery. I was walking around for a long time that day. It is hard work and I still have to work hard at it at times and I still experience some symptoms but I am confident that if I stick at it that these will go in time. My life has changed radically. I have started an art class and am writing poetry and am out 3 times a day (before once a day was an effort and I needed help). It is about so much more than recovering my physical health. It is helping me find the real me and allowing me to do the things I love. If you are truly committed to change and are willing to work hard I highly recommend it."
Frances K. (after 1 month)

 

"I was thrilled that there was no “counselling” approach!" - Sarah

Six years ago I was involved in a minor car accident – I was hit from behind. There was no blood,
no hospital, and no police – I was sore and just assumed I would get better in a few days. Things got worse and worse, and some days I was in too much pain to walk. I discovered that I was suffering from 3 separate injuries to my back – whiplash, mid back and lower back. A disc had slipped and I had part of it removed. Eighteen months after the accident I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, which was eventually fairly successfully treated with EMDR.

When I went to see Kate in the summer of 2008, I had to date seen 39 doctors/therapists/shrinks, some of whom had achieved small differences, but nothing lasting. I had all sorts of diagnosis along the way including ME, fibromyalgia and lyme’s disease. It didn’t really make a difference to me – it hurt and I was feeling miserable and unable to take part in the life I used to.

The Lightning Process had a huge and immediate impact on my life. I doubted that I would be able to tolerate the 3 days – I was in too much pain to sit through three days, and much too tired. But somehow I did, and the first evening even went for a long walk – something I hadn’t achieved for a long time. My self confidence was cripplingly low and the thought of speaking in front of the others was horrendous, but somehow Kate coaxed me through it. By the third day I was achieving big changes, and I went to see Mamma Mia that evening – I can’t even remember when I last went to the cinema.

I found that the Process dredged up unexpected emotions, and different memories which Kate guided me through. I was thrilled that there was no “counselling” approach. I have had so much therapy in the previous 5 years I am practically an American! An unexpected side effect was that
I found I was “happy”.

I have been very busy and active since learning the process, and have benefitted greatly from the excellent aftercare – something I was not expecting. Kate has been a wonderful support.

At the moment I have challenges to deal with as I have the court case hanging over me from the car crash 6 years ago. I have to constantly relive it and the horrors I have been through. However, I now have the confidence and knowledge that once it is over I can put the past behind me for ever.
Sarah

 

  "I have been able to go through the day without a rest" - Suzanne

I feel my life is changing and I am now doing so much more than I could, and planning for my future in a positive way.

I have been able to go through the day without a rest and am planning to do some voluntary work.

The Lighning Process has taken away the fear of yet another relapse after 20 plus years of poor health. I know that I am much more in control of my life now and that is a great place to be!

Staying with you and Kate for the three days training was a lovely breathing space in my life and although I was there to learn, the time also felt like a holiday for me and I thoroughly enjoyed your beautiful home and company. You have continued to be a fabulous support to me since the training and I have felt able to talk freely with you.

I have and will recommend you to anyone I feel would benefit from this excellent and ground breaking training!

Suzanne x

 

To talk to somebody who's been through similar things is a big help...

Kate has been a valuable source of support and inspiration whilst I've been going through the process of getting my life back on track - to talk to somebody who's been through similar things and got to the other side is a big help. Kate has a very calm and reassuring way about her, she's patient and understanding, full of encouragement and great advice and I'd have no hesitation in recommending her. She's great!"

 

  "My daughters have their mother back" - Jenny

Just to let you know that everything is great. I go to the gym 3 days a week and have continued to lose weight and last week had to get more new clothes!!! I have gone from 16 stone in August to 14 stone now. I go for walks which are 2 to 3 miles long at least once a week, I have done a 6 hour shopping spree with my little girl which I have never done with her - she thought it was fantastic. I do whatever I want now which is great. I use the Process 2-3 times a week at most.

The week after I did the training with you my parents had a bad car accident, and I had to help them sort things out and even had to spend the night at theirs. The Process was of great help in getting me through that.

For the past eight and a half years I have prayed for my severe M.E to go and to get rid of the awful pain. I had almost given up hope. I cannot thank you enough for what you have taught me and the tool you have given me to start my life again. My husband has his wife back and my daughters have their mother back. I would recommend it to anyone. It is worth every penny and more.

Best wishes to you and Kate, love, Jenny.

  One month later….

I am still going from strength to strength, I am really enjoying my life again and it is all thanks to you.

My husband's birthday is next week and other years I have had such problems getting him a card and present but this year I've already gone and sorted it out. It is fantastic to be able to do it, and I've also started Christmas shopping!

I've also joined the Christmas choir at our church so am going to rehearsals in the evenings, and last Tuesday I went to the theatre for the evening. On Wednesday I went to a ladies group and have signed up to go to a Christmas dinner in December, all things I have not been able to do for nearly 9 years.

  One month later....

May you continue your very good work and help others to live the life they love, just like I am.

I have loved being able to do my Christmas shopping, yesterday I did a HUGE food shop all on my own (heavy bottles, cans etc), it was fantastic. This week has been the best week of my life, I have been to Christmas dinners x 2, my daughters school evening carol service, a pantomime, a carol service, choir practice x 2 and tomorrow I am singing in a choir at our church. I AM VERY MUCH LIVING THE LIFE I LOVE, thanks again for everything.

Jenny

 

  "By the end of the first day, I'd done things I hadn't done for years" - Sue

Having read about the Lightning Process in our local newspaper and how it had helped thousands of people get well from ME, I just had to find out more about it. I telephoned Kate whom I bonded with immediately. She spent as long as was necessary on the telephone to ensure I was ready to undertake the training programme.

I was so excited at the opportunity to get my normal life back, it sounded unbelievable but somehow after talking to Kate and others that had undertaken the training, I was convinced I could be well again.

On day 1, I was a little nervous but so excited and keen to get going. I was totally committed to making this work and put every thing into it. By the end of the first day, I had done things I had not done for years.

On day 2, I could not wait to get there and continue the work. That evening, I was determined to
put in to practice what I had learnt, so my husband & I went for a walk. I was able to walk and stand, unaided for about 30 minutes.

On day 3, I had learnt how to clear the tiredness and felt fantastic, normal again. I found myself rushing around in the kitchen helping out just the way I always did before I was ill.

Having attended the programme in July 2008, I have been continually improving. Even my close friends do not recognise me and are amazed by my current capabilities. I have now walked 5 holes of our golf course, something I would not have even have considered I was capable of before attending the programme.

I can only see me going from strength to strength as I continue to practice the techniques. I received the usual MS (multiple sclerosis) advice of do what you can, rest when you are tired and generally pace yourself through the day. I now know from my experience of the Lightning Process that life can be normal and not lived under these restrictions which is totally wonderful!

A big thank you to Kate and Phil Parker, Sue (USA)

 

  "Infinitely kind and with a deep understanding of the Lightning Process"

I learnt the Lightning Process in November 2006 and immediately began my healing journey after 20 years of M.E symptoms. Along the way, Kate has given me a very supportive helping hand - she was at the end of the phone whenever I felt the need for further guidance, patiently enabling me to gain greater understanding of how to use this wonderful technique in my everyday life. Infinitely kind, and with a very deep understanding of the Lightning Process, Kate explained in a simple, straightforward way, the finer details, which enhanced my ability to practice the Lightning Process with great success."

Carolyn, Sept 2007.

 

  A carer’s view of her daughter’s recovery

Initially the Lightning Process seemed to be offering a miracle, however I was very apprehensive.
My daughter had been suffering horribly with M.E for 18 months and I had been caring for her
full-time.

We both read as much as we could about the Process. Clare talked to Kate and was encouraged to talk to others who had used the Process too. In the days leading up to the first session I was both nervous and excited at the same time. I tried to remain positive for Clare’s sake but I was also very afraid of the possibility of failure and the effect that would have.

The morning of the first session arrived – a day that will live in my memory forever! The carefully rehearsed journey went fine even though I was feeling anxious and scared. Leaving my fragile daughter was not easy. There then followed a nerve-racking few hours before it was time to pick her up.

I really had no idea what to expect after the first session, but to my surprise Clare didn’t want the wheelchair and instead walked to the car. Once back home, she suggested we walk around the block – not a huge distance but previously a walk to the bathroom was the limit for her. There was more to come. I expected she would go to her room to rest, but no, she made me a coffee! Was this all too much too soon?

The following sessions were just as amazing and by the end of three days it did seem as if the miracle had happened. However for Clare it was lots of hard work doing the mental and physical exercises required. I soon realised that the way to support her was to give her space and to be an unobtrusive presence, quietly there for her.

From a carer's perspective the dramatic and speedy effectiveness of the Lightning Process although wonderful, did leave me at a bit of a loss and for a while it was a struggle coming to terms with not living as Clare’s full-time carer. For so long that had been my sole focus in life and now very suddenly everything changed and I needed to adapt back to my previous life.

Now 10 months on I am happy to say Clare is leading a very full and happy life. Her determination and emotional strength has been an inspiration and certainly helped me put the bad M.E time in the past and look forward to the future and a normal mother/daughter relationship.

Sue, Clare’s mum

 

  The Lightning Process has completely changed my life

From being bed bound to now living a healthy and full life. Kate has been an inspiring guide and amazing support throughout and has helped me realise my full potential. Kate has a very kind, friendly, caring and calm nature and her approach is thoughtful and intuitive. I really can't thank her enough and would recommended her to anyone.

Both Kate and Steve provide a very warm atmosphere at their lovely home in Wrentham and I always find it such healing place just to be there - set in beautiful Suffolk Countryside.
Helen P.

 

  The MS doesn't control me anymore, I have taken control of the MS...

I heard about the Lightning Process a few years ago and thought that those who had done the training programme to get a new start in their life were very lucky.

After 10 years with MS I was open to anything that could make my life better. When a doctor told me about Kate’s experiences with MS patients there was no doubt. I had to see her as soon as possible.

Now, three months later, my life has totally changed. I have started my study’s again, and I’m thinking about going away to study for a year, and I am making plans that I wouldn’t have dared to consider three months ago.

If I’m getting any symptoms I use the Process. If I’m having any negative thoughts I do the Process. The MS doesn’t control me anymore. I have taken control of the MS!

Stian
(Norway)

 

"I was very sceptical. I thought it was a load of rubbish" - Julie

Firstly, the biggest thanks and gratitude to Steve and Kate.

MY HISTORY
I have had a life which has been very stressful and not very easy - I have had more than my fair share of difficulties. I had three children before the age of 21 and brought them up as a single parent for 4 years. I met a guy who wanted to marry me and adopt the three children I had, my life changed for the better, we had another child between us. In 2000 my husband was brutally attacked and left for dead with massive head injuries. I was advised to turn of his life support which I refused as my children were not happy for me to do this. He did start to wake up but the hospital he was in was not caring for him very well. His best mate and I decided we would take him home and get him back to health which we did with a lot of hard work and determination; sadly in 2006 his best mate who had been our rock was killed in a road traffic accident and died of head injuries.

M.E
In January 2007 I was taken into hospital with pleurisy and pneumonia and was quite poorly. This left me with lots of health issues that no one was able to diagnose. One doctor told me to start smoking again as it was just withdrawal from nicotine so sadly I did. I was put on a cocktail of different drugs and the doctors ran lots of tests from simple blood tests to MRI and CAT scans, still no true diagnoses was to be had. In September 2007 my husband took me to a private specialist as I had deteriorated a lot more. I was still trying to hold down a full time job in the health care sector as a senior carer which was hard. The diagnoses was M.E I did not agree with this as I was under the impression that such an illness did not exist. In January 2008 I had to leave my job. I managed to get a part time job as a cleaner but this only lasted a few months. A friend of mine gave me a leaflet for the Lightning Process and I was very sceptical. I thought it was a load of rubbish but she herself had made a full recovery from ME on this programme.

AFTER ME
I went on the Lightning Process training programme in December. Now two months later my family cannot believe the difference in me. My daughter said “ I had a 'mem', now I have a mum again” which sums it up, I have been getting better every day by using the Process and feel good about the life I now have. I have been applying for jobs since the beginning of January and next week I start as a nursing auxiliary which is the job I have always wanted. My life is back on track and the future is looking excellent now I have this fantastic tool that I have been taught to use. My thanks go out to Steve and Kate for helping me to get my life back on track and getting the life I love and achieving my goals
Thank you, Julie

  After the training I just jumped straight back into life....

Before I did the Lightning Process I suffered with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I had the illness for nearly three years and went through a range of different symptoms. The illness affected my life in many ways. It stopped me from going to school, left me with a non-existent social life, caused me physical, emotional and mental pain, it basically put my life on hold for three years.

I decided to do the Lightning Process in December 2008 as I was determined that 2009 was not going to be another year full of tiredness, pain and longing to be better. I filled in the application forms, sent them off and Kate called me at the beginning of January. I told her I wanted to do the Process as quickly as possible, to which she told me there was a training course in two weeks time.

A week later my mum and I went to meet Kate; we talked for what seemed like ages.
Kate explained to us what would happen in the three days and that my mum could sit in with me as I was under eighteen. There and then I decided to do the training course a week later, to me there was no other option; the Lightning Process had to work.

A week later and everything had changed; the experience is hard to explain. It was like a light could be seen in this tiny black room I had lived in for the last three years and I could see my way out. Finally I started to feel the best I had in ages, I had a few problems with getting rid of one symptom and then having a new one but I battled through.

I was lucky to be with a wonderful group of people taking part in the training and we all helped each other through. We drew strength from one another and could identify with each others problems. It was quite funny really that on the second day we all had stomach aches. From what we worked out, it was our digestion systems working properly for the first time in ages. It was nice to know we were all going through similar things after so many years of feeling so different.

After the training I just jumped straight back into life and haven’t stopped since. I’ve just got back from three weeks in Cyprus which were amazing, I finally felt like a normal seventeen year old girl.

I am currently deciding what I am going to do in September about colleges and sixth forms and also working towards getting my driving licence. I am determined not to waste one more minute of life.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kate and Steve and to tell you if you’re reading this trying to work out if you should go for the Lightning Process, all I can tell you is that it worked for me and that miracles really can happen.

Amy

 

  The improvements snowballed and continue to do so to this day.

Before the Lightning Process I had suffered from M.E. for over 10 years - since I was 13.
The severity of the illness fluctuated over that time but I was never well enough to go back to school (other than for a couple of hours a week during 6th form) or to get a job. I was often in severe pain and needed a 2 hour sleep in the middle of every day in order to get through to bedtime.

I attended the Lightning Process course 5 months ago and those three days and the weeks afterwards were actually some of the most difficult times I have ever experienced. Whilst the process itself is incredibly simple, the effort required to put it into practice is huge. A lot of tears were shed and at times I had to deal with both my brain and body screaming at me. It would have been very easy to give up but I am so pleased that I didn’t.

Eventually, with perseverance (and great support from Steve and Kate) things started to improve.
It wasn’t always obvious and there were definitely instances of one step forward, two steps back
but things were getting better. Once the LP started to kick in the improvements snowballed and continue to do so to this day.

I am now looking for my first job – part-time initially, it’s important to take these things a step at a time – and my general fitness is increasing. The past few months have been brilliant: I’ve been sight-seeing around Brussels, joined a gym, gone ice-skating and thrown myself round bouncy castles with abandon! Going through the Lightning Process was not easy but it was totally worth it. The results speak for themselves!

Jenny A.

 

  "My husband had never known me well" - Cristie

After pushing myself too hard at work I managed to contract two viruses one after the other that left me with chronic fatigue syndrome. At it’s worst my 86-year-old Grandfather was lapping me around our local country park. The illness dictated my career, my social life and everything revolved around energy levels.

Fast-forward five years and although much improved there were relapses and life still wasn’t my own. After finding a leaflet on the Lightning Process I called Steve. His knowledge and understanding of CFS gave me the confidence to book on once he had checked that I was ready for LP. He suggested that I contact previous participants and their recovery stories sounded remarkable.

My family were encouraging so in August 2008 I attended a LP seminar. The three-day course with Kate was a dream. Kate and Steve are so welcoming and the atmosphere so relaxed that although there was work to do it felt like a holiday. On day one I was still up and doing at 11pm, on day two I paddled in the sea and day three I cycled over for the session. Normally scared cycling on roads I used the process and surprised myself.

After the course my family couldn’t believe that the me they had only glimpsed over the last five years was back. My husband had never known me well and is getting used to a full of beans me and the changes it’s making to how far we can walk, where we can go on holiday etc.

With a recent house move I used the LP to remain confident that it would run smoothly and keep focused when challenges arose. For me its all the extra uses I have for LP that makes it special. My life is back and so I’m making the most of it. The move has given me the perfect opportunity to look at my career and decide what I would really like to do rather than what my illness would have let me do in the past. I can’t speak highly enough of the LP and how it has helped me change my life. I’m so glad I picked up that leaflet.

Cristie M.

   

  "By the end of the course I felt a lot better" - Suzanne

I caught glandular fever when I started my A levels which made me quite ill. After that I never fully recovered and would get ill all the time and spend a lot of time in bed. At this time I was competing at a high level in sailing which I suddenly couldn’t do anymore, It also stopped me going out and having fun with my friends. I was told that I would have to plan and take into account being ill.

I was told about the Lighting Process in the summer of 2008 and thought that it would be worth trying. I found Steve and Kate on the internet and applied. When I arrived I was welcomed in, which helped as I was nervous. I was amazed at how much the Lighting Process helped me just on the first day, when I went home I was able to do some things that I hadn’t done in ages, like reading my book before I went to bed. By the end of the course I felt a lot better and I have acquired some skills that have not only helped me get over being ill but have helped me to be more confident. It worked for me but throughout the course it became obvious that you have to believe in the process and yourself and it takes work to keep well.

I found Steve and Kate very helpful not only during the course in answering questions but afterwards keeping in touch so I always feel like help is there if I need it. I am now in my second year at university studying Mechanical Engineering and I run all the ladies sailing for the university. I have also found that I can do lots of other things like running again which I feel is a real achievement.

Suzanne A.

 

  "I have my health, happiness and love" - Hayley

I was a bubbly bright energetic teenager, till the age of 16 when I was hit by a bad dose of Glandular Fever and related Hepatitis A. Following a stay in hospital, I was unable to enjoy life with my friends but left at home too weak and in pain to do simple tasks such as dressing or brushing my hair. I lost over two stone in weight and struggled on a daily basis. Years later I learnt this is where my M.E/CFS originated from. After several months of rest, I returned to college where I could manage classes only. No socialising with friends in the evenings and most days I even had to come home for a nap at lunchtimes.

Fortunately through ’pacing’ techniques and perseverance I was able to go to university where I studied Tourism and travelled across Europe, and worked and studied abroad. Later I did an MA in Human Rights. Whilst I was lucky to be able to do these things, life was still hard at times and every few weeks I was forced into spending a week in bed, exhausted and simply feeling ill with severe flu like symptoms.

Three years ago, my health took a massive drop. I had recently started working as a trainee social worker and living in a new area when I caught mumps followed by a kidney infection. I never seemed to get better. Over the coming months, I was forced to remain in my bed. Some days I had no energy even to clean my teeth and my words slurred when I tried to talk. Living was hard work both mentally and physically. My body ached all over, my mind was in a spin unable to think or feel anything. Why me? What had I done to deserve this?

Initially the doctors diagnosed me as having depression, which was frustrating as I knew this wasn’t the case. Eventually, nearly 11 years after I was first unwell, I was diagnosed at St James Paget hospital in Great Yarmouth as having M.E/CFS. Over the next two years I learnt to adjust to a new way of life, living with my parents again, unable to work and reliant on a wheelchair for trips out. Days consisted of sleeping and the odd TV show! What would I have done without the lovely ladies on Loose Women for company! I felt like a little child again and totally dependant on my family for help and assistance.

Slowly, in the last year I started to improve and could manage more activities, I even joined a social club to meet new people and have some fun again…but still I wasn’t being me and living life how I had hoped.

Things all changed 3 months ago when I did the Lightning Process with Kate. I had heard bits and bobs about this new training programme for people with M.E that changes your life and after chatting to people that had done it, I knew it was for me. In the weeks waiting to do the course my excitement grew and grew and was worse than when I was 3, waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Day! Naturally I had a few worries, what was involved, could I do it and would it really make me well? There was no need for worries though, Kate and her partner Steve welcomed me into their home and along with 5 other remarkable women we began our journey into wellness together.

Over the three day course we were taught a simple technique that creates new pathways in the brain and hand on heart I can say it’s the best thing I have ever learnt.

The evening of the first day of the course, I went for a walk along the beach and drove my car for the first time in years. By the end of the course I felt like a teenager again. I went in as a caterpillar and emerged as a butterfly ready to experience life. The first few days I was waking up at 5 am and bouncing out of bed, going for walks, swimming and shopping trips with my mum were brilliant.

For the first time in years I was waking up and feeling fantastic.

In the last 3 months that have followed my life has changed dramatically. I have recently moved to Bath to be with my new partner Steve. I am volunteering at the library, reading stories to little children and hope to start work again in the new year. I have even joined a gym, go swimming and to aerobic classes each week. But it is the simple day to day living that I love the most. I can now do the washing, cook dinner, do the housework and go shopping like everyone else. I can wake up and see the sunrise and go to bed after midnight! I can go dancing and drink wine, go for walks in the country, talk to people, read a book and simply be me again! I strongly recommend the Lightning Process to anyone who has M.E/CFS, without it I wouldn’t have a future, now all my dreams have come true - I have my health, happiness and love.

Hayley

   

  "I’ve been full of energy since day one" - Anita

I had glandular fever in 1993 and quickly learnt to manage my energy levels. I suffered from occupational stress in 2007 and was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) in early 2008. As a result I had become increasingly less effective at home and work. Looking back I was just about surviving life rather than living it. Although during 2008 I built up to playing squash occasionally or go walking, I wasn’t able to live the life I wanted to and invariably ended up doing only 1 thing I loved at the weekends to allow me to work full time.

In late August 2008, I saw a newspaper article and a leaflet about the Lightning Process (LP) and thought ‘Wow, I’ve got to try this!’ I studied the internet and noticed LP was based around NLP. I was really encouraged by this fact as I had first hand experience that ‘this stuff works’. I rang Steve and Kate straight away and they explained the LP could help me sustain that feeling of being ‘well and alert’ which I had previously experienced in June.

I attended the LP course in November 2008 and I’ve not looked back since. I’ve been full of energy since day 1; tackling all sorts of jobs in the house that I’ve not been able to face doing for years. I had this immediate urge to tidy anything that I noticed was laying around! I play squash, go to the gym and walk whenever I want to. I’m now reading books and playing the piano again. The ‘Life I love’ continues to improve month on month. My work colleagues and family have noticed a big difference too.

Anita W.

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Other Lightning Process Recovery Stories

  Esther Rantzen writes about her daughter's recovery

SAVED FROM A LIVING DEATH Daily Mail, Feb 2007

Emily sounded so jubilant when she rang me today that my heart lifted as I heard the energy in her voice. "I've had the best morning!" she said.

For 14 years I have watched her struggling like a fly in a web while the sticky strands of fatigue paralysed her. Now at last I can say it: Emily is well.

But the years of illness and disability have taught us both lessons we would rather not have learnt: about trying to keep real hope alive, keeping false hopes at bay and coping in a world that is all too often blind, deaf and uncaring towards disability.

My daughter's illness had crept up on us with a seemingly gentle gradualness. I would rather it had struck hard and quickly, then at least the medical world might have taken it seriously.

At that time chronic fatigue, ME, was widely derided as "yuppie flu", and I admit that I, too, had thought it was a cranky disorder.

When I saw my once active, energetic daughter walking heavily upstairs, and struggling to get off a sofa, at first I put it down to teenage lethargy. Now I know better, I can date the onset of the fatigue. It was triggered by a brief bout of glandular fever in 1992 when Emily was 14 - a common enough illness in young people, but she never fully recovered.

She went back to school after a week or two, but from then on she was overcome with a tiredness that sent her to sleep in the library or at the back of the class.

She took herself to the gym to try to force fitness back into her muscles. It had the reverse effect; she told me the staircases in the school buildings began to look nightmarishly like mountain ranges to her, she couldn't face having to climb them.

She went to the school nurse, who "counselled" her, mainly about the depressing effect of my career on her emotional health. Emily argued with the nurse, and never told me. I would have left my job in television instantly if Emily or I had thought the school nurse was right, but this didn't look like emotional depression to us.

Indeed, emotionally Emily was amazingly stalwart. During the next two years she had longer
and longer periods off school and in bed, missing out on two-thirds of her education, but she still managed to catch up on her own so that her grades at GCSE were a perfect clutch of A-stars.

Once again, looking back, I realise that effort was the last straw. The next term she collapsed,
and left school permanently.

At this point our GP referred her to a neurologist, thank heavens. Had we been referred to a psychiatrist, as many ME patients are, I might have come under suspicion of abusing her, been diagnosed with Munchausen by Proxy, and told that I was deliberately causing my daughter's
illness myself.

It may sound far-fetched, but I have met families to whom that has happened, and mothers who
not only had the anxiety and distress of a child's illness to deal with but the hideous experience
of having to defend themselves against accusations of abuse.

When a child's illness baffles the medical profession they sometimes look around for someone to blame, and mum is often the nearest and easiest target. I have campaigned on behalf of parents and children who suddenly found a care order slapped on their sick child.

I've heard of terrible scenes when screaming children were torn from their parents' arms and locked in closed psychiatric wards. I know of one father who went to prison rather than allow that to happen to his son.

Luckily our consultant neurologist was one of the few at that time - this was 12 years ago - who recognised ME as a genuine illness, and told us that Emily was a classic case.

There wasn't much he could do, and he was quite honest about that. He told us that nobody knows what causes ME or how to cure it.

He put her on a management course - to increase gradually what she could do - which she stuck to heroically, alternating two-hour periods of activity and rest all through the day.

But in spite of all her efforts, I watched the illness take over her body. She became hypersensitive to light and noise so that she had to wear earplugs and sunglasses constantly, and we lined her curtains with blackout material.

She lost the capacity to walk upstairs, so we installed a stair lift. When she was unable to walk at all, we got a wheelchair for her. In the end, she spent all day in bed, eyes shut, earplugs in. I used to come home from work and run to her room. She was sheet-white, and her limbs were cold.

Desperate to try and find a way to keep her positive about the body that had become her prison,
I would massage her legs, which felt completely lifeless. ME is not officially a life-threatening illness, but this was a living death.

We soon realised the lack of recognition had led to a stigma being attached to the illness. A local GP told me that ME was simply a malingerer's charter.

Another GP confided to me that he couldn't admit to his colleagues in his own practice that he was suffering from (less severe) ME, because he knew they would lose confidence in his sanity.

To try to counteract this prejudice, we were asked by the ME charities to go public about her illness, and Emily agreed.

Instantly we were inundated with letters from other patients and their desperate families. They told us of being sent away from GPs' surgeries with a pat on the head and a bottle of antidepressants. (Emily also had very low dose antidepressants for years, to cope with her dreadful insomnia.)

They told us that local education authorities refused to allow children with ME to have tuition at home and that husband and fathers with ME were refused benefits.

And because the illness had always been denied funding for research, the quacks had swept in. They wrote to us about a thousand different "infallible" cures: cold water baths; aloe vera drinks; oxygen at night; dowsing; feng shui; vitamin transfusions; magic crystals.

We were advised to put Emily on a sugar free, wheat-free diet. We were visited by a "white witch". I was told to rearrange all our furniture along the ley lines in the earth, to pick up mystic vibrations. We were sent copper bracelets and amulets, and a dozen self-help books.

We were grateful, but far too sceptical to believe in - or spend money on - these "miracle cures".

I know other families who have bankrupted themselves chasing nonsense around the world, and I understand why.

Watching someone you love being slowly overwhelmed by a terrible illness with no possible treatment or cure is heartbreaking. When that person is a beloved child, it is unbearable.

My way of dealing with it was to stay stupidly positive. It was unrealistic and irrational, but time and again I would reassure Emily: "You will get better, I know you will."

She'd always trusted me, but this was a step too far. "How do you know, Mum, how can you be
so sure?"

The truth was, I needed to be sure, for my own sanity.

Our neurologist told me: "I keep expecting her immune system to click in." But it didn't. At one stage he took her into hospital for six weeks, where they put her on a "baby steps" regime, teaching her to endure one minute more each day with the curtains open, to write one more word a day, to take a single step each day, and very slowly build up her strength.

It worked, a little. When she came home she was able to sit for a short time in a chair, and eventually get back to her wheelchair.

I remember watching her flop into it like a rag doll. I saw her fall back on her sofa, face deathly pale, eyes rolling upwards, as if in a coma, and those images will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Step by baby step she improved enough to drive with me around the suburbs to see the spring blossom, or on short trips to the country, anything to get her out of the house, her prison. Often she would spend the drive with earplugs in and her eyes shut. Sometimes she was swept with gusts of despair. I remember her screaming in my face: "I just want to die, Mum. Help me die."

I wonder whether I will ever experience anything worse than hearing that howl of pain from
my daughter.

Still in her wheelchair, she tried to involve herself with activities with her friends. And although they were brilliant - so supportive - her illness made Emily terribly isolated and lonely.

I remember one birthday trip to the theatre. Not only was it difficult to find a show in a theatre with good wheelchair access, when we reached our seats we discovered the stage was almost invisible, they were so far to one side, and the wheelchair was blocked by a parapet. We also discovered that most restaurants have steps which make wheelchairs tip at a dizzy angle, that doors are too heavy to push with a wheelchair to propel in front of you.

It was an education. A year ago, watching my daughter beginning to flag again, I realised that Emily's fatigue was getting worse. By then we had taken out the stairlift, (what a wonderful day that was), and given away the wheelchair.

It had taken a long time - six years - but by pushing herself every day, step by step, Emily had got herself to the stage where she could walk. She'd even managed to sit her A-levels and was offered a place at Oxford.

At last Emily had begun to share my implacable optimism, and believed she might have a normal life like her old school friends, with a job, and parties and independence at last. So I watched in horror as her old pallor began to return, and with it, the tiredness.

When I held her hands they were icy. As I watched the fatigue remorselessly overcome her, and she lay on the sofa each afternoon, and struggled to get up each morning, my heart sank like lead. I had seen all this before. Would we have to install the stairlift again and bring back the wheelchair?

Six months ago we heard about the Lightning Process from Jill Moss who founded the Association for Young People with ME (AYME) and had seen it work well with a member of her family.

As explained in Good Health last month, The Lightning Process is based on the theory that ME is an illness that affects the body's capacity to deal with adrenaline. This is the hormone the body releases when stressed - in people with ME the levels are abnormal, and they need to "train" their brain to normalise the body's response.

The first step is to tackle the thoughts that trigger the stress reaction - halfway through a negative thought they have to tell themselves to stop. This stops the stress response, and in theory creates new connections in the brain, stimulating the production of endorphins - feel-good brain chemicals.

At £600, the course - in Crouch End, London - wasn't cheap. But Jill doesn't believe in miracle cures any more than I do. She thought it was worthwhile, so Emily, now 28, enrolled. It took three days.

On the day after Emily finished the course I went down to our kitchen and found she had got there before me. There was a sparkle in her eyes I hadn't seen since she was 14. I asked what had happened. "I've done the Lightning Process about 30 times since I got up," she told me.

I continued to watch her all morning. Every few minutes she would talk to herself, coaching herself to withstand the fatigue.

It's a process that takes effort, and I understand that it doesn't work for everyone.

But with joy and relief I am now confident the Lightning Process has worked for Emily. After six months she has started a job, working with children. She has a full, active social life.

I can give up being irrationally, stupidly positive and optimistic, because now, at last, I have a
good reason.

Emily is well.

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  Kate Simpson's own recovery story

This is the full story of my experience of the Lightning Process and is probably far too long-winded for most of you to read, but I have put it up here in case there are some people with fatigue based illnesses, suffering with horrible physical symptoms, who are looking for a detailed account of how the LP could possibly make any difference.

I have tried to explain how it was to go through the training despite feeling unsure, afraid and exhausted, and come out the other side getting well again. I urge you if you are investigating it, to ask as many questions as you need to, and keep your mind open to new ideas, so that you too can have the opportunity to get well and love your life. It is so worth it!

Before M.E.
I had years of stress before M.E For over four years, my young son didn't sleep through a single night, so I was severely sleep deprived. It soon became apparent that our child was a bit different. ADHD was later diagnosed, but at the time we were living with an anxious, distractible, hyperactive, non-sleeping little person who literally climbed the walls like a caged animal. I was also trying to cope with trauma issues from my own childhood, building a house and earning a living. By the time our little boy was 3, I was getting lots of illnesses and eventually collapsed with pneumonia.
M.E.

I didn't recover. After nine months of advice from several different doctors and lots of tests, I was casually told it was probably M.E. My level of disability wasn't as severe as many, but I couldn't work anymore (I was a children's book illustrator), couldn't be a proper Mum, couldn't eat, sleep or think like I used to, or have any kind of 'normal' life. I struggled with the constant draining fatigue, the head fog and lack of concentration, memory loss, sensitivity to noise and movement, balance problems, muscle pain all the time (fibromyalgia), migraines and long-term dull headaches, hormonal problems, mood swings and awful periods, panic attacks and hallucinations, insomnia, digestive problems, nausea and vomiting, stomach pains, bloating and diahorrea (IBS), fevers and chills, and a lot of depression.

My partner Steve did lots of childcare, all the housework and shopping and held down a part-time job. He kept our lives ticking over brilliantly but was often very stressed (amazingly we are still together). On my best days I could take my son to school, or do a bit of gentle pottering in the garden, or socialise with a friend, but these were rare highlights that always took a while to recover from afterwards.

The Lightning Process
I was lucky to be told about the Lightning Process by someone I knew and trusted, who'd had first hand experience of seeing the results, and who I knew wouldn't give me false hope. But despite that, I was still sceptical. How could there be a cure out there when everything I'd been told so far was the opposite?

Nothing I'd heard or read about M.E gave me any hope of actually getting rid of it. I was resigned to management and coping strategies like pacing, diet, meditation and stress-awareness, which all helped but didn't cure. I couldn't understand at all how something I could learn to do myself could change all these physical symptoms.
I was scared. What if I did get better, would everyone think I hadn't had M.E at all, that it was all just in the mind? What if I was too tired or dim to learn this technique? And worst of all, what if I got my hopes up and then they were dashed. I had spent years feeling hope-less, trying all sorts of alternative therapies, so how could I bear it if I tried and failed, I'd rather not risk it. And of course I was afraid of relapsing. I'd had one bad relapse, what if doing this led to another - I might end up worse. And the money. How was I supposed to find that kind of money from the low income we struggled to live on?

I talked it over with Steve and other M.E sufferers who knew people who'd got better with this technique, and read all the testimonials on Phil Parker's website, over and over again, looking for clues. I felt re-assured when I found out it was all to do with repairing the immune system.
In M.E and many other illnesses, the immune system isn't working properly, which is why we get a full set of different and confusing symptoms. When we learn the Lightning Process we learn how to stop the dysfunctional adrenaline production that has suppressed the immune system. This allows it to work naturally again, as it was only suppressed, not permanently damaged. (which is a well accepted part of fight or flight research). So then the body can clear symptoms very quickly. The Lightning Process is partly based on Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). We literally learn how to change the neural pathways in the brain that send messages to other parts of the body, to break the link in a chain reaction and create new ones. It all started to make some sense, so I borrowed some money, was given some more by wonderful parents and booked myself in.

The Training Sessions
In the first session I found out all the details of how my body wasn't working and how I could change the way it worked by doing the Lightning Process at certain times. It was quite an eye-opener but no more difficult to understand than a primary school biology lesson. There were a whole series of steps to go through to understand it all before actually learning the technique. I was amazed by the end of it to see how simple the LP seemed.
It involves a series of movements and postures combined with particular words, that you learn to do and say at times that are personal to each individual. Visualisation techniques are also a part of it, and you learn how to change certain feelings or reactions to different feelings or reactions. All of these things together are what change the neural pathways and start the healing process. I tried it and was a bit awkward at first – it felt like reversing a car using the wing mirrors or brushing your teeth with your other hand. It just took a bit of practice to get things right.
I had worried all the way through that I was getting too ill or tired to continue, checking symptoms continually. But after the four hour session, I walked out feeling strangely OK and quite light-headed. So I went shopping!

As I used the technique in the shop, in the car, anywhere I was, and at home later, I could feel it was definitely doing something - I hadn’t collapsed. That night I slept OK but woke at about 5am the next morning and just wanted to get up to do things! I did things gently all day, like gardening and playing with my son - no big rests, no relapse, just using the technique a lot and feeling quietly, strangely confident. I was in tears by the evening though, having a set back, thinking I couldn't do it and getting very distressed. But talking it over, staying calm and just being kinder to myself was what got me through it and then I carried on.

Session two was learning a bit more about the LP, refining the technique and ironing out any problems. Session three was quite quick and dealt with returning back to ‘normal’ life and how to use the LP to help do that.

By the seventh day the last irritable bowel symptoms were going and I didn't have M.E anymore. I was so happy, whizzing about and quite tricky to live with apparently! I had thrown myself into it, didn't give up too often and got quick results. Some people I've spoken with since had the same approach, but everyone's different, and others take a more gradual route to success. What has become crystal clear is that it's a job of work - if you do the work you get better, but if you don't, you stay ill, it's as simple as that.

There was back up coaching on the phone and after two weeks I settled down and started to get myself a bit more balanced having realised that I was very de-conditioned, and had no fitness, strength or stamina after spending years on the sofa. I had to look after myself a bit better but I could happily start re-habilitation and exercise because I felt OK afterwards. No relapse or fatigue, just very stiff muscles after so long out of action.

Life after M.E
I then started gradually getting my life back. Domestic tasks were now possible and became a pleasure. Being a normal Mum was a delight and my son soon spotted that I didn’t live in a dressing gown anymore. It was such a pleasure to hear him so surprised that it was me taking him to school or football, instead of Dad. Poor Steve had to quickly get used to an opinionated woman again after years of peace and quiet! The changes happened so quickly that it did take a bit of effort for all of us to adjust. I rarely think about my M.E anymore, and I don't need to do the Lightning Process to stop it coming back. It's gone.

Life is not all plain sailing though as we all know. There were reasons why I got ill that needed addressing and there have been big issues I have really struggled with since leaving M.E behind. But I know how to look after myself now and I have used the Lightning Process many, many times to change my whole life for the better. I found getting more help was invaluable and knew that I couldn’t work a miracle in a three day training. It’s remembering to use the LP when challenges come along that makes all the difference. I can now honestly say that some things about having M.E are a blessing. I learned a lot and I am now so much happier than I ever imagined possible.

Negative Opinions
I now feel passionate about helping other ill people get out of the awful situation they are in. It’s a lonely place to be and if I can be a part of their journey to wellness, I will have done something useful in the world. Now I have done the Diploma training and Lightning Process training with Phil Parker, I have become aware of many more stories surrounding it. They are mostly fantastic and uplifting, but some are not so good. So I think it may be useful to be aware of the negative opinions. Firstly, there are a few people who don’t understand how the Lightning Process works, who pour scorn on it, and us for trying something new. That can be painful especially if they are members of your family or friends, so it is good to get plenty of information about it to figure out how you feel.

Also it has taken the medical profession decades to decide M.E. exists because they don't fully understand it yet either, so it will probably take decades more before the LP is available on the NHS. Which means we have to pay for it ourselves and it is is a hefty lump sum to find when we are often too ill to work. It’s a tricky problem but practitioners have to make a living just like anyone else, and I personally felt it was worth the fee a million times over by the time I got to day three and was feeling better.

There are also blogs and websites where you can read lots of negative stuff about the LP, but most people who criticise it havn’t actually done it, so don’t really know what it is all about. I think it’s more useful to base an opinion on facts not prejudices. For instance, on day three of the training, at least 95% of participants are getting well. That’s an amazing success rate, but it’s just the beginning.

Participants still have to keep doing the Lightning Process after that to allow their body to clear their symptoms. If they don’t, they won’t get the improvements they want. There are a few people who do stop using it effectively and think ‘it’ doesn’t work. But the LP is a skill, just as learning to walk was when we were little, so it is up to us whether we succeed or not. If we had stopped trying to put one foot in front of the other at that crucial moment, we would have never mastered the skill of staying upright. But because we just kept trying till we got the result we wanted, we walked. Likewise, when we do apply the LP in the same persistent way, the results are fantastic. And of course we can get help if we trip up, or need to understand more.

Help and advice may be necessary, but ultimately if we don’t apply the LP persistently, it won’t work and becomes a waste of time and money. This makes it unique in that it is not like any other therapy or treatment. I think it is this aspect of it that has led to some negative opinions from people who don’t fully understand or accept that it is not the Lightning Process that works, it is US. Thankfully the LP is not very hard to do, and we only have to do it till we get the results we want, because then it becomes automatic, the same as walking did when we learnt to do it, all those years ago.

Recommendation
To anyone considering doing the Lightning Process I would say don't waste anymore time - life is too short to be stolen away by illness. Using the Process works, it's not a miracle, it's just clear, logical and quick.

Every new discovery has to go through a period of assessment, which is right and proper and there are two pilot studies underway in the UK and Norway. But it may be years before proper funding is raised to do full clinical trials, so to make a judgement about the LP’s effectiveness, all we have to go on at this stage are the results seen so far. In the last ten years over 10,000 people have got well, and nothing I have tried even comes close to it for effectiveness and speed of recovery. If any of this makes sense to you, just pick up the phone, speak to people who have done it and check it out.

Thanks
I am eternally grateful to the people who helped me, taught me and supported me and I am also glad I didn’t let my own doubts and fears hold me back, because now I love my new life so much, I have to pinch myself sometimes. I have been very lucky. I hope you found it useful to read this far and I would welcome any feedback on this or the rest of our website.

Warmest wishes Kate

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We think it is a good part of your preparation to talk with other people who have completed the Lightning Process training programme, so if you don't already know someone, do call us and we can put you in touch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kate Simpson and Steve Fawdry are advanced  Lightning Process practitioners who run the Rowan Centre, in Suffolk, East Anglia. 
These are just some of the towns that clients have come from. Ipswich, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, Hertfordshire, London, Lowestoft, Norwich, Chelmsford, Colchester, Newmarket, Clacton on Sea, Harwich, Felixstowe, Sudbury, Stowmarket, Great Yarmouth, Cromer, Swaffham, Downham Market, Kings Lynn, Thetford, Diss, Bungay, Beccles, Wisbech, Spalding, Peterborough, Huntingdon, Ely, Boston, Bishops Stortford, Harlow, Woodbridge, Braintree, Halesworth, Saxmundham, Leiston, Aldeburgh, Southwold, Oslo and Bergen in Norway, Portsmouth, Staffordshire, Lincolnshire.