Spain A.M. (67 years old, female)

〔Symptoms of rheumatism appeared〕

　The first symptoms of rheumatism first appeared in February 1983. At that time, I was 41 years old. It started with pain in my lower back and neck and spread to the instep of my left foot in September. I was working as a nurse in Stockholm, Sweden, but it was so painful that I couldn’t function well. One day, a doctor specializing in rheumatism diagnosed me with “rheumatoid arthritis” and prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug. I was really shocked when I was told the name of my illness. I have been in the medical field for many years and have seen many patients see how painful it is.
　Before my physical pain, I lived a very active life and commuted by bicycle every day on the 20km road to the hospital I worked at. I also had a lot of hobbies. I also liked to dance, do various exercises and walk almost every day. However, after the pain began to appear, I couldn’t do anything at all.

〔Severe pain spreads throughout the body〕

　In February 1984, my hands started to hurt and I could hardly work. I was divorced and lived alone, so I had a hard time opening cans and bottles at home. My 19- and 20-year-old sons didn’t pay much attention to my symptoms at that time. There was no change in physical appearance, so it seems that the boys didn’t understand at first that I was starting to get a big illness. Pain is something that only the person knows. Only those who experienced rheumatoid arthritis pain will know this pain.
　Eventually, my shoulders started to hurt, and the hospital prescribed a large amount of medicine. I was very scared at that time. I still have a fear of this medicine. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to laugh happily anymore, and that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Moreover, I was worried that if I took so many medicines, one day I would be hit by severe side effects.
　I met my husband in October of that year. My husband helped me with various household chores like shopping, cooking, and cleaning. Under such circumstances, I tried all kinds of therapies such as acupuncture, laser treatment, physical therapy, phytotherapy, massage therapy, and lymphatic drainage therapy. However, none of them had a good effect.
　Sweden was so cold that I couldn’t stand it, so I decided to move to Malaga, Spain in 1991, thinking of living in a tropical country with a comfortable climate. Since I came to Spain, I have been able to move my body in the pool. My living environment had improved a little, but soon I started to feel pain in my body. Moreover, the pain was getting more intense.
　In 2000, I felt strong pain in my neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, and right lower back. In October, the pain on the right side of my lower back became even more severe. In March and May 2002, I underwent reinforcement surgery on the right side of my pelvis. The bone pain at this time was unbearable.

〔Introduced to Okada Purifying Therapy〕

　In February 2003, Mr. B, an MOA member, introduced me to Purifying Therapy.
　When I visited the MOA Center and received Purifying Therapy for the first time after the examination, my body became very comfortable. It was a change that I couldn’t obtain for many years.
　After that, by receiving it three times a week, the pain in my fingers and lower back began to disappear little by little. Then, in March, I took an MOA enrollment course because I wanted to share Purifying Therapy to many people who were suffering like me.
　On June 1, I was able to enter the pool for the first time in a few years and was able to exercise in the water for about an hour. I can’t forget the joy I felt on that day. However, the next morning, I woke up with pain in my throat and body joints. I had a fever and vomited. I couldn’t move my body as I expected, so I managed to make a phone call and talk to my friend L, who contacted MOA. The therapists, M and A, rushed in immediately and administered Purifying Therapy at my home for about five hours.
　The next morning, I had no pain in my throat and my fever had dropped. The pain in my body was reduced by more than half. On that day as well, I received Purifying Therapy for two hours. For the next five days, I continued to receive it for one to one and a half hours every day. The therapy made my body much easier.

〔Purifying Therapy became part of my lifestyle〕

　What I feel as a change for myself is that I am more patient with pain than before. I am more energetic, and above all, I am more motivated to live. I became stronger mentally and my personality became brighter. I was also happy to lose five kilos.
　Now that my finger pain is gone, I can cook and serve my friends. In the past, walking caused pain in the hips, knees, and ankles, shortness of breath, and I couldn’t walk for several meters. Now, I can walk more than 200 meters without a break. I never dreamed that I would recover so much.
　I’ve tried various treatments for 20 years, but nothing has improved.
　And above all, my own purpose of life has changed a lot. When I was working as a nurse, I was able to help people with my own hands. However, after being recognized as incapacitated in 1994, I couldn’t help people at work, so I had to do something about it. Yet, after that, I was just spending days without purpose.
　From now on, it’s different. I would like to help people regain their health and lead a better life by administering Purifying Therapy.
　I think it is wonderful that Purifying Therapy is a health method that maximizes the natural healing power of the human body. With such a motive, I decided to qualify as a therapist because I wanted my friends and acquaintances, who are suffering from serious illness, to get better soon. And now, Purifying Therapy is an important part of my lifestyle.

〔Comment from therapist M〕

　When Mrs. A, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, visited the MOA Center for the first time, she had difficulty walking. She complained of pain in various places such as pain in the hip joint, knee and ankle joints, and shortness of breath. To be honest, her symptoms were so strong that I couldn’t say much to her. I just said to her, “Let’s just begin the therapy session.” I then administered Purifying Therapy to her. After the examination, Dr. C narrowed down the key points of the treatment and I concentrated on the cervical lymph nodes, crown, scapula, and kidneys.
　At the beginning, Mrs. A said that the pain subsided on the day she received Purifying Therapy, but the pain began to appear the next day. However, her pain was alleviated day by day. She said that 60% to 70% of the pain disappeared after two months.
　After that, she continued to receive Purifying Therapy. As the number of times increased, she was very surprised that the days when she did not feel pain continued for a long time. She also said, “Even if I have pain, when I receive Purifying Therapy, the pain goes away in a short time.”
　At the beginning of her visit (February 2003), Dr. C confirmed that she had 10 degrees of VAS, which is an index of pain, on both wrists, shoulders, and neck; but in April 2004, both wrists, left shoulder, right shoulder and neck had been diagnosed with no pain.
　Mrs. A didn’t like going out because she lived alone, but her personality became brighter and she was able to invite friends from the neighborhood to her house and serve food. Recently, she informed me that said that in addition to improving her joint pain, her eyesight improved and tinnitus has been reduced by about half.