Lady living a miracle
Judith Ann Norton, a previous sufferer of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Parkinson's disease, claims that she's now cured of both without any medication. She spoke to Carla Gatt about her only source of therapy - gardening.
Hi, I'm Judith Ann Norton and I'm a miracle!" A fair lady clad in a black dress with sparkling blue eyes and a silvery white short crop stood up and held out her hand as soon as I entered the hotel lobby.
Ms Norton, a previous sufferer of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Parkinson's Disease, now claims she has been cured of both thanks to gardening. "Doctors say it's a miracle. I say it's gardening. I've taken no medication. I think that if you intend to be well you will actually be well!"
Born in 1942, Ms Norton believes that she first started suffering from ME in 1985 when she was living in America with her husband, a Polish film-maker. She was unhappy there and had started suffering from stomach ulcers. "I had previously been to Monument Valley, Arizona and followed training there as a weaver." So after her marriage fizzled out, she returned to Ireland and set up her own company, the Eager Weavers. They made a range of clothing and had their own workshop and retail unit.
She remarried at 36 and in the course of the following 10 years, she was very productive as she was training weavers under the Foreign Agcricultural Services contract, working for the UK Kent social services, and was also growing organic vegetables and herbs to sell in the Dublin markets.
Keeping busy, however, seemed not to reap the benefits expected as her health started deteriorating once again and she was suffering from muscle pain as well as exhaustion. Then her father passed away in 1994. That same year she suffered a stroke when she collapsed with Parkinson's. In 1995 her second marriage ended and in 1996 she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, an ME-related illness. She was by then afflicted by increasing agonising pain in her muscles and ligaments and felt constantly fatigued.
"Eighty per cent of people who suffer from ME are women and for me this is all stress-related. Most of the time these women are surrounded by men who do not support them in their lifestyle and their life choices."
She then went to see a rheumatologist thanks to a friend who paid the bill. He prescribed lots of sleep and exercise but in 2006, things started to go wrong again. Her surroundings were of no help and Ms Norton found herself withdrawing from life. She was sleeping 13 hours a day, and had gained three stones. She became desperate. In a last bid to save her life, she called the Samaritans and told them that she was ready to end it all. They listened to her for hours and persuaded her to change her mind. They called her the next morning and asked her how she would spend her day.
"I told them that given the chance I would go to volunteer my services as a gardener at Airfield which I did and I have not looked back since."
In April 25, 2007, Ms Norton was employed by the head gardener, Emer, at Airfield, Dundrum, in south Dublin to work there for one morning a week. She is now working there four to six mornings a week and does not suffer any pain unless she sits down for too long.
"Gardening is my meditation and it is the only activity that channels my pain into something positive. I'm at my happiest when I'm raking, digging and planting and I feel no pain unless I sit down for too long.
"On February 28 this year I found out that my Parkinson had gone. I did all the tests necessary. In the MRI there was evidence of the stroke I had suffered in 1994 but it also showed that I've been completely cured. I feel constantly elated. I've got my life back and I'm so grateful."
Ms Norton, a previous sufferer of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Parkinson's Disease, now claims she has been cured of both thanks to gardening. "Doctors say it's a miracle. I say it's gardening. I've taken no medication. I think that if you intend to be well you will actually be well!"
Born in 1942, Ms Norton believes that she first started suffering from ME in 1985 when she was living in America with her husband, a Polish film-maker. She was unhappy there and had started suffering from stomach ulcers. "I had previously been to Monument Valley, Arizona and followed training there as a weaver." So after her marriage fizzled out, she returned to Ireland and set up her own company, the Eager Weavers. They made a range of clothing and had their own workshop and retail unit.
She remarried at 36 and in the course of the following 10 years, she was very productive as she was training weavers under the Foreign Agcricultural Services contract, working for the UK Kent social services, and was also growing organic vegetables and herbs to sell in the Dublin markets.
Keeping busy, however, seemed not to reap the benefits expected as her health started deteriorating once again and she was suffering from muscle pain as well as exhaustion. Then her father passed away in 1994. That same year she suffered a stroke when she collapsed with Parkinson's. In 1995 her second marriage ended and in 1996 she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, an ME-related illness. She was by then afflicted by increasing agonising pain in her muscles and ligaments and felt constantly fatigued.
"Eighty per cent of people who suffer from ME are women and for me this is all stress-related. Most of the time these women are surrounded by men who do not support them in their lifestyle and their life choices."
She then went to see a rheumatologist thanks to a friend who paid the bill. He prescribed lots of sleep and exercise but in 2006, things started to go wrong again. Her surroundings were of no help and Ms Norton found herself withdrawing from life. She was sleeping 13 hours a day, and had gained three stones. She became desperate. In a last bid to save her life, she called the Samaritans and told them that she was ready to end it all. They listened to her for hours and persuaded her to change her mind. They called her the next morning and asked her how she would spend her day.
"I told them that given the chance I would go to volunteer my services as a gardener at Airfield which I did and I have not looked back since."
In April 25, 2007, Ms Norton was employed by the head gardener, Emer, at Airfield, Dundrum, in south Dublin to work there for one morning a week. She is now working there four to six mornings a week and does not suffer any pain unless she sits down for too long.
"Gardening is my meditation and it is the only activity that channels my pain into something positive. I'm at my happiest when I'm raking, digging and planting and I feel no pain unless I sit down for too long.
"On February 28 this year I found out that my Parkinson had gone. I did all the tests necessary. In the MRI there was evidence of the stroke I had suffered in 1994 but it also showed that I've been completely cured. I feel constantly elated. I've got my life back and I'm so grateful."