SHIRLEY ANNE WALL'S WELLNESS WATER STORY
as told to and written by Beverley Viljakainen

Shirley Anne and her husband Brian live in Walkerton with their two children, 10-year-old Brad and 8-year-old Sarah. The family have had a reverse osmosis system for their drinking water for the past ten years. Because Sarah contracted urinary tract problems when she first went to school, that lasted, on and off, for a year and a half, the children have since taken their own water to school and have been instructed not to drink from the school fountains. During the May 2000 E.coli outbreak, only Brad became ill with projectile vomiting and a temperature of 39 degrees C that lasted for two days, Thursday and Friday, May 25 and 26. Shirley Anne, Brian and Sarah remained symptom-free. The family had already taped their water taps when, on Tuesday, they learned from the radio that filter systems were not enough to guard against the strain of E.coli that had contaminated the town's drinking water. They hadn't been listening to the local radio station on the Sunday and Monday of the long weekend.

As an experienced health care practitioner herself, Shirley Anne is deeply saddened by the response of medical practitioners and Ministry of Health officials to all of the illnesses that broke out at the time. So many seriously sick people, no effective medical treatment known, and yet such closed minds to possible viable alternatives. And yet, Shirley Anne adds, although they were extremely happy when some of these people recovered quickly, they seemed to want to remain blind to the fact that substances like oil of oregano and acidophilus, with known healing properties and brought to the town by generous well-wishing outsiders, may have enabled their bodies' immune systems to more effectively combat the intestinal assault. Such is the state of conventional "health care", it seems, that only when a person's condition becomes serious enough to warrant it can medicine come into play and render high-tech support to the already exhausted kidneys. While Shirley Anne is one of the fortunate who are aware of and use the alternatives, this doesn't make her feel any better about all of the people who remain ill and who may fall ill in future for lack of a more wholistic approach to health.

Shirley Anne and her family started on oil of oregano as soon as they learned about its effectiveness in treating E.coli conditions from Dr. Cass Ingram. They had also used it previously to treat cold symptoms. Shirley Anne has learned first hand how important it is to keep our immune systems strong. When, in 1999, she realised she was experiencing chronic fatigue, she set about learning how to help herself, there being no magic medical bullet, only a label, for the all too common condition now known as chronic fatigue syndrome. What she found out, not surprisingly, was that life-style changes, healthier foods, more rest, and proper exercise were the necessary prescriptions if she was to enjoy optimal health again. What she has learned and experienced for herself has led to the whole family using preventative remedies like acidophilus, hydrasis, oil of oregano, digestive enzymes, multi-vitamins and essential fatty acids.

The family continues to filter their water and take it with them wherever they go so that no one will be tempted to drink from water systems they may not have built up an immunity to. Shirley Anne is convinced, and with good reason, that our bodies develop antibodies to what's in the water that we usually drink and may not be up to less familiar water, be it "natural" or already chemically treated. All it takes to succumb to a less than friendly virus or bacterium is a dip in our immune systems because of lack of rest, nutrition-deplete foods or emotional stress. Once our resistance is low, eating food that is a little off can end up in another violent reaction of bloody diarrhea and cramps, which is the weakened body's last-ditch and very diligent attempt to evict the culprits. For these reasons, she expects other similar outbreaks of E.coli, as has recently happened within a group of young Walkerton children, all of whom were being cared for by the same babysitter. Whether the E.coli is living in the food we eat, the water we drink, or the lakes and rivers we swim in is really of very little consequence in the overall scheme of health and illness.

Shirley Anne is one of a growing number of people who would like family doctors and specialists to be more open to herbal and natural medicines, especially given that they have no real medical solutions for the strain of E.coli that contaminated the Walkerton's water. There's also the issue of giving generally toxic compounds to people who are already laid low in their efforts to rid themselves of gastro-intestinal contaminants. What's required, Shirley Anne knows, are procedures and remedies that are strengthening and cleansing at the same time, which many herbal, homeopathic and other natural substances are. She also thinks that if the medical people had been more open-minded about these alternative approaches, a lot of unnecessary anxiety would have been allayed, especially in parents of sick children who went the oil of oregano route without their doctors' knowledge or approval. Since this is exactly the kind of stress that reduces the immune system's ability to function optimally, would it not have been a better approach? Would it not have been a more caring type of health care? Shirley Anne is not alone in thinking so. The sooner people begin to realise that their health is their responsibility and to learn how they can best keep their immune systems strong, the better for all concerned. Unfortunately, at present, too many of us are deluded by what the mainstream thinks is best for us and what is truly best for us. And, thus, she tells her story.

In closing, Shirley Anne hastens to add that some good has come out of the Walkerton tragedy. For example, the hard-working volunteers who are a solid voice for the important safety issues concerning our use of chemicals and pesticides, our water and our environment are not being considered "fanatics" to the same degree. She knows how toxic lawn chemicals, for example, can be, given that her children become sick each year when the neighbouring lawns are sprayed. We have abused ourselves and our environment for far to long! It's more than time for a more natural, balanced approach. The questions we need to ask and the answers we seek are within each and every one of us, if we would but turn our attention there. Although we are all equal on this earth, hatred and greed have created the very rich and the very poor. Peace in this world begins with peace within. We have a responsibility to ourselves and we have a responsibility to help our neighbours, something Walkerton is so very good at. The strength to speak up will come . . . and is coming. Shirley Anne speaks from her heart when she says that God has given her the faith to do this. In spirit, she adds, there are so many people actively working to make our heaven on earth.

Another positive outcome of the contaminated water tragedy for Shirley Anne is the heightened awareness of her personal relationship with God that it has sparked. She now recognizes that it is our responsibility to find that personal relationship because, in a manner of speaking, that is why we are here. Our society provides many distractions from our life's purpose of self-less service and "loving our neighbour as ourselves". The larger picture expands the responsibility of ensuring safe drinking water, for example, to our neighbours around the world. God blesses all of us, whereas the Walkerton water tragedy is entirely man-made. For starters, liquid manure machines and human sludge spread on our local farmers fields are toxic to the aquifer and made even more accessible by tiled fields; both need to be banned.

May 2000 will, for Shirley Anne, always be likened to being in a series of M.A.S.H. episodes, complete with helicopters landing five hundred feet from her house. She wants to see our fascination with wars and war-like activity done away with. "Thou shalt not kill!" did not include the proviso "except in times of war", yet another man-made tragedy. We have been granted free will so that we can eventually see the light; until then, we are given adversity to inspire us. Given all of this, Shirley Anne now knows why she lives in Walkerton. Water tragedies can happen anywhere, as can anything else, but it is up to each and every one of us to make this world a safe and loving place in which to live for everyone. By breaking our habit of leaving our personal responsibilities for all aspects of our lives solely to the government, the clergy, the school system, and so on, we can and will make this world a better place than we now find it. What a mission! What a purpose! Let's just do it! Shirley Anne has her sleeves rolled up . . . and the rest of us are the better for it. Thank you, Shirley Anne!

June 7, 2002

<< Back