You get to a certain age, and every birthday is cause for celebration. No one knows this better than Co-op member Wendy Chapin Ford. This week, we wish her a very happy and healthy 55th birthday. As you'll soon see, Wendy's birthday marks not only the day of her birth but also the day of her re-birth. As near-death experiences go, Wendy's is a doozy!  

OHC: Take us back to June 8, 1998. What happened that day?

Wendy: I had just come out of a coma at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston. It was my birthday, and I don't think I've ever received a better birthday present. You see, initially, no one expected me to survive. Even when I came out of the coma, no one expected me to walk again.

OHC: We need to back track. How did you end up in coma?

Wendy: The cause of my illness remains a mystery to this day. There are three weeks that I have absolutely no memory of. I was 42, married, the mother of two young children. I'd had a bad respiratory infection a week or so before. I woke up exhausted one Saturday morning—May 16th. That's it. Within days, I was comatose and I have no memory whatsoever, until my birthday in June.

OHC: What was the doctors' diagnosis?

Wendy: Ultimately, it was something called ADEM—Acute Disseminating Encepholomyelitis, an illness that typically follows a viral infection or immunization. It's fairly rare and, hence, difficult to diagnose. Furthermore, my disease wasn't behaving the way ADEM usually does, which compounded the doctors' prognostication and treatment.

OHC: So you woke up from the coma and lived happily ever after?

Wendy: Oh no, that was just the beginning! My next stop was Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital--like Beth Israel, another of Boston's Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals. Like most people, I'd never given much thought to rehab facilities—until I landed in one! A month out of a coma that no one had expected me to survive, I was loopy and flopping about in a wheelchair. I learned later that the initial belief was that I'd be quadriplegic indefinitely. You see, nothing was working on me but my neck. Five weeks and six days later I walked out of there with a cane, accompanied by my husband, two children and thunderous cheers from the Spaulding staff. Doctors have referred to it as a miracle case.

OHC: So what do you attribute the miracle to?

Wendy: That's both a hard and easy question to answer. Miracles don't just happen. Without my wonderful doctors and nurses at Beth Israel and my therapists at Spaulding—none of whom ever gave up hope—I wouldn't be here. They were tenacious. They tried anything and everything. Nothing was ruled out.

I also wouldn't be here without the support of my husband, children, and friends. I believe in the power of prayer, yet we all know that not all prayers are answered.

I can tell you unequivocally that those weeks of physical therapy were 1,000 times more difficult than childbirth. But the idea of not being there for my children is what kept me going. I missed them terribly and wanted more than anything to be a fun, active mom again. I had to get back home.

OHC: Hence the title of your book.

Wendy: Yes, exactly. The book is called To Get Back Home, and that was always my goal.

OHC: Folks, you can read more about Wendy's odyssey and order her book at www.togetbackhome.com. I've only scratched the surface here (cat pun intended) and urge you to read more about her amazing journey. So, Wendy, how are you today, a dozen years later?

Wendy: I'm not 100% and probably never will be, though I consider myself pretty lucky. In many ways, I'll always be in recovery. In the fall of 2000, I had another bad respiratory illness. At that time, I was diagnosed with MS. There's some short term memory loss and weakness in my legs, though I'm fairly stable.

Between the ADEM and MS, it's important for me to stay healthy. That's how I came to the Co-op. I heard about you from a knowledgeable friend a few years ago. I realized boosting my nutrition could help enhance my health.

OHC: Care to share what Coop products you take?

Wendy: Sure! I take your Liquid Calcium, Heart Plus, Grape Seed Extract, and High Lignan Flaxseed.  Acetyl L-Carnitine, which is particularly good for brain function, was also recommended for me. To supplement the supplements, I keep active. Rowing, biking and stretching are part of my regimen.

OHC: They say that once you've come close to death you never view life quite the same way again. True?

Wendy: Very true -- I have a much greater sense of serenity now. I came away knowing that we're not in control, that all we can do is our best. I never thought I took life for granted before, but I now live every day with a heightened sense of gratitude. Being alive, a dozen years after waking up from that coma, sure feels like a miracle. 

OHC: Well, we wish you a very happy birthday and many, many more. May you have as many lives as we kats do!

Wendy: Thank you. I'll certainly be trying!