I have been a patient of Matia's for over four years. When I first came to her I was very sick and depressed. I was 27 years old and had a two year old son I could no longer take care of. I was lucky because I had a wonderful mother who helped out. I was in so much pain, both physical and emotional. I was lucky to find Matia. When I came to Matia, I asked if she knew someone who was on her way to getting better and was willing to talk to me. She told me that there was a women in New York who was willing and would be giving me a call. She was also from the same country and background which made it even better.

She called me, told me her story and gave me her number. It was so nice to have a person to talk to who understood what I was going through. She told me it wasn't going to be easy but gave me so much hope. Me and Matia went to work and it was anything but easy. I was on a strict diet for over a year. I had pain, burning , frequency, etc. There were days that all I did was stay in bed, eat my food, take my herbs and cry all day. On top of that, one day I called the women in New York and her mom answered and asked me not to call again. I was devastated. She was my only light in a very dark world. Everything went through my mind. What did I do, What did I say, I could not understand what happened. I cried for days.

I now understand exactly what happened. When we get sick with this awful disease, we change, at least I did. I was so scared that I went from being a fun loving, outgoing person into a very needy one. Let's fast forward.....After a year and a half, I did get better. No symptoms at all. It took a lot of work but I was a very good patient and never once cheated on my diet. It finally paid off and I had my life back. I could eat whatever I wanted, socialize, etc. I didn't have many friends left so I made new ones. I wish I could say I lived happily ever after but unfortunately that was not what happened.

I didn't count my blessings and about 1 year after the treatment I went back into my old patterns. Eating sushi, drinking wine at dinner, a few drinks here and there! My body held out for about a year and then you can guess what happened. Yes, it came back! I have no one to blame but myself and I did that for a very long time. Guilt was eating me alive especially when my six year old son understood that mommy was really sick.

I went to Matia and told her everything. Of course Matia did not judge me. As far as I'm concerned there is no one else like her. Not only is she a brilliant doctor but she is an amazing human being with a heart of gold. After talking to her I came to a conclusion that I need to look at this as a lesson and learn from this. What a painful lesson it is. I know now that no matter what happens i will always take care of my body and count every blessing that GOD ever gives me. As much as I want to be healthy and pain free again, I will say I learned a lot from this. Being healthy is a gift and we need to cherish our bodies and never forget what happened to us.

I learned to appreciate my family and learned who my true friends are. As for the lady in New York, I thank her for her time and even though she never gave me closure I see now how hard it must have been for her. I made her re-live everything that I'm sure she so much wanted to forget.

Stella