Wilma Stoy’s first visit to the emergency room for a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) blood clot in her leg was in 2015. At the time she weighed over 350 lbs. but considered herself to be generally healthy. The emergency room physician only focused on the DVT and did not mention weight loss or any other risk factors that may have been contributing to her condition.
A year later, Wilma found herself in the ER again for a second DVT, but this time her experience was much different. The attending physician told her that if she would lose 10% of her body weight and exercise moderately for 30 cumulative minutes daily, she could decrease her risk for recurrence. Because these were small changes, Wilma felt that they were attainable. To help her set up an exercise routine, her husband timed a walking loop around their small home. Beginning with 4-minute increments, Wilma walked around her home intermittently for up to 30 minutes daily. She started watching her diet as well.
The ER physician had also recommended that Wilma see her primary care physician for a thorough check-up. During this visit, she found out she had type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and a possible pulmonary embolism. As a result, she went to the ER a third time. The embolism was considered major and the physician informed her that this type of embolism often resulted in death, so Wilma was very fortunate.
At this point, no one had provided Wilma with any information about the link between diet and diabetes. Unfortunately, she was already very familiar with diabetes because both her sister and mother passed away from complications related to the disease. In addition, her friend and her aunt had amputations due to diabetes. They all thought that they were “controlling” the condition by taking insulin.
Wilma knew she wanted to move in a different direction to improve her health. In 2017, she found Better Therapeutics, a behavior change program for creating habits that heal. Better Therapeutics provided bi-weekly coaching calls and encouraged her to move toward a plant-based diet, although it was not mandatory. Wilma began reading the materials they provided, including The China Study by Dr. T Colin Campbell. She also watched the miniseries Mastering Diabetes, which provided scientific research to support completely eliminating animal products from her diet. She decided to go all in and try a vegan diet.
By May of 2018, Wilma had lost her first 100 lbs. and by June she was completely off all medications (previously she had been on statin, blood pressure, and Metformin medications). Her new doctor was amazed at her excellent blood work results.
Wilma found PlantPure completely by accident when she was walking in the downtown area of Mebane, North Carolina and saw PlantPure’s storefront. She was intrigued by the name, so she investigated and learned about the PlantPure Nation documentary that had been filmed in her small hometown. After enjoying the film, she joined the local Mebane Pod and met Nelson and Kim Campbell. She loves the support and friendships that have developed within the group. The Pod also helped to dispel some of the confusing myths and misinformation that so many people encounter when adopting a plant-based lifestyle.
Wilma is still slowly but consistently losing her excess weight and now weighs 216 lbs. She walks 90 minutes each day, feels energetic and is thankful for the amazing progress she has made. Looking back, she wishes she had known earlier in her journey that diabetes is reversible. Initially, her physicians only told her that there was no cure and she would have the disease for the rest of her life. She now understands that diabetes can be cured since her A1C is now 5.0 (5.5 or less is considered normal). Wilma also wishes she could have shared this newfound wisdom with her sister and mother so that they could still be with her. These insights have fueled her passion to spread this very powerful message and hopefully help others realize there is a cure.
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