The Benefits of Holistic Massage

Over the last year and a bit I've enjoyed holistic massage and reflexology which I initially started because of severe leg pain. Whilst there's no direct way to prove it my leg pain has stopped, along with my personal faith massage was definitely a huge factor in my recovery. I now use it to keep me protected from more pain, to help my arms and to clear any excess fluid building up in my legs.

I get a build up of fluids in my legs because I'm in a seated position all day due to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Being in a wheelchair hooked up to a ventilator all day is not great on the body and relaxation is hard to come by in these circumstances. As physiotherapy is difficult to find for an adult with DMD in the UK, massage is a great alternative because your getting passive movement whilst the therapist does their therapy.

The beauty of massage is that it can be tailored to your individual needs. For instance I have the treatment whilst sitting in my wheelchair and the therapist moves my legs when needed. This is especially done to access my feet for reflexology which enables all of my body to be treated indirectly. I highly recommend that others with DMD should try massage and reflexology if of course they can tolerate their legs being moved and so on. Even if they can't reflexology can be done on the hands at the very least.

If you live in the UK, check out this website to find your nearest therapist.

Whilst massage isn't in my book you can still find out what my life with DMD was like up until 2010 (when I wrote it) below;

EBOOK available here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Available on Amazon USA here; http://www.amazon.com/DMD-Life-Art-Ian-Griffiths/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288120811&sr=8-1

Available on Amazon UK here; http://www.amazon.co.uk/DMD-LIFE-ART-AND-ME/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288105302&sr=8-1

My new Ebook Poetic Diversions available to buy here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/206857

All links available in my website here; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-books/

My art can be viewed here; http://www.redbubble.com/people/thebigg2005


Foreword

I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time

Puree pioneer

Ever since 2007 I've been eating a fully pureed diet and really enjoying food again. Before '07 I was struggling to shove potato fritters and breaded fish past mouth into my stomach. Feeding time was not pleasurable at all because I thought the next mouthful would lead to a choking incident. I had dropped weight considerably too and when I discovered I was 88 pounds I knew things had to change. Seemingly by coincidence I was given pureed food to try and finally I enjoyed a meal!
There are a few tiny inconveniences however as the variety is quite limited and you miss eating different textures. You can deal with that by remembering food is you're energy and it's better to eat than not. Although I'm slowly increasing the amounts of variety like this morning I tried some macaroni cheese from a tin and poured it over some liquidized scrambled eggs. I really enjoyed the creamy cheese and pasta and was extremely happy that it blended perfectly. I'm becoming increasingly adventurous with different kinds of recipes and have started adding garlic and occasionally herbs to my meals. A great resource I use for some of my recipes is from Leicestershire NHS pureed food guide find it here. So go on if you're struggling with solid food and have choked then why not try a pureed diet!

Read more about my amazing journey from poor eater to a puree pioneer in my book DMD LIFE ART & ME!


EBOOK available here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Available on Amazon USA here; http://www.amazon.com/DMD-Life-Art-Ian-Griffiths/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288120811&sr=8-1

Available on Amazon UK here; http://www.amazon.co.uk/DMD-LIFE-ART-AND-ME/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288105302&sr=8-1

My new Ebook Poetic Diversions available to buy here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/206857

All links available in my website here; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-books/

My art can be viewed here; www.artwanted.com/thebigG2005


Foreword

I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time

The Article

Last Sunday I had an article in a local newspaper all about my life and my book. It was a great way to raise awareness and it certainly helped my book sales!

I'll let the article elaborate it all please read it here; http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/real-life/2012/09/30/heartbreak-pureed-food-and-playstation-ian-s-life-with-muscular-dystrophy-91466-31927211/

Find out more about my life in my book DMD LIFE ART & ME!


EBOOK available here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Available on Amazon USA here; http://www.amazon.com/DMD-Life-Art-Ian-Griffiths/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288120811&sr=8-1

Available on Amazon UK here; http://www.amazon.co.uk/DMD-LIFE-ART-AND-ME/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288105302&sr=8-1

My new Ebook Poetic Diversions available to buy here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/206857

All links available in my website here; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-books/

My art can be viewed here; www.artwanted.com/thebigG2005


Foreword

I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time

Why I do it...

All being well this Sunday I will be featured in a local Newspaper article. It has information on DMD, it has an interview with me and information on my book You can look out for it in the Wales on Sunday paper or go to the media Wales website to see it. I hope it helps in one thing that I am quite interested in that being awareness. That was one of the core aims for my book, because not many 25-year-olds (as I was at the time) write autobiographies. Hopefully people reading my book, especially those who do not know about Duchenne's will ask themselves why so young? After all I am no a celebrity and neither do I want to be one. I am hoping that they would see how much of a totally devastating disease DMD is and can see why time was so pressing.

Extract;
.... I’m such a positive person that giving up and dying never entered my mind at all. The next thing I did was to write on a pad of paper my mother held under my arm. In an emotionally charged moment and through many tears I scrawled in black ink “I’m too Young to Die”.....

Read all about the above story in my book DMD LIFE ART & ME!

EBOOK available here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Available on Amazon USA here; http://www.amazon.com/DMD-Life-Art-Ian-Griffiths/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288120811&sr=8-1

Available on Amazon UK here; http://www.amazon.co.uk/DMD-LIFE-ART-AND-ME/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288105302&sr=8-1

My new Ebook Poetic Diversions available to buy here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/206857

All links available in my website here; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-books/

My art can be viewed here; www.artwanted.com/thebigG2005


Foreword

I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time

A book worth writing!

Amazing FREE EBOOK offer still on!!!! Just 5 days left!!

I never thought I'd even write a book let alone an autobiography. Who ever heard of an autobiography coming from a twenty something? I know some very public figures may have at that age, but I'm just a hidden recluse of very small standing!

It is quite astounding that it only took ten months to write over ninety two thousand words! Quite a daunting task for a complete writing novice. I scraped though with the odd grammatical faux pas but overwhelmingly the response has been positive. It's been spread around a bit too, with stories of my book being passed around colleagues, families and being read multiple times. So for awareness alone that really makes it a book worth writing.

Extract;
...This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy....

Read through DMD LIFE ART & ME a very worthwhile book!


If you still prefer the look and feel of a real book then please visit here to buy my paperback version; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-book-s/

Don't forget my FREE e-book offer!!!!! For one month only until the 26th of May my e-book version of DMD LIFE ART & ME is FREE, you can get your FREE version here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Only 5 days left!!!!!


Foreword

I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time.

FREE ebook offer extended by two days!

FREE EBOOK offer EXTENDED by 2 days so it's still 8 days to go!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who has been downloading my book I very much appreciate it!!! Spreading awareness of this devastating disease is one of my aims for this book because it is so generally unheard of.

Extract; ...In case you’re wondering what causes Duchenne Muscular dystrophy, I will explain it in terms of how it affects me. There is a protein called Dystrophin located in
everyone’s DNA, that is missing or damaged in an affected male, it affects mainly males [occasionally females] because it’s an X linked recessive error; males only have one X chromosome. This causes the muscle fibre membranes (Dystrophin acts as a shock absorber) to get over-stressed and die off...

Read why this lack of dystrophin is important in my book DMD LIFE ART & ME!

Don't forget my FREE e-book offer!!!!! For one month only until the 26th of May my e-book version of DMD LIFE ART & ME is FREE, you can get your FREE version here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Only 8 days left!!!!!

If you still prefer the look and feel of a real book then please visit here to buy my paperback version; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-book-s/

Foreword

I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time.

School days.

FREE ebook offer still on!!!!!! 19 days left!!!!!

Everyone needs an education, especially so for those with DMD. The majority of those living with DMD have perfectly capable minds. Such a mind needs teaching and molding!

I think for most children getting up in morning on a school day is a major chore! It is usually a bit more of a hassle for those with DMD! Just getting dressed might take some thought, then waiting for accessible transport, even just trying to find a safe place to unload can be fraught and then getting around school requires resourcefulness. After all that I still quite enjoyed school and learning, I was not to fond of homework though ha ha!

Extract;
...My usual school day routine was to be up at quarter past seven in the morning, eat breakfast usually golden brown toast with jam or [chocolate spread] and then I’d be whisked upstairs so my mother could dress me...

That was only a taster, read more about my high school starts in my book DMD LIFE ART & ME!  


Please visit here to buy my paperback version; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-book-s/

Don't forget my FREE e-book offer!!!!! For one month only until the 26th of May my e-book version of DMD LIFE ART & ME is FREE, you can get your FREE version here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Only 19 days left!!!!!

Vacation memories

FREE e-book offer!!!! Just 23 days to go!!!!

Vacation memories.

I don't mention every vacation I've been on in my book or it would be about 1000 pages long! I do mention a few of the places I've been too. Around the same time as we got drenched in Lancaster, my family and I went to Lake Ambleside in the Lake District in NorthWest England.

After some huge persuading I reluctantly rolled my wheelchair on to a boat. I really don't like being on anything that floats at the best of times! However I really enjoyed it once we were underway looking at the beautiful scenery that reminded me of home.

Extract;
...I took my chair (reluctantly) on a canal barge and on a boat cruising up Lake Ambleside in Lancashire...

Read about more my vacation adventures in my book DMD LIFE ART & ME! (For you e-book readers turn to page 32)



Please visit here to buy my paperback version; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-book-s/

Don't forget my FREE e-book offer!!!!! For one month only until the 26th of May my e-book version of DMD LIFE ART & ME is FREE, you can get your FREE version here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702

Only 23 days left!!!!!



Foreword

I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time.