Things happen for us, not to us. This tenet can be found in most of the world’s spiritual traditions. It means to say that, whatever people, places or circumstances we are faced with in our lives, we should view them as though we had chosen them, no matter how unpleasant they may look. Underlying this is the understanding that challenges are catalysts for personal growth, discovery and learning and not random events where we’re a victim of unfortunate circumstances. Jani’s healing and journey of discovery exemplifies this principle in so many ways.
Jani. “At my younger sister’s birthday party I decided to run and do a forward flip onto a partially inflated jumping castle. I landed badly and, unknowingly, seriously injured my neck. I never received medical attention. Looking back, this accident that broke my spine in two places, as was later discovered, was the catalyst for my life events.
“I suffered continually with stiffness and chronic pain in my neck and shoulders. This eventually affected my mental wellbeing and I began to self-medicate with whatever I could get my hands on. After eight years of substance abuse, I chose LIFE and cleaned up my act! I found my life partner and we had two kids. How I carried two babies with a spine broken in two places still blows my mind!
“Life was good, yet I was still dealing with chronic pain daily. By my late 30s the pain had become unbearable; anxiety, fatigue and violent migraines plagued me, I lost all feeling from my knees down and I couldn’t sleep. Unbeknown to me, tiny bone spurs had been growing into my spinal cord. This resulted in an emergency double spinal fusion.
“Three months pre-surgery I was prescribed Tramacet (later Tramadol) and Trepiline, an opiate and a benzodiazepine, with assurances that it was perfectly safe and non-addictive. It was during my post-op recovery that I experienced horrendous withdrawal. The morphine for pain management post-surgery could not even mask the Tramadol withdrawal. Sadly I went straight back onto the Tramadol to overcome withdrawal and, to boot, the fusion failed and further surgery followed.
“All the while I was trying to manage pain, hold down a job, look after two children and wean myself off the Tramadol. It seemed impossible to remain functional without medication.
“Desperate, I embarked on researching a solution and came across Kratom online. The testimonials of how people overseas had managed to get off opiates with Kratom shouted at me and I made an online purchase. I was blown away; it took the withdrawal symptoms away completely.
“I was now suffering with debilitating anxiety and required a third surgery to implant a titanium disk into my lumber spine, again having to deal with excruciating pain. Kratom, continued to change my life – one safe, natural plant managing every aspect of my recovery holistically.
“I became passionate about plant-based remedies and Kratom was my enabler in managing a busy life. This was the start of this successful business – bringing Kratom into South Africa. The testimonials from of the many who have successfully come off addictive and dangerous substances with Kratom are incredible success stories (check out Kratom YouTube videos).
“There is a good deal of negative press about Kratom. This doesn’t come as a surprise when one considers that it is not controlled by the pharmaceutical industry. Just look how long it took for cannabis to get the ‘nod’! “
