House Heroes: Negative to Positive
Choosing to focus on what she wanted, instead of what she didn’t, was the attitude that helped Amanda Campbell come out on top in her recovery from a debilitating MS attack.
In 2009, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) left Amanda Campbell with severe paralysis.
She lost her job, her partner and her independence.
“I would stare at the ceiling wondering what had just happened when moments ago I was living my life, building my business, out with friends,” she says. “I was in my 20s and in my prime.”
With the left side of her body almost completely paralysed and with little response to standard MS therapy, doctors told Amanda she may never walk again.
It was Amanda’s twin Nicole who refused to accept defeat for her beloved sister.
“One night Nicole threw me in my wheelchair and wheeled me down to the pub across the road,” she says. “We laughed and laughed and forgot about the 24/7 hell that was my reality at that time.”
It was that night that something very special happened to Amanda.
“I was clearly having fun with my friends, having dinner, feeling joy,” she recalls. “I came back to my room, my sister helped me into my pyjamas and then she went off to the bathroom. It was then that my toe moved for the first time. It was in that moment that I found hope.”
“So with a wonderful team of doctors, neuro-physiotherapists and the help of a kinesiologist, plus a lot of determination, I started to focus all of my energy on what I wanted instead of what I didn’t want. I walked and ran within six weeks.”
Now Amanda runs her own business helping others find their path to recovery.
Reflecting on her own experiences, Amanda says that “what you learn from those lessons teaches you the person that you need to be to then live the life that you dream of.”
