S15/08 27 Steps to Freedom; Ecoli to LIFE

Feb 18, 20152 min read

“Their Story Matters” with Sara Troy and her guest Wendy Mcclelland Aired from February 24th on.

Successful business, own home, raising 3 children, a good life, until she was hospitalised with E-Coli infection of the spine and brain that’s when life changed forever. How she came back is her story in “27 Steps to Freedom”

Wendy Mcclelland

In late 1999 I contracted an e-Coli infection that ate away portions of my spine (along with damaging other internal organs). I spent many months in the hospital, then more in a body cast (from my neck to my knees) as the bones were fused back together. When I was finally released from the hospital, I was still in the body cast and walking with a cane.

I went to live with my parents and was so blessed to have them take care of me. During this time I learned to move again and each day I tried to move a little more. The first few weeks I stayed mostly in bed, and hobbled around from the bathroom and back to my bed.

But, I knew I needed to move again, so each day I challenged myself to go further each day. After a few weeks, I was ready to move from walking around the house to going outside.

My parents lived in a home with a driveway that had a lovely big tree at the end of it. My goal was to be able to walk right to the end of that driveway and get to the tree.

It took me many tries (and many days) to get to the end of that driveway, but when I did I knew I was on the path to freedom. I knew that nothing could hold me back after that day!

It was 27 steps to the end of the driveway, and the more I thought about it I realized that each step represented something I had learned during my journey to healing.

I now feel strong enough emotionally to go back in time, and relive the journey and share the lessons of those 27 Steps.