How did your fight with Multiple Sclerosis start?
It is December 2015, Christmas time… everyone around me is full of laughter and holiday spirit and my only motivation is teleportation home in the style of „Back to the Future“ movie.
In the next few weeks my condition started to get worse by the day, from dropping things from my hands and losing my handwriting to tripping on flat surfaces, losing touch from my chest down to my legs, numbing pain in my limbs and sitting down feeling like I am on a water bed, I realized something was very alarming when I could not feel the hug of my loved ones anymore. Although I reported to my doctor after the first few symptoms, it took 4 months of wondering until we thought of the „perfect enemy“. In February 2016, an MR and the lumbal puncture examination revealed everything we did not want to hear. My doctor sat me down and told me two frightening words, Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
What gave you the motivation to move forward?
Although the voice at the back of my head constantly asked me „Will you ever run again?“; „Will your girlfriend leave you?“, „What kind of weight are you leaving on your loved ones?“, I was motivated to find a fine line in it all. I decided that information about the disease will give me control and a better understanding of the situation I found myself in. I had to take a break from work and I left an „I'll be back“ image of Arnold Schwarzenegger on my work desktop when I decided to make that quote true.
How did you handle Multiple Sclerosis from then on?
I concentrated on people who are successfully fighting MS and I realized they all have one unique connection. They all promoted a balance between mental strength, diet, and exercise. After that realization, I didn't dwell anymore, that will be my „holy trinity“. First out of those 3 key parameters towards recovery I already kinda did, and that was the mental strength and motivation.
I filtered out negative news, filled my head with positive ones and I would go to the only place I would feel relaxed and fulfilled, nature. That was my meditation, I always had hobbies that included nature, hiking, and fishing, but I never connected with it like now. It constantly reminded me again and again how thankful I am to be a part of it. In other words, I became strong enough to overcome the dark while enjoying the light moments.
Did anything change in your life except your worldviews?
During my research, I found out people with autoimmune diseases have a leaky gut, that unprocessed food goes to the bloodstream and created infections and that our bowels are our „second brain“ so we can stimulate neuron creation in our „first“ brain through it. I concentrated on that, to get my bowels together, support mitochondrial viability, train my brain and adapt my diet to not be too complicated.
Sounds easy? Well it wasn't… In the positive stories I have read, Dr Terry Wahls stood out. She, with the help of an autoimmune protocol she created, got out of her wheelchair after 8 years in it because of the same „perfect enemy“, MS. The mentioned protocol throws out groceries which can cause intolerances and after some time they are slowly introduced to the diet again and their impact on the body is monitored.
If the metabolism reacts with gas, cramps or any other symptoms, the specific food item is removed from the menu. The process minimizes the possibility of some food sources creating a disbalance or infections in the body.
Do you have any advice about your diet for people who are reading this?
Remove gluten, grain, lactose products, some legumes, processed food, artificial sugars and edible oils. Introduce meat from small farmers, entrails, fish, lots of vegetables and fruit, seeds, fermented food, cold-pressed oils and healthy fats.
Follow the Whals normative daily, 3 cups of green leafy vegetables rich in chlorophyll which is a great detoxifier, 3 cups of vegetables rich in sulfur which makes the cell membrane more permeable and healthier, 3 cups of colored fruit and vegetables which is rich in antioxidants that protect us from infections.
Except mentally, how did you return to your physical form?
Considering I could not walk more than 100m, all my muscles atrophied and I lost 15kg, any physical activity was a big challenge for me. I went to the gym every day and did core exercises with mobility and strength exercises. First time I did 3 crouches I got such muscle inflammation I needed the help of my personal trainer to walk down 5 stairs to get out of the gym. I started to walk, first small distances around the neighborhood, then slowly increased them.
After some time, I started hiking, and Medvednica above Zagreb became my new home. I learned to run again and got surprised how much I fell in love with it, which as a really good example of „you never know what you have until you lose it“. I came back to work in 3 months, got my handwriting back, and coordinated my movements, numbing started to be less and less, my body became more mobile, I was less and less tired and started to feel alive again.
I often reminded myself of times when I could barely walk 100m and I put a challenge in front of myself, that the 100m will become 100kmThat'ss how I chose HIGHLANDER Velebit, 100km in 5 days, a perfect adventure.
Was HIGHLANDER hard for you?
HIGHLANDER brought out the best in me, things I didn't even know about myself. It had to be perfect, each of my steps focused and precise. Five days long trip over such a difficult terrain, for a person like me, clumsy from MS, it doesn't forgive mistakes, especially if I twist my ankle or my exhaustion crosses the line of no return. My body was less mobile under my heavy backpack, the pressure in my chest at times unbearable and the numbing in my toes uncomfortable while my dizziness almost got the best of me. My outside facade, which I perfected in my daily life, didn't let you know what battles I was going through inside and that gave my friends and me security and comfort in moving one step more.
Did you dedicate your HIGHLANDER success to someone?
I dedicate every step of this adventure to those who didn't (yet) get a chance like me, to all my fellow fighters and warriors who pass HIGHLANDER daily, in different ways.
What message would you like to send to those thinking about going to HIGHLANDER? In life there are 2 undeniable facts, birth and death, and we get to decide how to fill the time in between them. During the whole trail, no matter how challenging it was, I grew as a man and a hiker. The community of like-minded people inspired me more than ever. Everyone came with their own unique story, same as me, but somehow we were all alike and connected. While I did come out of it all tired and exhausted, I was at the same time rested, open-minded, reset, full of positive experiences and ready for any new challenges to come!
I left 5 days and 100km of beautiful school of life behind me.
I became a HIGHLANDER, forever.