In 2014, Sara Cates began to experience dizziness, fainting, and could not walk more than 10 to 15 feet without fainting. After testing, Sara was diagnosed with a rare fatal disease called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. At this stage of the disease, she had right side heart failure and was on oxygen 24/7. Her doctor informed her that she had a 50% chance of living 5 years and a 33% chance of making it 7 years. As you can imagine, this information was devastating for Sara who also had a 6 year old son. She was forced to quit working and was labeled by the government as 100% disabled. Sara went into a deep depression and gained a lot of weight. After 6 months of standard treatments, she felt no improvement.
She happened to meet an old friend from college who told her about the benefits and healing power of a whole food, plant-based diet. She recommended Sara start watching documentaries on the subject. The first film she watched was Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and was so inspired that she decided to try a 10 day juice fast. After the 10 days, she felt amazing and was completely committed to making this a lifestyle.
After 6 months of juicing and eating whole plant foods, Sara went back to her doctor. Her heart had returned to normal function and she was taken off oxygen. After a year of eating this way, she lost 90 pounds. After 1 ½ years, she was completely symptom free. Now four years later, she is no longer labeled with a disability and has no signs of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. She joyfully describes herself as “a normal human again!”
When asked how her physician responded to her miraculous recovery, she stated he was absolutely amazed. Interestingly, he did not ask her to talk with any of his other patients. During her illness, Sara was finishing up a degree in psychology, which she had to complete online due to her illness. However, as a result of her experiences, she has started on a second degree in biochemistry. In Sara’s words, “I want people to listen to me and I need credentials for people to hear what I have to say”. Sara’s story is a true inspiration for anyone facing a devastating illness and reminds us all about the amazing power of a whole food, plant-based diet.