The Ancient Echo of MS and the Return to Self-Led Healing

By Wendy Bjork, MS Mentor and Founder of HeartsOf Wellness.com

When we look back across the vast timeline of human history, we often imagine that chronic conditions are a modern phenomenon. Yet one of the earliest well-documented stories that mirrors what we now understand as multiple sclerosis reaches all the way back to 1395, deep in the Late Middle Ages. It is the story of Lidwina of Schiedam, a young woman whose mysterious symptoms make her the unofficial “poster child” of MS long before medicine could name or explain what her body was telling her.

Lidwina was only about fifteen when she fell while ice skating, an everyday moment that would unravel into years of unpredictable, fluctuating symptoms. She experienced weakness, pain, paralysis that came and went, and long stretches where her body simply refused to cooperate. Today we recognize these as hallmark MS experiences. But in her time, before neurology, before imaging, and long before autoimmune science, her condition was seen through a fog of mystery and spiritual interpretation. There were no specialists, no diagnostic criteria, and certainly no treatment plan. There was only the body, the symptoms, and the inner strength required to face each day.

The Middle Ages were not kind to women navigating invisible illness. With so little known about the workings of the nervous system, conditions like Lidwina’s were often misunderstood or dismissed. And yet, her story has endured for more than six centuries because of how she carried herself through the uncertainty. She relied on her intuition, her inner resilience, her faith, and her willingness to listen deeply to her body even when no one else understood what she was going through. In many ways, she embodied what today we would call self partnership, body attunement, and radical self-advocacy.

It is easy to believe that we have progressed so far beyond those days. And medically, we have. We have imaging, research, medications, specialists, and support communities that simply did not exist in the 14th century. But in the swirl of modern information, appointments, and conflicting advice, we have lost something essential that Lidwina was forced to rely on. We have forgotten our own inner authority.

There is a subtle power in remembering her story. Lidwina did not have a roadmap or a protocol. She had no choice but to become the expert of her own experience. She paid attention to her symptoms, honored her limitations, and learned to navigate the unpredictable rhythms of her body with a kind of fierce grace. She lived in a world where external solutions were scarce, which made her internal world the only place she could turn for guidance.

Today, we have the gift of both. We have more support than ever and more tools than any generation before us. But the most transformative healing still begins where it did for Lidwina, with the decision to return to ourselves. To listen to the wisdom within. To advocate for what we need. To nourish our bodies and spirits with intention. To stop handing over our power and instead stand in partnership with our own healing.

Her story is not a relic of medieval history. It is a mirror. A reminder that even with all we have available in the modern world, the most potent choice we can make is to reclaim ownership of our path. Healing may be supported by others, but it is activated from within. And just like Lidwina, we each carry the ability to rise, to navigate, and to choose a life guided by clarity, nourishment, harmony, and connection.

When we look at Lidwina’s journey, we’re not just studying history. We’re remembering something ancient within ourselves. A knowing that healing is not passive. It is a partnership. A choice. A return to the quiet wisdom that has lived within women for centuries.

And you are not meant to walk that path alone.

If you feel the pull to reclaim your clarity, restore your energy, honor your boundaries, and create a life that feels spacious instead of overwhelming, then you are already stepping toward a deeper truth. You are awakening the inner compass your ancestors trusted when there were no experts to turn to. You are returning to the power that begins within.

This is where I invite you into the sanctuary of HeartsOfWellness.com, a space crafted for women who are ready to rise into ownership of their healing. Inside this world you will find guidance rooted in wisdom, nourishment for your whole being, tools that help you feel grounded and empowered, and pathways that lead you back to your luminous self.

It is a space built with intention
a space where your voice matters
a space where your healing is honored as sacred
a space where you do not have to carry everything alone.

If your spirit is whispering yes, come closer. Explore the Luminous Living offerings, the mini retreats, the pathways, the workbooks, and the community waiting to welcome you. Step into an experience where your journey is celebrated, your strength is amplified, and your healing becomes a radiant, guided transformation.

Your next chapter begins when you choose it.
And HeartsOfWellness.com is here to walk that path with you.

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