When Susan R. Pryde was diagnosed with stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver, she could have been forgiven for retreating in fear. Instead, she dove headfirst into reclaiming her health and her joy - and the results have been nothing short of extraordinary. Sue's story is one of triumph over adversity, of finding purpose and possibility in the midst of crisis. Facing down a dire prognosis, she embarked on a radical transformation, shedding extra weight, overhauling her diet, and reconnecting with the hobbies and passions that nourished her soul. But the real magic happened when Sue began to peel back the layers, to uncover the deeper emotional wounds that had driven her unhealthy coping mechanisms for decades.

Through vulnerability, self-discovery, and an unwavering commitment to her own healing, Sue not only reversed the course of her liver disease, but she emerged as a beacon of hope and inspiration. Her book, "Reversing Cirrhosis: How Liver Disease Helped Me Restore My Health, Find My Voice and Learn to Live My Very Best Life," has become a manual for others navigating liver challenges, while her work as a mentor and advocate is changing lives.

On the day I met Sue, I learned that our beloved uncle, John Marinake, a consummate Uplifter, who spent his last years dedicated to his own radical self-care and healing and in service to others, was diagnosed with advanced liver disease. Unlike Sue, he didn't recover, and recently died as a result of this terrible disease. He was one of the first and most ardent supporters of this podcast, and so it is an honor to dedicate this episode to him with gratitude not just for his loving support of this mission, but for all of his good work in the world. To honor his legacy, please join me in donating to this cause which he held dear. John was a beloved and dedicated volunteer with the HERO team at Metro Nashville Public Schools. His efforts helped to ensure that students in unstable housing had access to school supplies, basic necessities, and - the work closest to his heart - new school shoes! John brought joy to all who were lucky enough to work alongside him and helped more than 6,000 students find the perfect pair of shoes. He will be missed deeply. The news story linked here put a beautiful spotlight on John and his motivation to serve students. The family has recieved $4,100 so far in his honor and is hoping to reach their $5000 goal today to help these students start the school year feeling their best. Any amount helps!Sue and John’s journeys are testaments to the power of the human spirit - to face our fears and to find the courage to become the truest versions of ourselves. In Sue’s words, "I didn't expect all of this, never in a million years." But, here she is now, living her best life and teaching others how to live theirs.

Five Uplifting Lessons from Sue Pryde:

1. Embrace your fears - facing them head-on can lead to profound transformation.

2. Listen to the wisdom of your body and let it guide you on your healing journey.

3. Nourish your whole self - body, mind, and spirit - for lasting wellbeing.

4. Be unafraid to be different; your authenticity is a gift to the world.

5. Focus on what brings you joy, and the rest will follow.

Keep up with Sue: Website: https://www.susanpryde.com/, Public Facebook Blog: https://www.facebook.com/HealPrydeLiver, Private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1399074887180365

Sue was nominated by Lisa Crozier. Hear her story of healing here.

Ready for some radical self-care for yourself? Join us for our first-ever Uplifters Retreat where we will go all-in together on designing and creating your next chapter!

TUP EP 074

Welcome to the Uplifters podcast, where we talk to Women who have faced extraordinary challenges and come through them with extraordinary courage, finding [00:00:30] extraordinary purpose along the way.

So Sue, thank you so much for being here. I know it's the first time you've ever told your story in this way. How are you feeling right [00:01:15] now? I'm a little nervous, but I'm excited too. And I'm, I'm very honored to be here. I'm really glad you're here. And I love that feeling. Nervous, excited is maybe my favorite feeling.

So let's test you again in three months. And in three months, they were actually worse. That started a whole landslide of other tests and ultrasounds and blood [00:02:15] work. And, uh, we move around the country because we travel in our RV full time. So that's a little bit of a challenge. We kind of had to learn by the seat of our pants how to handle a major illness on the road.

So on that day, I had given up all, all forms of [00:03:00] alcohol, all refined sugar, anything, you know, enriched flowers, anything that wasn't made naturally by mother nature. I just said, it's got to go. And I need to start moving. At the time I was 260 pounds. Obesity is a big cause of non [00:03:15] alcoholic fatty liver disease.

And at that point, it still read me after that weight loss at [00:03:45] F4 cirrhosis and stage two fat level in my liver. So we don't know how bad it was if I had been tested, you know, back in January. It probably would have read a lot higher because by then I think I was about [00:04:00] 217 pounds. It's funny how some of these numbers just stick in your head.

Absolutely. You were somebody who I think most of us would describe as a happy social drinker who loved good food and adventure. Yes. It sounds like you were really off living this bright, joyful [00:04:45] version of your life with the freedom to go travel and pursue your dreams. And then this diagnosis had to have been a complete shock.

And what is the prognosis for somebody with your kind of liver disease? Well, I've seen people go downhill really quickly. If no change is made, it can be very quick. As I read your book, one of the first passages that really [00:05:30] struck me, as you said, I had to make the effort to address the reality of why I overate and why I drank to feel likable and find out what food and exercise my body required.

And it happened right in front of me. He was in a canoe accident. There's grief running through the whole family. It changes the family [00:06:15] dynamic. I was a daddy's girl. So I think it took me 50 years. To realize that all of the grief that I had back then, you internalize that and that became, you know, eating for comfort.[00:06:30]

I was always really shy. So that always helped me feel like, oh, I can have fun and, you know, I'm sure nobody else noticed it, but I felt calmer. So what I realized is I need to find a way [00:07:00] to let my emotions out and instead of internalizing them or, or eating them. And to let myself feel the grief or the joy or whatever might be happening, I realized [00:07:15] that in order to really be healthy, you have to have your whole body, mind, heart, soul has to be in tune.

So I think what started to happen is like all of those things started to line up. And I was reading poetry and I was reaching out for anything that would help my mind and my heart as well. [00:08:00] And taking time to take the photographs and take the hikes, and I love to paint and draw. So I was trying to make sure that I put things in front of me that kept me busy and brought me joy.

And I found my self respect. And when I found my self respect, I started to realize. I was not showing [00:08:45] people who I was and that I need to, I need to be okay just being me. And that was just a huge realization for me. And it's something I'm still working on because after 50 years, you really, it's hard to let go.

And I really wanted to unlock [00:09:30] those secrets. And I thought, well, in order to do that, I have to be open about it. Writing the book was so cathartic. So much of your story is really about letting go of control and opening [00:09:45] yourself vulnerably. And it sounds like that really began with going to the doctor.

But then it gave you a choice. It gave me the choice to sit back and do nothing or stand up and reach for Everything. And I remember [00:10:30] thinking to myself, they told me, you might be able to heal a little bit or freeze it in place, but most people do not heal. And I remember thinking to myself, watch me. I thought there's got to be a way around this.

What is the likelihood there? They're showing more and more that there is a regression process that the liver can go through because it's, it is the only, organ in our body that has the ability to [00:11:15] repair itself. So I've envisioned that the part of my liver that was healthy was going to overtake the part of my liver that was not.

And my liver was also enlarged. And I felt that shrinkage because it was painful under the rib cage. And all of a sudden, about nine, 10 months in, I'm like, Hey, I [00:12:00] don't feel that pain anymore. I was, you know, starting to feel that hope that I might be healing. And as I lost weight, at first it was completely about a number on the scale.

If I can do that, I'm going to live a long time. I still didn't know if I was going to be reversing. I didn't expect that. At some point I realized I'm on to something here. [00:12:45] I feel better and I think I'm going to be okay no matter what happens, no matter what The results are to my next scan, which wasn't going to be till the following January.

And it's freeing to be able to be in our bodies and feel well and do the things that we want. So choose your freedom. Yes. And I read in your book, you said it was a [00:13:30] game changer for you to focus on good health rather than dwelling on having cirrhosis. Yes. And I think probably the same is true, that it was easier to focus on good health and well being than all the things that you were giving up.[00:13:45]

So I thought, take your camera, get out there and get some pictures. [00:14:15] And the more I walked and photographed, the less I realized that I was exercising and the further I could go. And I'd come back with all these photos that I could now paint pictures of or, or just share or, and it just became a joy rather than a [00:14:30] chore.

I do love to swim and I'd go in and stuff, but I was always that extra fear for me, especially when it came to getting in a boat. So I've done it twice now, I went whitewater rafting, but we went again two days ago and I still had that old fear. [00:15:15] My sisters were in town and we all went. And that morning I was really quiet because I put myself back in that fearful state.

You put them on tight. I'm leaving them the way they are. We got in the raft. And I realized as we were pushing away. I looked over at my sister and my [00:15:45] husband was behind me, my other sister back there and my niece and my son in law. As we started to flow through the water, the fear started to fall and I started to feel, okay, this is, this is going to be okay.

And it was very cathartic. I'm living it instead of watching from the shore, [00:16:30] and that's what I needed. That's such a beautiful image and captures so much of what we feel when we feel stuck in any area of our lives, and we feel without hope. [00:16:45] and incapable of change. Did you always know that you were the kind of girl who had all that front seat driver energy?

I could do this, be this, feel this. [00:17:30] And sometimes you're not going to just jump right in the river, but sometimes you just got to dip your toe in and go, Ooh, is that interesting to me? Does that, do I like the way this feels? Do I think I could go down to my knees? Can I [00:17:45] wade? Am I ready? And sometimes you're not and it's okay to pull back.

I've found that doing things while afraid [00:18:15] sometimes are the most rewarding because then I come out the other side and that glory is so powerful. You actively sourced hope. And there's so much demoralizing information when we're facing any challenge, and so [00:18:30] many stories of how it won't work. And so you looked for some proof points that it would work.

It can become more [00:19:00] immediately active and successful. And the other thing when we talk about success that I read in your story was that you found new rewards. And I think that is so important because [00:19:15] sitting Riverside and an adventurous place while off living the dream with your sweet husband, that sounds pretty rewarding with your little pina colada and your delicious foods you've never had.

First of all, my husband's the cook, so don't tell anybody, but you know, he's the one telling him how I could have things prepared and suddenly going, Hey, this [00:20:00] is still good. And it's nourishing me and I'm happy. So it's kind of like being taken care of and taking care of yourself at the same time. And knowing that you don't have to just, like, have a piece of lettuce to be healthy.

So, if I could nourish myself and then have the energy to go out and climb a little bit higher this time, or I set a goal to get on a horse again. A lot of times when you [00:20:45] go on those trail rides and stuff, they say you can't be over whatever the weight limit is. And I was like, Hmm. And I used to ride as a young girl and I'm a horse nut.

I wanted to get out on the trail and not go, uh, [00:21:15] I can't breathe because we were in a lot of higher elevations and stuff. So I think it was setting mini goals and like you said, little experiments. So I would change up what I was eating too and go, well, how is this affecting my body and how I feel? Do I feel [00:21:30] better when I eat this versus that?

That was where the magic came in. The other thing I'm really hearing in your story that I think so many of us [00:22:00] misunderstand about progress is that we really need to consciously trigger awareness of what's working and what isn't. We think we'll just like intuit it [00:22:15] and know what to do, but the truth is we have to pay attention to what's working and what isn't.

You also talk about your husband, Neil, and the role he played, and you know, you guys were living alone in a [00:23:00] trailer. I imagine you were spending a lot of time together. Your routines were very much intertwined. He was probably your eating and drinking buddy. Definitely. So this was a big change for both of you.

It wasn't that I wanted to drink. [00:23:45] It was just being around the atmosphere of a bar after the group around us, even if it wasn't Neil or I. Once, you know, everybody was a few drinks in, I felt lost or overwhelmed. And I was like, how do I get past that? [00:24:00] I can't run from it. I have to figure it out. But what I learned was that it's okay to give yourself an escape route from all situations.

I [00:24:30] had to make sure I had my lunch packed and some snacks and be prepared. the girl that, you know, like, like those movies where they're, I want this and I want this on the side and don't give me that. And that became me. Or I said, I'm going to eat in the car before we go in and [00:24:45] I'll just order a sparkling water when we go in and you guys enjoy.

And I never wanted that. I just wanted to be well, and I'm like, just accept me for who I am now. So they all call me the hippie Grammy because I've got my, [00:25:15] my hippie food and I bring it without worry. I don't care that I'm different. I can be proud that I'm different, that I've made these choices for myself, and that I can just enjoy the person.

And that's what they're doing. And are they, are they really even looking at me? Is my ego so large that I feel that everybody's going to be looking at me? It's been something that I've been working on more lately is taking the ego out of the [00:26:00] equation and realizing that we all are coming at our lives.

Yep. So you've made [00:26:30] massive sweeping changes in your life. You were doing things one way for 50 years, so actually all these changes are fairly new. Yeah. I'm sure there are times when it feels tempting or easy to go back to [00:26:45] your old lifestyle, no matter how rewarding this one is. How do you manage those moments, Sue?

First I thought, I haven't done any [00:27:15] art because all I've been doing is focusing on this book. It was joyful doing it. And as hard as it was to write it, it was still joyful for me because I had this focus of helping. I'm going to help someone. I got to do this. So when it was gone, I didn't [00:27:30] anticipate the rug coming up from under me.

What is my problem? So I, I thought it was because I had neglected my art. So I bought [00:28:00] this book where you journal and it was about finding a way to like bring out the artist in you again. And. Along with the book was a journaling thing. So you write three pages and every morning and it's, it's a 12 week thing.

So I'm filtering how I felt to myself, something that isn't going to be read. And I realized that I'm never going to get to the root of what's holding me back, why I'm still [00:28:45] sitting here now, lost, if I'm not honest with myself. So it opened up some doors of surrender and it's going to be a work in progress forever, which I suddenly realized is okay, but we're not looking for an end game.

And now you can just go be yourself again. When in reality, you're just setting yourself up for another cycle. [00:29:30] And every time you do it, it's worse. And. What I realized was that I need to always be focusing on who is around me, am I [00:29:45] connected? Am I plugging into who I'm talking to right now? Am I listening?

If I am focused on my grandbaby. I'm focused on my grandbaby now, and I'm going to feel the love and I'm going to give it to him, and if that means we're both crying, we're both crying, and if that means we're giggling and we're crawling around the floor, we're [00:30:30] crawling around the floor, and it doesn't mean that I'm going to worry about what, what I look like.

[00:31:00] I can feel joy without having a huge meal or standing there snacking all day. I can feel joy just because I'm looking at you. And that you and I are talking, and I don't need those crutches. I don't know [00:31:15] why I never focused on that for 50 years. I don't know why. I'm glad I am now. I mean, so much of it probably comes back to what you said about fear and fear of what would happen if we're fully present and authentic and [00:31:30] honest and vulnerable.

Yes. I think [00:32:00] about, you know, when my father passed and now I can look at that, you know, and I'm looking at that little girl and thinking she lost her daddy and she lost her footing. So I finally am honoring who she should [00:32:15] be. I'm finally living the life that I think I was always meant to live. I feel that I have a voice and I need to use it.

And I see them healing and it brings me more joy than when I healed. And I don't even know how to describe that. I didn't expect all of this, never in a million years. [00:33:00] It is an honor to get to learn from you. And for those of you listening, Sue's book is a real joy to read. It's a manual for all of life with some incredibly specific tools for [00:33:15] those who are facing liver disease.

Thank you, Sue, for sharing your story with us and for all you're doing in the world. Well, [00:33:45] thank you, Arantis. I am humbled and honored to be here. Uplifters, thank you for listening and thank you for all the good you do in the world. Thank you for listening to the Uplifters podcast. If you're getting a boost from these [00:34:00] episodes, please share them with the Uplifters in your life and then.

music: Big love [00:34:30] painted water, sunshine with rosemary.

lift you [00:35:00] up, whoa, lift you up, whoa, lift you up.

It's that little thing you did with your voice. Right, in the pre chorus, right? I was [00:35:45] like Mommy, stop crying. You're disturbing the peace.