Just Checking

Called the mine again yesterday, just to ask a couple more questions, like driving time,(min. 8 hours from SLC) conditions,(watch out for deer) bed arrangement (2 queens), but also to sneak in a few questions about results of mine goers. Pat, who is the owner and the lady I spoke with earlier, said that she would be happy to give my email address to previous visitors so I could communicate with them directly. Woke up this morning and it was like Christmas on my email. You can read these or read a few or skip them all together, but I thought that I would post some of the condensed comments in case they might be of interest to someone(some of these responses are so long and gushy, I had to abbreviate).

The doctor told me in 1966 if I didn't get into remission I would be in a wheel chair at age 40 and I was 32 then. I heard about the mine at the doctors office and after 6 months in bed and not any better. I sent to the Chamber of Commerce for literture and when it arrived I made plane reservations and flew into Butte. Mr Lewis was still living and was such a NICE MAN. I am a RN and they couldn't believe I was there. I got results right away !!!!!!!!!!!

I have JRA have had jaw and hip surgery both in my teens. Have been on multiple medications since age 11. I first heard about the mine in National Geographic in 2003. In August 2004 I decided it was worth a try. I had researched the risks and decided it was a quality of life issue for me. My cousin's little girl Catherine (age 10)also suffers from arthritis including eyrithis(arthritis of the eyes) and was losing some of the clarity in her right eye. She has had 3 surgeries already and almost died from stomache bleeding due to medication. We spent 10 days in the mines. I was able to do 81 hours and had her do 40
I have been medication free since!!!! The inflammation and pain are diminished although not completely gone. Catherine continues to use an anti-inflammatory but has full sight in both eyes and plays hockey and participates in gym for the first time in her life.
If we had the $ and time we would travel to the mines every year. We may be able to go again this year. My rheumatologist can not explain the incredible difference but i don't care. Everyday I can get up, stand up straight and put my feet on the floor without crippling pain is a miracle.

My father and I have been going to the mine for several years now. He
really enjoys it and within a day he is walking again. He is a diabetic and
his feet swell. Within a couple of days his feet have gone down a great
deal. My first time down there my hands were getting the arthritis that makes them
bend. I have never had any problems with my hands and that was at least 5
years ago.

Pat Lewis has written to ask if some of us would drop you a line and let you know our mine experience.

My wife was in a serious auto accident in 1998 and I suffered a broken neck in 1976. As a result we both suffer from arthritis and in addition, I have chronic bronchitis which runs in our family. When we started going to the mine 4 years ago, my wife could not walk without a crutch or assistance from me when leaving our house. I could not raise my arms high enough to wash my own hair, or, for any length of time before the arthritis would cause my arms to hurt. I also was using an inhaler for my bronchitis. I am 73 years old and my wife is 66.

We have made three trips to the mine and this will be our fourth trip when we go this coming September. We both noticed a difference from the first trip. We went in May the first time and it took about 6 weeks after we got home before we noticed that we both felt better than we had in a long time. By the start of fall, my wife no longer was using her crutch very often and I had more arm use and less neck ache than previous years. We got through our wet windy winter( We live in the Pacific Northwest) that year, better than several previous winters. My breathing had improved and neither of us had the joint aches we had previously experienced. It has been a constant improvement since then and we keep going back as we seem get better and better. My wife does not use a crutch at all anymore unless she has to go a long distance or will be on her feet for a long period of time. My neck and arm movement has greatly improved and I only have to use my inhaler about half of what I used to in the wet winters and hardly at all in the summer months.

My wife had arthritis in both knees and had a hard time going up and down
stairs. we went to the mines and the first year it helped her a lot,after several
more years she has very little trouble with her knees.

We started going to the mines in "95" and have been going ever since. Before we came to the mines my husband was suffering with Rheumitoid arthritis. He had a trucking business with a shop and he was to the point that he couldn't even walk across the shop without sitting down. His hands and joints were very swollen and red and painful. He heard about the mines from his Uncle and decided to try it. Financially he couldn't even afford it at the time but decided to go anyway. Within two days the redness was gone. Within three days the swelling was gone. He drank the water and breathed the air and by the time we went home all the symptoms were virtually gone. He went through the year and never needed asprin for pain since their was'nt any symptoms. He was to a point that he would have been in a wheelchair and now is running his business as usual. He is 63 years old and acts like a 40 year old man in his prime.

I am writing you as a mine user, when diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I was in
excruciating pain and could not use my upper body. I started on a regiment of prescription drugs, but could not get relief.
My husband took me to see a Rheumatoligist
at the Mayo Clinic.
I was unable to get help from them so as a last resort he took me to Montana to the Mine.
I had only had about 20 or 25 hours, but the relief was unbelievable.
Of course we take our 32 hrs.every year.
I still have occasonal flare ups, never as severe as the first ones.
My husband and I are positive the reason that I
am almost free of Arthritis is because we gave the mine a try.

Ten years ago I was getting lumps on my fingers like my mother. My great aunt had arthritis really bad too. I decided to go as a preventative. I had had stiff fingers in the morning when I would wake up and my husband would rub each finger until they where open. Then I would roll out of bed and from my knees push myself up and get up to go to the bathroom. I had back trouble in the past and just thought it was because of that. How ever after going to the mine I came home and I no longer had to have my fingers rubbed--I jumped right out of bed and got up. In eleven months I knew I had to go back.

ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I HAVE BEEN TO THE MINE 5 OR 6 TIMES , AND MY PAIN IS GONE FOR 1 TO 1 1/2 YEARS EACH TIME.... NEVER HAVE I HEARD ANYTHING NEGATIVE..BUT HAVE HEARD SO MANY WONDERFUL THINGS PERSONAL