By Madeleine, an Ex-Christian Scientist Group Contributor.

When I finally decided to leave Christian Science after thirty years, what I knew for sure was that if I no longer believed that it healed, then it was my responsibility to take care of my body and see a doctor; I couldn’t just sit on the fence and not believe anymore but also not take care of my body.

For many, many years I had been convinced that there was something wrong with my heart. I was very scared about my symptoms of shortness of breath, dizzy spells and what felt like heart palpitations. Of course I had prayed and gotten help from a practitioner, and I would feel better (which I thought was a healing) and then the symptoms would return. This had gone on for years.

I talked about it with my with my dear friend, who had once been a born-again Christian, and really understood my struggles in leaving Christian Science. I told her I was terrified and just knew they would tell me I had heart disease. She gave me the name of her doctor. I was so thankful for the referral and made an appointment right away.

With great anxiety I went to the appointment, but I felt great relief the minute I walked into the waiting room. The doctor was wonderful, relaxed and sweet. When she asked me the inevitable question, “When was your last visit to the doctor?”, I explained my history and she listened patiently with no judgment whatsoever.

She gave me a full exam and carefully explained everything as she went. I was amazed at this, and felt so taken care of. Then came the EKG and echocardiogram. She said that my heartbeat was fast but my heart was sound and strong— what a huge relief!

She suggested that maybe the fast heartbeat was a result of anxiety….bingo!

She gave a prescription to help me relax, which I took for a while until I no longer needed it. It took about a year for my body and thoughts to relax into this new life.

Seven years later, I’m still seeing the same doctor. She’s wonderful.