Our Story

Emer Mander-O'Beirne inspired me to establish Harmony Cuisine after she won a life-or-death battle with Crohns Disease. My name is Paul, and I am Emer's husband.  Here is the story of our ongoing efforts to manage Emer's Crohns without being ruled by it:

Emer was diagnosed with Crohns Disease in 2001, and was fortunate to have it identified relatively early.  At that time, we had no idea how certain nutrients and ingredients could affect her condition.  If we knew then what we know now, perhaps life would have been a little easier!

We had only been married for 9 months when Emer's condition rapidly deteriorated in May 2004.  Her weight dropped to 6 stone and food became associated with excruciating pain.  She could not eat, which meant she had to have an immense amount of medical intervention, something we wish we could have prevented.

She was hospitalised for nearly 6 months and her survival was in the balance on three occasions. She had to have a Hickman line (a tube leading from outside the body along a vein directly to the heart) inserted so that she could be given TPN (liquid nutrition).  Inflammation in her intestinal tract resulted in two fistulas forming, one leading to her bladder and the other to her spine. These in turn became infected and resulted in a large abscess forming on her spine leading to spinal osteomyelitis.  It also blocked her ureter, causing kidney damage. This required a nephrostomy to relieve the pressure. Emer had to undergo surgery to drain the abscess, to resect her bowel and to create a temporary ileostomy.  She was so nutritionally run down that her condition was further weakened and she developed pneumonia and pleurisy. 

Fortunately, Emer is as stubborn as they come and she resolutely insisted on surviving!

Emer had been very careful to make sure that the ‘in sickness and in health' bit was left in our vows when we got married, although she made sure that the ‘obey' bit was absent!!   Needless to say, saying a vow and living a vow are quite different things and I certainly did not think we would be facing this type of test after only 9 months of marriage.  Strangely though this experience seemed bring us even closer together.  We won a true appreciation for the strength of our feelings to one another and a mutual admiration.

Emer was absolutely amazing throughout her time in hospital.  She was strong and positive and even managed to keep her sense of humour.  She had completed an NLP course (Neuro-linguistic Programming) and we found ourselves looking for the ‘positive intention in every action'.  It all became a bit of a joke; as when you are as sick as Emer was, there would be one step back for every two steps forward.  We actually used to look for the positive intention in every set back!  It may sound a little strange however it was incredibly liberating and allowed us to remain positive throughout!

When Emer left hospital, her overall condition was so poor that I had to change my job (so that I could work more regular hours) and become her carer.  Emer had no desire to eat so I had to find ways to coax back her appetite, as well as make sure that she ate the right foods. It was clear to me that the trial and error approach to finding a way to live with Crohns Disease was not going to work.

At this time improvements were measured in her ability to turn over in the bed, walk from one side of a room to the other with a Zimmer frame, and many other simple everyday actions that we take for granted.

As I love Emer, I wanted to make sure that she never experienced anything like this again.  So I began researching what would be the most appropriate food to give to her.  For someone who was not a medical professional, I had trouble getting hold of information, and when I did it was difficult to understand.  The British Library and various medical databases were at least reliable but not readily accessible, but the information I found online was often questionable.  However, I persisted and Emer began eating again, starting with tiny amounts.

This new, more informed approach to Emer's diet - combined with her medical treatment - led to progress in Emer's condition. In 2005 her weight increased to 8.25 stone/51 kilograms and the ileostomy was eventually reversed.  Emer and I are now much more informed about what she eats and she is now able to maintain good health.

Emer continued to make so much progress that in 2006 she became pregnant and in 2007 gave birth to a healthy baby son, Merric.

Inspired by Emer's improvement, I realised that I could help others with long-term conditions by providing reliable, medically verified information on the nutrients that could help or hinder the management of a condition, a way to identify which foods are rich in the beneficial nutrients, and delicious recipes tailored to meet an individual's condition and intolerances that are rich in these beneficial nutrients. After all, everybody experiences their condition in a way that is unique to them. 

I now work with a team of expert dietitians, chefs and home economists to help others with chronic illnesses.

My aim is to help people take control of their condition rather than having it control them.  We have found that leading as normal a life as possible is very important to people with long-term conditions.  Emer found that she had to keep reminding people that she was "more than her condition" when friends and family kept identifying her as ‘having Crohns' rather than as ‘Emer'. 

And that's how Harmony Cuisine began...

Harmony Cuisine has allowed us to maintain Emer's remission and allowed her to lead as normal a life as possible.  Now people are genuinely shocked when they read our story and can hardly believe the journey we have been on.  I would love for www.harmonycuisine.co.uk to help others lead a normal life and turn our negative experiences into something that is a positive for others.