I was chatting with Dennis O'Neill, the Business Growth Coach the other day, who told me how he'd spent a weekend prior. He was expecting company that weekend, and had planned to visit a number of wineries, take some winery tours and enjoy some fine Niagara vintages with his guest. A few days before his guest was to arrive, he had another, less welcome visitor show up.

Gout is a particularly unpleasant condition where deposits of uric acid collect in a joint - often in the foot. The crystals irritate the crystals in the joint and cause pain, inflammation and swelling. It's not fun, and in Dennis' case, it was not at all enjoyable because it looked like his weekend was going to be ruined.

Dennis knows a woman named Catherine Bradley, who he met through IdeaShare Niagara. If you haven't heard of her, she's a practitioner of Heilkunst. If you haven't heard of Heilkunst either, you're not alone. A completely unscientific poll of people I know demonstrated that the knowledge of Heilkunst in Niagara is virtually nil. That's okay though, because now you know about it and you know about Catherine. You might want to give her a call in the event something ails you.

Catherine had a chat with Dennis about his gout and suggested that he add something to his dietary regimen to help him quickly alkalize his body. That something was lemon juice. I've heard having lemon juice in warm water in the morning is a great way to start the day. I didn't hear that from Catherine. I think I heard it from Craig Bowman, who's a nutritionist I know, and who wrote an article about the acid/alkaline balance in the body. Anyway, Catherine suggested to Dennis that since he felt his gout was coming on quickly, he should fight back just as hard with lemon juice: one glass of lemon juice and water for every waking hour. So that's what Dennis did for the next three days.

The result? On the day his guest arrived, he went on a couple of Niagara winery tours and had a great time. Walking wasn't a problem that day and that evening, Dennis and his guest spent a few hours enjoying the fruits of their wanderings by enjoying the great weather and some fine Niagara wines on Dennis' back deck. The next morning when Dennis met his regular walking group, he said it was like he'd never had gout, and it was wonderful.

It's nice to hear stories like these. People in Niagara helping other people in Niagara. There are so many bad news stories out there. I don't particularly care to know about the latest drug bust or stabbing or traffic fatality. I know they happen, but that's not the kind of information I want to be filling my consciousness. If I'm going to have to expose myself to bad news, I also want to hear stories of hope, success and healing. Niagara's a wonderful place with great people. Those are the kind of Niagara stories I want to hear and plan to share.

Do you have some good news stories about great people in Niagara? Share them with me and I'll help share them online.