Wicked Success is Inside Every Woman

MARTHA'S ENTERPRISE

In 1961 I came to the United States planning to stay for only one or two years, then go back to Switzerland. I met Helmut, my husband, and the United States became my home. Financially, times were not easy back then, and we had children right away. As a stay-at-home mom I always worked. I sold Avon, Tupperware, Amway. I sewed for some of my friends and word got around. I became the seamstress for a boutique. When the children were older I went into the corporate world for a while, and I didn't like it.

Following my passion for healthcare, I signed up for a yoga workshop, but it was already full and I ended up in another class. Before I left Texas to go to Montana for the workshop, the coordinator inquired whether I would need a wheelchair. I hadn't realized I had signed up for a multiple sclerosis (MS) workshop. I didn't want to tell my husband I had registered by mistake, so I took a chance and went to it. The speaker, who was also an MS patient, needed a massage every day on his shoulders and neck. I pitched in, and he told me I was very good, that I should do massage professionally.

I came back from the workshop, gave my notice, and told my husband I wanted to be a massage therapist. He thought I was crazy, but I did it anyway. Ultimately I followed my calling, first as a therapist for about five years, then as a teacher specializing in a very technical form of massage therapy, manual lymph drainage. I travel nationwide and am well known and respected ...