April 2012 – Honnor Moore – Designing Victory!

This month’s Woman Of The Month is Honnor Moore. I first met Honnor about a year ago and, even though our first meeting was relatively short, she made an immediate and lasting impression on me.

Courageous,intelligent, motivating and inspiring are just a few of the adjectives that immediately come to mind when it comes to describing her. Honnor’s story is a supreme example of triumph over adversity and it seems no matter what happens to her she bounces back stronger and more motivated than before.

They say that a good fighter is not one who never gets knocked down on the canvas but one that when knocked down just keeps getting up and fighting on…to victory.

Honnor Moore is one of life’s great fighters and as you read her story I am sure you will agree she is also one of life’s true Kick Ass Women!

For people out there reading this who are unfamiliar with your story, let’s back track to over a decade ago when you began to feel that ‘something’ was not right in terms of your health. What symptoms did you start to experience?

“The year 1997, I had my son in February. The year leading up to his birth was a difficult year in many ways before I had him by c-section. Post partum, there were other cervical problems I needed to tend too as well as two root canals on the same tooth.  By September of that year, my hands began to scream in pain, and some of my fingers would get stuck at the joint.”

When you went to the doctor and were handed the diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis what emotions were you feeling and what thoughts were going through your mind?

“When my doctor told me my condition was incurable, chronic and increasingly debilitating I thought she had the wrong patient. I though she was erring on the side of the worst. In my heart and mind I was certain she was underestimating my ability to come through this health challenge.”

I believe the doctor told you that your career would be over in two years and that you would be confined to a wheelchair in five. Now, rather than go into acceptance, you decided to fight back leading you to Mexico and a very forward thinking Medical Center. Care to share what happened there?

“Yes, she indicated the state of RA in my body was very aggressive. I did not agree. I knew I was not meant for a life of debilitation and despair. The treatment she explained had hard side effects but I understood it would improve my quality of life and slow down the disease…although not eliminate it.

I always believed that the best way to approach a difficult health challenge is more about nature – natural remedies and balance. These are things our bodies are made of and can recognize….so much better than harsh pharmaceuticals.
When I first wanted to go to Sanoviv Medical Institute, I could not afford it so I put it on my vision board and kept doing everything I could to gain control of the disease.

In an absolutely dire condition, I finally got to Sanoviv in Feb 2008, 11 years into the crazy disease. I left Canada in a wheelchair and came back walking well on my own 31 days later. Many doubted that my return would be alive!”

The next goal you set for yourself was entering a fitness contest in Canada, what made you decide to pursue that?

“Pure Vanity as a tool to keep my body together and the distraction of a seemingly impossible goal to prove I was the boss of me.”

I would imagine working out in a gym would be difficult enough at times far less getting ready for a show. How did you go about managing the stress of working out with a contest as a goal and what obstacles did you have to overcome in the process?

“There were incredibly stressful hurdles, very private intense painful ones to be honest. I kept believing I would get through this, heal my body and kept loving life with my child the best I could.

In fitness training, I adapted everything that I did to accommodate fragility and compromise.  I created my own adaptive gear to work with my compromised grip, wore funky fitness shoes to support the bones in my feet, carefully worked on core strength to stabilize and protect spine deterioration.

To manage stress, I love to write music and sing, so I would do that.

 I sought spiritual guidance and balance. I still pray and meditate. Living, loving and laughing with my child. I attended sessions with a medical social worker and still do.”

I believe contest day itself was a very emotional and liberating experience for you?

“Meeting my fitness goals and entering a contest regardless of my setbacks was very confirming for me. We are victorious, first in our own battle within and then our own battle on the outside. People will see the battle you show them, you show victory- they see Victory WITH you. You show defeat, the feel defeat with you. Ultimately, we are to script our own victory… all the way from start to finish- and the world will agree. J”

So let’s fast forward to today. Can you tell us about your design business?

“Yes! Thank you for asking….

My interior design firm is Honnor Moore Studio in which I am Principal.

My mission is to design spaces that heal. Your home is the only place where you can hide and heal.

We design interiors, residential and commercial employing the five elements of nature, because this is where we balance, in nature. Our five senses and five elements are our home… we design them into 4 dimensions to surround our clients with harmony and happiness.

We are excited to offer our own signature interiors online.”

As taxing as that business may be you have a MUCH bigger project in the works. I will leave you to announce it……

“LIVEABLE SOCIETY –Fitness & Health for People with Disability…A society formed as a centre point for solutions for living an able life no matter what your health challenges may be and what we have to deal with in live…first we must LIVE ABLE to live well.”

I have a feeling that LiveABLE Society will help a lot of people and really change the way we view people with health challenges. For your own part, and in closing, could you tell us what this illness has taught you and how it has impacted the way you view life?

“LIVEABLE is being created for people to find solutions and possibilities to overcome the difficulty of this moment, so the next is easier. One moment at a time, because living with a physical adversity from day to day is living and winning from moment to moment.”

Finally how can readers contact you?

Liveablesociety@gmail.com

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