I’ll never forget that moment over 10 years ago. It seems just like yesterday. I had just adjusted a very precocious young girl who suffered from migraine headaches. Although I didn’t know it at the time, her query during our conversation was about to set off a very different path in health and healing for me.
Here is her question: “Dr. Carl, do you think I get headaches because I was born without enough Tylenol?” Hmmm...
It was one of those great questions offered in innocence that could only be asked from the clarity of thinking that stems from an absence of advanced education. Without knowing it, this little girl had nailed down a very emotional and controversial element of today’s health care system. The question itself made me think further and propose its philosophical neighbour. “Is it possible that we’re born with too many organs and that they need to be removed sequentially throughout our lives?” Another hmmm...
Don’t you just hate those bigger questions? They torment me in the privacy of a good episode of CSI or worse yet disturb me in the sanctity of what I’d like to believe is a well-earned nap.
No matter which way our own response directs us, there is no absolute correct answer when it comes to proving the rightness or wrongness of using largely chemical or surgical solutions for our symptoms and for our health. I do know that drugs and surgery are absolutely essential for first aid, reconstructive care and to keep us alive, as in the case of insulin for the treatment of diabetes. And it wasn’t that long ago that I very thankfully and gratefully had a malignant melanoma surgically excised from my leg.
Looking back, I realize that for me the absolute answers to those two questions were less important that the realization that firstly, these two questions exist and secondly, that I have a choice and that it should be an informed and inspired choice. My own answers gave me what I wish for you. An inspired, self governed awareness that serves as a foundation from which to make empowered health care decisions. Not just choices to be free of symptoms, but rather a path of health that allows me to age gracefully as I honour my physical body and its ability to renew itself well.
As a chiropractor, trusting, respecting and observing the innate capabilities of the body’s ability to heal has transformed my approach to wellness. It has made me more aware of the mind, body and spirit as interwoven by the nervous system, more observant of the whole person and more respectful and gentle with the human being in front of me.
I hope you take the time to ponder these questions and discover the answers for you and your loved ones. After all, there is no greater gift than our health. Just ask anyone who isn’t well.
Aloha and peace.