Life's Happenstance Can Open Doors to True Healing

Last week we learned how a chronic stress response can lead to insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes.  In that post I told you we were going to venture into the world of the Relaxation Response as a path to wellness.  However, I am going to digress this week to share with you how life's happenstance can open doors to true healing.

 

 

     Over 4 1/2 years ago we rescued our American Eskimo Dog (Vino) from the Chicago Canine Rescue Foundation.  Vino was approximately 1 year old when he became part of our family.  He brought with him chronic digestive issues (possibly brought on by a stress reaction) as well as an upper respiratory infection.  During his tenure with us he has suffered from chronic vomiting, and about two years ago was afflicted with a severe case of pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).  We rushed him to our vet at Lepar Animal Hospital where he spent the night and met with full recovery after several weeks.

     Because of this serious health scare, it was determined that Vino needed a change in diet.  A more healthy brand of dog kibble was suggested and away we went.  A year went by and all seemed calm in our companion's world.  Vino has always had the uncanny ability to pass his annual physical with flying colors, but then a few months later the digestive issues come back to haunt him.  Chronic vomiting, eating mulch, and even bronchitis has distressed our beloved family member.  The treatment has always been the same:  antibiotics, anti-emetics, anti-diarrheals, and so on.

 

     A few months ago, Vino's case was assigned to Dr. Elizabeth Cutright at Lepar.  One area of integrative medicine that Dr. Cutright practices is known as Nutrition Response Testing (NRT).  I will give you a brief description of this healing art and go more in depth in a later post.  NRT seeks to pinpoint weak areas/organs in animal's (and human's) body by using its innate energy pathways.  The practitioner completes an exam with the assistance of a vet tech.  The tech is instructed to place one hand on key organ areas of Vino's body and extend the opposite arm.  Dr. Cutright then pushes down on the tech's extended arm and ask him/her to resist.  If an organ is weak, this energy is transferred to the tech and the extended arm also becomes weak.

    Dr. Cutright determined that Vino's primary issue was a parasitic infestation of the hypothalamus.  As you recall, this a key area in the brain which directs the pituitary gland to release hormones related to the stress response.  Now here is where it becomes a fascinating process. In order for Vino to heal, Dr. Cutright repeated this process by holding certain supplements on his body to see if his weak organs will respond. The long and the short of it is he has been prescribed several holistic medicines that he takes daily with meals.  During subsequent visits the same evaluations are conducted to see if there is any improvement/regression and the supplement amounts are either increased, decreased, or changed in accordance with his response.  Vino has made great improvements over the past few months.  Other layers of dysfunction have been uncovered and the doctor suggested Vino begin consuming an all raw foods diet in order to completely detox his system of plastics and synthetics which are found in the packaging of dry dog food.   Some of you may be thinking this to be all nonsensical.  Since entering the holistic world I have always been open-minded to any modality that would help find and treat the underlying cause of Vino's ailments.   So what does this have to do with life's happenstance?

 

     Yesterday, I took Vino for one of his follow up visits to check his progress.  Since he has started the raw foods diet, he lost a little weight but was actually maintaining for a couple of months.  It became worrisome to me that he lost a pound and a half in two weeks.  During the exam, Vino wanted to sit down but the doc needed him to stand in order to palpate his key organ areas.  I put my hands on his hind legs to lift him up and the most curious thing happened: the tech's arm became weak.  Dr.Cutright told me to take my hands off of Vino, and the moment I did that the tech was able to resist once again.  Dr. Cutright told me that a weak energy field in me was transferred to Vino.  She asked me what was going on with me and I told her the story of that fateful night 16 years ago along with current work-related stress.  She did a quick check of me and found a weakness.

     This is very significant for me because in two weeks I will be presenting my story (One Cold and Lonely Night) to psychology students at Lewis University.  I was required to write an outline for the presentation which caused me to live an unexamined life.  It was then that I discovered I had suffered from PTSD.  What I thought I had recovered from, must still dwell within me.  My stress had been transferred to Vino which has slowed down his progress.  I was brought to tears at the thought that I was causing harm to my friend.  Dr. Cutright assured me that Vino is on the road to recovery but in order to enhance that, I must also recover.  I told her that over the past couple of weeks I was thinking of getting acupuncture treatments in order to right my ship. 

     The lesson learned here is that what we do, and how we conduct our lives has a great impact on those around us. The time for talk is over, and the time to act is now.  I love life's happenstance.   Stay tuned.

 

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