Growing Up REALLY Drug Free --- A True Story
I grew up with three legally-licensed non-medical health care
professionals --- my father and both grandfathers. They were
Chiropractors. They didn't just "crunch bones" or "crack joints"
as is the common misconception. My dad and my maternal grandfather
especially were very interested in nutritional and other biological
therapies (most of which would be classified as "naturopathic"
nowadays) that affected things like body chemistry and metabolism,
including acid and alkaline balance and elimination of biologically
toxic substances and materials ---as well as educating their
patients in simple natural things they could do for themselves that
profoundly promote healing and good health. I came to know of a
number of individuals Dad helped restore to health who had been
essentially sent home to die by some of the most prestigious medical
clinics in the country.
By the time I entered grade school, we had a close but ever widening
circle of other friends with whom we shared a rather unique set of
values and by whom we felt very loved. Except - - - when health care
came up. We learned early on not to bring it up. After all, it was
not our "religion", and certainly not a crusade, political OR
religious. It WAS our way of life, but we felt doctors should be
available, not activists campaigning for a cause. Some of these
friends had very strong feelings about traditional "western" health
care, though; so it would eventually come up anyway. To them,
Medicine was the only true, serious and complete health care ---
apparently "sacred" to some, so living COMPLETELY natural and
non-medical was "sacrilege".
Even though we were very careful not to offer unsolicited health
advice (extremely hesitant even when asked) much less try to tell
others how to make their health care decisions, plenty of folks were
ready and willing to pass negative pre-judgement on our non-medical
choices anytime they became public knowledge. They usually didn't
even when we were asked. We learned to give very vague and evasive
answers. They really were the best of friends in every other way, so
we did everything we could to try to keep peace. At times though I
felt I really didn't "belong" but was just an intruding stranger
being politely tolerated; and soon decided not to make a career of
it, but to pursue what I hoped would be a more peaceful and
productive life.
It was bad enough that in some States of the U.S. at the time,
Chiropractors were still fighting court battles to be recognized and
licensed as health care professionals ---and over false charges from
you-can-guess-who of "practicing medicine without a license".
REALLY?? It's a NON-MEDICAL healing profession --- NO FORM of
medicine is EVER used. The charge was obviously just a fabricated
excuse to restrain the "competition".
This gross intolerance, along with anatomically and physiologically
inaccurate and misleading information others would relate receiving
from their Medical doctors, instilled in me a determination to
take charge of my own health (good or ill) according to what I had
learned growing up. Naturally, I received all the education Dad
gave all his patients put together ---many times over. Talk about
growing up drug free! - - - I've never even had so much as an
aspirin. Not because I've never had pain. But because I was always
more concerned with the CAUSE than the pain itself. Pain is our
body's warning system to keep us from injuring ourselves worse. And
I was about as willing to suppress that as any rational person would
be to remove the batteries from all the smoke alarms and carbon
monoxide detectors in the house so they could sleep.
Don't get me wrong; I never hated any medical doctors personally.
Most of the few I've met were quite likable individuals. But after
what our family had learned from many patients' medical experiences
and from the "confidential" Medical newsletters (similar to this Journal of the American
Medical Association article ) Dad and Grandad would
inadvertently receive as a result of having "Dr." in front of their
names, I began to see Medicine's APPROACH to illness as seriously
flawed, and it's SYSTEM as greedy and less than completely honest.
Of course, no human institution is incorruptible; but I decided I
did NOT want omnipotent "mainstream Medicine" getting their hands on
me UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. That decision may not sound very
rational to you, but a lot of careful thought preceded it and I'm
convinced I've had VASTLY SUPERIOR HEALTH CARE for my personal needs
for WELL over half a century. ---If only I didn't have to defend
personal health care choices that are actually safer AND MORE
EFFECTIVE in the long term (not to mention being nobody else's
business)! Or feel like I'm "walking on eggs" to keep from having
to! (Scrambled eggs, anyone?)
I didn't have to for a time. In my youthful wanderings I stumbled
upon a rather unique little sub-culture among the otherwise same
kind of friends in an area that drew people from many varied
backgrounds, cultures and places. As a result, almost everybody was
different from nearly everyone else but seldom did anybody even seem
to notice. Even when they did, friends like these didn't have to
UNDERSTAND everything to BE understanding. It was truly refreshing.
But in the years since then I have finally realized ----especially
after becoming the 24-hour-7-day-a-week caregiver for my
last-surviving elderly invalid parent who had put these same totally
non-medical health care choices in writing in a DPA form (Durable
Power of Attorney for Health Care) before becoming completely
disabled---- that down deep very little has actually changed in
western society. All the "natural" and "organic" advertising and
all the "complementary" and "alternative medicine" hype not
withstanding. Naturally all these friends wanted to help, and those
who could (including non-physician medical professionals) seemed
exceptionally flexible and non-opinionated. But it only takes one
or two authoritarian latecomers who assume they understand
everything, but actually comprehend nothing of the patient's LEGALLY
SIGNED AND WITNESSED INSTRUCTIONS (yet feel very strongly "duty
bound" to set things "right" in their uninformed view ---Medically,
of course) to strike panic in the hearts of less experienced ones.
So, as I write this my "patient" has not even had visitors in months
and, of course, I no longer feel the refuge here I did in the past.
But even worse than that, to see our dear friends so intimidated by
such a powerful totalitarian system as to render some of them (even
if unintentionally and unwittingly) too oblivious and intolerant to
be capable of truly listening with genuine understanding to any
other concept of life and health has to be one of the saddest, most
despicable things I have ever personally witnessed.
