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 the common mis-conception would have it. 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 also 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.
Since Dad maintained a rather old-fashioned "country doctor" sort of
atmosphere, many of these patients became "family friends". But, by
the time I entered grade school, we also 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 an important part of our way of life, but we felt
doctors should be AVAILABLE, not divisive 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". But,
remember, this is a NON-MEDICAL healing profession; so, NO FORM of
medicine is EVER used. The charge was obviously just a fabricated
excuse to restrain [or eliminate?] the "competition".
This gross intolerance, along with anatomically and physiologically
inaccurate and misleading information others would relate receiving
from SOME 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 its 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 LASTINGLY EFFECTIVE (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.
In the years since then, however, 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 a number of
non-physician medical professionals) seemed exceptionally flexible and
non-opinionated.
But it only takes one or two authoritarian latecomers who
assume they understand everything, and 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
equally-uninformed and easily-intimidated 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 much 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 some, too 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.
