i have emerged from chemoland! it really took until tuesday to start feeling human again. of course all sorts of strange things keep happening to my body, some predictable (night sweats, constantly ringing ears, shortness of breath on exertion), some not (random crashes of piercingly loud sound, sudden moments of flu-like malaise, random body pains), but on the whole, i am back to being a relatively functional person.
i had my first acupuncture session this morning, and it was a truly wonderful experience. i had few preconceived notions about acupuncture, except that its precepts do not make sense when approached from the western medical paradigm. i still have no idea what kinds of improvement or results to expect from continued treatment, nor can i say that i noticed any particular change following the short needling and moxa-burning this afternoon. that said, it was such a great experience that there is no question that i will be coming back for more.
it was an entirely different kind of health care than we are taught in medical school, or than i have ever experienced. it was the first time that i have ever felt that someone was taking ALL the time that was needed, to cover ALL the bases, in order to take care of ME, as a whole. oh! THAT'S what wholistic means?! i thought it had something to do with the vitamin aisle at whole foods! the acupuncturist, neil gumenick, was such a perceptive and wise interviewer that in the end, i don't CARE if the needles are anything more than placebo or if the incense does anything more than smell good - he is the best talk therapist i could hope for! the intake interview alone took three quarters of the allotted two hours, and HE asked ME if it was OK if we went a little over. the place was so comfortable, it made me realize how horrible hospitals and doctors offices really are. these people are obviously professionals, working from a highly developed and subtle knowledge base. the fact that i don't understand the system only makes me more interested in what is going on. i was also told that i presented a complex set of challenges, and that it would be a learning experience even for an accomplished acupuncturist. he gave me a book to read, and i am excited by the opportunity this opens to learn about a different culture of healing.
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7 comments:
Josh - I am so glad you're continuing this blog. I feel like you've given me the gift of being able to support you. I hope that it's truly helping you cope.
By the way, I love the way you write. I can hear your voice - funny, I haven't physically heard your voice in years... but I can hear you now.
Hang in there. Hug friends. Kiss family.
Big Hugs - K
Josh - I'm thrilled to hear you've begun aculpuncture. I was thinking about it this very day. I hoping that you were going to get support for your immune system with acupuncture. My primary care doctor is a Chinese acupuncture and herb doctor. I've been going to him for 25 years now and he's helped me through many health difficulties. I'm not only happy you enjoyed the experience, but that it was an illuminating for you in terms of your world view of healing in general. This maybe one of the major lessons you get out of this whole grueling experience, from which I am confident you will emerge as an even stronger person than you already are.
Love you - Megan
That is fabulous. I'm glad to hear you had a good experience.
Its wild, this wholeness. . . acknowledging it, nourishing it, celebrating it.
I just spent the afternoon talking with a bunch of people about getting the concept put into the med school curriculum here. Its a project that may take a while.
Health care can be so complicated, so different for each person. I'm glad to see you are up for the adventure of forging what is right for you, sometimes in spite of our crazy system.
For as long as I've known you, you've been an inspiration. Thanks for sharing your path.
Love,
A.
PS Hey, where do you expect to be the 27-29th?
Your experence is a blessing because I feel it will make you a better and more welcoming doctor. Your office probably won't look like the "average doctor's office" now thaht you've seen a different practice!
Josh,
I am so glad you are driving in the right direction, and having some acupuncture experience. Too bad that I cannot take a little bit of your pain.
Bon courage and kiss family.
Christian Mounal
From Madison Wisconsin-- I just saw a link to your blog through my e-mail. I don't even know Alex Stanculescu...
Josh, I enjoyed reading your posts! I've read the entirety of them, and I don't know why. I guess your story and writing is just intriguing! If you capitalized a bit more, I think it would be publishable. You are living through an experience that so many of us will never have, or understand. Yet as future doctors, it would benefit us so much to be able to understand. Keep up the writing, I'll be following your story!
Logan
dance@wisc.edu
Hi Josh:
Just to let you know that we are following your progress toward recovery. Stay on, and continue writing so that we can hear you.
Edgar/Beatriz
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