Got GOUT?

Love of friend years ago, echoes forward to bless me now.

As I wound down last Friday and settling into my favorite TV shows, I noticed something off in my right foot. Heading to the kitchen for something to eat, it was clear that the foot was more than just off – it damned well hurt. Looking down at it, I could see the foot was swollen near the big toe joint and was perceptibly reddened. It is confounding how quickly this all arose; now I was limping as it really hurt to put pressure on it. To heck with eating, I’ll just grab a beer and an ice-pack for the foot. It helped, but it wasn’t fixed, as I limped to put the icepack back in the freezer, walking on my heel.

I became anxious as I contemplated caring for Heidi; our walks and her endless potty trips outside – how would I do it? My Gawd, what’s wrong with my foot? Curiously, I remembered Alan B from forty years ago and how he became afflicted with GOUT

Because of my great affection for him and my need to try to help, I had researched the disease (no computer in those days) and remembered that it was due largely to the rich American diet and the acid/alkaline balance within the body being off (too acid). The pain is caused by uric acid crystals which form around the joint – usually the big toe. Well of course, that was it! I had over recent weeks been deliberately eating more meat-stuff in an attempt to loose a few pounds. Curses! I knew better. Now look what I’ve done. I fancied that I have always been a fairly ‘clean’ eater, so how could this happen? Then I remembered calling to tell Allan of my findings and advise that pure Cherry Juice, the kind one buys in a health food store was known to be a natural treatment for this condition. He thanked me deeply for my caring but he and his wife who was a medical person of some standing would remain with the physician who was treating him. Out of my respect for him, I said no more. Since then I have also read that one can neutralize an over acid condition and gain immediate relief with a dose of ½ teaspoon of baking soda mixed into 3-4 ounces of water, especially at bedtime.

I had cherry juice but no idea how much I should take, so ventured two ounces …yuk, add a little water to dilute. Okay. Now for the baking soda. Struggled back to the TV to prop up the foot. Within half hour relief crept in. By ten there was no pain at all. Gone. I repeated the procedure as I went to bed. Next day, the episode was only a memory. I have not re-treated as all seems okay, so why mess with perfection? Clearly, some diet changes are in order so I searched through my library and found Dr. Jordan Rubin’s “Restoring Your Digestive Health” and pages 149 – 156 covers what I was looking for. The entire book is a treasure.   Also, Donna Gates in her book “The Body Ecology Diet” goes greatly into the acid/alkaline balance and proper food combining (which is truly at the heart of so many ailments.)   In case you might be interested, there is a truly good book called “The Food Combining Bible” by Jan and Inge Dries.  Much good stuff to learn there.

Reflecting back on Allan B and the suffering he went thru and continued to experience for some time is a sorrowful thing. I am however so glad that I dug to find out about this condition and that my brain filed it all away for future use, because look who I helped in the long run! I am amazed, just amazed that the effort to relieve and control was so effective and immediate. I am reminded that nature has provided for us with every herb of the field, a remedy for our various afflictions. It is for us to dig in and find them, using our bodies as our labs to test things out. We must be open and find what works, not be closed, fixated and elitist. Now, just in case there is someone out there who is so afflicted or perhaps knows of someone who is – share the wealth! I’d be happy to hear from you.

The Extra Mile, (once again)

In October,  I did a post on teen-ager Shelly Navarre of Upper Arlington, OH who on the surface is an ordinary girl making her mark on the world in what seems an ordinary, normal way.   That her accomplishment defies logic, that her struggle was not apparent, but a private journey of discipline born of an inner strength and personal desire – - astonished me.   I had wanted to share her story with others as I had found it very uplifting  To me she is heroic.  That I had dubbed the post “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” may not have conveyed my deep respect and awe of her.

I believe we all need living, breathing “ordinary people” doing extraordinary things to buoy us up,  to keep on keeping on, and maybe to try a little harder.  Today I found another “modern day hero” I’d like to share and laud.  I hope this stimulates new ideas and possibilities as well as making your day  too.

MENTAL HEALTH

Stylist’s visits show healing power of hair care

By Ruth Sheehan
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

RALEIGH, N.C. — Bessie Henderson was having a bad hair day.
Four days earlier, she had undergone pancreatic surgery at Duke University Medical Center; she’d been sweating at night,    and she hadn’t bathed.
Henderson, of Warren County, N.C., was feeling low.
That’s when Jacques Shy Sr. — aka Mr. Jacques — swept in with a white coat, a rolling duffel and a massive inflatable sink.
He wrapped her shoulders, filled and hung his portable shower bag on the intravenous stand and set to work with a tingly shampoo. Soon, the 55-year-old’s weary face was creased with a smile.
He massaged her scalp, blew-dry her hair and used a flatiron to create a head of curls. In 15 minutes, Henderson was transformed.
“I look like a whole new person,” she said. “I feel like a whole new person.”
It’s a phenomenon the doctors and nurses at Duke see time and again when Shy, 57, arrives on the floor.
He started going to Duke six years ago, purely by chance. A longtime hairdresser on disability, he had agreed to fix the hair of an ailing friend. But he saw the need. Other patients and family members asked whether he was available.
Soon he was visiting all nine floors, five days a week. He had no official authorization, but he proved what scientific studies show: Laughter really is the best medicine, optimists heal faster, and happiness spreads more quickly than sadness.
Before long, Shy became an institution.
He works at Duke three days a week. Doctors and nurses ask him to bathe the area around patients’ brainsurgery incisions, to style the hair of people in comas, to delicately massage the scalps of people suffering the ravages of chemotherapy.
“He brings something more than just a beautician,” said Van Blalock, a clinical pharmacist who works in cardiology.
For one thing, he carries malpractice insurance.
Waving Shy’s business card, Henderson called to Shy on his way out, “I want other people to see this.”
Shy wants the word to get out, too. He hopes to see a field he calls medical cosmetology recognized by the state and nationwide.
“It’s a win-win-win,” Shy said. “It helps the doctors and nurses, it enriches my soul, and it gives patients hope.”
Katherine Titus-Wells, a 34-year-old nurse who developed Guillain-Barre syndrome in October, knows how easily hope can evaporate. When she arrived at Duke 80 days earlier, the vibrant young woman was a quadriplegic because of the disease that affects the immune and nervous systems.
“I couldn’t move,” said Titus-Wells, who can speak in short bursts through a tracheotomy. “He made me feel better.”
Shy washed and styled her hair six or seven times, sometimes braiding it.
“He was so encouraging to her,” said her mother, Mary Lou Titus. “Every week he’d tell her, ‘Hey, look at the progress you’ve made.’ ”
Shy’s jacket is studded with gold stars given to hospital employees who go above and beyond in patient care. He often pins extras on nurses who labor without recognition.
Until Shy showed up, Titus-Wells had the hair treatment that most bed-bound patients get: waterless foam in a cap and a pillow full of damp hair for the rest of the day.
Shy provides the full treatment.
Sheryl Gaillardet, a traveling nurse on staff at Duke, said that in all the hospitals where she has worked, she has never seen anything like Shy.
“For 10 or 15 minutes, he takes patients out of the sick factor,” Gaillardet said. “This is a little pampering.”
But it isn’t fluff, noted Da Wai Olsen, a nurse and scientist who works in the neurological intensive care unit.
Many of Olsen’s patients have head injuries — some are unconscious or awakening from surgery or a coma. Many are in the hospital for extended periods.
“They often have blood and icky stuff in their hair,” Olsen said. “Jacques gets rid of all that. We trust him.
“For patients who are conscious, it’s true that when you look better, you feel better,” Olsen said. “When the patient looks more like the person they used to be, the family feels more hopeful, too.”
Shy learned firsthand how depressing infirmity can be. In 1991, he severely injured his back and neck working at a youth correctional facility in his home state of New York. From then until 2002, he stayed at home, raising his two sons, caring for an adult brother with Down syndrome, collecting a disability check and managing his pain.
One day — right about the time he volunteered to do his friend’s hair at Duke — he was talking to his oldest son about the boy’s future. His son told Shy, “Daddy, I want to be just like you.”
Shy beamed — until his son said, “I want to sit at home and collect a check.”
“That’s when I knew,” Shy said, “I had to do something, for myself and my sons, to get back my self-respect.”