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In these “Case History”
pages I’ll try detailing some of the cases I’ve taken on and the results I’ve
had using Reflexology
TRAUMATIC
BRAIN INJURY (TBI) AND REFLEXOLOGY
I have been having very impressive success with two cases of traumatic
brain injury. TBI is a very serious problem that is getting
much more attention now because it is the "signature injury"
of returning veterans from Iraq, and it's one that mainstream medicine
has few answers for.
Case #1 is a young man who
had anorexic brain damage in 1986 from some kind of wrong medicine
they gave him in the hospital in Israel. He was in a coma for 7
months, and came out totally paralyzed, having lost the ability
to read. Various physical therapy wonder workers had gotten him
to the point that he could walk with an attendant holding his arm
so he wouldn't fall (very poor balance) and could speak, although
in a slow, difficult-to-understand drawl. I began working on him
in October, 2006, and scheduled two sessions a week. At the end
of the first session he was unable to get out of the La Fuma reflexology
chair, and I had great difficulty supporting him and getting him
up out of the chair. He was slow of speech - when he attempted any
- and seemed confused.
At the second session he seemed more aware and vocal, and at the
third session he confided that he had several small seizures each
day. By the 6th session he was able to get out of the reflexology
chair without assistance, and his seizures were becoming infrequent.
After I suggested the seizures might be related to sugar balance
he reported that he was free of seizures except when he missed a
meal. I continued to do twice-a-week Reflexology sessions, and by
the end of December he reported that he was much more secure in
his walking, only needing his attendant nearby in case he lost balance,
and I noticed that he was getting much more alert and articulate
- we had long conversations during the Reflexology sessions about
current events, etc. His speech seems to be quite normal now - although
on the phone he sometimes slips back into his labored, drawling
speech style.
Case #2 is a middle-aged woman
who was severely injured in an auto accident 16 years ago. She was
pronounced dead and taken to the morgue, but recovered - sort of.
She was in a coma for months, and when she came out of it the doctors
told her that she'd lost ¾ of her brain, and that she would
never be able to "mainstream" - participate in normal
society. They emphasized that strong family support was absolutely
necessary for even partial recovery. She had no family support at
all, and has spent 15 years fighting that diagnosis. She re-learned
to read at the Rusk Institute, and took courses at the Open Center,
creating a substitute family out of her psychotherapist, her health
aid, and people at the Open Center and at Landmark Education, where
she serves as a volunteer office worker.
Except for normal health problems to be expected for a middle-aged
woman who drinks, smoked until the doctors told her she had emphysema,
and is overweight, her problems are all psychological. But they
are severe. (Drinking can be considered a TBI symptom. TBI
people may have a low tolerance for alcohol, and self-medication
by alcohol or drugs is very common.)
The doctors gave her a list of 14 symptoms common to TBI
survivors, which included anxiety, depression, poor coordination,
inability to focus, being fearful (of all sorts of things) hyper
sensitivity, rigidity (can't handle changes) low confidence and
self-esteem, "disinhibition" (speaking inappropriately)
and redundancy (saying the same thing over and over). In her case
- with no family support - there was also a complete loss of identity.
She speaks about her "other life".
I first started working on her on Jan 26, 2007. I did a very light
- mostly relaxation technique session, but noted that her brain
reflexes were quite tender. When she came for her second session
three days later she said she'd been badly discombobulated after
our first session, and forgotten how to do the computer data input
she normally does. Again, I did a light session. The next few sessions
I concentrated on other issues (she had a sore shoulder, and I concentrated
on shoulder and spinal work to clear that up) but each time did
a little on the brain reflexes too
At her 5th session she said that her memories were coming back.
She'd been able to remember some of her high school Spanish to communicate
with her cleaning lady. At her 7th session she reported a breakthrough
- she'd been able to stay home alone without having a panic attack
and stressing out - the first time in 15 years. She reports that
her friends say she seems less frazzled now, "more peaceful",
"coherently present" "happier", "more patient",
has a "peaceful aura". (Apparently this is very noticeable,
since when she's frustrated she starts banging on the table, crying,
swearing, shaking, etc.) Also, she says her sense of smell is coming
back.
It's evident that TBI people may have a whole basketful
of psychological problems, and this person is going to need pages
and pages of more "breakthroughs" before she's done.
What's very noticeable about these two cases is the tremendous
difference in their symptoms, and the way that Reflexology is effective
in addressing both of them. In working on them both I've concentrated
on the brain, spinal and endocrine reflexes, but I do the whole
foot every time, in an effort to balance the body and its control
systems. There aren't any magic spots, or if there are I haven't
found them - just normal therapeutic Reflexology twice a week. (I'd
do three times a week if I could manage it, and would expect it
to be even more effective. There's a cumulative effect that is often
lost in once-a-week sessions.)
I'm hoping to get the attention of whoever is responsible for treating
the returning veterans and setting up some kind of program. Of course
the veterans won't have any money to pay for Reflexology, but if
we can demonstrate effectiveness we may be able to get some kind
of grant.
Diabetes and Bad Sugar
Management
With Reflexology we
generally expect to clear up Type II diabetes if we can get the clients to come
in three times a week and keep checking their sugar and consulting their
doctor. With Type I diabetes we don’t expect to clear it up, but rather to
help with the accompanying symptoms. (Nobody’s going to be cutting your feet
off if you’re getting regular Reflexology.) But I’ve always wondered – they
don’t diagnose diabetes at birth – they pick it up when the child is four or
five years old. So what if you started working on the child then? Could you
so normalize the body that they never would be diagnosed? And how could you
know?
I haven’t gotten to work on
a pre-diabetic child yet, but a couple of years ago they brought me an
8-year-old boy. He was a big child, bigger than his classmates, and somewhat
plump. His father was an athlete and assumed that if his son was “fat” there
must be something wrong with him – nothing to take to the doctor, but maybe
some Reflexology would help. The boy was constantly whining for sugar (“Can’t
we stop by the cookie place? Please? Can’t we stop?”) indicating a severe
problem with sugar management.
I told them that to clear up
a condition they needed at least two sessions a week (although three would be
better) so they paid for a series of 10 sessions and arranged for him to come
twice a week. I worked on him as I would for any sugar-management person, the
whole foot, but extra on the pancreas, liver, adrenal and other endocrine, and
spinal reflexes.
When he came for his third
session (second week) he told me that he’d taken his secret candy stash and
thrown it down the air shaft at his apartment, where he wouldn’t be able to get
it again, because he knew that it was bad for him and he realized that he no
longer had to have candy. He said he still liked candy, but now he no
longer had to have it. (When you have to have it, you have a secret
stash whether it’s bad for you or not.) In all, he did six of the 10 sessions
his parents had paid for (kids get really fast results). His complexion
changed, his whole personality changed, and his parents said “okay, he’s fixed”
and went off to vacation in Bermuda. They never came back to finish up the sessions
they paid for, but he’s an intelligent and responsible kid, so I figure he’ll
stay off the sugar and be okay.
Unfortunately for the cause
of science (but maybe fortunately for the child) he was never diagnosed, so I
don’t know if he was hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) or hyperglycemic
(diabetes/high blood sugar). Whatever it was, Reflexology seemed to clear up
the problem.
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