You To Can Benefit From Effective Alternative and Complimentary Medicine Treatments and Natural and Holistic Health Therapies That Helped Janet and Ralph Zuranski Look Younger, Feel Better and Have More Energy.
Tears flood down our cheeks, falling onto the rumpled hospital bed sheets, as we see the devastating damage caused by a blood clot that travels to the brain and stops the precious blood flow.
If this terrible event has also traumatized your family, you can relate to the agony, anger, fear and frustration. Will your loved one survive, be crippled mentally and physically for life or other worse case scenarios? What could they have done differently to avoid this devastating, quality of life threatening event? What should you do now to give them every opportunity to regain a high level of health and vitality?
As we stand by my dad's bedside, the completely slack left side of the body is startling.
It is as if two completely different people live in one body. The amazing way the right brain hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left brain hemisphere controls the right side is so clearly apparent when you see one or the other side paralyzed.
You wonder why only one side of the body seems to be paralyzed?
My dad's blockage occurred in the right hemisphere of his brain so his left side is most effected. The right hemisphere is responsible for emotions, creativity, orientation in space, intuition, spontaneity and the control of the life support systems of the body. We wonder just how his brain and body will function as he begins to heal.
Often, you don't have a clue which side is the dominant brain hemisphere until a stoke occurs.
My dad is one of the kindest, most gentle, giving and caring people I have ever met. He always went out of his way to help others, to brighten their lives with a gorgeous orchid plant, assistance with building a structure or repairing an item and secret financial assistance. He was always thinking about others. Dad treated mom, a southern belle, like she was a queen, a very high maintenance woman. Dad served her hand and foot.
The very strange thing about dad is that he had incredible left brain mental powers.
His logic and ability to solve problems was astounding. His profession an an electrical engineer showed extreme abilities requiring math and language. It seems he was a rare whole brain thinker that used both sides of his brain. In his later years, after retiring at 55, his right brain, emotional side exerted its dominance. Thus the paralysis on the left side and stroke in the right brain hemisphere.
A higher number of individuals suffer a stroke in their left brain hemisphere that controls the right side of their body.
Usually, most people suffer a stroke in the left hemisphere of the brain, the side that is concerned with logic, math, language, competition, judgment and time. This is the hemisphere that must focus on the events around us.
One of the biggest challenges in life is to survive in a physically, financially and intellectually competitive world.
Since most people consequently use their right side and left brain, this is the side that goes slack after a stroke. The victim cannot speak, the words are often garbled. Their logic is skewed. The cannot solve the simplest math problem. Often, the become lethargic and apathetic...with their competitive nature compromised.
As we place our hands on his injured body, a prayer spontaneously wings its way to heaven.
"Dear God, please heal my dad and save him from the horrible side effects of the stoke. If it is your will, allow us at least a few more years with this very special servant of yours. Give us the opportunity to give back to him a fraction of the love he has given others over his lifetime. It will be a real joy to minister to him in gratitude for the way he spread joy and love through his service to humanity in so many small ways."
Our time with dad is short since visiting hours are over.
Janet and I are sobered by the condition of my dad. We wonder what will happen in the days to come. He is paralyzed on his left-side. He cannot open his eyes or swallow. There is blood in his urine. All of these conditions are dangerous and severely quality of life impacting. Only time will tell.
The United States has one of the best crisis medical care programs in the world.
Now don't get me wrong. I admire and respect the doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who work diligently in the conventional medical healthcare system. I am grateful for their tender care of my dad and other victims of disease and injury. Most of the individuals involved are kind and caring. They adhere to a high degree of professionalism. They work hard to keep the patients alive. Their goal is to save lives in difficult situations.
The "Catch 22" is that Medicare and insurance companies are serious about cutting their costs, often at the expense of the patients.
They do want to get the patients better as fast as possible to maximize their financial bottom line. Financial pressures created by insurance companies, motivate the hospital staffs to get the patients to improve quickly. The intensive care costs are astronomical and only going through the roof.
Our entire family wonders whether dad will get adequate care at the hospital.
Two months ago when my mom had pneumonia and congestive heart failure we were astounded at how much the staff at the hospital had been decimated by budget cuts. Denise, my dad and I took shifts through out the visiting hours to care for my mom and monitor what was being done to her during her stay. We constantly had to track down the overworked professionals to motivate them to give mom the therapies see desperately needed.
There is a huge responsibility on the part of family members to monitor the test and therapies that are administered to their loved ones.
My dad was a good steward of his money. He realized the value of insuring his family for the medical costs that are for most an inevitable part of the living and dying process. He was fully insured by Medicare and supplemental insurances that paid for just about every test, therapy and treatment.
WARNING: If your loved one is fully insured, the hospital wants the doctors to administer just about every expensive test and treatment in their arsenal.
Your loved one is the "Golden Goose" that lays the golden eggs. It is not constructive to be cynical at this stage of the game, but some one has to make up for all the other patients that must be treated for free because they don't have insurance.
WATCH and ASK QUESTIONS about everything that is being done or proposed by the medical staff!!!!!!
Many tests and treatments may have no bearing on the condition of your family member. Some of the tests and treatments may be life threatening by themselves. You must be vigilant. There is a frightening statistic of how many patients die in the hospitals as a result of mistakes made by well-meaning healthcare professionals who are tired and overworked.
The fact is that everyone makes mistakes in every profession...in the medical profession the consequences can result in life or death!
How many mistakes do you make in one day? What are the consequences? Some experts say that the difference between successful and non-successful individuals is only 2% better decisions. If we are correct in our decisions 51% of the time, then that gives the extra edge for success. This is a frightening scenario in medicine.
Mom was so stubborn she came down with pneumonia and the problem was compounded by the treatment.
In the case of my mom, she is a die hard swimmer at the age of 87. She insisted my dad take her to the "Mission Beach Plunge" where the management was gradually decreasing the temperature of the water to save money. My dad refused to swim but my mom persevered.
Unknown to her doctor, she had contracted pneumonia.
When she went to her doctor for her semi-annual checkup, her blood pressure and heart were quite elevated. Without going through a chest X-ray, it would have been difficult to diagnose the true problem. The doctor, according to conventional medical wisdom and Medicare restrictions, prescribed medications that forced the blood pressure and heart rate lower.
The treatments available for our senior citizens through Medicare is pathetic compared to those available with supplementary insurances.
Medicare regulations handcuff the doctors and prevent them from providing the best medical care for senior citizens. Doctors cannot order the tests they want for their patients. Medicare often pays only a fraction of what the doctors receive from most insurance companies for the same tests or therapy.
The "Kennedy-Kassebaum Act" of 1996 is seriously flawed and destroyed the opportunity for doctors to provide adequate healthcare for our senior citizens.
Senators Kennedy and Kassebaum and the rest of congress should be ashamed of how they treat the doctors and their Medicare patients. This damaged legislation forces doctors to justify every test to Medicare.
The restrictions for the doctors are incredible.
If any mistakes are made by the employees or doctor with the paperwork, intentional or unintentional, the doctor and employees could loose everything. They could go to jail.
Is it no wonder with the sky-rocketing costs of medical insurance for doctors and ridiculously low payments from Medicare that doctors are throwing in the towel.
The bureaucrats in Washington have won...making the administration of healthcare so complicated, paperwork expensive and compensation reduced that doctors and hospitals go bankrupt. In most cases, treating Medicare patients is a losing proposition for the doctors.
Doctors are severely restricted on the tests and treatments they can give to their Medicare patients.
In most cases, the patients could not receive better health care even if they were willing to pay for it out of their own pockets. The Medicare regulations have become so ridiculous, receiving good medical care for seniors has become an absurd farce. If doctors don't have regular insurance and cash customers, they are doomed in most cases for bankruptcy.
The MEDICARE SYSTEM IS BROKEN and something needs to be done to fix it!
"For evil to triumph all it takes is for good men and women to do nothing." It is time for Babyboomers to rise up and become heroes and heroines! We need to fix the Medicare and Healthcare systems for our beloved parents. And, selfishly for ourselves!
Most of us will be Medicare patients before we know it.
If we don't do something in the near future, we too will receive the same crappy care as our parents. We will become huge burdens on the lives of our children and grandkids.
Within two days, the artificially lowered blood pressure and heart rate resulted in a lack of oxygen being delivered to the brain and other important organs.
Mom could not breathe hard enough to get the oxygen she needed so in the middle of the night there was a 911 call. The ambulance magically appeared and it was off to the hospital with lights blazing and sirens wailing. The treatment contributed to the breakdown of her entire system. The pneumonia in the lungs that had originally cut down on the oxygen levels in her blood, had caused the blood pressure and heart rate to elevate, to deliver the needed oxygen to her tissues.
Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole may not be the best strategy when it comes to health!
When mom showed up at the hospital, she received a witches brew of powerful drugs. The goal was to stabilize her system. Unfortunately, many of the drugs were used to counteract the side-effects of the other drugs, creating even more life-threatening swings in her blood sugar levels.
Mom did not get any sleep that night.
She spent a lot of time in the emergency ward waiting to see a doctor and get a chest X-ray. When she finally arrived in a semi-private room, the little lady in the bed next to her kept banging her table all night yelling, "I am thirsty! I'm hungry!" Even though food and water were right on her bedstand, she could not satisfy her thirst or hunger. The staff had failed to ready her chart and see that she was blind.
The next morning mom was exhausted and incoherent.
Her frail body was struggling to deal with all the powerful chemicals and lack of sleep. When we showed up at the hospital we were terrified. The nurses were still trying to balance out the blood chemistry and stabilize her low blood sugar. She had been unable to eat anything for 24 hours. Also the food was absolutely unpalatable and literally indigestible.
The doctors wanted to do a dye and stress test that shocks the heart to see if mom needed a stint.
What in the world are they talking about? Recent statistics from long term studies show that the people who received stints fared worse than those who did not have to go through this dangerous procedures. Why would they want to shock my moms heart so they can check to see if there is heart blockage? She is 87 years old and in for pneumonia. She and all of us refused the test. Would you put your mom through this dangerous test?
In this situation, getting angry at the hospital staff was a huge mistake.
My mom was in a bad way and getting furious at the staff was not a wise decision. It was obvious the nurses and doctors were doing the best the could with limited resources. They each were Heroes for working in an environment filled with stress, contagious diseases and families and patients who were extremely upset and in pain, both physical and emotional.
Eventually, mom escaped from the hospital still alive.
When mom started to improve we were thankful she was released. We appreciate the efforts of the health professionals at the hospital. They were doing the best they could in the situation they were placed by forces beyond their control.
One secret to getting the best care possible is kind words, broad smiles and BIG Bribes!
"It is easier to get people to help you if you are kind, encouraging and offer lots of praise for a job well done. Passing out $20 bills and boxes of "Sees" chocolates encourages nurses and therapists to want to provide your loved one with their best efforts.
Another big secret is learn the names of your care givers.
The sweetest sound in any language is the name of the individual you are speaking to in a kind compassionate voice. LEARN the names of each person and what they do. Ask them questions about their lives and families. If you take the time to make them friends and confidants, they will immediately become a part of your extended family. They will begin to see your lived one as a part of their family and treat them accordingly.
Will the alternative medicine therapies, used world-wide to minimize the harmful effects of a stroke, be made available to our family?
That is a huge question. After contacting many of the doctors in the Alternative Medicine Hall Of Fame, their very real concern for my dad and our family is touching.
Each recommended the therapy given in China by doctors within 24 hours of the stoke.
The doctors in China focus on getting people better as fast as possible. Their medical system is socialized so the focus is on keeping citizens healthy. Their goal is to cure individuals who suffer quality of life threatening diseases as fast as possible.
In China, there is no financial incentive for prolonging illness.
The doctors do not want to prolonging illness through inaction or ignorance of the therapies that are most effective. They immediately used the best therapies that work the fastest. In most cases, these therapies are very inexpensive.
The Chinese doctors, within 24 hours of the stoke or heart attack, give the patient an intravenous solution of Nattokinase or Lumbrokinase.
These special enzymes are dripped directly into the circulatory system to help dissolve any blood clots and prevent new ones from forming. The HealthyDoctors told me this was still an excellent therapy anytime within the first few weeks of the event.
One gave her dad homeopathic remedies under his tongue when he had his stroke 17 years ago.
As her mom and dad's health was failing, she cared for them at home while conducting her medical practice. When he suffered a massive stroke she gave him two Homeopathics: Natrum Muraticum and Arnica to minimize cellular damage and speed the healing process. She administered doses every 15 minutes for 2 hours and then every hour for 24 hours. After the first day, she administered the remedies every 2-3 hours for the next couple of days. When he had a severe headache, she gave him Belladonna.
Ask your doctors if they are open to Homeopathic medicines that have minimal or no adverse side effects.
If you can find a doctor trained in Homeopathic medicine, ask that they participate in the treatment of your loved ones. Homeopathic remedies have been used for centuries, are effective in helping the body heal and are very inexpensive. Before the pharmaceutical companies started funding the medical schools in the early part of the 1900s, all doctors were trained in Homeopathic medicine. Homeopathics are used world-wide to treat patients very effectively for a wide range of symptoms. See my report on Homeopathics in the alternative health articles on
HealthyDoctors.com.
Other suggestions by the Doctors in the HealthyDoctors Alternative Medicine Hall Of Fame were consistent.
The other recommendations included:
1. Hyperbaric oxygen pushed into the cells to help them heal. There are special pressurized chambers available, perhaps at your hospital for wound healing. The more oxygen you can get into the cells, the faster the body heals.
2. As many anti-oxidants as possible like Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and essential fats to counter the massive number of free radicals caused by lack of oxygen and the toxicity of dead and dying cells.
3. Intravenous chelation is very effective in removing lead from the body, one of the most destructive metals in our environment. The lead levels in our cells is astronomical, compared to those living before the Industrial Revolution. The lead from the leaded gasoline we used for so many years is still with us. It is everywhere.
4. CoQ10 in 100 milligram doses was a favorite. It seems this enzyme is crucial to the correct functioning of the cells.
5. Also recommended was an intravenous solution of DMSO. This is a solvent that appears to have unique healing qualities. This therapy might be available in states where the "Medical Freedom" act has been passed.
6. Another suggestions was "Corvalen," a product that contains Ribose, a natural occurring 5-carbon sugar, that has shown promise as a oral supplement for use in cardiovascular disease. Ribose aids in the production of high-energy phosphates, mainly adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP molecules are necessary to provide the integrity and function of every cell in our bodies.
Unfortunately, my dad is on Medicare and the hospital does not provide any unproven therapies.
Sometimes you want to scream at the conventional medical system including doctors, hospitals, Medicare and insurance companies, "WAKE UP! Don't your realize that if you used effective therapies that have proven to be successful around the world, the patients would get better faster. The cost of treatment would be minimized. The devastation of human lives would be dramatically lessened. The huge costs involved in patients who have experienced quality of life threatening diseases would decrease. Why don't you promote preventive and alternative medicine that minimizes everyone's chances of experiencing a severe disease?"
If only there were alternative medicine doctors involved in the therapy of my dad!
All the doctors in the Alternative Medicine Hall Of Fame practice medicine in other parts of the country. As long as dad cannot swallow and is paralyzed on his left side, he is trapped in the rehabilitation process at the present time.
There are only a few things we can do to speed dad's healing within the confines of the hospital.
To be continued...
