Why Worry

I know people have had to endure much more then I've been through in my life, but I've been through some pretty stressful times. At those times I've been comforted by Corrie Ten Boom's father's response to her worry about death:

"Corrie, when you and I go to Amsterdam, when do I give you your ticket?"

"Why, just before we get on the train," she replied.

"Exactly," her father said, "and our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things too. Don't run out ahead of Him Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need ‑‑ just in time."

(I found this Hiding Place quote here.)

I have been given "the tickets" I've needed to get through my stressful times. Someday, I'll find a way to write about it. For now though, if you are facing seemingly impossible situations I hope you can take comfort from this as well. (By the way, it doesn't mean I don't worry, it just means I have a way to snap myself out of it sooner. ^_^)

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.
It empties today of its strength.
Corrie Ten Boom


Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts
whirling around a center of fear.
Corrie Ten Boom

Ode to Diagnosis

An Ode to Diagnosis
In gratitude to those who helped!

The entity snuck through the gray
to steal and hurt and take away
for months or years unknown it crept
attacking just when e'er it would
destroying and misunderstood.

Then MRIs and doctors’ eyes
blew shrouding mist and fog aside
and shock and fear gripped those around
they faltered in their daily stride
and gasped, “An ENEMY abides!”

“Why, yes!” the two of us replied
a new glint hard'ning in our eyes
“We see it there and now we know
just who it is with whom we fight!”

~ Heather Ann

Laughter is good flu medicine ^-^

I got this in an e-mail today:

----------------------------------------------------------

"FLU UPDATE "

What is the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu?
For bird flu you need tweetment

and for swine flu you need oinkment.

----------------------------- ^_^ -----------------------------

(If you are looking for actual help with the flu... I have written something about that here.)

Out of Arsenicum! ---UPDATED--- (Swine Flu p. 1b)

-----------------------------------
WARNING!
Even though the Swine Flu is classified as "mild" it can still be deadly.
The pediatrician told me that if my son had trouble breathing
to take him straight to the ER!
The homeopathic remedies are not a substitute for seeing the Dr.
(okay, back to my blog...)
-----------------------------------

So, I went to get another tube of Arsenicum Album at the local Super 1 grocery store, and they're all out! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I've been sending all my friends and family to get some since the Swine Flu is going around.

So, what to get? I read through the mini-descriptions on the display, and found one that says "stiffness and bone pain associated with the flu." Sounds like us - we've all been complaining about how achy and tired we are...but does it help the other symptoms?

The lady working in the Huckleberries aisle kindly let me look up the full materia medica for Eupatorium Perfoliatum. I skimmed it:

... it relieves pain in limbs and muscles that accompanies ... malaria and influenza...

...acts upon ... bronchial mucous membrane...

...Vomiting preceded by thirst...

...HOARSENESS AND COUGH, WITH SORENESS IN CHEST...

...Fever ...PRECEDED BY THIRST WITH GREAT SORENESS AND ACHING OF BONES....

...BETTER, by conversation....

Well, it did cover most of our symptoms, so I decided to try it. The bit about conversation took me by surprise! My five year old has been super hyper and talkative since he first got "melty poop." Maybe this will help.

To help you pick the right remedy for you your family here is a list from hpathy.com. If you click the name it will take you the long description:

How to differentiate in these flu medicines?

• If the patient has mild flu like symptoms (runny nose and watery eyes etc) but no other peculiar symptom but is anxious if it might be swine flu - think about Aconite.

• If the flu patient is listless, prostrated, indifferent, has offensive diarrhoea and the parts rested upon feel sore and bruised - think about Baptisia.

• If the flu patient is restless, anxious or fearful, thirsty but drinks small quantities and often, prostrated, diarrhoea after eating or drinking and nausea on seeing/smelling food, burning pains - think about Arsenicum-album.

• If the nausea is more pronounced, the patient is thirstless and has pain felt in bones - think about Ipecac. Also Ipecac should be thought of if a flu patient is developing or has developed broncho-pneumonia.

• If the gastrointestinal symptoms are not marked but the patient has deep pains as if bones are aching - think about Eupatorium perf.

• If the flu patient is feeling dull, dizzy, drowsy, has low thirst, feels chilly, esp in back - think about Gelsemium.

The only one I've used before is the Arsenicum Album, but you should see which remedy most closely matches your symtoms.

------------Update (Sept. 27th)------------

I am not happy with the results of the Eupatorium Perfoliatum. It did help the aches and pains, but I woke up with the pressure building in my chest. So I took my last Arsenicum and diluted it to make more. This probably wouldn't work with other things, but I've tried it and it does work with homeopathic remedies. Strangely, the remedies get more powerful the higher the dilution number (6x, 30c, 200c, etc...). Here's what I did:


Then, before it's all gone I will add more water and shake it up again. I took it this morning and my lungs feel much better! No more cough! If you're in the valley and want some before Super 1 gets in a new shipment, just let me know.

Swine Flu part 1

Some of you have heard by now that my oldest son got the flu...the "swine flu." The Doc said they are not testing anymore due to false negatives, but that it is the only flu in our area, that it is highly contagious, and that it would definitely go through the whole household. Because my son has kidney disease, he qualifies as "high risk" so he got Tamiflu, but the rest of us won't.

The reason for my blog though is to share the other "weapon" I'm using against the flu: Arsenicum Album! I wan't to write more specifically about each of the symptoms, but I don't have time now. I did find this good article about the flu and homeopathy that included a study of the 1918 pandemic:

"...24,000 cases of flu treated [bu doctors] had a mortality rate of 28.2% while 26,000 cases of flu treated homeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%."

and this account from WWI:

"Dr. Roberts was working as a physician on a troop ship during WWI. He had 81 cases of flu on the way over to Europe. He reported, "All recovered and were landed. Every man received homeopathic treatment. One ship lost 31 on the way."

Arsenicum Album is the same remedy I discovered when Pablo had an uncontrollable fever. I'll write more specifically about how it is helping when I have more time. For now I just want my friends and family to know what can help if they get hit with this flu. Stay well!

Health Care: Obama's Speech

I just finished watching Obama's address, and talking about it with my brother. If you didn't already see it I highly recommend watching it, so here is MSNBC's full length video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I was very moved by his address, but I suppose that is not surprising. I AM wondering what my Republican friends' responses will be. It felt to me that President Obama was very open to hearing and considering bipartisan ideas. I love that he is looking for the best ideas no matter which "side" the idea is from, but will it feel that way from "the other side?" I don't know.

I do know that when I got the email from Organizing for America (yes, I'm on the list) I clicked the link and asked my representatives to support health reform. Here are the personal comments I added to the form letter:

I am a mother who had to make the choice to take my eleven-year-old son for a diagnostic kidney biopsy all the way to Argentina. My husband and I were self employed and could not afford the cost of health coverage. We usually paid cash for whatever health care we received, or made payments on larger costs, but the biopsy was estimated at $9000. Much to high a cost for us, especially because that would not be the end of the care he needed. We now have excellent coverage which I pay 50% of as a part time teacher's assistant, but when President Obama mentioned parents who are unable to afford health care for their children it brought a stream of tears to my eyes. No parent should be in that position. I understand that Oregon has now promised to insure all the children here, and I am thrilled, but your votes affect the children in the rest of our United States as well! Please support health reform in 2009! The status quo is unacceptable!

Will you agree with me? Maybe, maybe not, but I do hope that we can all talk about the issues facing our country, and the options available to remedy our current situation, in calm, intelligent, open-minded ways.

Watch the President Address the Nation's Students

It starts at 11am Eastern Time!