Holistic Cardiology Healing the Lotus Deep Within the Heart
Mary consulted me for the first time 20 months ago, on the day of her 29th birthday. She was the first patient I had ever seen with the rare condition known as post-partum cardiomyopathy, a form of heart failure that begins after childbirth. Her heart was functioning at a capacity of 55-60% of normal. She had been having increasing heart palpitations and shortness of breath during the weeks before her appointment. A single mother of two children, ages one and two, Mary wrote on her intake form, “I am terrified of being too sick to play with them, or not see them grow up”. After speaking with a cardiologist, I learned that 15-20% of patients with her condition require a heart transplant.
In addition to her heart condition, Mary suffered from depression, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), fatigue, muscle pain, anxiety, and chronically infected sweat glands. She had stopped Zoloft four months ago. She was crying more frequently and feeling more depressed. She found out her husband was cheating on her two weeks before the birth of her first child, and separated from him right after she gave birth. Mary informed me that her visit with me that day was her birthday present from her mother. This saddened me. Coming to a doctor (even Yours Truly) and spilling my guts is not my idea of a birthday bash. Somehow this tidbit of information hammered home the stark reality of Mary’s condition. Her courage and sincerity impressed me. I remembered I had stashed away a birthday card, and when Mary stepped out of the room for a short while, I wrote a few heartfelt words on the card, buzzed my office manager, and asked her if she would agree to part with the plant I had recently gifted her, assuring it would be duly replaced. (men, this is not something I recommend you try with your wives).
Mary’s eyes lit up, and a big smile washed over her face when we gave her the card and plant as she was getting ready to leave the office. She also left with a bottle of homeopathic Sulphur, and I instructed her to take a single dose of the highly potentized medicine.
Homeopathic medicine is based on the Law of Similars - Like Will Be Cured by Like. A single remedy is chosen which, when given to a healthy person, actually causes the very symptoms it is capable of healing. This is the reason why some patients will temporarily feel worse before they feel better after taking the medicine, a phenomenon known as the “Homeopathic Aggravation”. Aggravations are usually, but not always followed by a deep healing of body, mind and spirit, and a sign that the remedy given was the correct one.
The day after Mary took the Sulphur, I received a phone call. All of her symptoms worsened, and she was not a happy camper. She was exhausted and sweating a lot. The sweating was another indication to me that we were on the right track. Discharges of any kind after a remedy are the body’s way of expelling the disease from the deepest recesses – a purge. In its wisdom, the body eliminates what is making it sick so that true healing can begin. Several hours later, after taking a nap, Mary called back to say she was feeling much better.
During our first follow-up, a month after the remedy was taken, Mary was in great spirits. The following is copied verbatim from my consultation notes: “Shortness of breath has completely resolved. Anxiety is a littler better. Generalized body aches are gone, and energy is great. For the first time in 13 years, sweat glands are fine. Sugar cravings greatly diminished. I feel the best I’ve felt in my whole life. ” Her blood pressure had dropped to 88/54 which is considered below normal, so I called her Cardiologist to discuss which of the three heart failure medications she was on, each of which lowers blood pressure, we should stop. To my great surprise, the Cardiologist recommended staying on all her medications. I did not feel this was advisable, or even safe for the patient, so I stopped her diuretic myself, and started her on a high dose of Coenzyme Q10. This time, the Cardiologist was not a happy camper.
A few months later Mary’s repeat Echocardiogram indicated her heart was no longer dilated, and her heart function had improved to 70% of normal. Mary (and I) breathed a sigh of relief.
In the fall of `05, during a time of great family strife, Mary’s depression worsened. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take” she lamented. She felt an overwhelming sense of inner conflict. I gave her one dose of homeopathic Anacardium. Her mood and energy quickly improved. Two months later, she told me her depression was gone, the first time in over two years since she found out her husband had cheated on her.
On 8/24/06, 14 months after first coming to see me, Mary’s Cardiologist informed her that her heart function had returned to normal!
Last Spring, Mary met a man unlike any other she had dated; kind, calm, spiritual, loving and strong. Despite living over 1000 miles apart, their romance blossomed. Both felt a deep soul connection with the other. Before long, he popped the question and she obliged. They were married here in Albuquerque on December 30, 2006.
Buddha said the heart is the seat of the soul, so it must follow that, to heal the heart, one must also heal the soul. I think he knew what he was talking about.