But please bear with me while I trace the lines and connect the dots in my train of thought (sigh... again):
I haven't written off Western Medicine. I think it's amazing stuff when and where it is needed and necessary! When Kid #3 was peeing blood, I didn't think it was a job for garlic and whatever else. I got her to a hospital. When Kid #4 had nursemaid's elbow (what I thought was a possibly broken arm at the time), off to the hospital we went. When gall stones attacked, I got my gallbladder yanked (a bit of a rushed decision in hindsight, but there it is). When one kid relentlessly puked for days, we saw a doctor to monitor his fluids in case medical intervention was necessary.
What fries me is this: When I was going to hospitals to have my children, getting epidurals and cytotec doses without questioning their safety or alternatives, I wasn't considered brainwashed. I took advice like a kid at a candy dispenser from people who were educated in their fields WITHOUT seeking balancing and/or seemingly contrary advice. Vaccinations by the truckload found their way into my two oldest sons without so much as a second thought about delay or spacing, the fragility of their immune systems, or the practicality of giving a brand new baby a Hep B shot. But that method of action, doing what I'm told by people who specialized in a particular area without questioning their credentials or seeking alternative advice, somehow makes my decisions educated?
Am I the only one who sees the lunacy here?!
I tossed gluten and I am feeling great. I avoided a 3 day hospital stay by treating my second round of mastitis with garlic cloves and raw cider vinegar (I did spend 3 days in the hospital the first time it hit, years ago, because I trusted that such a move was medically necessary). I treated Kid #2's UTI with garlic and vinegar as well. It tamed his "pee tantrum." :-) All of this is just from the past 6 months. But relying on such brilliantly simple remedies makes me brainwashed. Getting this advice from naturopaths and homeopaths makes it stupid. It costs less, it's easily accessible, and it's been working, so I must be borderline insane, especially when I make this decision in light of the decisions I know will be made (and have been made) by a doctor.
I think I have a decent balance in place. I try to help at home that which can be helped at home. When things are something I'm not willing to take on myself, I bring in those who are better capable of handling things. I rely on what I've researched and what I've experienced to make decisions. And nobody has been put in any real danger through the whole process. If anything, I've acted in a way that gives Western medicine more of my trust than "hippie" remedies.
I'm not stupid. I think that's the implication I resent most from anyone who tosses these kinds of decisions in my face. I'm not so brainwashed or so proud or so bent on one mode of thought that I will not deviate from treating X ailment with Y methods. Anecdotal and empirical evidence go hand-in-hand when I make decisions regarding the health and well-being of my family. But somehow my decisions are blasted because a $1.50 bulb of garlic saved me a $200 hospital bill on more than one occasion?
That makes all kinds of sense.
I suppose I'm a tad sensitive about this lately because the criticisms are coming from people close to me, even some who appeared to support these decisions when I began doing the research and application. I vomit the feelings here because I don't want to run to the more vehemently anti-(natural/western med approach) crowds on various message boards around the internet, further bombarding my wounded sensibilities with propaganda. And garlic. ;-)
Until next time, my current diagnosis:
It's an "ailment" from which I hope I never recover. :-)
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