Wednesday, October 3, 2007

A small compendium of things my doctors can't explain

I am a big fan of Shakespeare. I think he's really funny and could write a hell of a good yarn. He also wrote some things that were really profound. One of my favorites is from one of his lesser known plays, Hamlet:

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Replace "Horatio" with "modern medical science" and you've got a pretty good description of what I've come to believe over the last year or so. Here is a small list of things that have happened to me that defy current scientific explanation:

1. About six years ago I was rubbing my belly in an effort to relax and go to sleep. When I passed my hand over my left side I heard a voice in my head, clear as day, "Watch this spot."

2. About 18 months ago I felt the same spot on my left side and heard the voice again, "There's something wrong here now." Two months later the pain started. Four months after that I was diagnosed with a tumor in that exact location.

3. Before and during surgery I listened to a guided meditation that suggested that I could divert blood away from the surgical site just as I divert blood to my extremities when hot and core when cold. My surgeon told me he was shocked that he didn't need to do a transfusion during surgery. Just use a little blood filler and I was good to go.

4. The same meditation suggested I could influence how I felt when waking up from anesthesia. I have had problems with this in the past but this time I woke up and felt fine. No nausea, no pain and completely lucid and awake. Had a nice chat with my recovery room nurse, actually.

5. I have been on thyroid replacement therapy for about 10 years. Once diagnosed, you take a pill everyday for the rest of your life. During chemo I felt a nausea wash over me whenever I picked up my bottle of thyroid pills. I decided not to take them. Why argue with such a strong reaction? I've been tested several times in the last few months and my thyroid function is now completely normal.


What the huh?

Okay, so I could argue that these are all coincidences, but c'mon. There's gotta be more going on there. Science and medicine is great and all, I wouldn't be typing this without it, but don't forget we don't know everything. We used to think the world was flat after all.


2 comments:

blurdom said...

It's damn impressive, all of it...do you have a link to the meditation you used for surgery? I'd really like to check it out.

There's no telling, with the body, is there? It's obvious that you are able to listen to your body, which is wonderful, but also wonderful that it listens to you, too. Congrats for being so adept at meditation! That's pretty rare.

I am hoping to cultivate this skill...for the time being, I'm only able to influence my dreaming state, which is great for entertainment purposes, but I'm really striving for some of the same in the waking life!

Love your blog...keep it up, please! :-)

Spencer Douglas said...

hooray for the unknown! i hear all the universe's secrets live there. maybe we should visit for our next vacation and hobnob?