Monday, December 8, 2008

Accountability


I have had several conversations this past week with different moms about health situations. Many layed blame upon Dr.'s for what they prescribed and how their child and/or their illness was treated. In the Autism world, we blame Dr.'s for the fact that THEY have given our child too many shots, too much antibiotics and no clue how to fix it. It is a cycle of blame but here is the problem; accountability. Who is accountable for these little children? Who is accountable for our health and our well being. It isn't these Dr.'s that we so quickly blame. It is OUR bodies, OUR children. WE are accountable and until WE get it, health care will never change. We wait until we are sick, then head straight to the DR. and demand an antibiotic. We want the quick fix. We don't want to research, prevent or ride it out. In turn, we are slowly destroying the amazing body that we have been given. Dr.'s are there for a purpose. If I was in a car accident, I would be most grateful for the Dr. who stitched me up. Likewise, I am eternally grateful for the wonderful Dr.s who have saved my blue, breathless asthmatic ; repaired broken arms, hands and stitched chins. But, if we continue the cycle of "treating our body badly, eating horribly, not an ounce of prevention then covering it up with an antibiotic", we will be the ones who suffer, not the Dr.s. The medical community is finally seeing the picture. They are understanding that the overuse of antibiotics and quick drugs are breeding a whole new world of superbugs. They are also causing the stomachs to be ruined and a whole myriad of conditions to arise. The problem is that they have so many moms in their office demanding these drugs that they give in. They know that this is a world of quick fixes. The truth is that most people don't want to know how to prevent something or heal it on their own. They don't want to do the work. The body is an amazing thing. It lets you know what it needs and their is an amazing amount of self help information out there at your finger tips if you spend a little time. If we don't do the work, the blame lies with us. I learned this early on in my mothering career with my first child who had chronic ear infections. After 8 straight months of ear infections with 8 straight months of antibiotics I knew that there was something that wasn't right about treatment. Not once was I asked why he was having this problem. No one tried to prevent or find a solution. It was only a paper prescription. It felt wrong and the last prescription was the last straw. I tore it up, went to the book store and within one week, my little child was healed and never had an ear infection again. I didn't have a medical degree. I was a mother and that was the only degree I needed. I could be inspired, I could be educated by information out there. I learned at that moment that the responsibility of the health of my children and myself was up to me; not the primary physician, but of the primary mom. My son is now almost 15 and he has never had antibiotics since. He has never needed them because I have learned that the body gives clues before it gets sick. The first tickle in the throat hits before the full blown strep. When treated immediately, it goes away before the epidemic hits. An ear infection or constant runny nose most often will indicate that there is an allergy going on. Constant headaches tell you that your body isn't getting something it needs or too much of something it doesn't. There is not a magic pill. It is hard work, it is worth it. The repercussions are illnesses that can be lifelong, illnesses that can be heartbreaking. I look at so many children I know with autism and know that it probably could be prevented. We cannot expect the Dr.s to be our health care director. WE are the ones accountable. It is time to stop laying blame solely with the Dr.s. It is time to be accountable. If not for ourselves, for our children. The first thing to do is concentrate on what we are putting into our bodies to begin with. You can't feel good if you fill up with junk. It isn't possible. Your children can't hold still if they live off of sugar cereals and fishy crackers. Ritalin isn't the cure. We need to take control, fix it from the ground up.
I know this is another one of my blog novels. That is my prerogative. I just have learned first hand that medicine many of the times is not the answer. Since I stopped seeing a primary care physician to be our medical directors, I have been the one to heal eczema, stop strep in its tracks, get a severely asthmatic child off of all medications, cure headaches without Tylenol, prevent colds and flu and decrease allergies. My Dr.s couldn't do this. They haven't been trained. It isn't their fault. It is how the medical schools teach. They are great at writing prescriptions if that is what you are into. They are great for trauma and disease when it has gotten out of hand. They shouldn't be the ones to go to first. They should be the ones you go to as last resort. We wonder why health care costs are out of control. It is our fault.
I love the quote from Benjamin Franklin, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Boy how I wish that I realized that before I had my first son. I would have saved him and myself 8 months of grief. Listen to your bodies. Feed them right. Clean them out. Take care of them today so you can be healthy tomorrow. It works.
FYI; I have 8 extra sets of liver cleanse coming in this week, a lavender, eucalyptus, defense and physical thera P for any takers. I have been doing this for a month and my allergies are down considerably and I feel great. My children have the same results. Such a cheap treatment!

18 comments:

JoEllen said...

That totally makes sense! What are some of your cures for ear aches, head aches, strep, the flu, and other yucks? I am totally interested and wanting to learn!

Me said...

You are so right! At our Holistic Moms Network Meeting this month, we had Teresa Holler speak to our group. She has written a book "Holler for Your Health" and it basically describes what your post said. Her motto is "get the toxins out and don't let them back in."
As soon as I heard her speak, and as I read her book, I thought about all the things you talk about here on this blog!
Keep up the good work, and you should check out our group sometime, I think you'd be a perfect fit!

DK said...

You truly inspire me! ~Deena

Shari Goodman said...

JoEllen.

Before I started the oils, I was a die hard emergen-C girl. It is the fizzy drink full of vitamin c and B's. I would have my kids drink it daily. We also take lots of B vitamins. Those are for prevention. I now stick with the Spice of Life daily. It will nip strep in the bud as soon as you feel it comming on. Oregano oil is also great. Ear aches are mostly caused by allergies so finding what the cause is can be tricky. The biggest sources are milk, soy, corn, wheat. STart eliminating to find out. Most ear aches will go away on their own but for help, eucalyptus oil rubbed downward on the earlobe and back of the ear help to open it up and help it drain. Headaches can be relieved with peppermint oil, eucalyptus and lavender mixed together rubbed on the forehead, temples and back of the head. However, it is so important that if you are a chronic suffere that you try to find the cause. Different spots indicate different types of issues. Email me if you want details on this. Any other viruses can be prevented or shortened by prevention. Spice of life, guardian, oregano and defense blends are great for this. Of course, diet is huge!

Shari Goodman said...

carrie,

I would love more info on your group. Email me.

rachel said...

i'd love some info on different types of headaches. my mom gets them non-stop.

rrrcarmona at gmail dot com

Megan said...

I'll take a lavender and eucalyptus! every time I get into a hot bath...I wish I had these. Send me a pay pal invoice. Thanks!

Megan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Thank you for your post Shari. A lot of our problems do start with our diets. If we put junk in, we will feel like junk. Unfortunately, I am beginning a long regime of required antibiotics for an infection that has been growing for a while and just recently surfaced. But alas, the dr has finally narrowed down the diagnosis after several months. I even stopped a previous medication because the side effects were too unbearable. I am glad I did because it wasn't really treating my infection (now that we know more about it). So listen to your bodies and give them a good start with lots of fruits and veggies and exercise!!!

RPH said...

AMEN Shari! What a great post!
Thanks for sharing all your wisdom.

Me said...

I can't seem to figure out how to email you, my email is mer10s@hotmail.com

the link to our site is:
http://home.homewebs.com/hmnmetrophoenixaz/

Our meetup:
http://www.meetup.com/MetroPhoenixHMN/

Kim D. said...

Do you still have the lavendar available?

Linda said...

So glad you have this blog - the world needs to know this stuff!! The Quick Fix and Doctors are not always the best solution. Amen to everything. Thanks Shari!

Woldberg family said...

I loved your post, just like all the others...;-) You truely inspire me. I would love to get some of that spice of life and other oils, I just dont know what you have and what my family really needs. Can you email me? Thanks Heather (I'm the one who stopped you at the breakfast with Santa at the school.) yzmxmom@hotmail.com

JoEllen said...

Where do you buy your emergen-C and other B vitamins? Thanks!!

Kyle and Heidi said...

Shari, I have been reading your blog for a while now. I totally agree with you on this post, I too found out the hard way that we have to take control and accountability of how healthy we are. I was wondering about the oils you said you have. Is there any way I could buy some from you? I live in mesa. My e-mail is heidijacks@yahoo.com and my blog is kyleandheidijackson.blogspot.com. My son had a weird stomach flu this last week. It was only at night and during the day he was fine and it lasted 10 days. He is over it now, but I want to see if I can get the kids healthier this year. Also, I have a 2yr old, my only child so far that hates veggies. I have tried pureeing and hiding them, but it isn't working. Do you have any suggestions? We have tried not letting her leave the table and she stayed there for 2 hrs. Any suggestions? Thanks Heidi Jackson

Anonymous said...

I need to know what book that was you are talking about here. I totally believe in all the natural stuff, my children 7 and 4 are all natural and organic. I can say that both of them have never had antibiotics. My sister, mother of 3 listens to what I have to say, but still thinks her dr is "GOD" or something. Her baby has had ear infections for 6 months now. You know just what the dr does, gives her a new prescription ever other week. So I was thinking, if this book you found really helped you change your mind about the doctors position in your children’s life, maybe it can help my sister too. By the way, I love your blog. I found it tonight; I don’t really know how I guess. I will keep on reading all the healthy advice you give. I think it is great because you are helping so many people out there that don’t know the other options that they have. The most amazing thing I found was my homeopathic dr, but we never have to go see him because I know how to take care of my family. He is the President of the Board of Homeopathy. I do trust and feel good about the information he give me. I never felt good about what my pediatrician had to say. Ok, that’s enough from me. Thanks for your hard work!

Shari Goodman said...

The book is Childhood Ear Infections by Dr. Michael A. Schmidt. I bought it 14 years ago so I don't know if you can find it still. Hopefully so.Thanks for the kind words!