Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl00558)

This is mostly to Bee and Liesel:

I really have to question that medical competency thing, Liesel ... any
successes that Leslie and I had with her mother was largely due to the fact the
lady had two tigers postured in front of her at all times.  A celtic-looking
red-haired one, me, and an amazonian six foot tall one that has Goddess energy
coming out of her everywhere, Leslie.   Particularly in the end when she was
sick with the cancer and in the hospital, we had to scrape and claw our way to
getting competent medical help.  In fact, the first time she started having
trouble because the cancer got into her brain, they tried to do radiation on
her head.  In order to do that they had to give her massive doses of steroids
to combat any swelling.   We asked a million questions about those steroids
because we were worried about the way they would interract with her anti-psyche
meds, haldol and lithium, etc.  We got nothing but lip service and over a
weekend with that medicine IN THE HOSPITAL she degraded from a fully together
woman with some motor problems caused by tumor to a completely animalistic
stage -- because a nurse gave one more dose of that lethal medication against
doctor's orders -- didn't look at the notes.  Apparently, the steroids DO
INDEED futz with the way your body metabolizes chemicals -- and that was the
main focus of her anti-psyche meds.  It was unbelievable.  We got her back with
us mentally (so she could die later on) by having knock down drag out fights
with groups of so-called medical professionals in conference room where in we
insisted they DO IT OUR WAY -- meetings that were called AT OUR REQUEST because
pinning down a doctor on the move during rounds is impossible.  First, we had
to get their attention.

Well, the positive part of this story is that after Leslie and I threated to
sue the hospital and worked closely with their patient relations department
(i.e., the department that smoothes things over when somebody f%&*$'s up
royally), Gloria was given the benefit of twenty-four hour nursing care at the
hospital's expense during the time she was failing.  It was a blessing because
she hated to be alone, and while we were at the hospital every chance we could
get, being there twenty four hours a day to make sure no snotty nurse screwed
up (which we managed to catch on more than one occasion) would have depleted
our energy completely.

I know I sound very worked up about this ... but getting back to what I said
about psychiatric doctors in the 60's --- well, I don't see any marked change
now, unfortunately.  I'm afraid I've come out of this experience with a two-ton
chip on my shoulder.

What does this have to do with theosophy?  Well, probably nothing ... but
submitted for your perusal anyhow.


______________________________________________
liesel f. deutsch wrote:
>
> Donna,
>
> > It seems that
> >had her illness been treated correctly at the start, which was in the 60's,
> >perhaps it would not have progressed the way it did.
>
> You have to take into consideration that in the 60ies they didn't know very
> much about how to treat mental illnesses. I think that was about the time
> Milltown, the 1st tranqulizer, was invented. That was sort of the starting
> point of the medical/psychiatric profession finding out how to treat certain
> mental illnesses.
> What may have happened to your mother-i-l is that she improved as knowledge
> re what to do with her improved. ie the people who treated her weren't
> necessarily incompetent.
>
> Liesel

I have heard of women who have gone right off due to menopause and some have
ended up in mental institutions. I myself thought I was going nuts a few
times and I still remember one night a few years ago that I meditated all
night because I thought I would fly to bits of I didn't somehow hold it all
together. It was a scary experience. I have just come back to my normal self
after 12 years of coping with all sorts of weird things. It has been my
knowledge of alternative healing and herbal remedies that have kept me off
the heavy medical remedies that the doctors want to dish out. My present
doctor is a scream because he sees me so seldom and when he does he is at
pains to prescribe as natural as possible and gives me lenghty discourses on
the components of the stuff he wants me to take, to assure me that he is
trying to get it as natural as he can. I suspect he thinks I am a bit strange
but he humours me.




   Bee Brown
   Member TSNZ,Wanganui Branch.
   Theos Int & L