Charity

Today I had the privilege to give a gift. I met a woman who had been damaged by a stroke, whose family has deserted her, and whose body refuses to rehabilitate. Her husband refuses to provide financial assistance and she has no medical insurance. Thankfully, she has a brother who has taken over every aspect of her care. She is experiencing extreme spasm and contracture in her limbs on the side where the stroke damaged her brain. She is nonverbal in some instances due to word blocks that frustrate her. Touching the side where she has contracture randomly produced extreme pain. This is my first experience with this. Eventually I was able to follow her signals and locate an area where restrictions could be treated and we got several very good trigger point releases. I was treated to the sight of a relaxed and smiling face as she was leaving. Rarely has there been a better reward.

Later I learned that her stroke was preceded by great emotional pain, depression and withdrawal from her loved ones. Also some drug dependency which may have predisposed her to risk. This was not some elderly old person who had worn out their body. This was a middle aged woman in distress, perhaps who was not sharing with others what her burdens were.

I am certain that the quality of her life now is severely deteriorated from what it was before her stroke, when it was already bad. I simply hope that I gave her something uplifting and which will continue to ease her pain.

Let us not forget that "there but by the grace of God go I".

Moral: Exercise, eat plant foods, puke up your soul to someone, and learn to get a grip on what is eating at you. And remind your friends to do likewise.