This compilation of information is Copyright 2005 by http://www.organicgreens.us and Loring Windblad. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text, including this header, intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as misspellings and typos.
A Tale of Two Feet
Frank is a very physically active 43 year old, who does not always make the smartest choices regarding footwear. One day while playing soccer in very worn out shoes, he noticed a painful tearing sensation in the heel of his left foot. Next morning, he could barely walk. Being an avid user of the oils, Frank started applying Peppermint and Wintergreen to his sore foot.
He also went to his doctor, who diagnosed his condition as Plantar Fasciitis. The doctor told him to take mega-doses of Ibuprofen for his foot pain and come back in 6 months for surgery in case the Ibuprofen did not work. Feeling that destroying his liver with mega-doses of Ibuprofen might be less than stellar advice, Frank ignored the doctor and kept on applying oils each day. After 3 months, the pain was gone completely and Frank returned to his active lifestyle, though a little bit wiser regarding his choice of footwear.
Frank has a former neighbor named Cathy, also an active 43 year old. Cathy is on her feet all day, running a rescue kennel for abandoned dogs. Cathy also was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis around the same time Frank was. Cathy elected to follow her doctor's advice. The Ibuprofen did not help overcome her foot pain, so she elected surgery.
The doctor warned her that the surgery was only successful half of the time. He was not kidding. Cathy was off her feet for over a month after the first surgery. This was followed by a second surgery. The foot worsened. Cathy went back for a third surgery, now off her feet for most of a year. This time Cathy contracted a Staph infection that almost killed her.
Do the math; two bottles of Peppermint and Wintergreen versus three extended hospital stays, medication, specialists and a year of lost productivity. How much cheaper would all of our insurance premiums be if the health care profession opened their minds to the plethora of health promoting, non-invasive modalities (such as essential oils) that exist today?
The above is a “story” received over the internet and I do not vouch for its accuracy, but it does tell a similar story to my own. What follows is real and true: it is my life and my sweetie’s life. My “sweetie” is my wife, my soulmate, my best friend, June, whom I met in 1952. I consider myself to be the luckiest of men as I am still married to the first love of my life.
We freely use essential oils in our home and we use them for many things, cuts, scrapes, burns. I love them, particularly Lavender, but several others as well. They have a pleasing odor. And in the case of the Lavender, a healing, non-scarring result for my sweetie in the case of three recent severe burns she received on her arms from the oven of our stove. For me it smells good, feels good, but doesn’t do anything particularly beneficial; for my wife it heals rapidly and prevents scarring.
Thieve’s Oil has a profound calming and pleasing effect on my sweetie; I just like the smell it gives off. There are several others which we use as ingredients in body lotions. Some are calming, some are sensual, some are relaxing. And that’s the way they work for her. I just enjoy the smells, but otherwise feel no beneficial effects from essential oils.
A few years ago we met a Native Medicine Woman while we were on vacation. We had been walking a lot, stopped to rest for a few moments and were chatting with the lady about her products. Her products were several soothing herbal ointments which she manufactured based on ancient native herbal lore, from personally carefully gathered ingredients. She uses them in her own naturopathic clinic. Yes, this Native Medicine Woman is also a licenced Naturopath.
I left my sweetie to return to a different stall and buy her an exquisite pair of earrings while she was being treated for leg and shoulder pain. When I came back, within 15 minutes, my sweeties muscle pains were all gone with the simple application of these soothing herbal ointments. They work for my sweetie for joint and muscle pains and strains. They sometimes give me some relief for joint and muscle pains, but generally don’t.
Between 1992 and 1996 my sweetie had 8 lumps removed from her breasts, the first 6 malignant and the last two benign. We talked it over a lot and decided on the course of treatments we were going to accept. No radical mastectomy, initially we declined radiation treatment, and we decided on a lymphectomy on the right armpit. After the 5th and 6th lumps, one from each breast, were removed we opted for radiation treatment. There were two more lumps, one from each breast, removed, both benign, and we have been lump-free for 7-8 years, now.
We made mistakes which, could we do it over again, we would change. We would opt for radiation therapy much sooner and would not allow the lymphectomy. The lymphectomy has created a situation where the burns my sweetie has received on her right arm were ever so much more serious than otherwise because of no lymphatic system in the right arm. Hence the very welcome benefits she has derived from the Lavender essential oil which has healed her right arm burns without scarring – and without otherwise serious consequences in an arm which is very vulnerable to severe infections.
I am planning a couple more articles on Enzymes to finish up that series and the eBook. It’s free so email me for a copy and request the eBook Enzymes: The Science of Life. It should be ready by the end of March. Then I will launch a series of articles on herbs, their historic use, their present-day use, and some of the possible benefits you can receive from the use of herbal dietary food supplements. And yes, we are actively using two different herbal tonics in our daily lives, one called Native’s Gift and one called Desert Promise. Each of us receives different benefits from the tonics. I’ll go into that more fully as I develop the articles on herbs.
I am writing in March of 2005; my sweetie has a new lump in her left breast and it is scheduled for removal and biopsy in early April. Of course we hope it is benign. But whatever the outcome we will face it together and make our decision based upon everything we have learned; about both typical medicine and alternative approaches.
Let me close this article with a statement I have made at least a couple of times in other health-related articles of recent vintage. We are all different in the chemical makeup of our bodies. So we will all react differently to the same treatment for the same problem. This article is not intended as medical advice in any way nor as any recommendation for any specific treatment for any specific disorder. This article is intended solely as educational in that there are alternative treatments and alternative remedies available for virtually every condition. Do, by all means, consult your physician, a second physician, and your alternative health practitioner for every condition, then follow the best advice you have received.
About the Author
Loring Windblad has studied nutrition and exercise for more than 40 years, is a published author and freelance writer. His latest business endeavor is at
http://www.organicgreens.us