Part 1

My name is Waliyah Kathleen Grandison and I have been a Family Physician for 27 years, a homeopath for 17 years and a Raphaelite practitioner for 3 years. I am a Shefayat in the Healing Order with a focus on Children with Special Needs and Healing from Trauma. I have a son named Shamcher who is 11 years old. He has an undiagnosed metabolic disorder. He is a one-of-a kind child. He has muscle weakness, sits in a wheelchair, receives tube feedings, and vocalizes, but does not speak coherently other than saying "mama", "dada", and maybe "air" for Claire. Though at times he can be quite coherent and say "burp" or "yeah". He was able to participate fully in his initiation by Shahabuddin last November.

I will be writing this month about brain injury. There is much that I have learned about brain injury over these last 3 decades. When it happens it is often sudden and unexpected and it requires much of us who are the caretakers to help these beings rise to their full potential. We will be using the following quotes from Hazrat Inayat Khan:

“Nothing is impossible; all is possible. Impossibility is only a boundary of limitation which stands around the human mind.”
“Possibility is the nature of God, and impossibility is the limitation of man.”
“Pursuit after the impossible is the best game there is. “

In this first session I want to introduce the use of homeopathic arnica for use in traumatic head injury, discuss nutritional needs and supplements, lightly touch on sensory stimulation and its importance, and the importance of prayer and attunement in those caring for the patient as well as the community who support both the patient and the caretaker.

In severe brain injury the patient is cared for in an intensive care unit. In each environment there are certain belief systems, that are not necessarily true even when one is dealing with very well-trained and caring individuals. It is important that one work with these individuals (the nurses and doctors), but also important that one hold an inner attunement to possibility. One needs to connect inwardly to one's center and spirit of guidance and also connect with the spirit/soul of the patient.
About 12 years ago I received a call in my office from a mother whose son was in the intensive care unit at the local teaching hospital about 1 hour away. Her 10 year-old son had been riding his bicycle in the late afternoon without a bicycle helmet. An elderly woman was momentarily blinded by the setting sun and ran into him. He was knocked off his bike and sustained a severe brain injury. The mother was calling me after the week-end and so it was 3-4 days after the injury. Her son had not awakened and the doctors were beginning to say that if he did not waken soon that there was possibility of serious brain injury. At this point they did not expect him to wake up for several more days or weeks. She had several homeopathic remedies with her and wanted to know what to give him. I told her to give him the highest dose of Arnica she had with her. She had a 10M bottle and slipped a few pellets under his lower lip. Within minutes he was stirring and in 15 minutes was fully awake. The resident was summoned and could not believe what had happened. She did tell the resident that she had given him the Arnica. That child is now doing well.

In my opinion homeopathic arnica should be given to every person with traumatic injury, whether it be a sprained ankle or a life-threatening injury. It helps reduce swelling and bleeding. It can be given to a comatose person by putting the pellets inside the lower lip or even in the mouth. Transfer the pellets to the mouth using paper. Try not to use your fingers or a metal spoon. It can be repeated every 15 minutes for severe injury or again in a few hours for less severe injury. It is also good to use it before and after surgery. It is easier to not engage the nurses in the discussion if you can give it to the patient. I often stand between the nurses and the patient and bend over the patient and slip it in. At Boston Children's Hospital they know I give it and they are open to it, but sometimes it puts them in the place of needing to check with the doctor before giving it, etc. It will do no harm and has always helped in my experience. If used after surgery it reduces the need for pain medicine. You can buy Homeopathic arnica in your local health food store at a 30X or 30C potency. The amount you give is equal to the tip of the patient's little finger (pellet sizes differ). Put it in the mouth or under the tongue or inside the lower lip and let it dissolve.

Last year I had a 2-year boy in the same teaching hospital who had sustained a severe head injury in an unfortunate car accident where he was thrown from the car. Same story of it being about 4-5 days later, he had not awakened, the doctors were beginning to say to the mother (a physician) that it wasn't looking good for him because he had not awakened. I had just had surgery myself 2 weeks earlier, but it seemed important to go, since I am friends with this family. When I arrived I made sure that the mother had some Rescue Remedy and gave her my bottle. We gave Henry Arnica 10M and I began talking to him. He was very far out of his body. I had worked with him before using homeopathy and I had a sense of what was going on with him. His parents were recently divorced and it was a very angry divorce. I simply talked to him in a soothing voice and massaged his arms and hands. He didn't awaken in 15 minutes, though he stirred a little and so I repeated the Arnica again. Shortly after that the Occupational Therapist came and did some treatments on him. She encouraged us to work with him also and I remembered how important sensory stimulation is to brain-injured people.

It is important to activate the afferent sensory pathways of the nerve to help the brain wake up and thus activate the efferent motor pathways. One can clap your hands together to make a loud noise, open the blinds and let light in, use different smells under the nose or different flavors on the tongue. The stronger the better. Use different textures to massage the arms and legs. And use hot and then cold on the arms and legs. I did all these things for a few minutes, continually talking to Henry. His mother left for a few minutes. Henry began to move his hands and feet a little. When his mother returned, she began talking to him again and took his hand up to her face and he opened his eyes and looked at her. It was only for a few minutes and then we let him rest. I left, but I heard that later that afternoon he was awake for several hours. When I visited him later in the week, bringing a craniosacral friend with me to work on him (always with the parents permission), the doctor came by and visited with me. In conversation he was pleased with Henry's recovery; he had made quite a change a few days earlier (when he had received the arnica and sensory stimulation). He agreed with me that it would be possible for Henry to make a full recovery, but he would require intensive therapy for about 6 months. Henry did go to a rehab facility for about 10 days and then came on home and did make a full recovery in even less than 6 months. It is important to talk about possibility with severe brain injury. Many times the doctors focus on the severity of the injuries, but the caretakers need to also be given realistic expectations of what is possible. Not promises, but realistic possibilities.

Nutritionally the patient needs high quality foods. They need protein, as well as high quality fats. It would be best to have their food made and bring it in to the hospital. If they are on tube feedings you can make a healthy meat soup with fresh green vegetables and then puree it and even put it through a strainer (this is what we do for my son). They need electrolytes to keep the cells, especially the nerve cells plump and healthy. I generally use a liquid electrolyte solution put out by E-lyte. I order this from Emerson Ecologics, 1.800.654.4432. You could start out using 2 teaspoons 3 times a day and slowly increase it. For my son we use 9 tablespoons a day. One needs to follow the serum electrolyte values regularly. They need essential fatty acids to help repair the cell membranes. They need a 4:l ratio of omega 6 fatty acids (evening primrose oil) to the omega 3 fatty acids (flax seed oil and cod liver oil). Minerals are very important as the co-factors of many of the biochemical reactions in the body. They should receive a high quality multi vitamin and multi mineral. Vitamin C and Zinc are important for wound healing and Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) is helpful for stressful situations when the adrenal glands are under so much stress. Seizures often happen with post-traumatic brain injury. These can be prevented by careful attention to the electrolytes and essential fatty acids.
The prayers of each one of us are helpful for someone who is severely injured even if we are many hours away. There was a man in our church who had a very bad meningococcal infection this past year. He was in the same teaching hospital and it seemed that he was in that place where he could choose to live or die. He went into the hospital on a Saturday. We all prayed for him on Sunday. On Monday we got a report in our office that he was not doing well. My work partner and I went into an exam room to pray for him and I could sense that we were connecting with the patient and offering him support for whatever decision he made, whether to stay or go. He did wake up shortly afterwards. It was a very prolonged recovery and it required him to have both feet amputated. But his mind is fine and he can continue to work. Still one can sense afterwards that it was a very big choice for him to choose to return. The prayer needs to be one of support on all levels for whatever the patient chooses. And always the caretakers and family members need our prayers.
This has been rather a long class and so maybe it will be 2 of the classes for May. I would like to hear from you about your experiences with people with head injury and also I think it would be good to meditate on those phrases from Hazrat Inayat Khan. Examine what you hold as possible and how we each limit what is possible by our attitudes.

Part 2

Our first class discussed brain injury secondary to head trauma and how to treat it using homeopathy, prayer, and sensory stimulation.   In this second class I want to share a case history that involves a young man who is brain injured without a diagnosis as to why from birth.   He does not have cerebral palsy.   His name is Casey and he and his mother have given their permission for me to write about his case.   

Casey's mother lives near me and her son has been cared for at our health clinic for many years, but always by the other practitioner.   Casey is in his early 30's and lives in a group home for developmentally disabled adults near our clinic.   There have been many staff changes in this clinic recently.  In the first part of this year Casey began hitting other residents at the home and at his workplace.  Normally in a situation like this a request is made for psychiatric evaluation and treatment.   I had been working with one of the staff members, using homeopathy to treat her PMS and grief over a relationship issue.   She had been pleased with the results and I think began talking to Casey's mother about using homeopathy instead of the psychiatric medications.   When Casey and his mother came in along with one of the staff members, they all voiced a desire for Casey to be treated as naturally as possible.   His mother wanted him to receive a constitutional homeopathic evaluation and  Raphaelite healing sessions.   

In reviewing his history Casey had gone to live in the group homes about 4 years ago.   He had started out in one and done well and then was transferred to another when there were staff changes in the first home.   He had done relatively well in the second home until the early part of this year when he had begun refusing showers and became violent with other residents.  Casey is able to walk and feed himself and he sat silently through the entire interview with his mother and the female staff member answering my questions.   He did not say anything, though at times, he would smile or at other times look troubled.   The mother had done a good job of caring for him at home until he was 28.   She continued to stay appropriately involved in his care at the home.   About 4 years ago before he had moved to the first home he had gone to a camp in the Albany area and it appeared that possibly some abuse had occurred there.   I questioned her and Casey about this gently.   He looked quite sad while we were discussing this time in his life.   There were few other traumas in the case.   Casey had other physical symptoms including constipation which pointed me to consider homeopathic opium which is used to treat ailments from fright.   I reviewed the substances to avoid, including mint and fluoride and coffee and told the mother and staff member to give this to Casey and follow-up with a Healing Session in 2-3 weeks.   

Because Casey lives in a group home, this became a decision that involved the Dept. of Mental Retardation on the regional level.  It required some discussion with various persons in charge to convince them that it was both legal and in Casey's best interests to use homeopathy.   Specifically homeopathic remedies are prepared under very strict criteria and are legal secondary to a Congressional law in 1937.   I sent some of this information to the regional staff members.   I have treated many children with mental retardation over the years, but this mode of treatment had not come to the regional staff members' attention.   There was naturally some resistance to dispensing opium, but the way the remedies are made, there is nothing of the original substance in the remedies.   The remedies are made from substances found in nature such as phosphorus, arsenic, natrum muriaticum (table salt), and from diseased tissue such as carcinosum or tuberculinum.   The remedies are serially diluted and shaken forcefully 100 times with each dilution.    The more dilute the solution the more powerful the effect.

A few weeks later Casey came for his Raphaelite healing session accompanied by this mother and the same staff member, who were both beaming because Casey was doing so well.  This staff person, who did not have any experience with homeopathy, said that the staff were so happy to have the old Casey back.   They do not see that when clients receive psych meds.   Prior to the treatment Casey would often take up to an hour simply getting in the car to come to the doctor, but they had been able to get him there fairly easily and he seemed to feel safe in my presence. He entered the room where I do the healing sessions and lay down on the table.  Both his mother and the staff member sat in chairs quietly in the room.   Casey was quite tense initially and held his arms folded upwards towards his face with clenched fists.   I talked gently through the session and about half way through helped him stretch out his arms at his side.  He maintained eye contact throughout the session and visibly relaxed.   It seemed like he was able to let go of a lot of old memories.   

He returned about 10 days later with his mother and staff person.   The staff person brought tables which showed how well he was doing.   He had begun taking showers again and the violent episodes had dropped significantly.   The mother was concerned because he didn't want to come with her on the week-ends now, but wanted to stay at the home and go on outings.   It seemed to me this was developmentally positive and she was able to accept this interpretation.   The constipation was no longer an issue.   
Casey himself was visibly more relaxed and happy and at the end of the session said "bye" to me.   

A few weeks later we tried another Raphaelite Healing Session.   In this session Casey did not want to lay down on the table.  I respected his decision on this and did what I could with each of us standing and looking at each other and me speaking.   His mother and the staff person sat in the waiting area.   It seemed important for him to be able to say "no" to me and have that respected.   He continued to smile and his face was still very relaxed.   

Casey returned with his mother and the staff person about 10 days ago and he seemed to be relapsing.   He was hitting residents again.   Sometimes without provocation.   It seemed to me that his homeopathic opium was a little shakey and I had him take it twice a day at a 12C potency.   Yesterday the supervisor staff person that I had originally treated for PMS was in and stated that Casey has been able to return to work for the first time since January.   All of the staff persons are so happy to see him doing better.  

I wanted to share this case because I think so many of us do not consider these treatments for essentially non-verbal clients.  Rather our medical system has treated them with medications that further subdue, when what is needed is to connect with the inner  aspect of that person and help it gently to emerge in an atmosphere that is safe and respectful.  

I hope that by writing about Casey it might bring to mind clients that some of you are working with or know about--I would love to hear your stories.   

There is a quote from the most recent "Ya Qadir" wazifa pamphlet that Pir Zia is sending out each month that caught my eye.  "The Sufis remind us, the Necessary Being endures our endurance of the unendurable, not in impotence, but out of love for the possibilities of our becoming."