Return To Health (Pando Health Groups)

I have been fortunate during my 25 years in medicine to experience both first hand and through the accounts of my patients to have seen truly amazing things. I have always been particularly drawn to "the mystical", mysterious things that happen to people in the course of trying to get better. My first experience of this type of phenomenon occured to me after my first acupuncture tratment. Subjectively, I did not notice a difference in how I felt. However, I went to play basketball right after the treatment and amazingly to me, I was completely "in the zone" without any explanation. I went from my usual of being a very average player to being "great for the day" making 5 three point shots in a row to start the game. When I settled down to earth and tried to understand this miracle, I could only attribute this transcendent performance to my acupuncture treatment. Since then, I have always been curious and drawn to the ability to transfer energy from practiti...

Mary Oliver: The Journey

I have never liked talking about food. I suppose most docs are inclined this way. I don't like food preparation as I am basically lazy in this regard. However, the reality is that "we are what we eat" and most people are not really eating well. The fact that diabetes, obesity, and heart disease are epidemics in America as well as across the world speaks to the fact that we are eating too much and more importantly too much of the bad stuff. A trip to standard grocery stores really tells it all. There is one aisle of fresh food and 15 aisles of processed, packaged, unhealthy food and drnk. I understand the need for convenience and ease, but "our" love of these are literally killing us. When you throw in fast food and restaurant food that is made from packaged, processed ingredients, you have the makings of a very unhealthful grounding for our bodies. This is all very old news to healthy people. People who wanted to know about true health learned about the truly cr...

I am now fortunate enough to be in a phase of rehabilitatation. My veins are open. My blood flows without impediment. I have energy. My challenge now is to get my legs to re-learn how to propel me around this world. I can walk and I do with so much more vitality and vigor than I have in years. The unanswered question with the Liberation Procedure is: can lost motor function be regained? From my reading, the people who have been "liberated" have not improved much neurologically. They get energy back; they get better circulation and cognition; but, to my knowledge, the damaged pathways have not been shown to regenerate. Well, I don't buy it!! Everything in our bodies can regenerate given the proper nutrients and environment. We used to think that the brain can't heal--that has been debunked. I know I can heal more. I know my body has more comeback yet to be revealed. Limits are only in the mind and my mind is ready for more body healing.

Someone recently asked me in response to my blog as well as to the success of the Liberation Procedure, "Is it just placebo effect"? This is truly a loaded question. After my initial defensive reaction, I gave it deeper thought. Placebo is truly a giant word and concept. It has negative connotations("he is just better because of the placebo effect") but it has immense power and strength. In research studies, experimenters often compare a new treatment with a placebo. In order for the treatment to be accepted, a new therapy has to be better than placebo. In most studies placebo does remarkably well ie 30-40% benefit. So 30-40 per cent of people get better with a sugar pill or an inert substance. This speaks strongly about several points. First, approximately one third of people get better with no intervention with placebo or time or just believing that they will get better. This has enormous power. Harnessing the power of this safe intervention can be amazingly hea...

Today is the 7 week mark since My Liberation Procedure. While I feel tired today(tiredness always scares me because it reminds me of MS and I hate the feeling). However, I am SOOO much better than pre-Liberation Procedure. I walk hard and fast and strong. My gait is more balanced and less "clunky". I have been doing physical therapy(Matrix Energetics) with Ralph Havens at Mission Hills Physical Therapy and I believe that is helping my movement. I occasionally run for short stints but it does not flow yet so I don't push it. Today, I walked in the hills of Del Mar with my friend Michael. It was a great adventure. My energy is still up although I hit walls when my mind gets crazy which is more often than I care to admit. I far too easily forget the miraculous comeback I am experiencing. Writing and connecting with fellow MS'ers who are trying to heal themselves/get healed bolsters my spirit and puts wind in my sails. I don't feel ready to bound into my old neurologi...

Accepting what is. Can it be done? Must it be done? We have all spent so much of our lives fighting what is. Injustice. Prejudice. Unfairness. Inequity. Disrespect. Self-criticism. These are all easy targets for opposition. Certainly, we as caring, loving people absolutely must stand up and oppose these all too common human stances. However, where does this approach take us? It puts us in the realm of opposition, struggle, and disharmony. Good against evil. That makes us feel better -- when we are justified in our fight. If we take the side that we believe represents good; then we feel in the right. However, when does this battle end? There is truly infinite injustice. As part of humanhood, there is always going to be more evil to conquer. When do we say enough is enough? When do we lay down our swords and let ourselves find peace? Maybe today. Maybe never. Peace seems like a dream. Can it be a reality? Can I find it? Where would it take me if I did find it? What happen...

I was reading last night on the website ThisisMS. Incredibly informative and up to date with a wide variety of information and "cutting-edge" theories. MS truly is a condition that is receiving strong attention from every direction. While I believe I have been part of the "new truth" of MS, there are many other views and people who believe in their approach/path with every bit as much passion and belief as I do about my healing road. There is a vaccine made from an ingredient of goat's milk, low dose Naltrexone, the new drug which aids walking by a unique mechanism. There is still strong belief in anti-inflammatory drugs like interferon, Tysabri and newer creations which can be taken orally. There is truly a lot out there and patients are getting benefit. The CCSVI theory is still in its infancy and far from accepted by the medical community. Yesterday, I spoke with a very kind woman with MS who tried to get the MRV done and instead had an MRA(magnetic resonance...

One of my favorite patients made her transition last night. It was expected as she had been on hospice for a few weeks. Medically, she was always a challenge. She had 2 types of cancer in her body and there always seemed to be something that needed medical attention. In spite of that, she was a dear, sweet soul who always was bright in her outlook and interaction. She was truly loving and the world responded with love and affection. She has 4 great children who truly loved and cared about her. Her husband is one of the most kind, loving men I have ever known. As we went through her medical care and gradual decline, I really got to know her. She was wise beyond her years. She was positive beyond what can be forced into being-- it truly was deeply ingrained in her being. She was simultaneously loving and easy to love. She had humor in the face of adversity and was always kind and honest. In my opinion, she was truly a hero. A rare being who lived from her heart with courage, kindness, an...

I received my bills this week. $ 32,000 for the Liberation Procedure. $1200 for MRV. Amazingly, my insurance(Blue Cross) covered all but $5000 of the total. I feel so fortunate that it was largely covered. I have sat on Utilization Review Committees(when I worked at Scripps) and thought the insurance company would deny coverage based on the experimental nature of the procedure. Luckily for me, I was wrong! I guess they just cannot deny need for treatment of blocked blood vessels.

I was talking with a friend/colleaugue today about what we offer people. He is a great healer in my opinion but he has been unable to expand his healing practices beyond his everyday work(guiding people through chemotherapy). He desires to be a more "comprehensive" healer incorporating mind, body and spirit. When I listened to him describing his work, it struck me that he could not verbalize with clarity and conciseness what exactly he wants to do. My wife Grace has told me for years that if I can clarify what I do, I will be able to manifest it in the world. Unfortunately, I (like my friend) have difficulty putting into a few sentences what it is I do and what people will get from it. My passion is taking care of people in groups. I have struggled with the one-on-one format for seeing and caring for patients throughout my career. Not that one-on-one care is not necessary--it is absolutely necessary. However, most people need more than just the traditional mode of care; the...

I have been granted an incredible gift. I have the great fortune to be able to begin my life anew. This gift is infinite in its scope and possibility. However, it carries with it a "newness" that is more than a little overwhelming to me. For so long, I have fit my life to the state of my energy level which sadly has been mostly depleted. Now, I once again have energy and the ability to live vigorously. Not only are my veins open, but so are my options. I no longer have to plan for rest and quiet from the storm. I can go charging into life with a reckless abandon that has been impossible for the past decade. However, my mind is still limited in the face of a reborn body. Fear and limitation have been my life partners and they are holding on for dear life. They seem to crave paralysis and weakness. My racing, neurotic mind seems incapable of keeping up with a freed body. I have down-sized my dreams and expectations for my self in order to cope with my deflated energy level and ...

I am now 5 weeks out from the Liberation Procedure. I continue to improve. My life as well as my veins remain open. The biggest change remains the presence and persistence of energy. I have energy to walk like I haven't in years. I go farther,faster, steeper and longer than I have in years. It is so fun to be in nature, cruising without any of the obsessive negativity that accompanied me for so many years. I don't feel negative because I have less pain, more balance and so much more enjoyment. I am relaxed in my body. I get the sense that my neurologic deficits in my legs are improving and will improve more. It is a subtle change and slow but things are different. My hip pain which was my constant companion the past 6 months is gone. I still have difficulty manipulating difficult terrain but I can do it. I'm slow on these paths but doing them. My neurologist characterized my legs as having "spastic paraparesis" over the last year. I look forward to walking into he...