A patient came in, fatigued, with an extremely sore throat, watery eyes, and a non-productive cough. Her doctor told her that she had contracted a virus, or possibly strep, but that her symptoms were also related to her allergies. Antibiotics were prescribed.
In choosing my treatment strategy, I was cognizant of the need to combine at least two specific strategies. On the one hand, I wanted to mobilize her defenses to expel the pathogen. On the other hand, I needed to support her underlying energy reserves, so as to not further deplete her and leave her more fatigued.
In thinking about that, I realized the parallels to what I was thinking with my dad’s situation in the hospital. He had fallen and fractured a couple of ribs, leading to blood and fluid build-up in his lungs. He was requiring oxygen and antibiotics.
On the one hand, he needed to rest and allow his body to heal. On the other hand, every day that he was stuck in a hospital bed, his body was being de-conditioned, which, at his age, is a huge challenge.
My challenge was to find the balance between creating a calm, quiet, restful space for him to heal, while also pushing him to move his joints and limbs, and do whatever he could to increase the blood and oxygen circulation through his body.
Both my patient’s situation and my dad’s, describe a dynamic tension between two seemingly opposing strategies