Healing the Pain
I count myself fortunate that I have reached the age of fifty-nine having had very few significant health problems or regular aches and pains. When my body does develop a fault, therefore, it comes as something of a shock, and despite ministering to - and (I hope) empathising with - people of various ages who have conditions that are often serious, debilitating and life-threatening, I realise just how much I take my own good health for granted.
This was the case when, about ten years ago, I had kidney stones and was shaken and appalled by the level of pain I experienced. It has also been the case over the last few weeks as I have found myself struggling with what I initially self-diagnosed as an attack of Sciatica. 'Dr Google' confirmed that the nature and location of the pain down my left leg was typical of the condition. Had I bothered to read a little further, I would also have learned that other lower back problems can mimic the symptoms of Sciatica and that sciatic pain is usually worse when sitting or lying down, rather than when standing or walking as it is in my case.
Whilst I have an excellent GP, anecdotally it seems that doctors often struggle to correctly diagnose and treat back problems. I'm also told that most people develop asymptomatic osteoarthritis (a.k.a. 'wear and tear') of the spine from the age of thirty onwards and that when this shows up in X-rays or MRI scans it is far too readily scapegoated as the cause of any back pain whereas in reality the cause is often something more hidden, nuanced and easily treatable.
It was largely for these reasons - along with the fact that I didn't want to 'solve' the problem by merely throwing painkillers at it - that I turned for help in the first instance to a Chiropractor. I have successfully used Chiropractors (of both the traditional and the McTimoney variety) in the past for the treatment of neck and shoulder pain and was happy to go down this route again.
The reaction of various friends was fascinating. Some thoroughly approved and were scathing of bad experiences they had had when taking back problems to their GP. Others were mortified that I wasn't going to my GP first and some of them resorted to the derogatory vocabulary of 'quackery' and the like. Still others were fully supportive of Complementary Therapies, but advocated one particular technique over another, so I was told that I should be visiting a Physiotherapist, an Osteopath, a Masseur or an Acupuncturist. I was regaled with many contradictory accounts of what had worked and what had failed for other people.
My conclusion is that this is a matter of 'horses for courses'. What works for one may not work for another, and vice-versa. Indeed, my Chiropractor says he believes firmly in 'cherry picking' i.e. looking for and using those treatments that work for a particular individual. He is supportive of the suggestion that I might try acupuncture alongside his own treatment, and I may well do this as this therapy has also helped me in the past. Even more importantly, he has no hesitation in insisting that his patients see a physician where there is the slightest hint of a serious condition.
I am, therefore, a believer in 'Complementary Therapies i.e. those which augment and work alongside mainstream medical services, but not in ' Alternative Therapies' whose practitioners too readily decry the medical profession and see themselves as being in competition with it.
I am also, of course, a believer in the healing power of prayer and I am grateful for all my friends who are people of faith who are praying for me.
When talking to an individual or a congregation about healing, I always explain that healing is about being brought to greater wholeness of body, mind and spirit. Whilst this might sometimes involve a definite improvement in physical health, it is often manifested in more subtle ways at the spiritual or emotional level. There are certainly cases where praying for or with someone results in an apparently miraculous 'cure'. Indeed only a few weeks ago I met with someone who had first hand experience of being 'miraculously' and inexplicably cured of a life-threatening cancer prior to major surgery, leaving her doctors totally bewildered. But such cases are extremely rare, and our understanding of the ministry of healing needs to be firmly grounded in reality with a proper regard for the medics who are the ultimate authority in whether or not physical healing has occurred.
So, while the pain endures, and fulfilling such everyday tasks such as standing at the altar to say Mass are a huge challenge as a result, I ask myself, "In what ways am I experiencing healing?"
First, by the grace of God I have managed to get through every Mass I have celebrated and every sermon I have preached. Second, I believe I am being given strength to cope with the pain. Call me stubborn - or even stupid - but I tend to use analgesics sparingly, often only as a last resort, not because of any masochistic leanings, but because I want to minimise the number of pharmaceutical toxins I put into my body and I prefer to be able to gauge how my condition is or isn't improving rather than simply 'masking' the pain.
I believe that I am also gaining greater insights into the experiences and struggles of those who have to endure long-term persistent pain and/or whose mobility is restricted. I will never again take for granted the ability to walk as far or as briskly as I wish without the need to stop after a hundred yards or so due to crippling pain. I thank God for these insights and pray that they may deepen my compassion and empathy, to say nothing of my patience with those whose condition may make them temperamentally fractious or difficult.
Finally, I'm reminded that I am not invincible and am confronted with my own mortality. This is a growing awareness that comes with the passing of the decades anyway, but the sudden onset of illness - even a relatively minor muscular disorder with a good prognosis - brings it into sharp relief.
So I thank God for the healing that I have received thus far, and for those who from both within and outside the mainstream medical profession work in a caring and responsible way to bring healing to others through a variety of legitimate treatments. I pray too, of course, that my current health problems will soon be resolved; but above all I pray that I will remember the lessons I have learnt and thus come perhaps just a little closer to being the person and the priest that God really wants me to be.
This was the case when, about ten years ago, I had kidney stones and was shaken and appalled by the level of pain I experienced. It has also been the case over the last few weeks as I have found myself struggling with what I initially self-diagnosed as an attack of Sciatica. 'Dr Google' confirmed that the nature and location of the pain down my left leg was typical of the condition. Had I bothered to read a little further, I would also have learned that other lower back problems can mimic the symptoms of Sciatica and that sciatic pain is usually worse when sitting or lying down, rather than when standing or walking as it is in my case.
Whilst I have an excellent GP, anecdotally it seems that doctors often struggle to correctly diagnose and treat back problems. I'm also told that most people develop asymptomatic osteoarthritis (a.k.a. 'wear and tear') of the spine from the age of thirty onwards and that when this shows up in X-rays or MRI scans it is far too readily scapegoated as the cause of any back pain whereas in reality the cause is often something more hidden, nuanced and easily treatable.
It was largely for these reasons - along with the fact that I didn't want to 'solve' the problem by merely throwing painkillers at it - that I turned for help in the first instance to a Chiropractor. I have successfully used Chiropractors (of both the traditional and the McTimoney variety) in the past for the treatment of neck and shoulder pain and was happy to go down this route again.
The reaction of various friends was fascinating. Some thoroughly approved and were scathing of bad experiences they had had when taking back problems to their GP. Others were mortified that I wasn't going to my GP first and some of them resorted to the derogatory vocabulary of 'quackery' and the like. Still others were fully supportive of Complementary Therapies, but advocated one particular technique over another, so I was told that I should be visiting a Physiotherapist, an Osteopath, a Masseur or an Acupuncturist. I was regaled with many contradictory accounts of what had worked and what had failed for other people.
My conclusion is that this is a matter of 'horses for courses'. What works for one may not work for another, and vice-versa. Indeed, my Chiropractor says he believes firmly in 'cherry picking' i.e. looking for and using those treatments that work for a particular individual. He is supportive of the suggestion that I might try acupuncture alongside his own treatment, and I may well do this as this therapy has also helped me in the past. Even more importantly, he has no hesitation in insisting that his patients see a physician where there is the slightest hint of a serious condition.
I am, therefore, a believer in 'Complementary Therapies i.e. those which augment and work alongside mainstream medical services, but not in ' Alternative Therapies' whose practitioners too readily decry the medical profession and see themselves as being in competition with it.
I am also, of course, a believer in the healing power of prayer and I am grateful for all my friends who are people of faith who are praying for me.
When talking to an individual or a congregation about healing, I always explain that healing is about being brought to greater wholeness of body, mind and spirit. Whilst this might sometimes involve a definite improvement in physical health, it is often manifested in more subtle ways at the spiritual or emotional level. There are certainly cases where praying for or with someone results in an apparently miraculous 'cure'. Indeed only a few weeks ago I met with someone who had first hand experience of being 'miraculously' and inexplicably cured of a life-threatening cancer prior to major surgery, leaving her doctors totally bewildered. But such cases are extremely rare, and our understanding of the ministry of healing needs to be firmly grounded in reality with a proper regard for the medics who are the ultimate authority in whether or not physical healing has occurred.
So, while the pain endures, and fulfilling such everyday tasks such as standing at the altar to say Mass are a huge challenge as a result, I ask myself, "In what ways am I experiencing healing?"
First, by the grace of God I have managed to get through every Mass I have celebrated and every sermon I have preached. Second, I believe I am being given strength to cope with the pain. Call me stubborn - or even stupid - but I tend to use analgesics sparingly, often only as a last resort, not because of any masochistic leanings, but because I want to minimise the number of pharmaceutical toxins I put into my body and I prefer to be able to gauge how my condition is or isn't improving rather than simply 'masking' the pain.
I believe that I am also gaining greater insights into the experiences and struggles of those who have to endure long-term persistent pain and/or whose mobility is restricted. I will never again take for granted the ability to walk as far or as briskly as I wish without the need to stop after a hundred yards or so due to crippling pain. I thank God for these insights and pray that they may deepen my compassion and empathy, to say nothing of my patience with those whose condition may make them temperamentally fractious or difficult.
Finally, I'm reminded that I am not invincible and am confronted with my own mortality. This is a growing awareness that comes with the passing of the decades anyway, but the sudden onset of illness - even a relatively minor muscular disorder with a good prognosis - brings it into sharp relief.
So I thank God for the healing that I have received thus far, and for those who from both within and outside the mainstream medical profession work in a caring and responsible way to bring healing to others through a variety of legitimate treatments. I pray too, of course, that my current health problems will soon be resolved; but above all I pray that I will remember the lessons I have learnt and thus come perhaps just a little closer to being the person and the priest that God really wants me to be.
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