MOMCAT'S VEGAN PROJECT: ASSEMBLING MY CABINET

 

Melanie Safka Sings "I Don't Eat Animals" Cuz They Don't Eat ME!!! :D

I don't eat animals cuz I luvem you see!!!

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                                                                                        Will I See This Moon Tonight?

Sideways Moon Toya!



Will any one of us see it[the Lunar surface, that is] tonight? Who knows? Doya think the 'Beckster'[talk about Lunar Lunacy! Guffaw!], Palin, Newt, Tanman-Mr. Orange, Mitt or Huckabee[is that his name or is it more sorta like what he prefers doing to stinging insects?--kinda like shucking corn--corny cornpone corn, like his Fixed News broadcast with the touchy-feely reactionary politics and him looking all stiff and absurd playing electric guitar in an ill-fitting suit and tie, doya know what I mean??] think about these things? NOT! LOL.   ;-D

How do you know it's Autumn in Wasilla, Alaska?  Sarah is up in the trees raking the leaves, of course. And selling tickets to the great event!

How many Palins does it take to change a light bulb?  You know that answer already. Three, naturally.  Sarah clings to the bulb with both hands; after reading the instructions written on her palms; while Bristol and Todd spin the ladder. :D

So we've established that I've been sick. I have a primary care doc, who seems responsive and sort of a minimal interventionist type. His name is Rippell, and he's in a neighboring town, about 15 minutes as the Ford Windstar flies.  I, of course, am my own case manager, however Dr. Rippell has agreed, despite the limitations of my Medicare plus an AARP supplement, to be my primary care.  I will call by Friday, to tell his office of my vegan decision, and seek their guidance. 

My chiropractor is Dr. Dawn Tobin,

                                    Dr. Dawn Tobin, D.C.---Doctor of Chiropractic

and she has been of great assistance since August 1, 2010. Her practice is a one chiropractor phenom, in my estimation. She advocates for minimal medical intervention, opposes for example, routine flu shots and offers education throughout her office on the matter.  She has inspired me by sharing about her own family's medical matters, and her request that I attend and support her first inservice-type training for new patients, and offering her gratitude routinely for my support of her efforts. She honored me by requesting that I attend a "Band of Brothers" patient appreciation conference in Hartford, on an evening when she could not attend herself.

This "Band of Brothers" includes men and women who are chiropractors and I had the privilege of meeting many of Dr. Tobin's friends there.  The basic notion seems to be, according to Dr. Steve, who moderated the event, that mechanical intervention and spinal manipulation is vastly superior to the scalpel or pills as a knee-jerk reaction to any health matter. There is a clear spiritual component to the "Band of Brothers." Dr. Tobin has educated me in many ways. The idea seems to be that the central nervous system, indeed the entire nervous system, affects every body part, system and the personality as well(after all the brain contains these components, at least in part). She suggests that there is an underlying logic and map to the nervous system and that healing is contingent upon a healthy spine and nervous system. If the spine is misaligned, if "subluxation" happens, then health, especially healing, is not going to occur in a maximally effective manner.

The good Doctor Tobin demonstrated for me once how she adjusted her newborns the day she delivered them and it brought tears to my eyes. Lovely. Spinal maintenance from birth. Touch. Wow. No harm there! Only benefits that I can see. She uses just her finger tips to adjust the spine.  I've routinely joked to Dr. Tobin and her Chiropractic Assistant Anna Gagliardi that "I'm already well-adjusted. Please just fix my back."  I, of course, was joking, and wrong on the first count and needing the second badly.  She said give it a year. It's been months now, and slow progress with my back pain has occurred.

My outlook on life and my  spiritual journey has progressed well since chiropractic.  My other medical stuff, including ingesting the nuclear purple pill, Iodine Radiation, the week of the very onset of my chiropractic treatment render judgements on the effectiveness of the chiropractic treatment difficult at best.

The speaker at the "Band of Brothers" conference was Dr.(PhD) Pastor Aaron D. Lewis,

Dr. Lewis' Book Features This Artistic Rendering Of A Romantic Heart

author of Why I Love Chiropractic(2010; Foghorn Publishers, P.O. Box 8286, Manchester, CT 06040-0286; 860-216-5622; http://www.foghornpublisher.com/; foghornpublisher@aol.com).

Dr. Aaron D. Lewis' Why I Love Chiropractic(Foghorn Publishers, 2010)

Explicitly not a Doctor of Chiropractic himself, Dr. Lewis is a pastor of the evangelical tradition, holds a Doctorate of Philosophy, and is an ordained minister.  He's ghostwritten over 100 books, and consults major publishers--he lives in New England and in Panama. He is winging all over the world all the time, it seems. Busy man, indeed.  Quite in demand as a preacher and speaker it is apparent to me. So I was eager to attend services with him on a Sunday morning at the Family Of God Church in Glastonbury, which I did last Sunday morning.

Dr. Lewis has become something of an expert on Chiropractic, as a layman and advocates for it as an inspirational speaker.  Since commencing my Chiropractic care I have made some good choices. Including reconnecting with two pastors from the United Church of Christ(formerly the Congregational Church) and making the decision to shop for a local church to attend regularly since my move to this locality a year ago.  I've attended services in Goshen, CT; plan to visit a congregation in Naugatuck, an Episcopal church in Cheshire, visited Pastor Aaron's last Sunday and plan to return there in 2 weeks time.

I've been in phone contact with pastors, by email, and have a newly reacquainted friend from high school who is recently retired as a counselor in private practice with Counseling credentials, and a Doctorate in Divinity. I will call the Deacon of Pastor Aaron's church this week to arrange a coffee get-together, and will email Dr. Lewis for an appointment on a one-to-one basis.  I've requested admission information from the Hartford Theological Seminary.  Dr. Lewis' book I will finish shortly and is chock full of health info.

I have an appointment scheduled for three MD's of differing specialties. One Gastro-intestinal doc will be doing a necessary colonoscopy in early December. My Endocrinologist is Dr. Surani Fernando, and I have full confidence in her abilities and inclination to be cautious in treatment.  And I have an intake scheduled for a psychiatric screening with an MD.  I will consult all these MD's as well as my Primary Care Doc Rippell on my vegan plans.

At a fund-raising dinner for the Northford, CT Historical Society, I recently had a great conversation with an operating room Registered Nurse who happens to be a friend of the family's.  Another long-time friend recently acquired her R.N. and was pinned recently, despite her busy life of raising her son as a single Mom, and has been invited to write a guest blog for Unabashed Left on public health care policy. I also recently met an R.N. from the Maritime Provinces in Canada whose judgements I respect greatly and admire.  Their advice will also be sought for my Vegan endeavor.

I intend to contact my insurance carriers soon to determine if coverage is available for nutritionist services, and look into local nutrition groups.  Since undergoing chiropractic care with Dr. Tobin I've also gotten much more involved in my 12 step work, which has also improved my health in many ways, my spiritual condition and my outlook on diet and exercise.

My niece is now in her mid-20's and has been a vegetarian since 12 years old, and has been an inspiration and a love of mine from her birth.  She's honored me in many ways, and has a Baccalaureate degree in journalism, and has been not eating animals because she loves 'em.  My sister, her Mom, and family have had to compensate for her wishes and has been an example for friends, acquaintances and families by quiet, humble example for way more than a decade now! She is a cabinet member indeed! She honors me with her participation.

So there it is. 4 MD's, 3 R.N.'s, one Chiropractor and several of her friends, a Pastor/expert on things medical, a "Band of Brothers," 2 additional spiritual advisers, 12 step supporters, and a couple of more. 

I attended a Stress Management course three times at the invitation of teacher Beth Roth, and will renew contact with her, who incorporates Yoga and many great principles into her teaching. In fact, she asked me to pose for photos as a poster child for Stress--and I can assure you that she chose wisely. :-D  One more MD I hope to contact is actually primarily an herbalist, whose been a friend for years, and I am uncertain regarding my ability to contact him. 

And finally, I have much in the way of contacts online now through this Unabashed writing venture of mine.  Many experts of all sorts, but especially experts in Unconditional Love. <3  I have to shout out to my new Facebook friends and say that their inspiration has been and will continue to be instrumental in this endeavor. TYTYTY!!!

In the short run my diet will be dictated by my immediate medical needs. I have several medical concerns at present of an immediate and serious nature, which I shall document soon in a separate essay on this blogspot. 

And a thanks to 4 people educating the public about diet and exercise who have inspired me.  Mrs. Barack Obama, Michelle, has made obesity her central issue in Barack's first term. To be honest, the President's own transgressions as far as his health maintenance have no doubt compromised her efforts. He has not quit smoking cigarettes that I am aware of, and has his photo taken with world leaders eating junk food.  NOT constructive, Mr. President. I don't know how you manage to run up and down a gymnasium floor playing basketball doing what you do to your body, sir.  Unless media reports of your own health maintenance are distorted, and that certainly may be the case.

               Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams From NBC's The Weather Channel

Jennifer Carfagno From NBC's The Weather Channel

Al Roker, from NBC's Today Show and  Wake Up With Al on the now NBC-owned The Weather Channel, has gone public for years with his decision years ago to have gastro surgery in order to deal with his own obesity.  He's lost oodles of weight, exercises and has made his life an example of public education for the nation and world---Dads, Moms and kids! Just last month he became a media event himself when he completed all 26 miles and change of the New York City Marathon! Congratulations to  Al! Thank you sir, for your inspiration. You've helped to make this an easy choice for me. And at The Weather Channel, Stephanie Abrams and Jennifer Carfagno--on-camera meteorologists--have gone public with their own diet and exercise changes and talk on camera and on facebook about their friendship and their runs together from the TWC studios in Atlanta. Thanks Steph and Jennie!

So there it is, the cabinet.

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