The title for this week’s blontry is a shout out to
Rae. On Tuesday, she had cataract surgery. Since this is “our blog” she
actually should be writing this but we have long since bought into the fallacy
that if one of us is in India (me) it is his responsibility to write that week’s
entry. It’s like there are no computers or internet connection in the US.
In any case, I am pleased to report that Rae’s surgery
went very well. She is essentially 20/20 in her repaired eye. She has not had
that kind of vision without contacts or glasses since she was a little girl.
Now the question, given how positive the outcome, is how long she will wait to
have her second eye done. She has surgery for the second eye scheduled.
However, that would mean she would not return until mid-August. She may wait
now until we are back in the States permanently. Part of that will be how well
she deals with the visual ambiguity of one repaired eye and one that still has
a cataract.
Well, I wrote last week that I would not write about
my health again until there was a something significant to report. Since I can
also use this report on our board meeting this week and reflect on traditional
Indian medicine, I decided to go ahead.
On Tuesday, we had our board meeting. When Mr. Modi
arrived, I asked if we should start. He said, “No, I want to talk about your
health.” For the next few minutes he grilled me about my health, treatment, and
prognosis. He then turned to Charu and said, “We need to get Phil together with
Dr Uppoor.” He then went on to say the Dr. Uppoor is an MD and Ayurvedic (traditional
Indian medicine) physician who had treated him and other members of their
family. Dr. Uppoor’s clinic is in Goa. At first they were talking about flying
be down there. Then he told Charu to see if Dr. Uppoor would be willing to fly
to Delhi to meet with me. Once that was all settled, and only after it was
settled we went on with the meeting.
I was very touched by Mr. Modi’s concern and his
willingness to take action in my behalf. Since Dr Uppoor was coming to Delhi,
anyway, the Modi’s decided to offer a consultation to other employees and their
families. It was a generous act. Having now met with Dr. Uppoor, I am wrestling
with what I heard. First a word about Ayurvedic medicine.
As mentioned above, Ayurveda or Ayurvedic medicine is
traditional Indian medicine. Its roots go back thousands of years. Ayurveda
does encompass surgery, in fact some of the earliest documented cataract,
heart, and plastic surgery were done by an Ayurvedic physician in Varanasi. However,
as practiced today, Ayurvedic focuses on the use of massage, medicine made form
herbs, seeds, spices, and diet. There is an entire theoretical underpinning
behind Ayurveda that is connected to Hindu thought and belief. But just as one
does not have to believe the Hindu roots of yoga to benefit from its ability to
improve flexibility and health, IF Ayurvedic treatment has value, it has value
whether or not the theoretical underpinning is validated by science.
The question I am wrestling with is does the treatment
have value? Dr Uppoor listened to my history; he reviewed the medical records
from my treatment to date (remember he is an MD as well as Ayurvedic
physician). After doing that, he said you do have an auto immune disease that
is essentially rheumatoid arthritis. I know Ayurvedic treatment can cure you
while all Western medicine can do is treat the symptoms. He didn’t want me to
discontinue the medicine I am taking because in the short term the symptoms
would get much worse again. He wanted me to come to his clinic in Goa for a 10 day
course of treatment consisting primarily of massage and a specific controlled
diet. However, it is best if someone go with me to assist me during the
treatment. So, if I go, I will wait until Rae comes back.
In the meantime, I have trying to decide which dietary
changes if any I should make. Based on Ayurvedic principles, Dr. Uppoor had a
list of changes he thought I should make even if I don’t come to his clinic for
a while. The problem is I have been researching the impact of diet on auto
immune diseases and some of the things he is recommending are different from
the current dietary recommendations in the US. There are certainly similarities
but there are also pretty significant differences. If diet and/or Ayurvedic treatment
can “cure” me or even significantly reduce my symptoms I am all for it. How to
sort out what actually will help and what is irrelevant is hard to know.
What to do? What to do?
Namaste
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