Adverse Childhood Experiences: Today and Forever's* Effects on Health (* OR MAYBE Reversible!?) - Blog from 02/2010

This is from a blog I posted in February of 2010 which I wanted to copy and place here where it might be seen by people becoming educated about fibromyalgia.  Since most people who have FMS have a history of adverse childhood experiences (trauma in childhood), this is very important to be included here.  Dr. Young and Cheryl Young, who I have heard present on this topic about three times now and who have themselves seen Dr. Perry presesent on this topic are very valid allopathic practitioners and they do their research and support it with their references.  And I know Dr. Young has said basically 'the brain is plastic so it stands to reason you can undo these effects, but how ... that might take a good OT' (he meant me actually, and what was funny was I started thinking about good OTs to recommend!).  And then I met practitioners such as Ilene Spector, who I also have included information about in this Forum area and in the blogs, and others you see in the website forum areas such as Analii Cunningham, Kohava Howard, and others, who I believe hold 'the missing link' to getting a damanged brain to heal.  To get a damaged body, mind, spirit to revert back to chronic wellness from chronic illness makes sense within the belief of cranial ostopathy as I understand it from my brief time of education from Dr. Spector.  Basically, she's said to me that the body is set up to heal itself and sometimes it just needs some facilitation to get out of it's way if there are roadblocks, so to speak.  So, I very much hope this is read by many and helps many...  There is a director at the Cranial Academy website which is on the posts I've made in the blog or Forum area here about Dr. Spector.  And I very much hope that the expertise of providers such as Chris Young and Ilene Spector 'cross polinate' here as well.  ~~ Mardy

..... What I'd written in the blog is as follows .........

I'm very much looking forward to the continuing education at our local 'big hospital', St Mary's, today.  The topic is 'Child Abuse' and I hope to see Chris and Cheryl Young there, since that is 'her thing'.   Just over two years ago, she was scheduled to present  at the Fibromyalgia Forum we held in 'our building' where we saw patients two floors apart yet managed to communicate effectively due to my willingness and time availability to run up the stairs or take the elevator up to catch them.  Suffice it to say that her powerpoint presentation on Adverse Childhood Experiences and the relationship to chronic illness in adulthood, which is based on the work of a neurologist named Bruce Perry, and the 'aha moments that happened for so many of us in the room and knowing how many MORE people wanted to be there that night but could not: they weren't feeling well, it was dark, it was cold outside, their kids had something going on at school --- was a contributing factor to my creating Lumigrate when I had the opportunity. Cheryl had a cold and laryngitis so set up her husband, Dr. Chris Young, with the information and he did a marvelous job of presenting something he was familiar with yet hadn't ever presented -- demonstrating his 'chops' for public speaking. 

He then got intrigued with the concept of applying it specifically to chronic pain, which is something he's specialized in long enough that the manual we were using with our patients was from 1999.  I even shared some materials with the OTR from St Marys and included was that manual, which she'd received at an inservice in years past.  I sent many patients her way for driving assessments; we're EXTREMELY fortunate to have a hospital-based driving program in this community as they are rare anymore due to funding issues.

Last month, I attended the open house for the expansion -- a tower which now breaks the previously undisturbed view of the Colorado National Monument to the west of town.  I feel blessed to have had a private tour with friends who worked on the project's management team and to have happened to the deck of the helipad at the time of the blessing ceremony.  At my side, 'coincidentally' was Ivan Alkes, CEU chairman for St. Mary's Hospital.  It was the first time I'd been on a hospital helipad and to share that sacred moment was very special to me.  When I grew up in the mountains outside of Denver, the orange helicopters for St. Anthony's regularly flew over as there were a lot of car crashes due to the increasing cars on our rural roads and highways that were not designed for it.  Since moving to Grand Junction and driving past the temporary helipad that was off campus, and knowing the people who work in the hospital and outpatient clinic eventually -- myself being one of them in the past -- I now make a habit of always pausing when I see the helicopter in the air and being thankful for what all we have in our medical industry for support when we need it. 

I also know that this community provides wonderful connections for the most advanced 'progressive' thinking, and I am very grateful to be included and part of it and am now being called 'the funnel'.  So off I go to the CEUs and finding another thread to bring into what we are weaving potentially.  Seeing the people who helped inspire and create Lumigrate's base content and videos, and see where we go from here!  

Link about something I learned from Cheryl and drafted up with her review last fall:

www.lumigrate.com/forum/let-go-shameblame-game-better-health [1]

Link to public higher education research foundation website with a LOT of REALLY GOOD links related to adverse childhood experiences and Dr Perry's ACE work: www.uwrf.edu/wwpartnership/trauma.html [2]

From the above website, a link to a national association with wonderful PDFs of how the brain works, intended for the lay person: FREE: www.sfn.org/index.aspx [3]