From my view point

My Essay Submission for the

American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association's Scholarship

Wish me luck!

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The midwife leaned over me holding a plastic cup. “If you don’t drink this,” she said, “We’ll have to transfer you to the hospital.” The jets of the Jacuzzi tub I sat in whirred around me. Somewhere in the distance, my meditation music jingled along, musing again and again by way of the repeat button. My mind was split. Labor pains wracked my body and my conscious mind craved the drugs, the lidocaine drip, the numbing white environment. But my true self feared the hospital, with its unknown fetal effects, its scalpel-hungry surgeons, its baby-whisking nursery. I reached up, grabbed the plastic cup of blood pressure-lowering magnesium effervescence, and downed every last drop. This was the first time holistic medicine would save my life.

Looking back, alternative therapies have been precariously placed throughout my life, slowly inching me closer to the balanced sense of medicine I seek today. My first recollection of “trying something different” was the day my mom came home with a book entitled, Foods That Heal, and a bag full of shelled sunflower seeds. At seven years old, I was suffering with undiagnosed anxiety, and as a result, was painfully grinding my teeth each night. Mom had found a way to ease my deficiencies that ultimately added no stigma to my daily routine. Totally unaware, my eyes had been opened. As a teen athlete, nutrition, massage, and chiropractics were sought out, and I learned their capabilities as healing and health maintenance tools through the championships they helped me achieve. A spiritual quest in my early college years found me on a four-hour plane ride with a Taoist sage, who spoke of inner light, herbs, and the power we all possess to create health homeostasis. In the dark-hours of the morning at an equine emergency facility, facing a scared and painful horse, I heard my calling to address the emotional and mental healing in patients, as well as their medical healing. And finally, as an adult, when the time came to make decisions on the birth of my first child, “going natural” felt natural. I had grown through a transformation as if it were meant to be.

Today, my life motto has become “seek balance.” It began as a way for me to literally stay in the saddle, but has evolved into so much more. To me, it means to strive toward having equal parts of all entities in all aspects of life. I seek balance in my career by pursuing both western and eastern veterinary medical ideologies during my time in school. I seek balance in time management, mindfully planning family time, personal time, and work time to satisfy all things important to me. My future plans are an example of my motto at work. As a general large animal practitioner, I plan to bring world-class veterinary services to clients in a down-home environment. I wish to find work in a rural area, treating cattle, horses, camelids, and small ruminants with a blend of western and traditional Chinese veterinary medicine. My “whole-horse” philosophy will be carried out in a mix of behavior consults, dental procedures, herbal supplements, lameness exams, acupuncture, nutrition, and preventative vaccinations. “Integration” and “synergy” are support words for my motto. They help me to remember to use all of the tools I have to find the best treatment plan for my patients, so that everything works better when used in conjunction.

Remember the old adage that the only thing constant in life is change? The same is true for the veterinary profession. The change I’d like to see most in my lifetime is a mainstreaming of holistic therapies. Large progress has been made, as evident in a growing client base requesting such therapies, but the number of veterinary schools that include holistic therapies in their curriculum base is still low. I’d like to believe that I can be a model for future students to have an understanding of both modern medicine, and of the ancient healing arts, many of which are still useful today. My hope is to be a part of the movement away from being only one type of veterinarian, and instead toward practitioners using differing modalities in conjunction. For example, I’d love to see acupuncture on the treatment list for summer associated respiratory disease, right up there next to steroid inhalants. Or prescriptions written for spleen tonic along with antibiotics for a case of salmonellosis. When I retire, I’d like to say that, case by case and consult by consult, I helped holistic veterinary care become adjunctive therapy, not alternative therapy.

Countless philosophies and religious doctrines exist that discuss teaching by example. Besides being a member of our AHVMA student chapter at UF, I am promoting Holistic medicine by example though my actions and interactions with other students. I deliberately sought out the Acupuncture and Rehabilitation elective clerkship for my first round of clinical rotations, and have attended and shared info on holistic wetlabs with other students that may not have considered such options. Sometimes, simply getting the word out is all that is needed to spark interest. In counseling underclassmen on selecting their class schedules, I discuss how my path of holistic curricular activities actually gives me a competitive edge in the job market. In December, I was selected as the only University of Florida student in the 2011 Chi Institute Tuition Assistance Program. This nationwide opportunity selects students that show promising skills in traditional Chinese veterinary medicine and provides assistance to attend beginning acupuncture courses while still in veterinary school.  As I begin this endeavor this fall, I will also begin lobbying my CVM Curriculum Committee to allow veterinary students to apply for full college credit in return for taking these advance certification courses during school. I feel that students who are proactive enough to enroll in such courses should be academically awarded for their commitment to medical excellence and diversity.

In addition to the Equine acupuncture program this fall, I plan to attend a beginning practitioner’s course in NeuroEmotional Technique (NET) during the few months before my graduation in 2013. NET is “a mind-body stress-reduction technique that uses a methodology of finding and removing neurological imbalances related to the physiology of unresolved stress” or blocked emotional patterns.  It is a tool used by practitioners of all disciplines to help improve mental and physical health. The program is open to veterinarians, but only a few have pursued the opportunity so far. I personally felt the great impacts of this modality as it helped me, a single mother in veterinary school, overcome a severe six-month bout of post-partum depression following that infamous moment in the Jacuzzi. Once again, I owe my life to holistic medicine, and I want to bring this powerful technique to the veterinary world. This is part of my commitment to address the mental and emotional disturbances associated with physical trauma in horses.

Attending the AHVMA Conference this September would open a world yet unknown to me. The chance for networking and camaraderie abounds when so many like-minded individuals are gathered, and feeling the energy in the environment there would only solidify in my mind that my current values will be fruitful in my future practice. I also believe the key to the further acceptance of Holistic therapies in the veterinary community is building a database of evidence-based research. I am excited to learn of the research currently being done, and in finding out what else I can do to help the AHVMA gain a seat in the AVMA House Of Delegates.

Every time I eat sunflower seeds or scoop out a dose of Shen Calmer for my dog, I know I am in touch with something bigger than myself. Each time I suggest calcium and magnesium to a friend with restless leg syndrome, I am reminded of the powerful medicine provided by holistic therapies. I am grateful for my life full of experiences that have reinforced my gut desire to search deeper for answers. I look forward to the next time an “alternative” therapy saves me, to the lesson it will teach me, and, humbly, I look forward to sharing that lesson with the world.