Past Tense

Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine coined the phrase now repeated in the Hippocratic Oath: do no harm. The idea just as it was taught by the Greek philosopher and scientist is vital and alive even today.

But in this fast-moving age, is it practiced?

My teenage son has flat feet that point out, and even though I believed the problem related to his whole alignment, the pediatrician sent me to a podiatrist.

The day arrived and we were ushered in. I’m sitting across from my boy when the doctor walks in, looks at him for less than a minute, and proceeds to tell me he will have to do a complicated surgery immediately. He won’t be able to walk for a year and will have a steel plate for the rest of his life. Right in front of my son!

Do no harm? I could not believe it.

To cripple a healthy 13 year old boy?

I wasn’t intimidated, but I was angry that he had scared my son. Instead, he is doing exercises to address the underlying issues.

I wish this was an isolated case. Being sold by a doctor for a $30,000 procedure (the insurance would pay for that, but not the therapy he is having), using fear tactics made me angry. But many people, who are skeptical of other sales “jobs” are afraid.

It goes back to the training in medical schools today: it’s all pharmaceutical interventions and surgery.

Sometimes this is essential and will save lives, but how many times are other alternatives simply overlooked?

For years I had been searching for a better way. In the process I found a very unique place, that is based on the crazy notion that the body is amazing and self-healing.

What a notion, that our bodies will actually do the work of healing if we just give them the tools and nutrition they need. Oh, and stop working them to death with processed foods.

The Hippocrates Health Institute, aptly named after the original Hippocrates. It truly follows the idea of do no harm and teaches people to take charge of their own health.

To me, the experience I had at Hippocrates Institute was a taste of heaven. It was so uniquely different.

People call it a miracle when some with cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, various tumors and so many other health conditions bring about their own healing using what they learn.