The swallows have returned safely home to San Juan Capistrano. The swallows, of course, being myself, Cole, and Piper (the dog). And because I have three different tales to tell, I will break the postings up accordingly…so as to not overwhelm your eye balls. This first posting is the “Rivka” part; and while there will be crossover integration between the three stories, in this post, I am the protagonist.
On Thursday we moved to a different hotel. It was a lateral move financially, but location, location, location! It was a better location, immediately behind the clinic with an enclosed courtyard grounds. It also had an enclosed pool and jacuzzi area. And for me, it was the best decision ever. I would have moved earlier in the week, however, ALL area hotels were booked solidly until Thursday…some kind of corporate convention. Being that I am the one who took Piper out in the wee early, dark mornings; as well as the one who took her out for the last opportunity of the night to do her “small-business”, the enclosed grounds made both of our lives 100% better. The earlier hotel had no grounds and was not in the best area of San Jose. Thus, I found myself looking over my shoulder while trying to encourage the dog to “get on with it”. At the new hotel I could take her off leash and she got her business done right away…small and large. AAAAhhhhhhhhh….I tell you, relief for her was also relief for me!
Moving on…
Most of you know that I suffer from Migraine headaches. Sometimes they come on with no warning–from the weather or such, and sometimes they are quite predictable. In fact, I have a sure-fire recipe for getting a migraine:
- Lack of sleep, or constant interrupted sleep (which equals the lack of).
- Continual stress, such as traveling with a fairly new canine companion and a special needs son.
- Stressful driving circumstances, i.e. an eight hour drive (though I did it in 6) with the last couple of hours being at night–in traffic.
Now when I awoke yesterday morning I had already had a full week of numbers 1 and 2. I also had the beginnings of a bad headache, which I knew that with #3 integrated into the equation would yield a suffering in the head that could land me in the hospital at about the time I would be hitting Los Angeles. Our plan, yesterday, was for Cole to have his final session in the morning and then we would head for home right after lunch. And I confess I was nervous for what I knew was coming my way. In fact, I was planning scenarios in which I could help myself through the inevitable…I could drive to my Aunt Susie’s in Encino and stay the night with ice packs on my head, then finish the trek home this morning; though I wasn’t sure how she would feel about Piper in her domicile. Or, I could have Brian and Esther drive and meet me in L. A. and Brian could drive my car while Esther follows in hers and I lie down in the back. But those scenarios, I knew, were reactionary options. I knew I had a proactive option right in front of me, and though I have been witness to the positive effects of acupuncture for Cole, I was still reluctant to have it done for myself. When it comes to physical pain, I am a baby…I just don’t have the time for it (sing it Carly). But this situation felt desperate, so I asked if Dr. Zhu had the time to help me. And help me he did! He was so kind, especially knowing how nervous I was. He put the needles, strategically in my head, after asking where the pain was coming from. He felt how tight my shoulder and neck muscles were and added a few needles in to help loosen those areas. He checked on me, had me rest, and continued to care for Cole and his other patients at the same time. When I went to check out and pay, the front office girl, Lisa, told me there would be no charge for my treatment.
What you need to know is that I have taken all kinds of medicine for headaches/migraines. I know the varying levels of pain, some functional and some not. I knew, yesterday morning, that nothing that I could take would alter the difficulty awaiting my horizon of driving in Los Angeles at night. I might make it home, but I would be ill for potentially the entire week–at the very least! So you can imagine my delight when, with needles still intact, I made the drive home without an ounce of pain, discomfort, or exhaustion. And this morning, here I am typing a new post without a headache, even though my recipe for one was perfectly constructed. I have no side effects from medication present in my body, and I feel good.
The question to ask now is, why I waited so long?! What a dope I have been…allowing fear to keep me from health. Fear, in any form, is just dumb. I am a convert, and I will follow up with Dr. Jing Li here in Irvine. THANK YOU DR. ZHU AND DR. MOYEE, thank you Dr. Li for referring us. Thank you friends and family for supporting our pilgrimage. Now you can listen, if you haven’t already, to the song included in this post, with a new understanding of why I chose for it to be here.
P.s. As the Lord would have it, our Chinese doctors are believers in the Lord Most High–no idols were in our presence–just people allowing their G-d given gifts to be used for the good of humanity. And today I am grateful to be a human.
living in loss and gratitude 
The Noise