Everything Is Connected

If your eyes cannot see and thus do not find your tribe, you die.
If your nose cannot smell and thus does not discern poison, you die.
If your mouth cannot chew and thus does not process food, you die.

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Facial trauma is a unique beast at the most primal, innate, fundamental levels — because harm to eyes, nose and mouth pose direct threats to survival, as has been true for our species and others across millennia. Until the real and perceived dangers to one's eyes, nose and mouth have been not only resolved, but proven with strength repeatedly, a human (like any species) receives ongoing signals to NOT go out into the world, interact or take risk. I am still very much in that phase.

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Ever since my accident, I've been grappling with the central question of why these injuries to my eye, mouth and face have proved so debilitating and traumatizing physically, as well as psychologically. In addition to immense pain relief, my osteopath offered me great insights that align with what I have felt at the cellular level, though had yet to find the words to adequately articulate such terrifying, paralyzing, unique bodily and mental responses. Tragically, we all endure trauma throughout our lives, though these experiences seem only to be viscerally understood by fellow victims of facial trauma, as well as genital trauma, the other region directly linked to species survival.

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Osteopathy is a newer addition to my lineup of integrative medical treatments on this recovery journey. As a fully licensed physician who graduated from medical school with knowledge in all branches of conventional practice and surgery, a D.O. (osteopathic physician) uses all traditional and integrative tools available for comprehensive care, plus hands-on layers to help diagnose issues, heal injury, prevent illness, and promote health among the whole patient.

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This work can be incredibly intense, to which I can personally attest. When the doctor focused in on my neck, internal mouth and jaw, I cried, gagged, screamed out in agony, especially as he tackled the directly impacted left side of my body, where tension skyrocketed. I’ve been having odd, acute pain in my left forearm, which I never thought could be related to the accident, but as he addressed my neck, that began to release. Trauma disrupts everything: neurological and musculoskeletal structures, bodily systems, organs, blood flow, microbiome, brain function, detoxification, digestion, immunity, synthesis of nutrients, all — and that which does not self-correct need varying degrees of medical support. There is great wisdom in the body, and having a wise, skilled, trained doctor to make and act upon connections for holistic treatment is not only unbelievably helpful, but wholly necessary.