Treatment vs Cure

Last night a 59 yr old man comes in having a stroke. He had just finished dinner and was talking with his wife and friends when he suddenly stopped making any sense. He was talking but his words were all jumbled.  He was the picture of health. He worked out twice a day and kept a journal of what he ate.  His wife waited 20 minutes before calling 911.

 

 

First lesson, time is cells, time is muscle.  Never, ever wait if you think someone is having a stroke.  The faster you can get them to help, the faster interventions can be taken. Those 20 minutes could have cost him his life.  Fortunately, his symptoms resolved and his speech returned to normal, but this is not always the case.  I work at a Stroke Center so we are all trained on the protocols for stroke.  If your nearest hospital is not a Stroke Center, then they will have to transfer you to one, which takes time.  The longer you wait to get in, the less likely it will be that the medical staff will get you to help in time.

 

 

Second lesson, never believe you are doing everything you can.  There will always be room for improvement as new information is found about health and what promotes it.  Keep your mind open to things even when they may seem strange because they could mean the difference between illness and health.  Don’t get so settled into a diet routine that you develop tunnel vision.  

 

 

After speaking with him about what he felt was the “perfect” diet, I found that he was eating white rice and white potatoes almost every day.  He was eating very few leafy greens or various colored veggies because he believed that lots of meat protein and carbs were the answer.  He was taking commercial protein powders in large amounts.  He had no idea that his diet had created the environment for the clot that broke free and caused his stroke.  He also thought the medications he was on for high cholesterol and high blood pressure were protecting him, which leads me to the third lesson.

 

 

Third lesson, medication IS NOT A CURE!  Medication is only and always will be a treatment…like putting a band-aid on a cut.  The band-aid does not heal the cut.  It only covers it up.  Medications treat symptoms but do not correct the problems that led to the disease.  You must do your part to create health.  Very few doctors will do what is necessary to cure you.  They will do everything to treat you.  Treating you keeps you coming back for follow-up visits and medication refills.  Curing you is bad for business.