The patient tells the following:I fell hard and hit my face on cement, spraining an ankle and a wrist, with an open wound to the forehead and palm of my right hand. Right after my fall, I started shaking uncontrollably so 911 was promptly dialed.
The head scan later showed that the brain had bled. Luckily, my daughter had quickly given me pellets of Arnica 200 non-stop for as long as she could before the ambulance took me to the ER. Once there, I was able to sip on water with Arnica 200 for a few hours.
When asked, I couldn’t tell my name, the date, the day, or answer any questions of the sort. It was as if I just could not access the information no matter what, as if there was a wall I could not go beyond. I knew that I knew my name but could not tell. I knew it existed but could not even give any name to anyone. When told my name, I thought it was really weird and could not really be my name. That state lasted for about 8h.
In the following days and weeks, I sipped on
Arnica montana 1M, 10M, Rhus toxicodendron 200, Ruta 200,
Natrium sulphuricum 200, constitutionally prescribed remedies but recovery was slow. I still could think, beat my husband at different games, and do crossword puzzles but my brain would hurt if I had to think too hard, too long. And I was easily dizzy in big wide spaces, walking by myself outside, going to department stores.
Surprisingly, I was doing things that were really out of character for me: not wanting to see people or participate in conversations, sitting and doing nothing for long periods, and wanting to lie down and just be there. That was really odd for me. If my rapport with others was really different, my outlook on life was different too.
It was as if “I was in neutral”. Things did not bother me, things did not matter. I did not know if I wanted to still be a homeopath or not, if I wanted to retire, or not, do something totally different, or not. But mostly, it was “or not”. I now realize that I proudly thought then that my detachment showed I was getting enlightened!
At the same time, I was seeing an osteopath, who is also a physiotherapist, who does a lot of work on the nervous system. Things were moving along physically but he was concerned about me. I thought I was doing fine except for the tiredness that was always there, I was dragging my feet and could not exert myself at anything. All I wanted to do was sit and do nothing or lie down. People who know me were concerned, I am normally someone who does a lot in a day, quick to think and act, devoted to others, and who works hard. And there I was, sitting and staring, my universe suddenly very small. Now, it was all about me.
AnalysisSymptomsConfusion of mind, not understanding what is said to me at all.
Confusion of mind, incapacity to follow a conversation.
Delusion, alone, in a vast arid plain.
Delusion, having very little resources, having to use them very wisely.
Disinterest, in everything.
Desire, being alone.
Desire to conserve energy because I have so little.
Desire, lying down.
Detachment, does not care about others or anything.
Does not engage easily.
Feeling fragile, vulnerable.
Lack of reaction.
Slowness.
Staring into space.
Delusion, brain would like to curl into a ball to protect/preserve itself
Pain deep in the brain after mental exertion
Pain forehead, left side
Dizziness in large spaces
Dizziness walking outdoors
It was then that I remembered talking to Sandra Schulte of Germany at Jan Scholten’s seminar in Utrecht. She had worked on the proving of a small remedy, a moss,
Neckera complanata. There were only 4 of them doing the proving, and 2 had found that the after-effects of a concussion they had suffered in the past had totally disappeared after taking the remedy! She was quite enthusiastic about that fact and told me to make sure to remember the name of it.
Follow upSo I took a dose as I was in the office one afternoon and I remember thinking in the evening that it had done nothing. The next day, on my way to the osteopath’s office, I met a co-worker who stopped to look at me and excitedly said: “oh my gosh, you are back!!!” to which I replied that I was there to see our colleague, but she said: “no! YOU ARE BACK, I can see it!”. She had noticed that I was moving more freely, my being more engaged in what I was doing. She said that instead of being there at about 60% of myself as I had been for 3 months, I was there 100%. As I walked into the osteo’s office, to my surprise, he had the same reaction! I had to think for a few minutes and said: it was as if I had left a vast, arid plain I had been living in for the past 2 months where nothing mattered, everything was in neutral, people would walk by and say a few words but I did not pay attention or care for what they said. It was a real effort to talk or listen while living there. It was as if I had very few resources and had to use them very wisely as they were hard to get and I felt fragile and vulnerable.
DiscussionI am now giving the remedy to every client that mentions a concussion and so far, the reports are conclusive. The level of effect varies but everyone’s quality of life has so far somewhat improved with the remedy. The ones who benefit the most are the ones that have symptoms closest to mine especially: not being able to engage, fragility, and a feeling of having limited resources that have to be used wisely.
It might be important to take note that my husband has noticed that the word “preserving” is a word that he has heard me use a lot since we have known each other (40 years) so it might just have to be my own thing coming through.