Gray Matter

With all the 'not studying' that I have been doing this month I have had the chance to pick up Egg Splatter's copy of 'Gray Matter: A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer . . . One Patient at a Time'. I must say it is an interesting read that Tyndale Publishing House provided us a free copy of!

Of course, the book appealed to me straight away, since I am of the opinion that all medicine should be holistic. We already know that trauma, both physical and emotional is held in the myofascial tissue of your body like a kind of 'memory' as well as the cognitive pathways in the brain that change when such an event occurs. The former can cause years of pain and discomfort that no physiotherapist, chiropractor or drugs can fully relieve without the psychological aspect of the trauma also being dealt with.

So, when you put a book in front of me that addresses the matter of dealing with the spiritual health of a person parallel to conventional medicine you most definitely have my attention. The book was fascinating as it wove through case by case addressing so many of the issues that a medical practitioner would face bringing prayer into a place where it almost felt like a taboo.

The key, that was emphasised over and over again was 'respect'. Being respectful of patients belief systems (and, yes, believing there is no God is still a belief) and being respectful of their right to say no to the offer of prayer. This was the same when he offered his professional team and other staff, including some of the pre-operative nursing staff, to be included in patient prayer.

I strongly believe that the state of mind with which you enter surgery (and then recovery) will most definitely affect your outcomes physically. Our mind has such power over our body but it is our spirit which guides the mind and shows it where the energy needs to flow. From my perspective, giving a person the opportunity to find peace in what can be a chaotic set of hours before surgery lays the foundation for strong outcomes on the other side. Even if something goes wrong, a positive attitude and a determination to push ahead can change the long term prognosis. I experienced that personally with my two foot surgeries last year and vouch for it, anecdotally anyway.

As for brain surgery, if you can give someone a sense of peace and the right attitude before they head into one of the most serious and complicated types of surgery a person can have and encourage their spirit to face whatever happens on the other side of that surgery then you are doing something amazing. After reading this book, I must say that I take my hat off to David Levy for sharing his brave journey of bringing prayer into what can be very socially sterile hospital walls.

At top read that I can highly recommend!