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Green Valley Aromatherapy News Letter I had been planning to write a short article for the newsletter introducing my new business & describing my products- but recent circumstances have encouraged me to share a personal story first. My husband, Richard, and I live at French Beach- about an hour's drive from Victoria, out the West Coast Road past Sooke. We moved here about 6 years ago [1994] and built our own home overlooking French Beach. We love it here and love our home but have found living in relative isolation can have disadvantages. We found out how critical having a good emergency support system can be last month when Richard fell off the roof of our 3-storey house after doing some repairs on the roof - and... we have developed an even greater trust and belief in the healing power of essential oils. As with all really critical incidents, things happen so quickly and you need to respond to life-threatening issues so urgently and effectively that you have little time to think or evaluate- you follow your instincts & you just act...but down the road you finally find the time to reflect. For me- part of that process of reflection has meant letting others know about some remarkable successes with Essential Oils which our family experienced through this crisis. When Richard fell- (I was fortunately sitting by the phone just inside our deck door.)- I heard him fall & flew down our deck stairs to find him lying face down on the cement sidewalk, body twisted, with blood pouring out of the back of his head & nose. I was so absolutely shocked and terrified by what I saw I ran back in and called 911 and demanded an ambulance and our local, Shirley District, First Response Unit. Richard is a member of the Uolunteer Firefighters & First Response Team so we are aware of how beneficial this immediate assistance can be. Once I had done that I went back to Richard to talk with him, cover him and comfort him as best I could. He could answer me but couldn't remember being on the roof and didn't know where he was initially which alarmed me. I kept talking with him & in my increasing panic, I flew back to try and phone neighbors on the First Response (every minute without help felt like forever!) since I wasn't hearing any sirens- knowing it is a minimum 20-30 min. for the ambulance and an hour or more to the hospital- I knew how critical some immediate assistance was. When I couldn't remember names & phone #'s I asked Richard and he was able to "come back" to help me remember (my first hopeful sign). He was drifting in and out of full consciousness and clearly in severe shock and pain. I couldn't even allow myself to think about what kind of spinal & internal injuries were probable... The First Response and other neighbors were there in minutes, getting oxygen to him and checking pulse and other vitals. They helped with more blankets and supports to stabilize his position without moving him and calmed him down when he tried to get up because he couldn't breath. We were all so afraid of further injury. When the ambulance arrived, there was a determination between the ambulance crew and First Response team to call for a helicopter to transport him due to the risk of internal injuries- they thought he likely had at least a punctured lung (later I found out they also feared a punctured aorta!). He still had to be transported carefully up the road to a local Mini-mart where it was decided the helicopter could land. A paramedic from the Victoria General Hosp. Trauma team arrived with the helicopter & took charge- preparing Richard for the flight. I was unable to fly along due to space limitations so I had to do the hour's drive alone. (I had called our younger son at work to have him meet us at the hospital.) Once the helicopter took off- I took a deep breath and decided I needed my emergency bag of Essential Oils. I began by inhaling deeply from a little bottle of "smelling salts" I'd previously made for myself with powerful "anti-stress" EO (Sandalwood, Clary Sage, Grapefruit, Myrrh, Geranium, Angelica. This is a "centering" blend- not designed to be too sedative- calming with focus.) I kept it close during the drive and inhaled frequently- breathing deeply to try and maintain some calm & keep panic at bay. I was still running on pure adrenalin and needed something to counter the urgent need to act so that I could drive safely. I've used this blend multiple times for lesser crises- but it really helped me to maintain focus without panic. After multiple xrays, exams, ct scans, etc., we finally received the wonderful news that Richard's injuries did not appear to be life threatening any longer and I was able to relax a notch more. The list of damage included: 3 broken ribs, wounded lung, broken vertebrae (mid-back), concussion, head wound, and multiple contusions, etc. Late that first night it was decided his head wound needed suturing due to loss of blood. Our son, Cameron and I stayed until Richard had been sedated enough that we hoped he could sleep. My initial interventions were mostly for myself and our son, Cameron, to help us handle the extreme shock & stress. I knew when I couldn't stop shivering & was freezing cold late that night on my way home that I had to have a soothing, hot bath so I could sleep. I mixed up a very sedative blend (Sandalwood, Patchouli, Frankincense, Mandarin, & Spikenard) & soaked until I felt I might be able to sleep. I'd also made Cameron soak his feet in a hot footbath with Tea Tree & Lavender in Epsom salts. He had already been sick, looked really exhausted, and had sore feet from new work boots. He complied- and was very grateful later. He crashed on the sofa and I left him there since he is too big to drag off the sofa! The next day I was able to begin using some of my arsenal of healing oils on Richard as he was stabilized enough to talk more with him and really assess the damage. One of his greatest immediate issues was the morphine they had put him on for pain made him extremely nauseous and induced a vomiting reflex. I used peppermint EO on a tissue which we wrapped around his oxygen feed into his nostrils. He asked for more drops whenever the nausea overcame him. He felt that helped considerably until sometime the 2nd night when he was switched to "Demoral" for pain. He had such a severe reaction (also likely increased impact from his concussion and head injury) that he spent most of that night and part of the next day vomiting, with extreme nausea and spasms. He could eat nothing and was in intense pain from the vomiting and severe headaches which had begun. His bruises and contusions- all over his body- were swelling and beginning to look nasty. He hurt so much even the nurses were afraid to move him and wouldn't allow xray technicians to either. With his permission, I started trying to drizzle some Helichrysum EO -neat (undiluted)- on some of the exposed bruises. His right hand had been smashed under him on the concrete and was severely swollen & bruised from index knuckle to above his wrist. I gently massaged it in over the entire bruised area. He also felt the bone might be broken in his index finger. This was later the first area to show a dramatic decrease in swelling and bruising. It was healed within a week with almost no discoloration or pain left. Later I was able to get some Helichrysum around his open head wound as well and on contusions on his head & neck. I tried neat Lavender -for the anti-inflammatory effect - on bruises above his broken ribs thinking it might also help him sleep and massaged Marjarom in Vit E. on his shoulders and neck when he complained about how much they ached- and again for the sedative effect. On that day the attending surgeon had planned to insert a "shunt" (drain
tube) into his lung to allow We continued on with frequent EO applications for the rest of the week- also using a pain relief blend (Peppermint, Lavender, Sweet Birch, Eucalyptus, and Clary Sage) to dab on his temples and massaged into the pressure points on the back of his neck & head (later we learned more pressure points for pain from a friend who is an Accupuncturist). By the 4th day he had bounced back so dramatically that he was disconnected from all the IV's, etc., able to walk about carefully and began doing little "walkabouts" on his ward. He also called me and asked for bath salts as he had scouted out a large bathtub & gotten permission from the nurse to use it. I mixed a "Whopper blend" of detoxifying, pain relieving bath salts (Rosemary, Juniper, Cypress, Lavender, Sweet Birch, and Spikenard) and he took his first hour long "float". He absolutely loved it as he felt pain free for the first time since his fall- and slept through the night for the first time (he said the other men in his room did as well!) The late night baths (with different EO every few days) have continued to be a major part of his healing, followed by applications of a now more diluted Helichrysum (in Vit. E) on his head wound and other contusions & bruises and other EO. They have healed beautifully- very little was visible after a week-10 days on his head, hand and other areas we had targeted early on. His ribs and internal injuries have also improved remarkably (as recent x-rays show). He was out of the hospital in one week instead of the 2 or more anticipated by his doctor, and has continued to mend more quickly than expected since home. He still has a lot of pain and discomfort at times, of course- but he continues to use EO's in spot applications to supplement his prescription pain relief. The bath salts are still a nightly ritual and I know they have assisted his own immune system to get on with optimum healing. He is going back to teaching a couple of classes this next week and we are not even to the one month mark. If you have managed to stick with me through the ordeal (& believe me this is the short version)...you'll likely be wondering how this all fit into the hospital setting without conflict. We had very supportive nurses for the most part- some were really wonderful!- and we were careful not to interfere with hospital routines and tasks as much as possible. The only comment made was to Richard from one nurse on his last night (as the very strong scents came wafted out from his bath)- about hospital policy against strong smells. We tried to keep the oils subtle so as not to disturb others and most comments from nurses and other patients were positive- "how good it smelled". I think it is important not to try and impose the therapeutic use of EOs without consideration for possible contraindications, etc. It is also important to be safety conscious. Although, admittedly, I far exceeded normally recommended amounts - my instincts told me that such serious trauma justified this for spot treatment and for a short time. Some of the oils would clearly not be safe to use in such quantities for long term use as they have potentially toxic constituents. Richard's crisis ended up being a very positive example of truly holistic care and we consider ourselves very fortunate for many things. None of the Aromatherapy applications would have been of any value without the skilled Emergency/Trauma assistance that he was given- but I am also grateful for the knowledge I have acquired for the therapeutic use of essential oils and other holistic care. It has clearly been extremely beneficial throughout this crisis. We remain so thankful that all of this came together on Richard's and our family's behalf. Yours in Aromatic Care, |
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