A couple weeks ago, we started a new kind of therapy for Viv. Craniosacral therapy. Cranio- what?!?! you may ask...and I wouldn't blame you. Before a month ago, I had never heard of it but did a lot of quick learning. If you're interested, you can check out a few helpful links below.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,999712,00.html
http://upledger.com/content.asp?id=61
http://www.angelphillipscst.com/my-services
The long and short of it is that the craniosacral system (that we all have but few of us know about) is centered around the membranes and fluid that surround your spinal cord and your brain stem. The system is also directly related to your central nervous system and thus has a flow or "pulse" throughout your entire body.
Angel (yes, that is her real name), Vivian's CS therapist, describes it to Vivian as the energy that flows through her body that helps her body do everything is needs to do to grow and function. If there are roadblocks in the CS system, there can be roadblocks to the growth, development and function.
We discovered at our first visit that Vivian had major roadblocks. The very first thing that Angel did with her was have her hold the paw of a stuffed Care Bear that had sensors on its paws. The idea is that if someone else holds the other paw and the two people join hands, the Care Bear will sing because of the connection of energy. When Vivian held Angel's hand, the Care Bear sang. However, when Angel put her hand on Vivian's forehead as opposed to holding her hand, the bear couldn't get past an "I, it, t, it, it, i, i, it" stuttering. When she touched her cheek, same thing. When she touched her chest, nothing.
After her first treatment two weeks ago, they tried the Care Bear again. Hands, forehead and cheeks sang. Chest still did not. Yesterday when we went back for her second round of appts (third real appt), the Care Bear sang right away everywhere Angel touched...a slight hesitation on the chest, but not much.
That was great to hear.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.
Vivian's body is accepting the CST very well, and we are in awe of this new type of treatment. Angel is very kind to share her knowledge and while sometimes what she does seems a little "out there" and hard for us to relate to, the rest is very scientific and has caused me to really think "why not?!?"
Vivi is a puzzle. Always has been. And while we've made progress on helping put the puzzle together, there's still a lot of work to do. I think Angel will be an important puzzle master for us.
Angel came to us rather non traditionally through a recommendation from friends of our neighbors, and as she lives in Minneapolis, it's not exactly next door, but so worth the 3-hour drive (and thank you thank you thank you mom for all your help). A reminder to always be open an accepting to new opportunities and options. And grateful that you have them.
No matter what, Angel will help Vivian's body work better. I have NO doubt about that. What Vivi's body decides to do with that information remains to be seen. It will take time, but I feel a kind of hope that I haven't felt in a long time, and I know that God has sent us yet another "Angel" to help us along our journey to health for Viv.
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