This is a hard post for me to write, and the reason I have not posted so far this week. I've been struggling with how to discuss this subject with much-due respect but still make a necessary commentary on what my experience was like, both for me personally as well as what I see as possible implications for children seen by Tibetan doctors. I guess I'll just stick with the facts.
Tibetan medicine is an incredibly holistic practice; it's ancient, it considers the individual, the community, the physical and the metaphysical . It has wisdom that Western medicine is only beginning to understand.
When a patient sees a Tibetan doctor, they can expect a very thorough examination that will help them understand their true nature and what they need to do to come back into balance. The doctor will examine different aspects of the patient's pulse, appearance and urine that will provide insight that even modern technology cannot. I had a wonderful consultation at the University of Minnesota last Fall that helped me immensely.
On Tuesday I arrived at the office and there were two doctors in the room. They realized I was deaf (I had my interpreter with me) and it took a few minutes for them to get settled into the interaction, which was kind of surprising for me because so far here in India, the different people we have met have had no problems with this.
The doctors asked the interpreter a few questions, like "So you learned her language?" Fair enough. I was expecting them to examine my urine (sorry if that sounds gross, but it's really amazing what they can learn once you understand the process), but they just glanced at the bottle and announced that I had a certain kind of imbalance.
Then they asked a couple of questions like whether I sleep well or have headaches. I replied that I sleep great and never have headaches. Then they had both my hands pinned down while they were checking my different pulse points and asked me another question, so I decided to use my voice because I know my interpreter can understand me fairly well and could re-voice for me. The doctors faces kind of changed and they said, "She can speak!!" And I got a little flustered and embarrassed- my ability to make sometimes-intelligible sounds with my mouth and throat is not something I'm especially proud of. They encouraged me to talk more and free up my voice; I explained I talk plenty as I have three children and use my voice with them sometimes, but I generally prefer to sign.
Then one of them got really interested in the whole thing and asked me to move to a different chair; he did some different chants and worked some pressure points (crown chakra, etc). Then he whispered in my ear, "Can you hear now?" I was just kind of trying not to laugh, because the fact is, Western doctors really are no different. If they find out a kid is deaf, their first response is to see if there's a way to fix it. No matter where you go in the world, deafness is viewed as a pathological condition. This was just a different approach as far as I'm concerned.
Anyway, he asked again if I felt any different and I said no. I tried to explain that I don't really want to hear, I am very content and find it peaceful, so I'm quite fixed in my ways. There was a bit of a language barrier there but I did try to help them understand my perspective. Well, they prescribed some pills for me, told me I was too screwed up for them to derive my true nature (not because of the deafness, but apparently my liver is a bit disordered....no comment on that one...). I decided not to fill the prescription. Later on in class, a different doctor looked at my urine and came to a very different conclusion, one that I could buy because it matched up with my actual behaviors and physical functioning. That kind of reinforced my sense that the first doctors were too focused on what was going on in my ears and throat to truly take a holistic perspective.
Later on I freaked out a little bit- "What if it had actually worked??!!" After being deaf for 34 years (and not even being able to hear a plane overhead for about 20) my brain would not have any clue what to do with sound, and it probably would not be able to rewire itself to learn. I would go nuts!! :-)
Honestly, I was not offended in the least. I know he was just trying to help. But I also got a little worried about what does happen if a family brings their deaf child in- isn't there any suggestion of the family using some kind of visual language with the child so they have a shot at normal development? I know I should have done more research before I came here because there's been plenty of work done in the field of Deafness in developing countries, but at the same time I think it's a good thing that I'm seeing this with fresh eyes.
Anyway, I was happy to learn that in Tibet they recently opened their first school for the Deaf. China has its problems (which is an understatement), but I think they understand a thing or two about educating deaf children. But there's nothing like that in this area, and the Indian doctor (who was brilliant, handsome and awesome ha!) we visited at the Western-style hospital across the street from the MTK said hearing loss is not a problem around here. Yeah, any instances of childhood deafness are are probably overlooked more often than not(meaning no language exposure = poor cognitive development = emotional and behavioral issues)-- BUT I'm assuming the good doctor is probably correct, since Tibetan mothers take very good care of themselves during pregnancy, both emotionally and physically, while American mothers are exposed to all sorts of toxins and are expected to work until they're 8cm dilated. And, of course, fragile babies are probably more likely to survive when they're born in a country with more resources.
This is all common sense, I know, nothing I did not know before, but it's still something I'm pondering regardless; a person can understand the exact same thought on a whole new level, you follow me?
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