After my return from the unforgiving landscapes of Afghanistan, a new battle awaited me—this time within my own body. Diagnosed with a sizable osteochondroma under my right scapula, fear gripped me as I faced the possibility of a malignant tumour. The speed with which I found myself on an operating table in Sydney, mere days after the discovery, mirrored the urgency of the situation. The relief, when the tumor turned out to be benign, was profound, but another stress another day..
The conventional medical approach, swift and clinical, intervened with surgery and pharmaceuticals. This is where the rift between my beliefs and the reality of the medical system became stark. Post-surgery, I found myself in a cycle of pharmaceutical concoctions, each prescription addressing a symptom rather than the root cause. Pain equalled painkillers, inflammation equalled anti-inflammatories, and so on. Specialists, whom I inherently trusted, prescribed medicines that seemed to create dependencies rather than foster healing.
Raised to believe in the efficacy of Western medicine, I grappled with the realization that, despite the best intentions, the system seemed more focused on managing symptoms than fostering true well-being. It became apparent that our medical system, driven by pharmaceutical solutions, inadvertently perpetuated a cycle of dependency.
A turning point came when my reliance on prescribed medications led me to the emergency room, vomiting blood—an alarming consequence that prompted a reassessment of my approach to healing. It was a wake-up call, highlighting the need to question the prevailing norms and seek a more balanced and holistic path to health. A closer look at my body, scrutinizing what goes into it, and an examination of the systems created around our medical and food systems that seem to promote more sickness than health.
In the subsequent blogs, we'll delve deeper into the traditional practices that became pillars of my healing journey, challenging the status quo and forging a new understanding of health and resilience.