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PATCH ADAMS  M.D.                                                                                        01/17/2011                                 

Health Care Justice Gathering of 2010 -2011

Patch & Harmon having fun

   Being early to arrive on Sunday Dec.26 for the week, I met with Patches Brother, Wildman Adams who showed me the dormitory where I was to stay.  Since this was winter time I brought a down quilt to insure some warm comfort. Wildman then showed me the wood stove that heated this 3 story complex and I was to share in the daily feeding of wood for the comfort level of all.  For me this was pretty straight forward.

    Later, Elias & Wildman Adams described how we will all share in the duties during the week of cooking & cleaning up as well as helping with some of the chores we encounter with maintaining order for some 30 or more people.

   This communal arrangement was going to be interesting for me & I settled in to a space where I was to sleep each eve.

    Monday people were still arriving & settling in since winter weather had changed many plans for coming via plane & train. We had people coming in from South America & portions of the eastern U.S. This gave people time to meet and share various interests which was a relaxed way opening the week.
 

    By dinner time Patch Adams had arrived & the fun was starting as he greeted many friends of past gatherings. Of course Patch had a colorful clown getup like the one in the picture above. Had he been in suit & tie I would imagine his 6 foot 4 frame would have been mighty imposing. Because of his outfit & big interested smile along with generous hugs the whole room had a light relaxed atmosphere.  A friendly relaxed atmosphere was the basic timber created as Patch welcomed everyone, shared in dinner & conversations with all. 

    The Next morning at breakfast we were given a schedule with Patch talking about our Health Care Systems,  the various problems we encounter in the U.S. because of businesses having taken over our health care management & the serious nature in which health care has gone. The Fun & compassion in health care is absent for the most part & stresses not only the patient's but the doctors & nurses as well.

    One of Patch's Passions, over 28 years of traveling all over the world, is to introduce humor, caring  & a relaxed atmosphere where people can deliver all forms of treatment as well as honoring the individual with fun & laughter as part of a remedy for people who live in some fairly severe circumstances.

    Video’s where shown from trips around the world that were truly heart wrenching.  Going in to war zones & dealing with children who have been subjected to burns & wounds from explosions is an extraordinary circumstance to bring laughter & a lighthearted spirit. Patch has studied humor as a curative & sees this as part of the treatment needed to lift the spirit of victims of mans inhuman activity. Seeing children & parents smiling & relaxing as they are dealing with pain & bewilderment is gut wrenching. 

    The modal for health that has arisen in our country keeps doctors distant from patient care and limits any recommendations they can make to a patient because of malpractice insurance.  This burden, thanks to insurance companies, limits doctors & interferes with any caring relationship that can develop between a doctor & patient.

    Patch Adams has devoted at least 40 years to changing America's health care system. Since he believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the healing process, the personal touch of being interested in another person’s well being is lost in the business of treatments that are clinical & antiseptic.

    We cannot help but be challenged by Patch’s views since they deal more with communing with others in the spirit of caring  for the wholeness of another & not just plying our trade as sufficient. Developing a view of deeper connection with another human being & helping them deal with the different forms of problems they are subjected to in a life that challenges most because of the stresses that arise in our every day existence.

    I feel fortunate in delivering a natural form of assistance that gives people a way of working with their own body. The follow ups are progressive since everyone gets tools they can work with so their health & well being are in their own hands. 

    House calls http://www.patchadams.org/house_calls  is an example of one of the many active ways in which people can serve & build a sense of caring & sharing inspired by Patch to bring a lighthearted spirit  to medicine & the institutional systems that houses children.

    During the week we experienced workshops in storytelling,  juggling & different  forms of holistic approaches to help with care giving before any intrusive medical treatment is presented. At the same time people need assistance with severe physical problems as well as dying. Video’s of patches work illustrated how these difficult subjects can be dealt with in a way that cuts through the general serious nature surrounding most of these conditions. Patch has attended more than 4000 death beds & from his view this is an opportunity to assist another with passing while feeling good with family & friends

    On Wednesday Patch gave a full class in developing skills such as;

·            Hugging: a skill we can all develop. To be in the moment & hug another fully :)  Touching  each other with warmth is worth practicing anytime.  We did this for a good 10 minutes.  By hugging,  we can feel the struggle to make this real for another,  touching  another with a genuine warmth can be a useful transmission, I feel.

·            Saying  “I love you” to another:  Just saying I love you repeatedly & meaning it is a wow exercise as one realizes what this asks us to do. :)   Wow!!  Practicing saying I love always leads to good results, I have observed. 

·            Caressing :  Sitting on the floor and caressing  another, as they rest in your lap. Sharing equal time of caressing with soft brushstrokes of hands gently stroking another

               Listening:  Here we ask a simple question,  Tell me about  yourself?  & then Listen.   Just listening & hearing what another says is another skill that many can develop in a world of soundbites.

    A class that works the development of an active compassion towards others & ourselves.

     At another meeting we had in a comfortable lounging area of the main house, Patch ran down to us what he Loves:

1.          LIFE.

2.          PEOPLE

3.          READING:  Patch has many inspiring stories by doctors that he will read at talks he gives to doctors.  Patch is a prolific reader & has collected enough books to fill the library being completed at Gesundheit Institute.   See Web page of Patch’s library http://patchadams.org/Patchs_library 

4.          ARTS & POETRY:  Patch has memorized enough poetry to fill at least 4 hours of presentation if inclined. Patch did at various points during our gatherings breakout a poem or two for our delight.  :)

5.          THINKING & CREATING in his own words using the imaginative mind for envisioning change.

6.          NATURE.  Walks in nature are always captivating & reflect a non-separation with all life. 

7.      CLOWNING. This is a special area for Patch who has made a study of live situations & how to break through the seriousness in most situations. He even is the proud owner of a device that shuts off TV’s, which he likes to do in sports bars. 

    I can only conclude from spending some time with Patch Adams that we have a national treasure in his perspectives of health & life. In his own words “in the US of A we honor fame more than intelligence” so his enormous gifts are enjoyed all over the world yet in this country his gifts are too radical for the established conventional society to appreciate & borrow from. 

    Finally I must say that I was pleased to have Patch enjoy a class I gave in alignment to the whole group. I presented the keys or ABC’s of alignment for all to feel & work with. I observed Patch enjoying the fullness of breathing as everyone lay down & explore the B or breathing key, using full breathing for opening spaces in the body.

~~ For a fuller understanding of the work of Patch Adams I recommend his book: 

    Patch Adams M.D.  Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy

http://www.amazon.com/Gesundheit-Bringing-Physician-Complementary-Therapies/dp/089281781X#_