(Zoo Boy playing with a buddy at the children's museum yesterday.)
On and off for the past year or so, Zoo Boy has complained about pain in his legs at bedtime. As is typical of "growing pains", these episodes correspond with periods of rapid growth. The Boy just recently hit the 45 lb mark, a mere 5 lbs behind his older brother, and in measuring him one night (while trying to take his mind off the aching in his legs), we discovered that he's sprouted an inch and a half since his last measurement in the fall. No wonder his bones hurt!
One night recently, when his legs were particularly painful, we got out of bed and looked up a Homeopathic remedy for him. He impatiently danced next to me, grasping his legs, asking why it was taking so long. I told him that I was looking for "bones" and had to make sure I read the descriptions carefully, because if it wasn't the right "medicine" (which is what the kids call the remedies), it wouldn't help.
Not having much luck with my Materia Medica, I took a different tact. Knowing that the various Calcarea remedies have effect on bones, I pulled out all the Calcarea vials I had, and read the labels. Bingo! Calcarea phosphorica said "bone pains due to bone growth during adolescence". I handed the vial to Zoo Boy, who wrinkled his brow while he studied the letters on the label, then victoriously yelled "bone!" I grinned and measured out a dose for him, which he happily popped into his mouth, then scooted back to bed.
A short time later, I asked him how his legs were feeling. "Good!" he said with a deep sigh. A few moments of silence passed, then he asked, "How does medicine work?"
I thought for a minute about the answer. Homeopathy is pretty complicated stuff, and I'm not quite sure how to go about explaining the Law of Similars to a four year old. I haven't even been able to effectively explain it to adults! I offered a simple statement, "It helps your body feel balanced, which make your legs feel better". It didn't fly. "Yeah, but HOW does it do that?" Western medicine with pain blockers would be so much easier to explain....
"I don't really know," I said lamely. "It's sort of like magic, isn't it?" He smiled and drifted off to sleep.
Just like magic, in fact.
3 comments:
it IS magic.
that zoo boy is growing like wild. in all ways!
Wow, 45 pounds at not quite 5! My Purple weighs about the same and he's almost 9. I often think that he could play the part of "Gollum" in the new "Hobbit" movie: he's definitely got the skeletal, butter-scraped-across-too-much-bread look. His pants are always too big because no one expects a child to be quite that skinny!
How did you get interested in homeopathy? What convinced you that it was effective?
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