Harry, On the Mend

Last week, there was a period of several hours when my cat, Harry "The Highlander", acted in a manner most uncharacteristic to his normal behaviour. It passed, and I forgot about it until this past Thursday, when he stopped eating and drinking, did not want to go outside at all and rejected T-U-N-A. Chiropractic adjustments seemed to have no effect, though it had in the past. The tuna clinched it, and I took him to the vet after there was no evidence of using the litter box, after 24 hours.

Dr. Tzvi, the vet, ran a battery of tests, took blood and gave Harry an IV drip to deal with his dehydration. Every half hour or so, Dr. Tzvi would check our the lifeless lump that used to be my very active cat, look at his blood test results, shake his head and say to me, "This is not good at all," and yet refused to elaborate. When I would ask for details or try to understand the worst case scenario - having been raised in the Jewish/Polish mother model -the vet would refuse to explain until all data came in. But I was not supposed to freak out, of course.

The short version of the story: "most probably" a parasitic infection that is causing severe anemia and break-down of his red blood cells. If I had not brought him in for a check-up, he "probably" would have died over the weekend. Then he casually mentioned cancer and FIV as alternative diagnoses, if no improvement appeared within four days.

The good news: the very same day, after receiving the IV plus anti-biotics and steroids to avoid RBC break-down, Harry started to get ornery, used the litter box and tried to eat food. Today, one day later, he is more active and asking to go outside. Which he can't, until his 21 day course of anti-biotics is completed.

When I told my mother about the stress this caused, she did not hide her true feelings; there is some part of her that fears that I am falling into the Crazy Cat Lady stereotype, and that having a cat means I will die alone and single. Her immediate response to my sadness was, "Oh well, your cat is dying. Pets die you know..." Thanks for the sympathy and support, Mom; surprising all the more so because she grew up all her life with cats as pets.

The aspect of this episode that continues to bother me concerns the clinical approach (as expert and professional as I could want) towards my feelings and fears. Never mind the fact that I am the one paying the veterinarian's bill, all 600 NIS of it, but that fact that pets (as with children) reflect the environment created by their owner and in the home. Like any other doctor, he could use some improvement in his bed-side manner towards the human in this equation.

I always mock the American pet owners who take their dog or cat to an animal shrink, when their house mate misbehaves by peeing on the carpet or destroying furniture. It is ultimately therapy for the owner, as animals cannot speak English (duh) and they simply react to the atmosphere around them.

Oh, and I think that I would subscribe to a pet care HMO in Israel, if such a thing existed.

Big Surprise for Labour (Not)

A recent poll revealed that since the start of the latest Operation in Azza, Ehud Barack and his political party, Labour, has gained five seats for the upcoming Knesset elections in February 2009. Netanyahu's party, Likud, considered hawkish and therefore in line with this military action, gained two seats, and Kadima gained one seat. Olmert has at last done something to help rather than harm his colleagues.

Not a big surprise. There is nothing that generates more election (and economic) fever than a chaos and war.

Ehud Barak Unhinged

First, Ehud Barak, Number One Son of the Israeli Labour party, posts these confusing ads all over the country to convince us voters that he deserves to be our next Prime Minister. The ads have a solemn expressioned Barak (mole and all) with the catch-phrase: "Not Nice. A Leader."

Huh?

Let us not forget that the last time Ehud Barak was PM, he was willing to give in to 98% of Yassir Arafat's demands, and only Arafat's stupidity saved us from that colossal mistake.

This week Barak appeared as himself on the top-rated satire show Eretz Nehederet (It's a Wonderful Country), based upon the modern political stylings of the Americans who judged their Presidential candidates not on their qualifications, but on their entertainment value as a guest on Letterman. All this while neglecting his duties to the Israeli civilians being bombed daily by Hamas.

Seems to me that Barak is running for a spot on Saturday Night Live, rather than the chief office of a country that badly needs positive leadership.

Joshua (Jesh) Leeder, Z"L

After a year of neurological symptoms, my uncle was misdiagnosed by several doctors, who told him he had a "bad case of Lyme Disease." When it was too late, they realized (what I and my father, 'mere Chiropractors,' had realized long ago) that Jesh had ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, a severe attack on the neurological pathways which mostly affects men in their 40's through early 60's, and has no cure.

One year ago, Jesh fell into a coma, and the doctors, ignoring his DNR request, put him on life support. Of course, upon consultation with the Rabbi, it was decided that even though my uncle had vehemently refused extreme measures, NOW that he was on life support, he could not be taken off, according to the halacha as they see it.

In denial, his wife (and their 13 children) decided that it was still a simple case of Tick Fever, and that if they took him home to be surrounded by his family and friends, he would wake up one morning as if this all never happened.

Two days ago, my uncle Jesh Leeder, died. And the Rabbis, who before were willing to ignore his pain and suffering and personal wishes, felt that now that the body was just a shell, he should be buried immediately, without even waiting for some members of the family to arrive for the funeral.

Jesh was a man who lived by his convictions, a modest, talented and spiritual man, and his loss will be felt by many.

The implications of his death scare me more, in a selfish human way. In the last year, my father has lost both his older sister (one year older) and now his older brother (older by two years). I am not ready to G-d Forbid sit shiva.

I am hoping that my father has inherited his father's genes, a man who lived a somewhat active life for 25 years after a severe stroke. My grandfather was a stubborn genius: a surgeon, a Rabbi and Scholar, a Sofer (ritual Jewish ancient Hebrew script), and a Shochet (ritual Jewish slaughter expert for Kosher meat). He saved Uncle Jesh's hand from amputation as a child, by essentially inventing micro-surgery and personally supervising the rehabilitation process. My grandfather also disciplined his children in ways that today would alarm social services and would be considered child abuse.

My grandfather died when he was ready, and not a minute sooner, at the age of 84.

I wish my father a long life of health, happiness and success, may he, as his father before him, live to see his great-grandchildren.

Ignorance is Not Bliss, It's Psycosis (Chiropractic)

In the past three days, I have been getting hate emails from a gentleman (using the term loosely) who feels that my profession of Chiropractic is, and I quote:
"Quackery"
"There is proof on the world wide web for anything, including Chiropractic, Holocaust deniers, alien invasions and government conspiracies."
"You have no right to treat children."
"What crap, that Chiropractic strengthens the function of the body and the immunity system."

And my personal favorite;
"BTW, you are not a real doctor."

I am thinking that in a previous life, a Chiropractor ran over this man's dog. He doesn't need me, he needs a shrink, and fast, and he had better stay on his meds.

This kind of talk, especially given the vast amount of information available on the net, went out of style in the 1950's and 60's, when Chiropractic was against the law in many states in America. Today, by contrast, national and international legislation puts a Chiropractor on the same level as an MD, a Psychiatrist, and a Dentist.

Here are the facts: A Doctor of Chiropractic is a specialist in the spine and nervous system, a Doctor, if you will, of Human Performance. The spinal cord and its nerves act as the central computer for the body; when something (discs, muscles, stress, nutrition, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, and many other factors) causes interference on the flow of information from the brain to the body, your body will experience dysfunction, both emotional and physical. My job is to clear the traffic jam, so the body can behave at its highest level, and self-correct when needed.

In the case of children, in the first 7-8 years, their neurological pathways grow and change monumentally, every day. Chiropractic treatment in the early years will help avoid common problems later on, experienced now by the Couch Potato Generation, including ADD/ADHD, scoliosis, headaches and disc problem, among others.

Chiropractic, like any other profession, has its limits as well, and that is why I enjoy an excellent relationship with various medical practitioners; we inter-refer on a regular basis.

That being said, you want to avoid colds this Winter? Get your family, young and old, to a local Chiropractor. (Contact me for referrals in your area.)

Direct Elections, Jerusalem

Today I get to vote in an election that has not been pre-determined by blue states and red states, the Electoral College or a rigged computer system.

Today I get to vote in direct elections for Mayor of Jerusalem, one of the poorest, dirtiest and unemployed cities in the Middle East, despite its high standing in every major religion.

Today I take my stand against Meir "G-d Likes me Best" Porush and the Ultra-Orthodox infiltration that has ruined the place in which I have lived for over eleven years.

Take advantage of democracy and your rights as a citizen; get off the couch and get to the voting booth.

Allow Nir Barakat to have a chance to improve our lives and safeguard Jerusalem.

Showing Their Cards

Every once in a while, politicians forget to bluff and say what they actually mean, for better or for worse.

For better: three cheers to Benny Begin, who has chosen to rejoin Likud in lieu of the elections coming up in February of 2009. He is a good man with integrity - kind of the reason he did not succeed last time - but maybe his presence will inspire and help turn others around.

For worse: Meir Porush, one of the candidates for Mayor of Jerusalem, made a speech in Yiddish last night, so the rest of us goyim would not understand him. He said that his great hope "...in another decade, no secular person will be mayor of any city [in Israel], except perhaps some miserable villiage." His plan also includes making Jerusalem inhospitable to anyone but the Charedim, part of his global Ultra-Orthodox conspiracy.

Meir Porush indeed looks down upon us pagans, but as a politician running in elections less than a week away, how stupid to say it, in Yiddish or Hebrew or English or Swahili. A candidate will have reporters following him around, and many citizens of this country can translate.

When confronted by the press today, Porush did not deny his statement, but rather took up the Scooby Doo approach, "Darn, I said it in Yiddish so most of you would not understand it! If not for those pesky kids..." This is NOT a man who should win the election next week.

Porush's response begs a comparison to another unfit candidate, Barack Hussein "Non-American Citizen" Obama, who did not deny attending the dinner in honor of the Palestinian terrorist; espressing regret only because he got caught on tape doing so.

A good leader takes responsibility, and neither Porush nor Obama fit the bill. Nir Barakat does.