Beginnings .....
Meeting clients or new friends inevitably raises a question ... "how did you start working with animals using complementary therapies" i could say it was my childhood dream .. i wanted to be Joy Adamson, sitting in the bush, drinking tea in my nightie, surrounded by Lions .... yet as is often the case ...........my work in Egypt with Camels, Arabian Horses, Water Buffalo, Mules & Donkeys and work in Europe using therapies with Animals wasn't planned at all.
Life works out in strange ways ...... in 1982 following an assault during my Nursing career, i developed a back injury, for three years via my GP no pills worked, bed rest didn't help and nor did grinning and bearing it! Eventually in 1985, a neuro-surgeon solemnly informed me surgery on my spine was my only option, he said my Nursing career was over & would be in a wheelchair within 10yrs without it & when i explained such spinal surgery wasn't an option that felt right for me, he said he knew he would see me again begging on my knees for his help.
If a day can change the course of a life, the next day changed mine completely, a colleague sent me to a private practitioner of Acupuncture. As some recent jaw surgery had been a disaster naturally i felt desperate to avoid another operation, Helen explained the lady had helped many Nurses with back problems.
I was at times using a walking stick, it was impossible to sleep for long, if i straightened my knees i had to tilt my head forward to avoid breathtaking pain. There wasn't anything to lose by a visit to Ann. At her Oriental & Holistic Therapies clinic i met her, she explained she had a background in Orthopaedic and Practice Nursing and had become interested in alternatives when she began Martial Arts through meeting her husband who also practised Reflexology. I didn't tell her anything about the neuro-surgeons diagnosis. She could see what a state of pain and abnormal posture i presented. She spent time looking at me standing up as best I could, i then lay on my stomach on a low bed, she looked at my spine and without touching me declared she could see displaced lumbar discs & pelvic misalignment just as the Dr of Neuro-surgery had pronounced.
My heart plummeted, "so that's it then" i said, "surgery ?". Oh no she replied, i can treat you now. For a trained Nurse such as myself this was a shock statement, I asked "what will you do?". I can sort you out using Acupressure to numb the area, some gentle manipulation and then a few Acupuncture needles, £25 today including a follow up in two weeks. I felt some gentle touch either side of the area, then a pushing of vertebrae, the fine bendy needles painlessly went in.
Ann wanted to know about my work, childhood and my life. She pointed out that i was under extreme enduring stress, i hadn't realised. She suggested i might want to think about what could be changed and to return in two weeks. She gave me a sheet of instructions which included lifting nothing heavier than a pint of beer. Then she asked me to stand up. A terrifying moment, she said relax, breathe, just stand up ! I stood up, carefully raising my head expecting my knees to give way. Nothing happened, for the first time in three years I stood upright. Leaving the clinic to meet my Father, it was hard to believe no pain came; bless him, he could hardly believe his eyes, as he drove me home, we were both left lost in thought all the way.
Neither of could have known just how much my life would change after that visit and meeting Ann. I sometimes look back and reflect how much gratitude i feel and always will feel towards Ann.
That was in 1985, eight years later i had gained a Counselling qualification at The University of Manchester & started to explore the world of Alternative medicines. I left my Nursing career, Ann invited me to work at her practice as a Counsellor.
The Animals arrived when a client remarked she wished I would visit her Dog and help him the way she had and her husband been helped. Bernie & her husband had been referred to me by Ann following some Acupuncture sessions, i often treated her clients when they had completed a course of treatment. The hands on relaxation & meditation effect of TRT(TM) & insights into stress and the chance to talk was supportive of the recovery process. Mike reported his Golf handicap had improved enormously from the first session and his usual aches and pains had vanished. I was seeing around 8 people five days a week, i loved the work, yet, with a life long love of Animals .... had to say YES !
Brandy their beautiful Labrador was getting on in years, he was achey and had been taking pain meds for a couple of years but they were affecting his gut, they knew it was the end of that road for him. The Vet could not offer anything except euthanasia they didn't feel he was ready to go. They would do anything to give him a better quality of life and a few more years. From my first visit, Brandy seemed to "know" what touch work was all about, he settled under my hands for around 2 hours, Bernie and Mike remarked this was not his usual way with strangers. We talked about his diet, introducing some varieties of vegetables, raw bones, fish and oils. Brandy loved all of this, he continued enjoy regular sessions, Bernie trained in TRT(TM) to help him on a daily basis. Naturally, Brandy continued to age but had more agility, he seemed to them to be brighter during his walks and his pains seemed to disappear. Brandy lived another 3 years before passing peacefully.
He was the first of many Dogs to receive this support through my work.
Thanks and blessings always to Mike & Bernie, you are both in my heart forever, for your intuitions & support of this work with dear Brandy which opened up a whole new career for me and the work my heart needed.
The journey to arrive working voluntarily in Egypt in 2007 has been packed with amazing Animals and their humans, lots of training and is almost a book in itself. It is now 2010, some of the journey is in my forthcoming book Animal Tao~Animals Know How .............. now back in the UK, opportunities to meet new Animals continue to arrive every week !
Am very blessed for work that is the love of my life :)
