SIMON
A Hands On Healing
© Marcie Fallek, D.V.M., C.V.A.
“Would you mind if I did an acupuncture treatment on Simon?” I asked. David glanced at his watch and sarcastically said, “Do whatever you want, the dog is going to be put down in half an hour.” Mr. A. had brought Simon to our hospital three days ago. The old setter mix hadn’t eaten in days. Despite all the lab work and radiographs, we weren’t sure what was wrong with him. “Old age” was the diagnosis. A diagnosis that always angered me. Old age is not a disease.
Simon was fifteen years old. David, my boss, hospitalized him, told the owner that we would give him supportive care, IV fluids, antibiotics, appetite stimulants, etc., for three days, but that if Simon didn’t respond within that time, there was no hope. We would put him to sleep. Simon was kept in the large cage in the treatment room, where all the behind-the-scenes work of a hospital takes place. For the preceding three days, I had constantly looked into the cage to see how he was doing. One had to look very closely to see if Simon was even breathing. To the untrained eye, he appeared dead. No movement was apparent and this was the third day.
I had recently started my year-long course in veterinary acupuncture. I was flying monthly to Atlanta and studying every night after work from 7 p.m. till midnight. I did not have a lot of experience at this point, but Simon’s time was running out, and I hated to just watch him languishing in the cage, marking the time until his impending death. I had no idea if acupuncture could bring him back from the brink of death, or if I had enough skill to accomplish it, even if it was possible, but I felt I at least had to try. I couldn’t stand idly by and do nothing.
So I opened the cage door and softly called the old boy by his name. No response whatsoever. The dog was sprawled on the cage floor, his head pushing into the corner of the stainless steel door, oblivious to me and the commotion around him. I proceeded to place needles into various parts of his body. I was choosing points that would stimulate his Chi, his energy, to start flowing. Master points, the strongest points that I could remember from my lectures and my notes. The dog didn’t flinch, not a muscle, not a whimper. Granted, these tiny razor sharp needles really didn’t hurt at all, I would tell nervous clients… but still, some reaction would have been nice to see.
I squatted on the floor, next to the open cage looking at the dog. My small inner voice was nagging me to do more. Somehow, I just knew the needles weren’t going to be enough.
I had just had my first formal lesson in meditation. My teacher was a powerful healer, someone who had spent many years alongside of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Instinctively, I sat down next to the open door of the cage, and took the dog’s paw into my hand. I began to relax and breathe. I felt that I wasn’t strong enough, powerful enough to send the dog the healing energy that it needed. So I closed my eyes, held that dog’s paw, and tried to be a channel for God’s energy, universal energy. I visualized pulling down energy from above, through my head, down through my arms and into my hand and then into the dog. I visualized drawing it from above through me and into the dog.
I breathed, emptied my mind and let the energy flow through me. I had never done or attempted anything like this before in my life. It felt like the right thing to do. I was applying that first lesson in meditation that I had learned only a few days ago. I never envisioned myself a powerful hands-on-healer like Oral Roberts or one of the great saints. I thought I was not very powerful, but I opened myself up to be a conduit, a channel for the energy from above. Like a prism focusing light.
Within five minutes I felt this incredible electric shock pass from my hands to the dog’s paw. I jumped up in surprise and gave a little cry, startled and frightened by what I had felt. The dog did the same, starting in surprise with a little yelp! It felt like when you put your finger by mistake into an electric socket.
Simon had moved! So everyone in the treatment room hurried over to see what was transpiring. His eyes were open and alert, showing no trace of the torpor that he had been in for the past week.
I offered him a bowl of dog food. This was the test. David had the euthanasia solution ready in the next room. Simon absolutely gobbled down the food. We offered him some more. I was incredulous and ecstatic. But there it was. The dog appeared healed!
I called the owner, and told him that the dog was better and that he could come and pick him up and take him home. I merely told Mr. A. that I had done an acupuncture treatment along with the fluid -therapy; I could hardly expect him to believe what had happened, as I could barely wrap my mind around it myself.
Shortly after this incident, it happened that I left the practice, and therefore never heard any more about Simon and what happened to him. It was about five years later, that I found out. I had a new handyman working in my home. A very matter-of-fact, decent kind of guy, who said he had heard all about me.
“What do you mean,” I asked?
“Well, you treated my neighbor’s dog Simon a few years ago. He told me how sick
Simon was and how you brought him back with an acupuncture treatment.
“How did he do,” I asked? “What ever happened with him?”
“Well, Ken told me he died at 18 years old. He was perfectly fine until then. It was a real tragedy. Simon was tied outside when a terrible thunderstorm came. No one was home to let Simon into the house. He broke free and ran into the woods,” Ken told me. “A few days later he was found dead, with his leash wrapped around a tree.”
After that experience with Simon, I tried several more times to repeat hands-on healings.
I never charged any money for it, because I felt that charging would somehow diminish the healing. I knew it was God and not me and I was afraid somehow money would interfere with the healing. Unfortunately, I have not been able to replicate that experience. I am not sure why. I can’t really understand how it worked the first time, and why it didn’t the following times. Maybe it is because the ego is involved. I was having a certain expectation, a certain agenda. I wanted a certain outcome. I wasn’t totally empty.
God’s work happens when we completely let go. We do our job, to the best of our ability and the rest is up to God. This, throughout my life has been a powerful and difficult lesson for me. We need to let go of any attachments, even and especially the results of our actions.
Particularly, as a doctor, we want a ‘good’ outcome. Healing. Wellness. But we are never ultimately in control. There is a greater plan for each and every one of us. Our job is simply to play our part to the best of our ability, dedicated to the highest ideals; the results are decided by God.
We are all sparks of the Divine, part of the greater cosmic energy field. I was Krishna’s flute, or at least trying to be, allowing the Divine Work to use my body as an instrument. “I” had nothing to do with it, and the music is written and played by Him.
Disclaimer: The case histories that I write about are chapters from my upcoming book, and are based on actual animals that I have treated. The names of some clients and patients have been changed to maintain their privacy. The facts are written as accurately as possible, based on my medical notes and phone and/or in-person interviews. Some minor details of setting or other non-medical facts may differ slightly due to lapse of memory after so many years. I apologize in advance for any such errors.
Marcie Fallek, D.V.M., C.V.A.
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