Mehmet Oz, M.D. - Oprah - Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

Mehmet Oz, M.D., Oprah, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
and Three Brains on the Table

I do not watch a lot of TV, yet I do watch the Oprah Show whenever I can, especially her shows with the worldwide famous Turkish doctor Mehmet Öz, or Oz-Man as Oprah calls him. His last name Öz becomes Oz in the English spelling and reminds many people of the story of “The Wizard of Oz”.

Well in the last show that I watched, the Oz-man and Oprah had an interesting guest. I had heard about her and had watched another program about her. I am talking about Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, who wrote about her amazing experiences of a stroke and her recovery in her best selling book “My Stroke of Insight”. Dr. Taylor is a brain scientist and she lived through a stroke and over a period of about eight years was able to recover to tell us her story.

I definitely recommend reading about her and to watch her story through one of her speeches, you can check out http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html. However, I will not write about her story here. I would like to share what she shared as to what she experienced as a patient while she was in the hospital.

When a patient is not able to speak, is not able to respond in the way we expect him or her to, when a person is mentally impaired, we tend to forget that there is a person living in that body.

One of the things that really touched me from what she shared was how people treat the mentally impaired as if they do not exist. Dr. Taylor talked about how people would not talk to her, because they assumed that she was not aware. But she was.

It is long story, but she made a few requests to people to are taking take of patients who have been through a stroke or are taking care of patients for any other ailment.

She requests that:
- Treat them like they will recover completely. (Make them know this is your intention and that you are not giving up on them)
- Talk to them directly (regardless of what you assume or believe they can and cannot understand)
- Allow them to sleep (to let them gather their energies)
- Make eye contact, touch them (and let the patients know that they are seen and that you are aware that they are alive. Dr. Taylor remembers the nurses who would touch her feet and talk to her while doing their medical work in her room. She heard, and saw and felt, even though she could not convey it at the time.)
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor shared that although she could not understand what most of the nurses were talking about, she could tell from the energy of the person coming into the room what would be taking place and how. She could feel the energy; her right brain which was not hurt could sense that energy.

Dr. Mehmet Oz hearing Dr. Taylor’s comments admitted that many doctor and nurses know the importance of making a connection with a patient and the need to make a patient feel safe, but also told about how easy it is to forget because doctors and nurses need to take care of many such patients in a day, in a month, and over the years. I personally felt that Dr. Jill Taylor’s experience was a big reminder for many people in the health sector. And I would say even for myself. I did not have many experiences with people who have been through strokes. However, I have seen many people in Intensive Care Units, in ERs who are not able to give any information about the condition they are in, apart from their blood tests, their MR results, their blood pressure and pulse, and the level of oxygen in their blood. What is going in their mind? What are they feeling? Most of the time we have no idea. I will make a short note here that sometimes it is possible to feel, to sense, or even to hear what a person says even when they are unconscious. It does happen, but no one can really guarantee if and how.

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How to know if you are having a stroke?

During a part of the show they brought three real human brains into the room and showed the audience how a healthy brain looks and how brains from different intensity strokes. You might also want to check out oprah.com if you are interested. I will share some of the important points.

Dr. Oz gave a simple, but important tool to check if someone is having a stroke. You might want to keep this simple check in mind:
If you feel that someone might be having a stroke, do this check:
1- Make them smile. Are they able to?
2- Make them put their hands up in the air. Can they?
3- Make them repeat a simple sentence over and over again. Such as “(Make the person use their own name) is beautiful” (Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. Zeynep is beautiful. )

If there is a problem with any one or all of these exercises, it means that it is best to rush immediately to a hospital and let the personnel in the Emergency Room know what might be happening.

Please make sure that you always contact your doctor or a hospital when you feel that you are in need to medical advice, or in an emergency.

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For a Prosperous New Year

I receive a lot of questions about prosperity topics. A lot of people are concerned about their financial well-being as well as their health and happiness. Especially during these interesting and difficult times. Concentrating on lack and on the gloomy news do not really help us out. Therefore, this week I would like to share a few affirmations on Prosperity from Louise Hay that you might benefit for you well-being. Repeat them as often as you can, and every day.

Here is for prosperity. Cheers. … :

The more grateful I am for the wealth and abundance in my life, the more reasons I find to be grateful.
I pay my bills with love, and I rejoice as I make each payment. Abundance flows freely through me.
My good comes from everywhere and everyone.
I release all resistance to money, and I now allow it to flow joyously into my life.
I deserve the best, and I accept the best now.
Life supplies all my needs in great abundance. I trust life.

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With love and light to you all. I wish you a wonderful new year.
Zeynep.
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Angel of the Week: Creativity

Affirmation of the Week:
“The greatest gift I can give myself is unconditional love.”
By Louise L. Hay
Quote of the Week:
“The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.”
Stephen Nachmanovitch

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation of the Week:
“Healing from the Heart” By Mehmet Oz, M.D. with Ron Arias and Lisa Oz.