I have no need to be in the water: a case of Canada goose egg

Case code: S = Subject; O = Observation; A = Action; P = Plan; HP = Homeopathic Practitioner

Female, 74 years old; CC: Left-sided neck and head pain. History of three auto accidents.

O: Fierce, scrutinizing expression with slowness of comprehension. Meticulous. Bone spurs on cervical vertebrae, calcium deposits in breast tissue.

Initial consultation 11/11

S: “The pain is sharp, grabbing [O: Hand gesture grabbing left-side of neck]. It’s excruciating, the muscles are twisting [O: Hand gesture]. It grabs, it’s sharp. It’s tight and stiff. In the car, I use a neck pillow if I’m going a long distance. If I’m driving I don’t need it, only if I’m a passenger. When I’m driving, my arms are out with both hands on the steering wheel, I’m looking straight ahead.

EXTREMITIES – AWKWARDNESS

I have stopped golfing because of the pain. Now I’m only walking on the golf course just to be with people. I love being on the golf course. It’s relaxing, beautiful; the trees, flowers, the peacefulness, and the fun with the gals I was with. We’re laughing, they’re not ridiculing anymore. Before, the score was more important. I wasn’t that good. We share the expense of a cart. You have company, chatting, visiting. I like the ponds and the marsh.”

MIND - NATURE - loves

HP: Tell me more about the pain.

S: “It grabs [O: Hand gesture], it’s sharp, sometimes dull or achy. In the left side of my head is a fuzzy feeling. I thought, ‘Is it a stroke!?’ It comes and goes. It’s like a flutter, above the ear. Not a sharp pain, a flutter. [O: Points to picture of a butterfly on office wall] Like their wings when they flutter and they’re about to settle down on an object.”

BACK - STIFFNESS - Cervical region

GENERALS - AIR; OPEN - desire for open air

HP: What do you like to do?

S: “I like to walk, to read, garden, make jam, canning preserves. I love to play cards. The group has dispersed due to health issues and people have passed away. I love sitting on the deck looking out on the lake. I like seeing friends when we go south. We have annual spots reserved at two RV (recreational vehicle) parks. We go up north in the summer and down to Arizona in the winter.

The water is so calming. I have no need to be in the water; I just look at it and feel so relaxed. It’s peace [O: Closing eyes as she speaks, smiling], contentment. Watching the sun set. Being closer to God, and He can paint a very, very beautiful picture. I used to pray to St. Jude until I heard he was the saint for the hopeless. Now I pray to St. Anthony, who is the saint for lost items. It works; I find what I’m looking for. My friend said, ‘You’re praying to the wrong saint,’ so now I just pray to both.”

HP: Fears?

S: “How independent am I going to be? I have friends who’ve lost their husbands suddenly. The loneliness. When a couple is used to being with couples the entire time and suddenly one is alone, an outsider, their friends sometimes aren’t there anymore. A friend who lost her husband joins us all the time. She feels like an outsider. I’ve been married 55 years…

…I also fear cramped spaces, I need room! Storms, tornados, black skies, wind.”

MIND - FEAR - alone, of being

MIND - FEAR - thunderstorm, of

MIND - FEAR - wind, of

MIND - LOSS; sense of

HP: An outsider?

S: “She can’t do the work on the house. She was so depressed. She didn’t want to do things and she didn’t want to stay home. I watch and learn. If I should lose my husband, if I were to feel the same way…

MIND - ANTICIPATION

MIND - LOSS; sense of

[O: Apropos of nothing:]

…I took a police officer to court and won. I was driving alone on a street and didn’t know how fast I was going. I didn’t want to pay the speeding ticket. He felt that he was a power. He should have given me a warning and been understanding, been a friend. That’s part of his job too. I had to prove a point. In court, the policeman lied. I had to be my own lawyer. I forgot I was supposed to get a lawyer. When I cross-examined him he could not look at me. Maybe now he’ll do better, be more compassionate, caring and considerate. I kept looking for his police car. I thought he’d be after me.

MIND - CENSORIOUS

HP: Tell about the pain again.

S: “It takes over your entire being. It’s power over you. It’s in control. You don’t want it to win. It’s an enemy. It restricts you. On my job, I couldn’t do and say what I really wanted to because I had a supervisor over me. My job was on the line. I couldn’t come out. I was unhappy with their procedures, which were unfair to the customers.”

HP: Tell me about the car accidents.

S: “With the first accident I didn’t know what had happened. I must have blacked out. I thought, ‘Did something fall out of the sky?’ During the second accident I was waiting for the crash. I watched him coming in my rear-view mirror. I just slumped because there was no place to go. I just sat there waiting and went limp. The third accident I didn’t know he was coming. Wham, I got hit.”

MIND - ANTICIPATION

Key points to consider:

Group consciousness, friendships

Loss of husband equals being an outsider

Powerlessness, power over

Closer to God

Repertorization using Synthesis 9.1 rubrics:

MIND - ANTICIPATION

MIND - AWKWARD

MIND - CENSORIOUS

MIND - CONFUSION of mind - concentrate the mind, on attempting to

MIND - FEAR - alone, of being

MIND - FEAR - thunderstorm, of

MIND - FEAR - wind, of

MIND - LOSS; sense of

HEAD - PAIN - Occiput

BACK - STIFFNESS - Cervical region

EXTREMITIES - AWKWARDNESS

GENERALS - AIR; OPEN - desire for open air

Analysis:  She has many sensations; pain is an enemy doing to her, sensitive to competition; animal themes. She is spiritual, moral and sensitive to freedom and restriction; bird family of remedies. In the group or outsider, migration, water relates to Anseriformes. Neck symptoms; bond with mate; need to go home, brings us to the goose. Security, slumping over, calcium pathology; the Canada goose egg.

P: Branta canadensis ovum 200C one dose

Branta canadensis ovum LM 1 to begin one week after the C potency

Follow up per telephone 11/23

Note: This conversation occurred following the Branta canadensis ovum 200C one dose.

S: “Our bed has a headboard with a clock on it. To see the time, I twist my head, which causes pain. Now I realize this and I’ve repositioned the clock. The pain is not quite as bad. The fluttering in my head is better, I’ve even kind of forgotten about it.”

GENERALS - VIBRATION, fluttering, etc.

Follow-up 12/10/11:

S: “I have pain free nights. I can raise my head and turn from side to side with no pain. This is major! My neck still pulls and feels tight, but I have some very good days when I can turn my head like normal. On the 24th of November I was sleeping and heard a really loud bang and my whole body jumped. I thought, ‘What just happened?’ I didn’t feel anything and I fell back asleep. I am burping more. The first car accident caused much burping, which made my neck feel better. Recently, I drove at night in rush hour traffic and was so calm. I wasn’t afraid! I used to be very anxious.”

MIND - ANXIETY

NECK - STIFFNESS - painful

NECK - TENSION

STOMACH - ERUCTATIONS

GENERALS - ERUCTATIONS - amel.

Follow-up per telephone 12/31/11:

S: “I’m burping a lot. It’s a relief. We’re going to Arizona soon. It’s not my choice to go, but we have friends down there more than in Minnesota. Here the population is thinning out and everyone is moving down to Arizona. We’re referred to as ‘the snow birds.’ If I didn’t go to Arizona I would be here alone. Four days is the most I have been without my husband. In Arizona we have good friends who are Canadian.”

Follow-up call 1/14/12:

S: “I have not needed the neck pillow in the car.”

P:  Branta canadensis ovum LM 2

Brief follow-up telephonically 3/6/12:

S: “Golfing is still very painful.”

Note: The patient continued on Branta canadensis ovum LM 3 for two weeks and began tapering down on pain medication. She was then given placebo.

Follow-up 8/24/12:

S: “The neck is better. I am golfing. I don’t have to take any pain pills when I’m through with golfing. I’m not in pain when I’m on the golf course.”

Final Analysis: Improvement on all key points. At the time of intake, the client was fearfully considering surgery on her neck as the only recourse her doctors could offer. She is delighted to have avoided the surgery, to be pain free, and to be enjoying far greater mobility. The client has continued on placebo alternating with C and LM potencies of the remedy while gradually tapering off allopathic medications she had physically and psychologically become accustomed to.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Canada goose; Alan D. Wilson; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license