by Franciska Anderson, MSOM, DiplAc (NCCAOM), LAc, Advanced LDHSClinic Announcement 3/16/2020
“Everything we do before a pandemic will seem alarmist. Everything we do after will seem inadequate.” ~ Michael Leavitt
I have been monitoring how Covid-19 has been moving through the country and how it is affecting Wisconsin. From all that I have seen, the next two weeks will be critical to slowing its spread in the U.S. I have read a lot of discussions by impassioned acupuncturists all over the world, arguing for and against closing our practices. All of us wish to be of service and to that end, I have come to a conclusion.
Out of an abundance of caution, I will be temporarily closing my practice for two weeks starting Tuesday. While this has been a difficult decision, I feel wholeheartedly that it is the right one. After that period of time, I will evaluate the situation in 1-week increments as we learn more. Just like you, I am hoping this blows over quickly and I'm trying to control as much as I personally can at this point.
The work I do is in close proximity with others and involves multiple patients coming in and out of the same rooms. I have always maintained a well-ventilated, sanitized and clean office, and recently increased cleaning measures to try to stay ahead of this. At this point, though, I feel it is best to shut down to keep my staff, my patients, and me healthy.
While the work I do is important, I am following the lead of most other non-essential medical offices around the country. This will have major financial implications for many people, myself included. Ultimately, however, preventing the spread of coronavirus is also part of the Hippocratic Oath of "First do no harm." Chinese Medicine excels at immune strengthening and even treatment of onset of symptoms as an adjunct in this case to your work with your medical doctor.
I am developing plans to continue to provide some form of care, such as providing consultations over a HIPAA-compliant video streaming service and taking orders for enzymes and drop-shipping them to you directly. I hope to develop some videos and presentations on nutrition, enzymes, herbs, and acupuncture. Some of it will be free content; some paid. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears.
Thank you for supporting small businesses. Wash your hands, have faith, and do your best to keep fear at bay. This too shall pass!
Yours in health,
Franciska
by Franciska Anderson, MSOM, DiplAc (NCCAOM), LAc, Advanced LDHS
I inhaled deeply and suddenly felt rooted, truly rooted, to the earth. I was home, fully in my body, fully conscious, and feeling freer than ever. I was standing in the rutted roads of my mom’s hometown of Mucsi, Hungary, and I had never felt so connected to a place than in that moment.
I grew up hearing of this place, a far-off land where my ancestors lived, breathed, worked, married, birthed, worked some more, and died. My mom, grandmother, and aunts all planned to come back to Mucsi (pronounced “Moo-chee”) but we ran out of time to do it together. Life got busy and it wasn’t a priority. Everyone got older and my mom died in 2011, never to see where she was born and had to subsequently leave because of ethnic cleansing in 1946. We all talked about Mucsi, a small but magical village settled by our people called the Donauschwaben: Germans who were invited in 1720 to settle areas of Eastern Europe that had been decimated by the Turkish invasions of the early 1700s. I found the whole thing fascinating and always felt drawn to complete the circle and return to this village to represent the family once again.
The thing about cancer is that, for me, much of the non-essential stuff of life was burned away in the fire of surgeries, chemo and radiation. After my breast cancer treatment and my dad’s unfortunate death in 2013, I felt tempered but acutely sharpened, newly motivated to travel to Mucsi come hell or high water. Travel planning started in early 2015, and I decided early on that I was going to do this solo. To further flush out my family’s story, I hired professional genealogists to help complete the family tree. It ended up being a treasure trove of discovery: I was, in fact, related to the first re-settlers of Mucsi from around 1730. Surprisingly, nearly 95% of my ancestors were born and died in this village and the rest were from villages 5 miles away.
The day arrived when I found myself driving on the road leading to Mucsi, hallowed ground to my family. Here I was, about to step foot on soil that hasn’t felt my family’s footfall for nearly 60 years. Before their expulsion, ancestors had walked through these hills, tended their fields and animals, grew grapes and made wine for over 200 years. They kept their German customs but integrated the Hungarian language, dress, 
and cuisine (including lots of paprika) into their daily life. They considered themselves Hungarian citizens, much like how we all consider ourselves Americans but keep our ethnicities and family customs close. I watch shows like “Finding Your Roots” on PBS or “Who Do You Think You Are?” on TLC and really understand the need to know about those that have come before in order to more fully understand yourself.
Upon seeing the village for the first time, I started to cry...well, more like bawl my head off. I had made it! I drove up the road and found my way to my pen pal’s house where I was going to stay. Nervous but trusting that my family was around me, I met my pen pal Wolfgang and his wife Henny for the first time and truly enjoyed staying with them for several days. Wolfgang graciously showed me around, including the cemeteries, churches, and old decrepit houses where all that living had happened. (Wolfgang and I had connected 10 years ago on the Ancestry.com Member Boards and in and of itself is a great story but I digress.) I had a fantastic time.
The travel bug bit again, so I returned again this year in August for a celebration of the village. Descendents were invited back to visit, and a museum, church services and village tour were all part of the celebration. For the first time, I was able to attend a Mass at the Catholic church, St. Stephen’s, at the center of the village. This was where my relatives had worshipped from 1783 on. Another Mass was held at the small but significant chapel in the countryside called Maria Papd. My connection to the Papd chapel ran very deep. Years ago my grandfather (“Opa” to me) first told me stories about how important the chapel was to the village. He had had the opportunity to rebuild the chapel when it fell into disrepair around 1930. He was studying and working to become an architect and master builder (“Maurermeister”) which included bricklaying. My grandmother (“Oma”) later told me more about the chapel and how much she missed walking through the woods and over the hills to get to this spiritual home. It was a part of several villages’ Catholic celebrations since it was first built in the 1880’s. It was dedicated to Mother Mary, for whom I have a special affinity.
While attending the Mass at this little chapel which was standing-room only, I was overcome with fully being in this place: it struck my heart how significant it was to hear the melodic singing of these people, to feel the
wooden pew under me, to listen to the priest give blessings in German and Hungarian. Celebrations like these are rare now and I was able to attend. How lucky was I?! Suddenly, at the end of the Mass, the priest looks over at me and calls me to the front. There he introduces me to everyone and conveys that I had traveled from Wisconsin to be with them. He also mentions my grandfather and the fact that he was the one who rebuilt the chapel all those years ago. I feel goosebumps as I hear a collective gasp from everyone, and people start to cry and clap. I can’t quite capture in words how I felt in that moment but suffice it to say, that moment will sustain me for a very long time.
The simple act of breathing while standing on the road in my ancestral home has never felt more complete, more life-giving. If ever you have a chance to visit the place of your ancestors, I hope you do it. I feel more in myself, more solid and complete, more grounded. Cancer can take away many things but I will never lose that sense of home again.
The phrase “digestive health” has been making the advertising and marketing rounds. Jamie Lee Curtis claims that if you eat her recommended brand of yogurt, you will have better “digestive health.” A new drug is now on the market that is purported to restore your digestive balance. There are many, many commercials for all kinds of indigestion, including heartburn, gas, bloating.
What is digestive health or digestive balance? Well, it is more than just yogurt. Digestive health is more than just a reduction of symptoms and most certainly digestion is NOT as automatic as people think. Consider all the diet crazes. The authors of these books assume that you, you the patient, you the individual with your unique biochemical and physical make-up, can digest everything that is in the diet books.
The digestive process is one of the most overlooked, poorly understood processes of the body but it is—even according to some school of Chinese Medicine—absolutely the most critical. Hippocrates is quoted as saying, “All disease starts in the center.” In other words, as your digestive system develops problems, your ability to absorb what you are eating is diminished.
Gut pain is the first sign that something is wrong. Don’t just cover it up by taking an acid reducer! Your body is trying to tell you NOT to eat the chili dog. Find the cause by seeing a digestive health practitioner like me so you will know why your tummy is rumbly!
by Franciska Anderson, MSOM, DiplAc (NCCAOM), LAc, Advanced LDHSNutrition is critical to everyone but belongs to no profession. In other words, multiple professions can lay claim to dispensing nutritional advice but not one profession owns it. My mentor, Dr. Howard Loomis, discusses this dilemma in his book, Enzymes: The Key to Health.
Various nutritional theories abound but who do you trust and listen to? How do consumers of food sort through the mess of so-called "studies," diet books, self-proclaimed experts in nutrition doling out their version of nutritional fact? How about the firefighter who wrote a book about his diet and was featured recently on CBS This Morning? What background in nutrition is enough to be considered an "expert" in the field of nutrition? Apparently, not much.
With the years of nutritional study and running a practice based in holistic health to back me, I can see that consumers (no pun intended) are stuck in the middle. Discerning information that appears credible and weighing evidence becomes a difficult task for anyone who just wants to eat without having pain or bodily consequences.
It comes down to this: all of the diets out there are designed for an average person. I, for one, have no average patients and do not consider myself average. Additionally, all diets written for the masses overlook the individual's ability to DIGEST and ABSORB the prescribed diet. Have you seen how many drug ads are on TV, hawking the latest in acid reduction or GI discomfort? How about the ads for yogurt claiming that they can help with "digestive health"? Or, how about the sheer number of people self-diagnosing themselves with gluten intolerance and the increase in the availability of gluten-free foods? Clearly, there is a problem with a lot of digestive tracts! Consequently, there are a lot of people out there not ABSORBING their nutrients well.
There is NO "average" person. I evaluate and examine patients, get them on a diet appropriate for them, and give them a customized program of herbal and enzyme formulas to help them digest and absorb their food and normalize bowel function. I re-evaluate and re-examine to monitor progress, change the formulas as the patient's body heals, and we go from there.
If you are having problems with your digestive system, consider making an appointment for a consultation today! I will be happy to help you!
