ICONS of a Different Kind (My Personal Super-heroes) -- Day 4 / Jonathan Gilbert

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Peeps,

This is the season of sniffles, headaches, sore muscles, coughs, mild colds and so forth.  This week the landscaping crew exhibited many of these symptoms; I am acutely aware that plenty of rest and liquids are called for, yet with a tight schedule leading up to the holidays, one must press on, and thankfully not a single individual has been absent for work.  Last week Friday, Jane, the kind nurse, insisted that I get a flu-shot and without hesitation I did just that, knowing that it is the best prevention against getting the flu, as well as hoping that new strains of the bug will remain in parts yonder.  I still remember the first (and only) time that I got the flu, and something with which I had had no experience.  In January 1995, I woke up one morning unable to move and in a condition closer to a corpse than I had ever felt before (or since).  In the weeks that followed, this a period of slow, slow recovery, tiny steps as such from the bed to the bathroom to the sitting room and then back in bed, normal activities remained out of the question, and the thought of bustling, energetic good health seemed so remote, and almost unattainable.  I had the good fortune of being visited by a friend who recommended acupuncture and helped me to get down to the Chinese doctor's clinic on Wisconsin Avenue (in a unassuming white building opposite the mirror/glass store).  After some visits, and drinking a tea (brewed at home from a small bag of herbs), I was soon back on my feet and moving--and grooving--again.  I can still remember the burst of energy I felt after leaving an acupuncture session--practically dancing down the street towards Book Hill Park, the Social Safeway, and normalcy. Ever since, I have been a staunch believer in the healing powers of acupuncture. 


My current acupuncturist Jonathan Gilbert, thankfully has not had to rescue me from the lowest depths of existence (as this is how I view the period following my one and only bout with the flu).  Light tune-ups and preventive maintenance keeps the old body going strong--thankfully--and I am always grateful to be able to visit his clinic for compassionate, insightful, and knowledgeable holistic treatment.  While visiting the Gilbert Clinic, I had the opportunity to chat with another patient who revealed that for the past 19 years she had once been unable to undertake basic necessities such as personal hygiene, mobility, light house-keeping; employment had long ceased with disability as the primary source of income.  Under the care provided by Jonathan, she had stepped forth from a meager, limited existence to slowly regain control of her life, now with hope in sight.  Jonathan has had considerable success in the treatment of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome through a protocol comprised of acupuncture, herbal remedies, Western medicines, and mental wellness programs.  It seems that quite a number of individuals who had been deemed incurable, and beyond the reach of traditional (Western) medicine, have experienced remarkable improvement(s) within the walls of the small clinic tucked away in Bethesda, MD.  Funny, unassuming, and quite approachable, Jonathan Gilbert delivers superb--if unorthodox--treatment to many individuals who had long resigned themselves to lives of extreme pain/debilitating fatigue with no end in sight.  For many, hope is now tangible.


Please enjoy today's visual treat (of the healing Buddha), and kudos to an unsung hero.  More information about Jonathan and the Gilbert Clinic can be viewed at www.thegilbertclinic.com.


Sincerely,
Shane