HELEN VULETIN
1. Which accomplishment/event/moment are you most proud of in your career as a Homeopath?
To me, being a homeopath highlights the unbelievable resilience of the human body and spirit, in both astounding and quiet ways. It is a privilege and an honour to witness these events, both large and small. My proudest moments so far as a homeopath include two events; one is an astounding testimonial of the body's ability to heal itself and the other a poignant moment of intense emotional connection.
One of my patients was in the hospital breathing through an emergency tracheotomy and coughing up blood due to pneumonia. Prior to my consultation, she'd been in the hospital for several weeks, after having been placed in a medically induced coma due to multiple organ failure. She was told that she should expect to remain in the hospital for a minimum of two to three more weeks. Within 10 minutes of receiving the homeopathic medicine selected for her case, she said that the pressure on her left side had lessened and that she could breathe more deeply. When I returned 5 days later for the follow-up appointment, she was being discharged from the hospital. To view the remarkable complete testimonial of this patient, visit www.HelenVuletin.com.
Recently, I went to a patient's home for a second follow up. This 4-year old patient had been diagnosed with autism. He was able to speak until 2 years of age. His speech stopped around the same time he received some routine vaccinations. Before this follow up, the patient had not made any eye contact, or any contact with me at all really. He usually just watched the television during my visits. That evening when I arrived, he was waiting at the door with his father. When his father opened the door for me, my young patient looked me directly in the eye. I was touched and hopeful to hear about his reaction to the latest homeopathic medicine selected for him. Throughout the consultation, he continued to make eye contact with me while he sat on his father's lap. As I said good-bye to him at the end of the consultation, he threw his arms around my left leg and hugged me tightly. That moment was so powerful and moving it nearly brought me to my knees. There was such a profound sense of connection between me and my patient and his family, and a palpable feeling of hope.
2. What 3 aspects of your Homeopathic education contributed the most to your success?
1) The Externship Process
The externship process was the perfect springboard to set up myself and my practice for success. It is a safe haven for prescribing because I was backed by an experienced supervisor, and it served as the perfect venue for helping me determine what kind of practitioner I wanted to be when I graduated.For me, putting theoretical learning into practice by observing patients responses to remedies was the greatest teacher of all.
2) The Internship Process
Being able to watch other experienced homeopathic practitioners conduct consultations was also very important. This process provided valuable tips for how to ask questions, as well as work with silence comfortably during a consultation. It also allowed me to clearly identify my practitioner biases, and then work on removing them.
3) Solid Education in Hahnemannian Fundamentals of Homeopathy
As a lover of languages and speaker of several, I know the importance of learning the fundamentals of grammar. To me, a solid understanding of Hahnemannian homeopathy, the founder of homeopathy, is an essential foundation for further learning, much like grammar is to the study of language. CCHM focuses the bulk of the curriculum on studying Hahnemann's Organon of Medicine so that students have a solid foundation on which to build other styles of homeopathic practice if they choose.
3. Share with us a recent and successful case treated with Homeopathic Medicine.
In the winter of 2011, I received a referral for a patient who had been diagnosed with the flu. She’d received Tamiflu for that diagnosis. Later that evening, she collapsed and 911 was called. She remained unresponsive and was rushed to the hospital. All of her organs failed, and she was placed in a medically induced coma for two weeks. After being revived from the coma, she underwent temporary kidney dialysis for two weeks. When I saw her in the hospital, she was breathing through an emergency tracheotomy, and had left-sided pneumonia and was coughing up blood.
After taking her case, I had a few remedy candidates in mind that were well indicated. I did a brief physical examination as part of my differential diagnosis, checking her pulse and the temperature of the skin on her legs below the knees. Her pulse was stronger than I expected given all that she’d been through, and her legs below the knees were also warmer than I expected. Although these two pieces of information did not reinforce my remedy choice of Carbo vegetabilis, I prescribed it anyway in a 30C potency, trusting my intuition.
Given her delicate state, I was concerned about giving her a dry dose of the remedy and prescribed it in water. The only water available was hospital tap water and it was provided in a styrofoam cup. Not my ideal choice, but I work with the constraints I’m given. Within 10 minutes of taking a teaspoon of the remedy, she said the pressure on the left side of her lung was lessening and that she could breathe more deeply. She asked me if it was her imagination. I said the only way to know for sure was to give the remedy a few days to act. I told her I’d be back to see her on Wednesday, five days after our initial visit. Before I left, I instructed her to take a teaspoon of the remedy again if she felt the pressure on the left side of her lung returning.
When I returned 5 days later, I thought I was in the wrong room. My patient was walking around the room and all of her tubes had been removed. She looked at me and said “I’m being discharged today. Helen, you look surprised.” Unable to hide my astonishment, I said I was. I was fairly confident that homeopathy could get her out of the hospital in two weeks, but a discharge in five days completely exceeded my expectations. I asked her more about her symptoms. After two days, they had removed the tracheotomy tube, and she had also stopped coughing up blood. I asked her how many times she had re-dosed with the homeopathic medicine, and she said twice.
4. Do you have anything else you would like to share?
In January 2012, I will be heading to Calcutta, India to study homeopathy with a fourth-generation homeopathic doctor. It has been my dream since completing school to travel to India and study homeopathy. Becoming a homeopath has inspired me to renew my sense of adventure in life, and pursue my passion. As a mother, I think it is vitally important to model this behaviour for my children. Otherwise, telling them to pursue their own passions in life are just hollow words.
