My Dad, ALS, and Jin Shin Jyutsu^®  

In 1996, my father was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,) more commonly known as Lou Gherig’s disease.  During the course of this fatal disease, the motor-neurons that send messages to the muscles in the body die, resulting in paralysis.  The mind is not affected.  There is no known cause or cure.

My Dad  and I at a walk for ALS.

Initially my father experienced difficulty using his right hand and arm.  The disease then progressed to the other arm and both legs.  Eventually, his speech and breathing became impaired.  He was using a bi-pap machine to assist in his breathing. 

It was a couple of years into his disease that I discovered Jin Shin Jyutsu^®.  Dad was one of my first willing "guinea pigs."  One day, as he was sitting in his chair on his bi-pap machine, I was holding his “opposite fingers and toes.”  The Hospice nurse came to visit and I continued with the opposite fingers and toes while she examined dad.  She proceeded to check his blood pressure and stated somewhat surprised, that  his blood pressure was the lowest it had ever been.  (Dad had a history of high blood pressure.) 

   My step-mother said, “Maybe it’s the Jin Shin Jyutsu.”  I looked up at my dad, and as emphatically as he was capable, he was nodding his head and saying yes.  He was able to feel the Jin Shin Jyutsu relaxing him.

In November of 1998, my father was faced with perhaps the most difficult decision of his life.  The bi-pap was no longer providing ample breathing assistance. 

Basically, he had to decide whether he wanted to have a tracheostomy and live the rest of his days on life support, or pass on.  After several grueling days in the ICU at the Cleveland Clinic, he decided to have the surgery.

When he returned to ICU after the surgery, I sat beside him to share Jin Shin Jyutsu.  He was really out of it and not consciously aware that I was there.  As I slipped my hand under his left shoulder blade, I felt his whole body relax.  It was as if his entire being exhaled a big sigh of relief.  It was amazing!

Dad lives at home now, communicating through eye blinks.  Whenever I ask him if he would like some Jin Shin Jyutsu, he always says yes.  We use Jin Shin Jyutsu to help harmonize the imbalances he experiences, whether it be constipation, UTI, lung congestion, depression, or whatever.

Over the years I have explained to dad what some of the flows are, and if I ask him what flow he wants, he usually requests the “10-flow”  because he knows it is the “abundance flow.”  If nothing else, I hold my dad’s fingers, because simply holding the fingers, one at a time for a few minutes each, can harmonize the entire being!  I am grateful that we have Jin Shin Jyutsu as a tool to help us through this time.

Copyright © 2003 Light Touch Integrative Therapies

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