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 Neela Sakaria: Thank you for joining us, Dr. Yarnall. Your story and your fight against ARDS is an inspiration. Please tell our readers about ARDS - What is it?
Dr. Stephen Yarnall: ARDS is "Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome", a mysterious disorder which hits over 150,000 people a year and kills more than 75,000. "I can't breathe" is the most common first symptom accompanied by a drop in blood oxygen level. This is due to a response of the lungs to injury or infection. Then every tissue in the body is injured by "toxic molecules" and the "syndrome" can include - as it did in my case - brain injury with coma, heart failure with shock, kidney failure, and complications such as blood clots. It's a miracle for anyone to recover, and I'm one of the miracles!
Neela: What inspired you to sit down and write BEYOND MEDICINE?
SY: One of my first thoughts when I regained consciousness in my 92 day hospitalization was, "I must write a book about ARDS and the 'Elements of Healing' beyond excellent medical care that led to my recovery! If this can happen to me it can happen to anyone. I have a story to tell!"
Neela: What are the six elements of healing? Which of these do you think is the most important, if any?
SY: I am certain that there are more than 6 elements of healing, such as pre-existing mental, physical and nutritional status.
The six elements that I chose were those that were most apparent to me as I recovered. Of the hundreds of cards I received almost every one mentioned love and prayer. These 2 elements stand out as most important. Furthermore, I have come to realize that expressing love is a type of prayer and praying is a type of love, so the two are closely related. In
addition to love and prayer, 4 other elements were evident in my experience: touch, humor, music and pets.
Neela: How is it that music can help to heal ailing patients? Has this been scientifically proven?
SY: Music aids healing by making you feeling good and by distracting you from your symptoms. The effects of music on healing are largely related in subjective reports more than controlled studies. As stated in my book, Don Campbell, notes that the Japanese prescribe music as they would medicine. He observes that music by Mozart has a particular healing benefit that he terms "the Mozart Effect". Alfred Tomatis, M.D., a French physician, spent his professional career studying the healing powers of music, the Mozart Effect in particular.
The first music therapy degree program was founded in Michigan State University in 1944. The American Music Therapy Association was formed in 1998 in union with 2 other associations.
It is my personal experience that music makes me "feel good". I believe that "feeling good" has a healing effect. There are
more studies yet to be done related to the healing power of music.
Neela: Your book is interesting in that you combine your personal experiences with research and various lists of references and resources. What kind of research was involved in writing this book, and how did you go about conducting it?
SY: I did two types of research for this book. The first was to find other persons with ARDS and to study their stories. I found these individuals through hospital contacts and the Internet.
The second type of research was through study of the many books and articles from medical journals that I have collected in my medical career (since 1960).
Another source was through topic searches on the Internet.
Neela: Who is this book for? What do you hope readers will take away from it?
SY: The book is really meant to be for everyone, since, at one time or another, each of us will encounter a critical illness in ourselves or a loved one. The book is written to be read, not just stored as a reference manual. Beyond the general public, I had an interest in calling attention of the medical community to ARDS and elements of healing seen
from a patient's perspective.
I hope readers will take away hope in the face of apparently hopeless situations. I hope that readers will become empowered with tools they can use for themselves and their loved ones to assist in healing from ARDS and other serious illnesses.
With my special interest in humor, the book is written in a light-hearted tone, rather than a heavy-handed, authoritative style.
Neela: Are you working on any other writing projects? Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
SY: The interest in Beyond Medicine has been great, and I would like to do more public presentations and book signings to get the message spread more widely. I would like to do a second edition of the book with more references and more case stories. I welcome correspondence from people who have stories to tell with elements of healing beyond medicine. My email address is: yarnsy@comcast.net.
My professional medical activity focuses on preventive cardiology, including nutrition and the miracle of helping people control
their weight!
Beyond Medicine
ISBN: 0967024285
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