As a parent of three adult children, I have certainly been guilty of using the common cliche, “They grew up so fast!”, and even, at times, wishing for those days when they were delightful, albeit quite demanding, little human beings. And one of the things I remember, although it was sometimes exasperating, is the way my children were inherently curious about things that they could see or experience, but could not understand. “But why, Daddy?” “What makes that happen?” ‘How come?” These are such common utterances from the very small people we get to know. In fact, it seems to me that their very development as people with thoughts and feelings and longings includes that very curiosity– or is it a real need– to understand “why?”
My wife Lisa’s career in medicine has taken several twists and turns over the years, and as I watched her navigate this route, I saw her frustration in some of our traditional methods and approaches. She experienced a sadness and a sense of frustration in so many cases where a person’s chronic disease diagnosis was viewed as just a random and unfortunate event. Symptoms could be treated to bring some relief or to slow the inevitable progression, but no real hope was offered. Perhaps what is most astounding is that in our conventional system of medicine, practitioners are not trained to even ask the pressing question: Why?
When Lisa began her venture into functional medicine, I saw a transformation. There was a transformation that energized her and gave her a sense of hope, and I believe this was due to a new approach that re-engaged that inherent need to understand the “why”. This medical approach looked for root causes, assuming that cancer and MS and Parkinsons and, yes, Alzheimers were not diseases that were somehow caught, or that somehow appeared out of nowhere, but actually had precipitating factors and conditions that caused them. Could this be? And if this was true, could it be that pursuing the “why” might actually lead us to answers, to treatments that could potentially change the outcomes, or even prevent these diseases from ravaging the people we love and care for?
Our belief is that the answer is a resounding Yes! We believe that our inherent curiosity to understand why, and our deep desire to be able to do something– to have the power to intervene– is a God-given gift that has tremendous potential. Those of us who have been around for more than a few years know that life will always contain mysteries, and that our desire to understand will never be fully quenched. But perhaps there is much more for us to learn about our biology, and about how our lifestyle and choices interact with it. And perhaps that learning can give us the much needed and real hope that we all crave.
