Anyone Know a Good Bush Doctor?

William has had a fever between 102-103 since Monday. We're only hours away from Friday and I know his fever will persist well into the weekend. The timing is interesting. I just finished reading The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman, which is the latest SV Mom's Book Club pick and a memoir about an otherwise normal mom who makes a nontraditional choice in trying to heal her daughter and family.

Right now I'm feeling tired. I'm feeling frustrated that my little guy is struggling with these fevers. I'm feeling like the two trips to the doctor's office this week have resulted in nothing except for answers of what he doesn't have... Not strep, not the flu. I've narrowed it down to roseola, a virus that doesn't seem to leave us with much we can do to make him feel better.

In The Possibility of Everything we're introduced to a world of natural medicine, bush doctors, shaman, all stuff that I'm not really into. But, right now, sitting in my living room in the middle of the snowy Midwest, I wish I could have a bush doctor lay his hands over my baby's crib, whisper a foreign prayer, and press his hands on his head. I wish I had a salve to rub on his chest and that I could give him a bath in freshly picked herbs and flowers. Instead of waiting it out, I would welcome the opportunity to give natural healing a chance.

I guess being a mom opens you to things you may have not believed in or would have shrugged off. Right? Being a mom has made me realize the phrase, "I would never..." is a load of crap and my worst enemy. When it comes to your child is there anything you wouldn't try? And that's what the author learned, too. The book wouldn't have worked for me if the author was all new agey from the beginning. Because I could see myself in her, because I could see my skepticism and apprehension in her, I could also see the possibilities. Like her, I tend to belong to the "I gotta see it to believe it" school of thought. But in times when there have to be more anwers, more possibilities for healing, I guess I'd climb on board.

No need to worry. I haven't bought any crystals or consulted my astrological calendar or anything. But, I did read an incredible book. And I'm positive that I'm a better mom for it. I'm a new mom. I'm learning each day and trying to grow, so it's stories like these that are shaping the kind of mom I want to be. Our situations may not be the same (croup/obnoxious imaginary friend vs. raging fever), but the overarching themes are the same.

Even better I've found a new author to follow. Not only did the author work her craft at Iowa's nonfiction program (so you know that makes me like her even more), she really is a fantastic, brave writer. The kind I know most wish they could really be. And it's bravery that ultimately made her the kind of mom most strive to be.