In November of 2004, my mom, Gennie, a spry and very active 80-year old lady called me in great distress and asked me if I would drive her to the hospital. She told me that she was extremely nauseous and had been vomiting for several days and just could not take it any more.
I explained the situation to Barbara Seideneck, director of the Homeopathy School International. Barbara asked me a few questions and pointed me toward two homeopathic remedies. She advised to use the first remedy and only if the condition had not improved in thirty minutes to go with the second remedy. I thought the timetable was perfect because I could give the first remedy to my mom when I arrived at her house and then the alternative remedy at the hospital after a 30-minute drive.
When I arrived at my mom’s and saw her condition I was shaken. She was on her knees retching into a plastic wastebasket. She was nauseous and dehydrated. I had never seen her in such a depleted state. She said this had been going on for several days and it was so bad she was unable to sleep. She couldn’t make it to the car. Any movement caused her to retch uncontrollably. There was no liquid left for her to throw up. She would just have a series of dry heaving attacks. I opened a little envelope containing 5 poppy-seed size pills of a homeopathic remedy called Ipecacuanha, and my mom took it under her tongue immediately. I then went about the house gathering up some things for her to take along to the hospital.
In 5-10 minutes I was ready to go and I went in to her bedroom to help her to the car. She had gotten into bed on her own and said she thought she was feeling a little better. Within five minutes she was sound asleep. She slept continuously for 12 hours. That she slept so long was itself a rarity because, like many older people, she has short and irregular sleep patterns. When she awoke I went into her bedroom and she threw her arms in the air and said, “I feel like a million bucks!” She was quite amazed (so was I). “I don’t know what was in those little pills,” she said, “but they sure did work!”
The homeopathic remedy that Barbara suggested I try first was Ipecacuanha (more commonly called Ipecac), an emetic substance often used in hospitals to induce vomiting. As I learned, homeopathic treatment is based on a fundamental homeopathic principle called Like Cures Like. Giving Ipecacuanha in substance to a healthy person causes vomiting. When Ipecacuanha is given in homeopathic proportion to a vomiting person it causes the vomiting to stop.
After waking up my mom started eating soup, then toast, then other foods. She slept fine and the condition never returned. Needless to say we were very impressed not only with the immediacy of the cure but also the minimalist nature of the dose, and of course no side effects! Barbara we thank you more than words can say! – Bill Wallick
