Humma Lumma can be good

"Humma Lumma" is a phrase I picked up from a friend of mine several years ago that has always made me laugh. This friend and I worked at a vet clinic together and there was a Holistic vet down the street who had a reputation as a bit of a quack. My friend referred to his style of medicine as Humma Lumma, since it seemed to involve a bunch of chanting and herbs, and no real fix (or that was how we perceived it anyways). I won't post the name of this clinic but we usually refereed to it as "The Humma Lumma Place" (or THLP).

Now don't get me wrong, I am not against Holistic medicine, it was just this one particular clinic that we thought was completely out to lunch. There was actually another holistic vet across town with a great reputation that we even referred clients to on occasion.

So over the years Humma Lumma has become part of my vocabulary. I really do try to keep an open mind but some things I think are just a bit too "out there" for me to be believable. I have never been into anything Humma Lumma, but when Western medicine failed us, I thought I would give it a try.

When my son Cameron was 2 years old he developed chronic stomach aches. I took him to the Dr. over and over only to be told there was nothing wrong with him. A full battery of tests showed he was completely healthy. This was great news except the stomach aches persisted. Then he started getting hives. The hives covered most of his body and came and went all day. Again the Dr. said he was fine and told me to give him Benadryl. The Benadryl did not really help and after an entire month he was still getting Hives every single day along with the stomach aches. I was desperate to help him.

I had heard great things about the natural path in town and booked Cameron in for an appt. She did a full evaluation, some of it pretty normal, some of it pretty out there, and then prescribed some strange homeopathic drops (which is where the humma lumma comes in) for him, based on his blood type. I was skeptical but willing to try anything. Well what do you know, those strange little drops cleared up both the hives and the stomach aches. Being a skeptic, I thought at first it might be coincidence, but when we stopped the drops the stomach aches returned and then disappeared when we started up again. My poor little guy was finally stomach ache free after an entire year of almost daily complaints. I was amazed, and I was now starting to believe!

Then my chiropractor failed me. I have been to many many different chiropractors over the last 10 year years for my bad back (a result of two car crashes in a 1 year span) and have seen many different styles of practice. Some are very aggressive in their massage and manipulation, some sent home stretches and exercises, others just do the basic adjustment and nothing more, and some have strange massaging contraptions and moving tables.

My current chiropractor (well he WAS my current chiro until yesterday) was one of the ones who just did the basic adjustment and nothing more. I put out my back last summer when Cameron had a tantrum at the dentist office, and he fixed me up nicely. He has a rather gruff bedside manner and repeatedly scolded me for allowing my daughter to sleep with me. Anyways last week when I put my back out again I went to see him. The appt was so-so, and he had to cancel my next appt due to a family emergency. Several people told me that I should go see Dr L instead as he was fantastic.

It was the most unique chiro appt I have ever had. When I walked in I discovered an open ropom concept. The reception, waiting area, exercise equipment, and treatment tables were all in one room! There were several other patients stretching and using the equipment while the Dr worked on a lady over in the corner. Strange but OK. Thankfully there was a small private room for my assessment and the friendliest, most chipper lady I have ever met gave me the most thorough assessment I have ever received. She told me they believe in healing the mind as well as the body. I got that old "Humma Lumma" vibe but then thought "chiro and shrink all rolled into one, awesome".

I had to don the most ridiculous sweat pants and sit through a very extensive series of x-rays (Cha-Ching, this was turning into the most costly chiro appt ever as well) and more questions. Finally we moved back to the main room and the chipper lady showed me some stretches on the wobbly chair. I loved them. My back snapped and popped and felt looser than it has in ages. Then it was time for the Dr to "adjust" me. I went over to the treatment area and waited for him crack me......but instead he pulled out what looked like a drill with a white ball on the end instead of a drill bit. When he pushed the trigger the little ball moved out a few times. He proceeded to "drill" my temples, my neck, my back. It was so gentle I was almost laughing thinking "pfft, what's this going to do". I was singing to myself "Humma Lumma"!

While he was adjusting me with this thing, he started talking about healing the mind. He told me that a lot of people cried and that that was totally ok. Inside I laughed again, I wasn't going to cry. Then he zeroed in on my greatest fears in life (which he picked up on from my previous interview) and started talking to me about them and why I shouldn't be afraid of them. When he wanted me to repeat this, the tears came. WTH? This guy was actually pretty good!

Surprisingly, (or maybe not surprisingly) I left feeling pretty great. My back actually did feel quite a bit better, and I felt better inside too. Wow! I was wrong. Humma Lumma can be good.