CHAPTER TEN

Suzie opened the door to Dr. Granger’s office. Soft instrumental music playing in the background wafted into the room. She plopped down on a gray flowered sofa as a balding man with brown hair entered. He ran his hand across his head then dropped down in the seat next to her.

Courtney, with her back to them, filed papers behind the tall white counter as though she hadn’t heard them come in.

How much more hopeless could this situation get? Suzie couldn’t believe she’d quit her job, moved, and taken a low-paying coaching position that only lasted through the summer to take advantage of Dr. Granger’s treatment because she believed God told her to. And the reaction she’d had to those supplements. Why was she even sitting in this lobby?

Should she laugh at what an idiot she’d been or cry at how tragic this was? What was even more ridiculous, in the midst of it all, the small voice inside still told her to trust Dr. Granger.

Courtney turned around. “Oh, hi, someone will be with you soon.”

Margaret opened the door to the lobby. “Hi, Suzie, you’ll see me today.” She led Suzie to her office and opened the beige blinds, letting in rays of sunshine, exposing the palm tree outside. “Have a seat.” She waved her thin arm toward the black examining table.

“Did you bring the supplements Dr. Granger prescribed?” Margaret asked.

“Yes.” Suzie took a breath then intended to mention the reaction.

“Good. Let’s test you to make sure you still need each of them. Hold out your left arm. We’ll use muscle response testing which utilizes Applied Kinesiology techniques. Kinesiology’s taught in many universities. There’s a book, Power v. Force, about it written by David Hawkins, who’s an M.D., and a Ph.D. If you’d like to read it, we have it in our lending library.”

Clearly Margaret didn’t understand. This disease already consumed much more than its fair share of her life. Suzie hardly had the time and energy to work. She extended her arm and placed the first supplement bottle next to her chest with her right hand while she waited for an opportunity to tell Margaret about the reaction.

“This is something good for Suzie’s body.” Margaret tried to drive Suzie’s arm down and couldn’t. “She’s not allergic to it.” Margaret pushed on Suzie’s arm, but it didn’t budge. “Your body likes this. It will help.”

Margaret and Suzie repeated the action until they’d gone through all of the herbs, vitamins, and tinctures.

Silent screams flooded Suzie’s mind. They would help, but she couldn’t take them. She couldn’t eat. She couldn’t tolerate medicine. How could she live? “These made me very ill Thursday night. Dr. Granger told me not to use them but to come see him today.”

Margaret’s mouth gaped as she snatched up a chart from a chest at the end of the examining table. “None of them?” Disbelief filled her voice.

“Right”

“What happened when you took them?”

“First, indigestion hit. Then weakness overwhelmed me. My insides raced, and I started shaking. The symptoms struck me in waves every few minutes. Dr. Granger said I detoxed too fast.” Looked as if there was nothing left but color and sound therapy to treat her. What good would that do?

Margaret stared at Suzie’s chart. “I’ve never heard of that happening, but we’ll go in and see Dr. Granger as soon as we finish here.” Margaret laid down the clipboard and pulled back her shoulders. “It appears that indigestion caused problems even before you took the supplements.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll go through the protocol. Then, I’ll desensitize you to some of the foods you can’t eat.” Margaret gazed at her with compassionate blue eyes as she waved a thin, silver wand back and forth in front of her. “You look very pretty today.”

That was impossible. “These dark circles under my eyes are awful.”

“No. No. You appear a little tired, but you look lovely. Purple’s your color.” Margaret spoke with a sincere tone as though she really meant what she said. Then she flipped through the pages in a thick white book. “The color and sound therapy will help balance your nervous system. Each color enlightens patients in a different way. Violet, I know; indigo, I see; blue, I speak; green, I love; yellow, I can; orange, I feel; and red, I have.”

A cardboard rack at the end of the examining table held glasses that coincided with the colors Margaret mentioned. She pulled a violet-tinted pair from it and handed them to Suzie. “Each of the colors correlates with certain parts of the body’s organs, glands, and even emotions. For instance, yellow relates to digestion. Indigestion has plagued you, so we’ll probably use the yellow during one of your visits, but today your color is violet, the ‘I know’ color. Go ahead and put these on.”

I know? Suzie stared at the tinted spectacles then turned them around a few times. Colored lenses were going to heal the horror inside her? It seemed like an ant trying to step on an elephant, but the sincere loving concern in Margaret’s eyes convinced her Margaret had her best interest at heart.

Margaret turned the pages in the white book to a particular spot and read it. Afterward, she pinged metal prongs in front of Suzie while saying something about violet representing our connection to a spiritual nature. She read about gathering energy through kind actions and acts of faith. “This relates physically to the top of the head, the central nervous system, muscles, and skin.”

Margaret could have spoken Chinese and her words wouldn’t have seemed any more foreign to Suzie. However, she had to give Margaret and Dr. Granger a chance. They were her only hope. If picking a color out of a book and dinging prongs while discussing body parts associated with that color would make her well, so be it.

“When the energy is low, fears of spiritual abandonment, loss of identity, and loss of connection with life and people around us can surface. We can experience a spiritual crisis, which feels like something is trying to wake up inside of us and there is a sense of losing touch with self-identity, as well as a need to experience devotion to something greater than one’s self…” Margaret gazed up from the book and focused on Suzie. “Repeat each sentence after me.”

“God be in my head and understanding,

God be in my eyes and in my looking,

God be in my mouth and in my speaking,

God be in my ears and in my hearing,

God be in my back and in my standing,

God be in my arms and in my receiving,

God be in my guts and in my feeling,

God be in my heart and in my loving.”

Suzie hadn’t abandoned her spirituality, or it hadn’t abandoned her, but she agreed with the words, so she said them.

Then Margaret removed the glasses. “This comes from the seven chakras.”

Suzie yearned for treatment to make her well. “What are chakras?”

“They’re the seven energy centers in the body—our foundation, connection to others, confidence, love, the abilities to communicate and evaluate beliefs, and a spiritual connection. They match the order of the colors of the rainbow.” Margaret slid the book on a shelf. “I’ll do the color and sound protocol with you once a week.”

Mumbo-jumbo weekly, huh?

“We’re finished. Let’s talk to Dr. Granger about your supplements.”

What was the point when she couldn’t take them? Why had she moved to Destin to come here? A power much stronger than her had sent her to this place. She hopped off the examining table and walked with Margaret to Dr. Granger’s room.

He stood beside his desk with his back to the door.

Margaret knocked a couple of times. “Hi, can we talk to you?”

He turned around and waved them in. “Sure.”

“She can’t tolerate the supplements. We can’t treat her unless she uses them, can we? What do you want me to do?” Desperation lined Margaret’s voice.

Suzie took the blame in her heart for not being able to take the supplements, as though she’d done something wrong. That probably was because of past irate reactions she’d gotten from some medical doctors when she told them she couldn’t take a particular medicine.

Margaret tapped her foot while they waited for Dr. Granger’s answer.