Many people think they have no need to worry about their health or that of their team or assume their health insurance will cover if necessary. However, staying healthy usually takes more than just common sense. Furthermore, life may not go as planned; how we handle illnesses when they occur before and after seeing doctors can mean life or death. There is NO health insurance that covers our medical bills, absenteeism, time, effort, opportunities and lives altogether. As a physician, I want first to share a story with you.



My mother and I were involved in a tragic auto-accident. Although she did not have any health issues prior, she could not breathe without a ventilator after five weeks of intensive care. The ICU physicians "concluded" that she would be ventilator dependent for the rest of her life; she refused to live on a machine. I had never doubted the ICU physicians -- they were my physicians at that time as well. At that moment, I had to hold in my tears and do my own assessment. To my surprise, I found my mother did not breathe efficiently, so I taught her a new way of breathing and practiced with her. Within three days, my mother was taken off the ventilator successfully. Had I not questioned the ICU doctors, my mother would have chosen to die.

Later in her rehab, my family worked with nine other specialists, including acupuncture and herbs, and achieved what most rehabilitation experts cannot imagine -- my mother now is not only able to cook, shop and enjoy her interests fairly independently, but also reminds me of my tax return!! Her entire care cost almost $300,000, not to mention the time and effort and her suffering. In the end, I am very lucky that I can still have a healthy and happy mother.

To stay healthy, we need basic overall medical knowledge, proper thinking and the ability to stay calm and enjoy life under any level of stress. In order to save other people from similar and other preventable suffering and losses, we have set up a 2-day Comprehensive Health Program, based on our dual medical training, clinical and teaching experiences.

The basic medical knowledge enables us to stay healthy and handle illnesses properly before and after we see doctors. Many common illnesses are preventable, for example, sexually transmitted diseases. In my mother's case, the Para-medic did an excellent job in securing her injured neck. Otherwise, she could have died right at the accident scene. Some parents like to use toothpaste to ease the burned skin of their children. However, the toothpaste can make it much harder to clean the burned skin later in Emergency Room and increase the chance of severe infection.

Improper thinking in health can lead to severe consequences, directly or indirectly, before or after seeing doctors. Some people use food as "anti-depressants" or "de-stressors" and gain weight rapidly. Being overweight is a big health hazard, and can lead to and worsen many health problems, such as Diabetes and Hypertension. Some people give up treatment due to self-doubt; some people develop massive myocardial infarction because of the delay in coming to the hospital secondary to their denial.

My mother's case is a good "after" example. One gentleman lay in bed, "totally paralyzed," for one year due to a wrong diagnosis of one hospital until he met Dr. Milton Erickson -- Dr. Erickson "made him so angry" that he walked out of the doctor's office the same day! Humans tend to believe in "authorities figures" that can be our parents, school principles, judges, doctors, attorneys, etc, and turn off our own judgment. All of these are samples of internal restrictions. What makes it worse is that the improper thinking or internal restrictions can be so familiar to us that we are not aware of their existence!

As proven by Harvard studies, stress can cause an inability to think clearly or make the right decisions, decreased creativity as well as other cognitive, psychological and physical symptoms; over 50% of adults in the U.S. experience high daily stress. Stress can also worsen many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, depression and Fibromyalgia.

Knowing more and seeing the big picture, besides having a strong spirit, will strengthen our confidence and help us stay in better control. We do not have to wait until we or our loved ones get sick. Without entering a health career, we can learn to stay healthy and fit and avoid getting sick. We can learn to avoid making mistakes when handling emergency illnesses, reduce hospital stays and recover faster and better. We can learn to know ourselves more, utilize and evaluate different medical systems and knowledge, including herbs and acupunctures. We can learn to build our personal relaxation hierarchy (including deep breathing and meditation used in Harvard's program), manage different levels of stress, proactively reduce and prevent stress, enjoy life better and more. To have the big health picture all at once, instead of piece by piece, will help us better solve individual problems as they arise.

Comprehensive self-care at different medical stages helps us and our businesses stay in charge of not only our health, but also the potential losses in time, money, effort, opportunities or even lives. Comprehensive self-care helps to maintain healthier and more efficient productivity at significantly reduced costs, so we can compete better in this increasingly challenging global market. There is NO insurance that can insure all of them for us. The best medicine is not only about making diagnoses and delivering treatments, but also staying well, preventing sickness and recovering swiftly. Everyone can make the health system more efficient and cost-effective.

Let's start learning now to take charge of our health, control our future medical and subsequent costs in time, effort, opportunities and life. We can live better, compete better and protect our successes and future!