Embracing the Dragon
Dr. Beane’s gripping memoir, Embracing The Dragon, is filled with heartbreak, humor, and the science of five alternative healing approaches that she drew on to treat her son’s cystic fibrosis: acupuncture, homeopathy, nutrition, osteopathy, and herbal medicine. This story about a mother desperate to save her son’s life is a roadmap for parents seeking alternative approaches to treat their child’s battle with a serious disease.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, fatal, incurable disease that impacts over 30,000 children and young adults in the U.S. The author’s son Russell was diagnosed in 1993 when he was eight months old. The doctors predicted that infections and permanent lung damage would set in early. And they insisted that a life of suffering and an early death were unavoidable.
This memoir, Embracing The Dragon: A Parent’s Journey to Reclaim Hope, tells a story that begins with tragedy but ends victoriously. When she began their journey, Dr. Beane knew next to nothing about medicine or even how the body functioned. She devoured every book and journal article she could find and risked annoying the doctors with my endless questions. Once she realized that conventional medicine alone would not save her son, she explored the capacity of alternative medicine to improve his odds. With the support of seasoned practitioners of acupuncture and other alternative approaches, her son’s CF symptoms began to lessen and his health steadily improved. By age five, in complete contrast to the doctors’ predictions of early decline, Russell was verifiably “as healthy as a horse.” His recovery mystified the doctors. Yet they stubbornly refused to credit the alternative healing, even rejecting an invitation from NIH to conduct a case study. And, as time passed, Dr. Beane’s son’s strong health endured. Russell is now 29 years old, the very same age the doctors predicted he would die before reaching.
In contrast with most children and young adults with cystic fibrosis, Russell has enjoyed good health most of his life. After graduating from college at age 22, he traveled solo around South America, wrote a novel, completed a Master’s degree in political philosophy, secured a full-time job in data analytics, and bought a house with his longtime girlfriend Taylor.
Dr. Beane’s story about her son Russell is both educational and inspirational. His positive outcome is proof that healing is always possible, even in the context of a dire prognosis. (Kelly Turner, PhD, NY Times bestselling author of Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds)
It’s a wonderfully deep, personal introduction to so many different complementary modalities! (Ioana Razi, MD, Pediatrician and Homeopath)