Getting the Job Done OR Why I Stay at SIP

“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality.”

Sorenson pays their lowest tier of employees a reasonable $10-$11/hour, which, to some, seems pretty good, especially compared to the $7.25/hour minimum wage.  The pay attracts many people to their doors, but the work environment turns people away.  The big question is, "Why Do I Stay At SIPRelay?" 
 

With the government/economy in such a mess and getting worse, Sorenson is one of the few places that continues to grow amidst all the conflict.  Several times in the nearly five years that I have been there, they have had hiring surges.  As a part-time employee, I was always able to increase my hours by picking up shifts for people who wanted the time off.  As a full-time employee, the hours are steady. 

I looked into Sorenson back in September of 2008 because I needed $500 more to pay my bills.  A former piano student who happened to enroll for my music theory class at SLCC mentioned he was working at Sorenson and that my son should apply.  Wasn't he surprised when I did instead.  When I began at Sorenson, I worked a regular 14 hours/week.  I also worked at SLCC teaching three classes, and I had a whopping 26 private piano students.  Then, in 2009 with the bailouts, the economy started to teeter, people lost their jobs, and I lost piano students.  It didn't happen all at once, but gradually families found they couldn't afford piano lessons anymore.  Fortunately, I had Sorenson to take up the slack.  I picked up 14-15 more hours per week.  Then, when Obamacare was passed in March 2010, and companies had to adjust health insurance and other benefits, the private health insurance I had informed me that the premium would be skyrocketing.  That same month I was approved for full-time 32 hour employment with benefits, including health insurance coverage (which is a subject for Tithing Tales.)  Sorenson has provided a stability for me that my private piano studio and SLCC, by nature, have not been able to promise. 
 

Yes, the stability is wonderful and necessary for my mental health, but couldn't I have found that in most places? 
 

My two sons have worked at Sorenson.  They didn't last longer than several months.  Brad worked from September 2012 to April 2013.  Jay worked from June 2012 to May 2013, nearly a year. They quit to pursue or find other work.  They left on good terms, fortunately, gave their two weeks' notice, which deems them as rehireable.  In the few months at Sorenson, they experienced what I had put up with - mindless routine, the caging of an animal to a tether (the computer, the phone).  Jay has said that if he returned, he would kill himself.  On occasion I actually found myself wishing I could do the janitorial work around there because that job allows them to move.   To give SIP its due, every now and then there is something different going on that peaks my interest, and of course, each person's conversation adds a little bit of variety, but it is the same procedure and routine day in and day out and a pile of rules to walk around.  And if I have slept poorly the night before and am especially tired, I can't help but sleep between sentences of the conversations.  What keeps my interest more than anything else is what I do at Sorenson besides the required work. 

 

 

Since I work at Sorenson, SLCC, and have my private piano studio of 10-15 students, my workload is heavy.  I work 32 + 20 + 8 hours per week.  That is approximately 60 hours per week.  That doesn't account for the time I spend preparing lessons and grading papers as well as keeping track of each of the student records, which might add up to 10 more hours a week, depending on which time of year it is.  Fortunately, Sorenson does not add to my workload after hours.  Rather, I am able to complete a lot of the after hours work while I take calls.    There are not many jobs that would allow me to do that, and if I found a different job that would allow me to do that, it would probably be something similar.
 

So, while I sit there, I grade papers (I have figured out a system for grading the concert reports very quickly), plan and review lessons as well as organize what announcements and pre-lesson information I need to present, send out emails to students, research new ideas, prepare my Sunday School Gospel Doctrine lesson, write my family history, add to my blog and my journal, read a book and look up any number of things on the internet, stretch my neck daily, exercise my eyes daily, sometimes walk in place, breathe, and other routine exercises.  I try to do as much as I can so that when I return home, I can attend to my children and my house and yard as well as some of my own interests. 

Besides the fact that they pay me money, the least amount of the three jobs at this point in time, and give me health insurance, a tenuous subject right now, I have sick leave and vacation pay for the first time in years.  Even while managing my own business (piano studio), I never had the privilege of getting sick without having to make up those lessons somehow.  I am also able to pay all of my bills, without which I would be crazy stressed.   Everyday I would rather stay home, and why not, I am a died in the wool "stay-at-home mom."  There are so many things to do at home, but with this job, I can do some of those things while I'm there. 

There is a mindset out in the world that I see more and more that there is not a need to do steady, regular work or stay at a job or...   I can't even put it into words because I don't understand it.  Is it a deficiency in math skills that people can't add up whether the income equals or exceeds the expenses?  Or is it the thought or hope that someone else will pick up the slack?  Is it that in looking around they see people who have reached a lifestyle of leisure through their choices and hard work that appeals, and they think they should be a part of that?  Is it that they are trying to find something that works for them, something they enjoy, something that produces success?  Regardless of all of this, life has to be paid for.  I've told my son, Brad, who is quite musical, composes and performs, that if he really wants to do music, he needs to get an education and job in something that can make him some substantial income.  By maximizing his daytime income, he would then be free to do what he wants in his off work time. 

I know there are people out there who wouldn't do this job for anything, but in doing it I have found a silver lining of all that the job provides to me.  The main goal is to provide for my family, and even though it's less than interesting work, I am getting the job done. 

Tithing Tales - II

It was wonderful!  I was given three sections of private piano class during the Spring Semester of 2013.  This could bring in a lot of money.  Ohhh, where to put all the students?  That was the problem.  (I had more than I could receive.)  How many would stay registered for the class?  Would any of them show up for lessons? 
 

I hadn't had much success in a previous semester, so these were valid questions, and I had seen some extra money when I had a class previously, but nothing significant.  These classes, however, turned out to be a good collection of students.  I taught all of them the Jon Schmidt method of reading notes on the first meeting with each of them, and they made good progress.  Everyone performed at the final semester recital, which I participated in for the first time, so I felt like I finally was a part of the private instruction group.
 

I made many friends and acquaintances amongst this group of students that I will remember all my life.  One girl got married during the semester - Melissa Perry.  Another got engaged - Sharlene Jacob.  Another tried on several occasions to break up with her boyfriend, but I talked her into staying with him - Carla Pintado.  And there were two music majors who needed to learn how to navigate the piano - Josh Norman and Thomas ??.  And four other students just learned because they wanted to - Joel Oliva, Rachael Dick, Kyle Keyes, Miranda Indra-Winterowd, and Lori Tonge.   Sharlene made the most progress.  She finished the entire book and learned to play with a lot of beauty. 

  

By the end of the semester I had earned quite a bit of extra money.  I wondered what to do with it.  I added some to savings to be ready for the summer months.  I established an emergency fund according to Dave Ramsey's system.  The rest was open for suggestion:  tile my kitchen floor, travel, add to my retirement fund, carpet several rooms, repair things around the house, pay off debt (my car, Erin's braces).  It wasn't long before it was made known to me what it would be spent for.  One day my furnace quit working.  The repair cost would be $2461.  Shoot!  All of it gone in one fell swoop. 
 

How miffed I was, but how grateful I must be as well, to be able to take care of that emergency.  We will spend the summer in comfort as well as subsequent years to come, and I didn't go in debt to take care of it, nor did I lose my emergency fund. 

"Lover Come Back"

"Lover Come Back" is an oldie starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.  Both of them work as advertising agents and set up a series of comical/romantic events that only the likes of Day and Hudson can find themselves in. 


Nearly a year ago I posted a blog about having to step up my salesmanship.  This past year I've found an easier way.  I've had two students whose parents have referred me to other people.  Those people then call me, and I don't have to sell myself at all.  They are eager to set up an appointment to meet me or to just begin lessons.  These people who are calling me are from an area of town that is expanding, people moving in from other states, so they are open to suggestions and trying what's here. 


When I think about it, I had this situation several years ago.  A Christian Anderson came to me for lessons.  He brought his two sisters, and his mother referred me to many people:  the Perkins/Warenskis, the Hendersons, the Lintons, the Thorups, the Lees.  Eventually, all of these people grew up (or moved away), and no one of school age was left in that neighborhood.  I struggled to find a significant amount of new students for awhile; students came and went until I finally have some referrals again. 


So, I must be grateful to those people who advertise for me. 

"The Music Man"

I think I've got it down.  Beginning in 2008 with the bank, mortgage company, car dealership bail outs which affected the economy nationwide, I started feeling a crunch on my own piano teaching business.  It had not seemed an issue before, but suddenly I was having troubles getting piano students.  Suddenly teachers with little to no education or musical experience were able to attract the students.  I considered charging less money, but the idea was revolting, considering I felt I was charging too little already. 

The problem was how to convince people that paying a higher price for piano lessons would be worth it to them.  I experimented with different angles, different techniques, several failures, and a few successes.  Basically, I had to figure out how to meet with the parents and students and "close the sale." 

What it came down to was a strategy where I present to the customer (musician) how my studio is organized and run - what they can expect.  I go over my studio policies statement and explain it in detail.  This is not anything new.  I've used this statement for years.  I include my business card and my credentials:  B.Music, M.Music, NCTM, MTNA, UFMC.  I make sure they know that I have the knowledge behind me to do the job.  That is what's different.  Previously I hadn't advertised my credentials enough. 

Then, and this is a very new part, I sit the potential student at the piano, they play for me what they can, and I critique their performance.  I compliment them on what they can do well, and I make sure they know I recognize their efforts in good musicianship.  Then, I teach them things they've never heard of before:  balance, evenness, steadiness in playing, slurring, voicing, etc.  I drop as many performance terms as I think will let them know what I can do for them. 

Despite my aversion to salesmen, I have become one myself.  The difference between me and the ordinary salesman out there is that I am honest with them.  They are always doing something right in their playing, and I always can do something for them.

"Whispering a Prayer"

This is a piece of music that one of my music history students chose to analyze.  I was intrigued by how "vocal" the performer could make that guitar sound.  The student must have been intrigued by the guitar as well, but after analyzing it with the elements of music taught in the class, he concluded that the song is not made of much, which conclusion I will have to agree with, as he analyzed it correctly. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KUSkGeaUPU


Below is an analysis:

Melody:  conjunct moving into disjunct; two motivic-based phrases that form a period

Harmony:  Major

Rhythm:  Quadruple simple

Texture:  predominantly homophonic (melody in lead guitar with accompaniment in other instruments)

Timbre:  Keyboard, Lead Guitar - use of techniques:  slide, wobble, vibrato, Bass Guitar, 7-string Guitar, Drums, Cymbal

Expression:  Slow throughout except a few spots of quickness

Form:  Intro, Theme A, Theme A, Theme B, Theme A, Solo, Theme A/Outro

Genre:  Progressive Rock ?

Tithing Tales - I

I did my bills the other day, and things were looking okay.  My income barely covers my bills with a very little bit of miscellaneous to take care of unexpected things.  I even have a new student to add to the income, so I felt pretty good.  Then, I found out that three students were not coming in June, which makes sense that a new student would replace a student quitting.  That similar scenario has been my lot for six years.  I can't seem to increase my student load.  My Heavenly Father only gives me what he thinks I can handle because I will always do more than I can handle.  A couple days after finding out about these quitting students I was feeling burdened monetarily.  As I continued thinking about it, I was reminded by the Holy Ghost that my new student would cover one of those who is quitting.  Then, I also was reminded about my piano student at SLCC who I had forgotten to include in the budget done at the beginning of the month.  So, all is covered.  I need to let go of worrying about my money, once and for all.  I have innumerable experiences like this about tithing.  As long as I pay it, He will take care of me.

Learned Wisdom by the Things Which She Suffered

My son was getting after his girlfriend for not taking anything to get over a cold besides ibuprofen, and it gave me the opportunity to explain why I do what I do.  I use a lot of natural remedies, my primary care doctor is a chiropractor/kinesiologist/nutritionist (not generally recognized by health insurance), and I believe that the body should fight its battles rather than medicine. 

I came to these opinions because of several influences: 

1)  my parents had found relief from ailments using less than conventional means; thus, I didn't discount them. 

2)  I didn't have health insurance a lot of the time. 

3)  Medications didn't work. 

When I first moved to Salt Lake City, I lived in Sandy, Utah, and I worked at Balkamp, Inc. as the secretary to the General Manager.  One of my duties was to take care of the health insurance for all of the employees.  By viewing billings and claim forms, I got an idea of who people went to, and I saw that many people chose Dr. Gailey for a dentist.  They also chose Dr. McNeilis for a gynecologist.  So, I decided to try both of these doctors.  

Dr. McNeilis gave birth to two of my children:  Krista and Jay.  He moved when Brad was born, and then moved back, and then we had completely different insurance for Erin's birth.  I don't see his name in the phone book anymore, so I don't know where he has gone.  He was a very good doctor.  He allowed me to ask him any question I had about what was going on and what I was feeling.  I appreciate that in a doctor, one who gives me his time and isn't hurrying me through. 

Dr. Gailey has been my dentist for many years, and all the children have gone to him.  He allows me to pay for my treatment in installments.  Most doctors and dentists require upfront payment in full, and there is no way that I could ever do that.  That one quality alone has kept us going to him.  But he is a good dentist as well.  He explains the teeth problems thoroughly.  He shows me the x-rays, he draws things out, he even writes down the options.  So, I know exactly what the problems are, and I choose my treatment, what I can handle, what I can afford.  I appreciate that in a dentist/doctor.  Sometimes he has prescribed too many medications or wanted to shoot me with too much novacaine, but I usually ask for just one shot, and he's willing to respect my wishes.  He's used to me by now. 

In Boulder, Colorado, where I grew up my mom had always taken me to a chiropractor as our "primary care" doctor (not that insurance would recognize him that way, but we recognized him as our first choice in health consultation.)  So, after moving to Salt Lake/Sandy I contracted some back problems and searched out a chiropractor to alleviate my suffering, and I found the Egberts.  They were okay, but the next time I tried out the guy next door (literally on the other side of the office building), Dr. Gunn.  I liked him better, and have been going to him ever since. 

I had gone to Dr. Gunn for awhile for my back, but one of the first healings actuated in my behalf was when I went to him a few months after I got married to find out if something was wrong with my neck.  I couldn't seem to hold it up.  He examined me, then took an x-ray, and found that nothing was wrong.  That evidence prompted him to look elsewhere.  How was my energy level?  In the gutter?  He had me get the results from a test performed at least five years previous to this from a different doctor - a glucose tolerance test (drinking more than a desireable amount of syrup).  The results had indicated hypoglycemia, but the doctor had failed to follow it up with what to do about it.  So, Dr. Gunn filled me in on what the results meant and how to manage it with diet.  I left there and embarked on a life-changing way of eating, which I follow in varying degrees depending on my need and desire, and lately, time.  Now, this many years later, Krista and Brad, because they are related to me and live in this old world, have found occasion to need that same diet, and they extol its benefits.

This is what Krista says about it: 

After I had my precious little Lizzy, I went nuts. I had absolutely horrifying thoughts of harming myself, Lizzy and Michael. I couldn’t function properly around people. I wanted nothing to do with anyone, because I couldn’t imagine the horror of someone finding out how much I hated myself. I couldn’t communicate effectively with anyone. Instead of feeling grateful for all the help everyone was giving me, I felt judged by those who were simply showing me how to be a mom. I felt myself becoming the one person in this world that I did not want to be, an abusive parent who thinks only of themselves. I had worked so hard for the past four years trying to be the good person that I wanted to be, and within an instant, I was incapable of even coming close to being that person.

I suffered this way for seven months, hating myself because I couldn’t seem to control my actions. It was as if there were two people living inside of me. One person so desperately wanted to be a happy mother and wife, while the other person did absolutely everything possible to keep that from happening. I would think and feel one thing, and act and say the exact opposite. People didn’t understand me, because I was just flat out mean, when I wanted nothing more than to be their friend and love them. I did not go to my doctor about this, because I just knew I would be diagnosed with post partum depression (PPD), and I did not want to start taking medicine for that.

In January 2011, I went to Dr. Gunn to get some adjustments. I told him how I thought I had PPD. He said that I didn’t, and explained that my brain was lacking the nutrients to function properly. He gave me a diet which is designed to keep a steady flow of nutrients to the brain throughout the entire day. It took me about a week to get used to, but I had the best month of my life. I was happier than I have ever been. I had enough energy to play with Lizzy, and do laundry, dishes and cook. I felt calm and at peace. The other person that had been trying to control my life had no influence on me. I was in control again, and it felt absolutely wonderful.

Leah was conceived shortly after starting the diet, and I haven’t been able to fully commit to it since, but I still implement what I learned from it. When she is born, I will go back on this diet, so that I can be happy, and so that I can have a happy family. Heavenly Father has asked us to take care of our bodies, and I know now that that is to protect us from Satan, who will do everything in his power to try to control us.

Brad was having problems with depression on his mission, but I was completely unaware until my stake president called to relay a request from Brad's mission president that I consider giving permission for him to take Prozac.  "What in the heck for?"  The only indication I had had was that shortly before this he had mentioned he tired easily.  I quickly picked up on that, however, because he kind of had had issues with it previous to the mission, and I sent him the diet.  Needless to say, through email we discussed his health quite a bit for several weeks.  He is using the Prozac, with all of its side effects, because the spirit gave me the distinct impression it would be okay.  A doctor also gave him a diagnosis of ADHD, a condition I had always suspected he had.  When he gets home, I will feed him better.  Hypoglycemia has the symptom of depression, which can be treated with proper diet. 
 

Reply to:

Reply to Krista Shelton

As the kids were growing up, they were sick every now and then - Brad more than the others.  I didn't go many places his first year because he was always with a cold, fever, or croup.  He contracted many ear infections, which usually were accompanied by a fever and eventual croup.  His crib was fixed with a tent over it and a cool mist humidifier (very expensive but wonderful) beside it.  I gave him the usual amoxicillin, followed by augmentin, followed by cephalosporin - each one more potent.  I gave him these and he would invariably come back with another ear infection soon thereafter.  Obviously, his body was not building up an immunity to the infections.   Finally, his doctor prescribed a 1/2 teaspoon of medication everyday for three months.  When he, and he was about two then, immediately came back with another ear infection, I said, "Stop, this isn't working."  Fortunately, the Lord put someone in my path who could tell me the next step I should take.  A young girl (she had older kids, but I was older because I married later) in my ward told me about E-3 Oil - a mixture of olive oil, lobelia, and some other things.  I used one drop in Brad's ear with a teeny bit of cotton to keep the oil in.  I did this three times a day for six weeks.  He did not have another ear infection until he was six. 

So, building up immunity is important to maintaining health.  With other sicknesses I worked around this same premise.  I also encouraged good sleep to overcome the disease.  If sleep was hindered, I did what it took to get us back sleeping.  Fever is a natural way the body has of fighting off infection - burns it out.  As well when you sleep, your body heats up, similar to a fever.  When you don't get enough sleep, your body doesn't stay in that "feverish," "heated up" state long enough to fight infections that could be starting up or progressing to an advanced state in your body.  For that reason, if you're not getting enough sleep, you could easily get sick.  When my children had fevers, I didn't immediately give them ibuprofen or aspirin or Tylenol (acetaminophen).  Instead I watched them carefully, (one of the purposes of a stay-at-home mom) took their temperature often, and put cold wet cloths on their foreheads during the day and night to keep the fever down and from advancing up to their brain.  When the fever reached 103 degrees, then I gave them something, but I could probably count on half of a hand the number of times that happend.  One benefit to a child having a fever and not being medicated for it is that the child feels sick, they are lethargic, they lay around, lay in bed, and they get well.  So, while they lay around, you get a break.  Another benefit of a fever is that it builds up immunities in the body.  While my children were at home sick for a couple days with a fever, and then returned to school never to come down with that again, other children were visited with the same sickness several times during one season. 

Again, when Erin was in elementary school, she contracted a rash on her leg.  I took her to a skin doctor who gave her a steroid to get rid of the rash.  Well, the steroid worked - took the rash away slick as a whistle.  However, two weeks later it came right back.  This time I took her to Dr. Gunn, who told her that the rash was an indication that her body was too alkaline.  So, he prescribed bathing her leg in vinegar, drinking vinegar everyday, and taking a multi-vitamin.  It took several weeks (maybe 6), but the rash disappeared and has never returned.

When Jay was older, in junior high, he had an ear infection that burst his eardrum.  I took him to the doctor for it because the bursting part scared me.  No one had ever had a burst eardrum with their ear infection, so I wasn't sure how to handle it.  He was given amoxicillin to kill the infection which would allow for the eardrum to heal.  He did that, and about a month later he had another one.  This time I gave him nothing but a painkiller, if needed, and let him heal from the infection and the burst eardrum.  Again, he never had another one.

As I stated at the beginning, my "primary care" doctor is a chiropractor/kinesiologist/nutritionist.  I've already mentioned how I've gone to him for his chiropractic and nutritional expertise.  His kinesiological expertise has been the most fascinating road to travel.  Applied kinesiology (AK) is an alternative medicine method used for diagnosis and determination of therapy. According to practitioners using Applied Kinesiology techniques, it provides feedback on the functional status of the body.  Dr. Gunn has used these techniques on me, and I can say that I probably was skeptical at first, but now, I believe...   While I am laying on an examination table, I lift my leg, and Dr. Gunn has me touch certain places on my body that are trouble spots, and then he says, "Resist me."  He pushes on my leg, and I resist his push - I push back.  If I have trouble pushing, that spot is definitely a trouble spot.  He then lays one supplement after another on me, and when I can resist strongly back, that is the supplement that would benefit me the most.  I can tell you that there have been a couple times when I could not push back at all, when I felt no strength whatsoever in my leg.  In that case, that spot is a big problem.

A couple years ago Dr. Gunn diagnosed me with having a hiatal hernia.  I felt symptoms with it, but over the past several months I have not been able to get too much relief from it.  The treatment was to take bromelain, a digestive enzyme, and to pull my stomach down everyday.  I went to other doctors for it, and they prescribed Prilosec which gives me side effects:  headaches, shakiness, etc.  And another who performed an endoscopy/colonoscopy.  It cost me/my insurance more than $2000 to find out that I have a hiatal hernia.  Dr. Gunn diagnosed it for a mere $40.

The only medication that has worked, and lest you think I won't do medications at all, I had this experience.  Jay has had eye allergies forever.  He gets really red, itchy eyes during the months of February through November.  Note:  that's most of the year.  I first tried a homeopathic allergy medicine on him, but it didn't do anything.  I tried other things on him as well, including a visit to an eye doctor who recommended I put warm washcloths on his eyes, but nothing helped.  Finally, I decided to pray for his eye problems in the temple.  Upon returning home from the temple, I took out the phone book and called several eye doctors.  No one was available until a certain pediatric eye specialist at the Moran Eye Center answered the phone.  I made an appointment with them.  In fact, they were able to see him the very next day.  After hanging up with them, I realized they were in the same building as the other eye doctor I had taken Jay to with no good results at all.  Oh, I didn't want to go there again.  I dialed the number of the place with whom I had just made an appointment in order to cancel it, but I couldn't get through.  I tried again and again, but could not get through.  Finally, I decided I would just go.  The next day at the appointment it was discovered that Jay had limbal vernal conjunctivitis - bumps on his eyelids that cause his eyes to be red during the summer months.  In other words, he had a seasonal allergy that affected his eyes during the months of February through November.  The doctor prescribed eyedrops, Alocril, and a steroid for the eye called Alrex.  Those medications relieved the problem.  Over the years he has grown out of the problem.  Usually it's not bad unless he is outside a lot in grasses.  In fact, in doing research on the condition on the internet, it mentioned that he would probably grow out of it, but it might develop into asthma.  He has been on track and cross country teams, so I don't think asthma has been a problem, but he has had pneumonia twice.  I don't like that he had to use a steroid, but it was only administered topically.  And I know that I was led by my Heavenly Father to that doctor to diagnosis and prescribe the treatment. 

Jay has also had a runny nose for years.  He snuffs and snorts incessantly.  Because of the eye problems, I had always thought it was allergy related.  Eye problems/nose problems - very related.  I remember going to a doctor when he was younger, maybe in 2004 to get some help with it.  The doctor thought it was allergies and sent me home with a bagful of medications to try.  I couldn't get Jay to take anything.  The doctor also took some x-rays and a CT scan (very costly) to see if that could give us any clues.  Nothing...     Jay had suffered with this problem for several years already, and he continued to suffer until he was 17 when he expressed a desire to finally find out because it was annoying to his family, his friends, and now to him to be snuffing/snorting incessantly.  He was now willing to do whatever it took, but he confided that he didn't want to be taking pills all of his life.  I was sure that he would be taking an allergy something forever, Benadryl perhaps?   But I took him to Dr. Gunn first.  Dr. Gunn applied his kinesiology to Jay, who had never had this done to him before, and discovered that he had a parasite.  Well, I was skeptical, but we bought the ParaCleanse pills, and Jay took them and got over it.  I couldn't believe it, and Jay was thrilled.  Wow!  Now we sit next to Jay, and he is quiet.  The snort is gone.  How many years had he and we suffered with that problem?  Dr. Gunn, however, was not surprised.  He has total faith in this method and all of its ramifications.  I don't know why I go to anyone else.  How much did that cost to diagnose Jay?   $40!!  

So, what I have seen in dealing with the health of my family has been that we have been better off concentrating on building up the strength of the body to fight off disease rather than to use an outside source to kill off the bacteria causing the disease or to cover up the symptoms.  I was told the other day that doctors now prescribe antibiotics for an entire month (rather than the 10 days that I remember) because the bacterias have developed a resistance to the medications.  So, again, rather than making the body stronger, we have made the bacterias/infections stronger.  The medical field is focusing on the wrong thing.