• spirits • fun
She began networking, and learning as
much as she could about alternative
medicine. She found out that Chinese
medicine, especially acupuncture, could
restore the flow of "Qi" energy to the
left side of her body. She took classes in
yoga to improve her balance and studied
the Alexander Technique to learn how to
use her body without pain. All the
while, Weisman kept her doctor
informed of what she was doing.
The first acupuncturist that Weisman
saw was a physiatrist (an M.D. specializ-
ing in physical medicine). She went to
regular acupuncture sessions for a year,
and paid for them herself
One of the most helpful things for
Weisman was the Alexander Technique,
an extremely powerful method of using
your body effortlessly.
Today, at age 51, Weisman feels 95
percent recovered. She can use her left
arm and leg normally, and types at a reg-
ular speed. Although she still struggles
with some of the fine motor skills need-
ed to play the cello and the piano, by
and large she feels healthy.
Weisman credits her recovery to her
"fork-in-the-road" moment. Virtually
every person that she interviewed for her
new book, Own Your Health: Choosing
the Best from Alternative & Conventional
Medicine (Health Communications;
$16.95), had a similar experience.
Each chapter of the book tells the
story of people who have ventured out-
side of conventional medicine to find
additional ways to recover from serious
illnesses or symptoms.
"This is the book that I wish someone
had given me when I woke up in the
hospital with half my body paralyzed,"
Weisman said. She hopes it will provide
information about complementary med-
icine that she did not have access to in
the early days of her stroke.
In addition to the personal health
dispels many
common
myths and
tEVERLT-
misconcepdons
COS.)4tTIC Sti
about proce-
dures for the
face and body.
Dr.> Kolter
speaks, as part
of 'Women's
Health
Awareness Day, 11 a.m. Friday,Nov,
14, at the JCC; i.n West Bloomfield;
free.
anecdotes, the book profiles doctors, sci-
entists and alternative practitioners who
share expertise about what to do for
many health problems, including chronic
pain, cancer and menopause symptoms.
Co-written by Dr. Brian Berman,
director of the Complementary
Medicine Program at the University of
Maryland, the book also summarizes the
scientific evidence about alternative
medicine, including research on
acupuncture, yoga, massage, nutrition
and herbal medicine. It tells what works,
what doesn't and what may be danger-
ous.
The final chapter talks about finding
reputable practitioners, finding insur-
ance companies to subsidize the cost and
including conventional doctors.
"I don't feel angry at my [convention-
al] doctors," Weisman said, "I feel very
profound gratitude for high-tech medi-
cine because it saved my life. But the
other feeling is frustration that conven-
tional medicine could only take my
recovery so far, and I needed to look
outside [conventional medicine] to find
what I needed in order to recover." El
Roanne Weisman speaks as part
of Book Fair's Women's Health
Awareness Day 10 a.m. Friday,
Nov. 14, at the JCC in Oak Park,
free; and 1 p.m. the same day at
the JCC in West Bloomfield,
free. The day includes a Healthy
Luncheon (no author appear-
ance) 12:30 p.m. in West
Bloomfield, $18; reservations
required: (248) 432-5577 There
also will be an American Red
Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. - 3
p.m. at the West Bloomfield
JCC. Info: (248) 432 - 5577.
ice-4444z * • •
Winter Hours:
Tuesday-Friday: Lunch and Dinner.
Saturday: Dinner
Sunday Brunch: & Dinner
4 dee
17546 Woodward'Ave.
idokude
(2 blocks north of NIeNichols)
Detroit
313-865-0331
Closed Monday • Enter rear • Vcdet parking
7705-2,-D
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Detroit
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Fri. ,
4th
•
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,v..60occo.
t 25
cov
er
•
Sandy Koufax: A Leftys Legacy:
g_acT:
or ane
an award, winning
ormer
sportswriter
and
feature
f
=,caree icx
Hof
focu s i ng
trnpa
gam e
ase
and what
means to
American Jews ,
highlighting his
refusal to pitch
the opening game
of the World
Series on Yom
ippur in 1965. Lea4.1
v. 12, at the JE
Expires 11/30/03.
\*.
,
i‘h
10/24
2003
85