The cost of Character

"I could do that!" My acquaintance was somewhat excited. I can't tell if he really would do it, knowing that the clinic I described would be a total sham, but I believe he just might be serious. "Josh, you can be our front guy because anyone would believe you, but we will do all the work." I shudder as I think of the horror that overtook me the last time I was involved in the endeavor he proposed. I thought that as a health care consultant I could really help people. I would gaze into their eyes or use the latest in muscle-testing methods to determine their health problems and give my clients solutions to their most pressing health problems while staving off future disasters. I am told I was very good.

One man came to me seeking a cure for his ulcerative colitis that had once again flared up with a vengeance. The guy was a good man and a doting father. He was tired of the cramping and diarrhea, and he hoped I could give him the solution he so earnestly desired. I looked at his iris, discussed his health weaknesses, and suggested some herbs he could take with some lifestyle and diet changes. His health seemed to improve until he was admitted to the hospital for a bowel obstruction. This time his supposed ulcerative colitis flare-up was actually symptoms of colon cancer that developed as a probable complication of his longstanding disease. Had he gone to his regular doctor instead of me my client would have probably found his colon cancer soon enough to remove it. Instead it was found after it was too far advanced, and my client's cancer spread to his liver where it killed him.

No one blamed me for my lack of knowledge, but I feel like I should have known this was a common complication of ulcerative colitis and insisted my client seek medical advice. I didn't know my limitations, and I really didn't help this guy. Temporarily undaunted I sought to expand my knowledge and experience, but as I studied I found that more science pointed to my practice as dangerous at worst and useless at best. I left it so that I would not give any more people false confidence.

Now this friend wants to play the game. He wants to knowingly give useless medicine to the sick and worried because it will provide gain. I shuddered at the thought. I just can't do it. As I lay in bed that night I suddenly realize that I could do it better than last time. I could use clearly safe, but useless treatment like homeopathic preparations as a gimmick and get patients into my clinic to get good diet and lifestyle advice. I could once again give those who felt lost in the medical landscape a welcome desk to sit at be reassured. I could bill myself as a health care coordinator and give those who see too many doctors a sense of order to their lives. But could I really lie to my clients to gain income and a sense of accomplishment? I could work half as hard to make the same income, but in the end I feel like I would lose more of myself than I would gain.

What did I get when I was raised to be honest, but a hard life? Maybe, at least, I could trust my own advice.