S1 Ep 5 - The Scavenger Hunt of Your Family's Historical Past to Find Your Inner Doctor

In this episode, I want to take you with me on a scavenger hunt, to look at my past, present, and future. In episode 1, I talked about my mother, Christina Stemmler, M.D., who was an integrated physician. She studied Chinese medicine, she was a family physician, and she had a profound effect on me and my interest in healthcare. She died in 2008. Throughout her career, she gave several talks and was a prolific writer; so, I have the opportunity to introduce you to her in this episode from rare audio recordings. I’ll be talking about her because I’m, right now, at the point in my life where I really want to understand the “before and after” of me.

In looking to the future, I am also introducing you to my nephew. He is my sister’s son, and he is 7 years old. One of the things that fascinates me about him is that I’ve never taught him the concepts of energy medicine or Qi, that life force energy that is so essential to health according to Chinese medicine. However, in this interview you will hear his wisdom as he talks about energy with an unfiltered understanding, and the connection he has to his environment of before and after. It’s profound to hear him speak about his experience, and I’m delighted to share it with you.

Moving forward in this podcast, I’m going to continue to uncover clues about my mother’s life and her legacy before she died. This is more than just detective work. It’s a gift left in her writing, in her recordings, and from my memories. It’s a treasure not just for me to understand my true essence and calling, but an opportunity for you to learn from two generations of women propelled to make changes in the understanding and delivery of healthcare. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to episode 1, An Introduction to Third Opinion MD: Time to Take the Doctor Out of the Equation and Put You in Charge of Your Health, I introduced my mother as one of the reasons why I am producing this podcast.

In this episode, I share:

• Looking forward and backward in my family’s timeline to see how our lineage has connected with healing and energy.
• What it means to be an integrated physician.
• Recordings from my mother, Christina, when she gave lectures to her patients as an integrated physician.
• An introduction to the future through my 7-year old nephew. I sent questions to my sister to interview him about his grandmother, Christina. His answers demonstrate how easily children can understand energy and healing.
• My family’s history of trauma, including every generation moving to find a better future.
• My mother’s history of having been a doctor and a healer. She studied both Eastern and Western medicine, much like I did.
• How our history can inform our present, and how it can impact our future.
• Why the entirety of a person’s history (personal, family, social, cultural, spiritual) is important in understanding their current health.
• Review the steps I teach you when we work together so you can form your own third opinion.