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A B M P m e m b e r s ea r n F R E E C E h o u r s by rea d i n g t h i s i s s u e ! 77 something truly extraordinary: She had been struck by lightning. Generally, I'm not big on making mirror statements, but sometimes you have to make sure what you heard was correct. "You were struck by lightning?" I repeated. Yes, she said. "Would you mind telling me how that happened?" "Well," Moira said, "I was in my car at the time." A car is one of the safest places you can be during a thunderstorm. Your car is a moving Faraday cage, a continuous shell that blocks electromagnetic fields from the outside. Many devices, like MRIs, have Faraday cages built in. But Moira had her sunroof open, creating a gap in the cage, so she got zapped. Like a movie in my mind, I saw what to do next and decided to take the risk. I got up from my desk and moved over to the treatment table. I sat right down next to her, touching shoulder to shoulder. Slightly astonished and with an edge of weary experience she said, "Most people move further away from me when I tell them about that." "Well," I said, "I'm not most people." A number of sessions later, Moira told me it was that moment when she knew she could trust me fully. We know that having healthy social connections improves physical and mental health. It can even improve immune function. Treatment starts before they ever get on the table. David Lesondak is an allied health member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and is board-certified in structural integration. He is the author of Fascia: What It Is and Why It Matters, editor of Fascia, Function, and Medical Applications, and host of the podcast BodyTalk. Learn more at davidlesondak.com. beyond techniques and procedures. They understand this is a partnership. And then I do everything in my ability to make sure they have that initial success in their first treatment. And sometimes, you just have to trust your gut. CLIENT STUDY: MOIRA Moira was in her early 30s and her initial complaints were as complicated as they come. Chronic pain, physically injured on the job, a concussion that induced several conditions, including narcolepsy. She was on disability and came in with a working dog, a sweet collie named Copper, who watched for signs of unexpected drowsiness. Those were just a few of the highlights. She handed me a 24-page chronological dossier of her medical history. Every accident, every physical insult that had happened to her, the treatments she received, and her perceived outcomes. Then she did a curious thing. Instead of sitting in the designated patient chair, she perched on the treatment table. It's rare people do that, but why make a fuss? I paged through the document and assured her I'd read it thoroughly later. I knew this was going to be someone who would likely not respond to the conventional protocols in the expected way. So, I asked her to tell me where she was at right now, what her day-to-day life was like, what felt unaddressed and unresolved, and what she thought were the causes and perpetuating factors. While Moira was determined to get better, it was obvious she was feeling very down. Anyone who had been through all that would be. Then she mentioned Resource Stanford Medicine. "Connectedness & Health: The Science of Social Connection." https://ccare. stanford.edu/uncategorized/ connectedness-health- the-science-of-social- connection-infographic. Whatever the attraction, the art gives us something to talk about that's not about the client's aches, pains, accidents, or problems. BODY OF WONDER