By Mara Protas, RN, BSN, EFTCert-I

Dear Gary and fellow EFT'ers,

One of the most satisfying parts of my job as a nurse is when I can use EFT to help patients manage the physical and emotional issues related to their illnesses. I want to share the impact this had one of my pulmonary rehabilitation patients, Lois.

Lois was familiar with EFT, as I teach it as part of the rehab process. She originally asked me for help overcoming a fear of anesthesia, as she needed to have cataract surgery (she was to have a lung transplant later). Her fear was a 10 on a scale of 0 to 10. I asked her if she had ever had an experience where she felt smothered, and she said that when she was young, a friend had tried to drown her in the swimming pool.

We started with that specific incident. She was a 10/10 when we started, so we just did some general rounds for "this memory". When it came down to a 4 she said she felt like she could watch the movie of the event. We had to work on several aspects including being held down, feeling panicked, not being able to breathe, fear of losing consciousness, fear of dying, anger at her friend, "I thought she was my friend" etc.

After we got all of these aspects down to 0 out of 10, I asked her about her fear of the surgery. She was much better, but still had several aspects that we needed to work on. Her lung disease was quite advanced and she always felt like she needed air blowing on her (like a fan) Even when exercising, she had a personal fan around her neck.

We worked on her fears of not having the air blowing, of having her arms tied down and I had her picture having the anesthesia mask put over her nose. We worked until we got all of them down to zero. She was able to go through the surgery without any problems.

But that isn't the end of the story. Lois was put on the list for a lung transplant. This entailed many different procedures requiring anesthesia just to be put on the list and then the surgery itself. It has been 2 years since her surgery and she is doing well. She used EFT all the time. I asked her to write about her story, and when she wrote it, she didn't even mention the initial surgery. She had forgotten all about it! Here are her words:

I was a 65 year old lady, with end stage COPD. I was hoping to be listed for a lung transplant, but had one small problem. I was absolutely terrified of anesthesia (being put to sleep). I think a person needs to be under anesthetic in order to have a long surgery. I spoke with Mara about my feelings and she suggested trying E.F.T. After a few sessions, Mara led me through the wording etc., I felt far more relaxed about everything. Including just the daily struggle to move around and breathe.

Mara helped me figure out what the base problem for my fear was. When I was a child I had a near drowning incident, and my conscious memories of the event had left me with a deep fear of losing consciousness. Therefore, the fear of being put to sleep or put out!

I was listed for my lung transplant and no longer was afraid of the prospect of being put to sleep. In fact, the first time I was called for surgery, I was in the operating room waiting for the plane to arrive with the lung they were bringing, just looking around, very calm! Sad news is the lung they had for me on examination was not good enough for transplant. So, we had to try again, the next time was successful and I am here two years later enjoying being alive. I am now 67 and hoping for 68 and more!

It's a good thing that my fear has been put to rest, because there are many procedures used to check on my lungs that require sedation, and I am sure it will continue as long as I am alive. So, I have much to be grateful for and many people to be grateful to, otherwise I might not be here to enjoy this world of ours.

Last evening I watched as my oldest grandchild graduated from High School, and have had so many wonderful moments with my family, cannot express how happy I am. God Bless Mara and all those caring people who have helped me along the way. I am doing my best to "Pay It Forward", hopefully I can help others too. Lois Tumanello

Thanks Gary for teaching me this valuable technique and being so generous in sharing EFT with the world.

Love,

Mara Protas, RN, BSN, EFTCert-I