A poem by Dr Grant Fourie

My patients are depressed and fat!
Today, the whole day, most of them just sat!
Their pressures are high and their tolerance low,
Their energy is lacking and they only sleep so-so.

Someone promised them that life would be a ball
And with no effort, they thought they could have it all.
What a shock to discover,
That all the good stuff seems destined for another.

The “Anxiety” has gotten to our best.
Many are stressed and in need of rest.
Burnout is common and sadness is rife,
All we look forward to is heart attacks and cholesterol to end our life!

When last did you meet someone that was “over the moon”?
For most, it seems, bedtime couldn’t come too soon!

They use drugs to be happy because you’re not allowed to weep or be sad.
They use drugs at night because they forgot how to sleep and “the insomnia” just got too bad.

They use tablets to help them keep their sugar low,
Because it’s simply too hard to just say NO!

The teens use “the pill” so they never have to say maybe
BUT, then later, many really struggle to have a baby.
Their faces get a few spots,
And so we tie their tubes with a chemical knots,
I hope having that pretty face
Was worth the sacrifice to the human race.

Our foods make us sick,
Our sickness makes us fat.
First our bodies get thick
And then our mood goes flat.

We’re so inflamed we should be hot to touch,
Our bodies struggle to heal and it all just gets too much.
Everything is so much effort really,
You can’t expect us to get home late and take cooking seriously?
So we buy our food fast,
And then watch it kill us slow.
We still seem a little surprised when our bodies start aching,
But I guess it still beats cooking, steaming and baking.

So when does it start to go wrong?
The ladies spot it first, when their periods make them crazy,
Shortly followed by a memory that becomes distinctly hazy.
They flush, and they hurt and they cry and they ache.
Then their thighs start to spread and the cellulite starts to shake.

Men are not spared as they watch their bellies grow and their energy wane.
It seems trying for a six pack is all in vain.
Most don’t seem to mind too much,
Especially if the alternative is giving up beer and such.

But a stretched belly and diabetes not forsaking,
This shit got real when it affected their “baby-making”.
It doesn’t matter how his grumpy attitude turns his relationships into wrecks,
Everything changes when you mess with this machine’s ability to have sex!

So eventually he goes and asks for help with his crisis,
Even though all the way there he grumbles and moans about our prices.
Not only does he need help getting out of the blues.
But also because he recently started to pee on his shoes!

We realised that getting old wasn’t going to be bright and breezy,
But we at least thought 40 would be easy!

The doc said everything would get better after he gave him a pill.
He just forgot to tell him that it would only change if HE will!
The doc said his problems would be over,
But after 7 pills a day, he just feels a little hung-over.
They seem to be working and he isn’t so angry or so sore,
But every time he goes back, the doc tells him he needs more!

Is it possible we missed something serious that we should be able to mend?
Are we supposed to age badly and just wish for the end?

Surely we’ve identified every disease?
A pill for everything, even sore knees.
Some pills to prevent something we may not even have yet,
And some to treat something we will have till we’re dead.

Surely we’ve slipped up?
Surely we’ve missed an opportunity to challenge their hearts and their minds,
To live larger and try harder and heed the signs.
Even though we tried to convince them of the dangers,
They would rather listen to Google and to strangers.

Sometimes the pills don’t make them feel nice, and so they “accidentally” forget to take them…forever!
We blame them because they won’t comply,
But the truth is they don’t feel good, and nobody seems to care why.

Perhaps the opposite of health isn’t disease.
Perhaps disease doesn’t have to be the start of death.
Perhaps we should promote health rather than manage their ailments,
Maybe then they would believe we care about them, rather than payments.

It’s never too late to start investing in health,
It’s only too late when the body can’t push back anymore,
When the systems don’t have nutrients to help them restore.
Our bodies can give us so much more my friends,
They want to live long, and well, to their respective ends.

A healthy life is worth fighting for,
For the victor the spoils are abundant life and a wish for more!

It is possible to get better for those who aspire to higher.

But first I, his care-giver, must rise and inspire.

Once, in my heart, there was the desire to end people’s pain,
But then there were so many, my efforts seemed in vain.

I’m tired of watching people giving up on their lives.
I need to keep believing, they need us to truly help them thrive

No more symptoms concealed
But rather a renewed passion to get them healed!
 

Dr Grant Fourie | MBChB | CDE

Comments:
Dr Michael Mol: Award winning stuff... but more importantly - honest to the bone Doc! 25 000 hits and counting!

Catherine LaCock: Beautifully written Doc. Thank you for the way you have helped change my life. You take time with each and every one of your patients to make sure you "fix" them. The process isn't overnight, yet it's functional, similar to the concept of "Rome wasn't built in a day". I am incredibly blessed and grateful. Thank you.

Abby-May de Lange: Well said Dr Fourie. Patience is a virtue in the world of functional health and healing. Both as a practitioner and a client/patient. I find education is key in turning the tide. 

Lindi Scholtz: The truth hurts yes, but the truth also sets us free! This is one of the best things I have read in a VERY long time... Ignorance may be bliss only until reality strikes you full on and then the options left are few and sometimes extremely harsh... Thank you. 

  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr Grant Fourie is a qualified General Practitioner (MBChB Pretoria), certified Functional Medicine Practitioner and certified Diabetes Educator. He’s successfully completed a course in Clinical Nutrition and is currently studying for his Master’s Degree in Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine through the George Washington University. His years of expertise has afforded him the privilege of standing on the Advisory Board for DNAnalysis Biotechnology, an innovative genetic testing laboratory in South Africa. He also has strong links with The Compounding Pharmacy of South Africa and Fagron Compounding Services, who both provide high quality, customised products to meet the growing worldwide need for tailor-made medication.

He became a functional medical practitioner because he felt it was a better, more logical way to practice medicine that, “just made sense.”

He proudly runs his own practice at The Village Square in Durbanville, Cape Town, South Africa and his extensive knowledge and research of complementary and alternative medicine is core to his success as an alternative and holistic functional medicine practitioner.