One more thing I won’t be expecting from my HMO…
Here’s an interesting article courtesy of the WSJ…
A Different Take On Health Care:
LOURDES, France — In 1985, Dutch teenager Marcel Roeg fell off his moped and into the darkness. The smart-aleck jock would never again play goalie, ride a scooter or dance with his girlfriend Marissa. The accident left him brain-damaged and blind.Since that day, Mr. Roeg has spent most of his time in a home for the handicapped, harboring a dream. In the dream, he goes to Lourdes to visit the famous place where in 1858 a 14-year-old peasant girl claimed to see the Virgin Mary. There, he is healed. He rides a motorcycle again. And he is no longer lonely. Last month, Mr. Roeg, now 37 years old, actually made the trip to Lourdes — thanks to his insurance company, VGZ.In an unusual scheme, the Dutch company spends about $280,000 a year to fly 600 of its sickest and most disabled clients to Lourdes. The company doesn’t expect the Virgin Mary to intercede. It hopes for a different sort of miracle.“ Lourdes leads people to compassion and friendship,” says Johan Rozendaal, a VGZ board member. “They remember what it’s like to have somebody really care about them.”
You can read the rest of the article at the WSJ website here.
There is some research out there that suggests people who pray and attend church regularly tend to get sick less, heal faster from surgery and report higher levels of satisfaction with their lives than those who don’t. While I doubt insurance companies in this country are going to offer pilgramages to Lourdes any time soon, the relationship between spiritual and physical health is fascinating and certaintly worthy of more study.
Lisa & Dave Tambellini
Independent Shaklee Distributors
815-477-1218
www.shaklee.net/bellini
www.bellinihealth.com
