PACES.ro Magazine Nr.3 - May 2011 EN

Nr. 3, May 2011Nr. 3, May 2011

20 Andrei Mureşanu Street,

sector 1, Bucharest

Tel: 0040-372.770.126, Fax: 0040-21.224.46.95

www.patmedin.ro

A sunbeam was knocking on heaven’s door…Vasile Voiculescu

PACESWe believe in your happiness!

Promoted & Applied Social Economy Concepts

Published by the Integrative Medicine EntrepreneursPublished by the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs

Editorial Team

Editor in Chief: dr. Aurel Storin [email protected]

Editors: Florin Condurăţeanu fl [email protected] Irina Ghiţă-Cioroba [email protected] Cornelius Popa [email protected] Diana Moraru [email protected] Clement Sava [email protected] Anca Moraru [email protected] Adina Moraru [email protected] Larisa Toader [email protected] Oana Gavril [email protected] Image Editor: Silvia Mandler [email protected] Administrator: Mihai Breahnă [email protected] Translator: George Wainer [email protected]: Gabriel Ionescu gabi@etipografi e.ro

ISSN-L 2247 – 0573

SCRIB PUBLISHING, 2011

Printed in România by SC SIMPLU PRINT SRLGHEŢA ROBERT • 0743-027955 • offi ce@tipografi e-off set.ro

Legal liability for the content of this publication belongs Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs

© PMI, 2011

Published by Published by IntegrativeIntegrative MedicineMedicine EntrepreneursEntrepreneurs20 Andrei Mureşanu Street, sector 1, Bucharest20 Andrei Mureşanu Street, sector 1, BucharestTel: 0040-372.770.126, Fax: 0040-21.224.46.95Tel: 0040-372.770.126, Fax: 0040-21.224.46.95www.patmedin.rowww.patmedin.ro

3We believe in your happiness!

My NeighborEditorial

I look at everyone I see and I consider them “my neighbor”. No matt er if they are my relatives or an unknown person. The fate of every human being is of interest to me. Every human being should not be a stranger to me, and they are not strangers. A thought of a great Latin personality, Publius Terentius, who was nicknamed Afer the African – for being of African origin, keeps on coming to my mind: “I am a man, I consider nothing that is human to be alien to me”. It seems to me that this is the best, shortest expression of generosity and humanism, of all times.

I feel that today’s world needs humanity. Otherwise, I cannot understand how it would be possible for us to live. Some people reach such a situation that they think everything is for sale or to be bought. We cannot simply see mankind as being a huge market, with malls, stores and boutiques. I think we cannot simply reduce the relation between people, in such a dramatic way, to the relation between a merchant and a buyer. People cannot be bought. People do not have a price. People are the creators of the world we live in. People are the only beings of the Earth who are capable of showing generosity and mutual aid. People are the supreme landmark of the Earth, wherever they live, whatever their situation is. No matt er if they are rich or poor, young or old, healthy or ill. I consider all of them to be “mine”, in

my thoughts and soul. The ones who faced a tough destiny are also there, in my heart. You, disabled people, those who were considered, until recently, as being incurable, those who face chronic illnesses, for whom the path of life is so hard to move on, you deserve a normal life and sometimes you make great, extraordinary eff orts to fi t in, you, whose disabilities never stop you from the wish of being equal to the others, all of you are my neighbor…

Liviu Mandler President of the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs

We can be interactive, too!Starting with the next issue, PACES will have a new section for our readers. It is in this way that we shall try, as much as we can, to answer your questions and to discuss some of the problems that you are facing:ASK QUESTIONS. GET ANSWERS FROM PACES!

We shall pay att ention to the submitt ed questions and specialized councilors, doctors and psychologists will answer them, together with the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs partners and collaborators.

We hope this section will be helpful to our readers.

Editor-in Chief,Dr. Aurel Storin

4 Promoted & Applied Economy Social Concepts Nr. 3/May 2011

MissionTo promote, develop, adopt and implement integrative medicine as part of the medical practice in Romania.

The concept of Integrative medicine places the patient in the center of the medical team and means to use all proven safe and effi cient therapies, no matt er where the system of medical thought these therapies may originate from.

VisionOur vision considers that integrative medicine is the common solution and meeting place for medical doctors, educators and researchers all for the benefi t of the patient.

P.M.I. will act as a central reference point and as a repre-sentative, communication, edu-cation and collaboration factor, in connection with the public and private authorities who rule and/or coordinate this fi eld in the country and abroad. We also identify the specifi c issues faced by providers of integrative medicine, as well as the optimal solutions to solve them.

Projects under development● Supporting disadvantaged

personsA regional network for the promotion and application of the social economy concepts, meant to increase the chances of social reinsertion of disabled people.• Supporting patients who

suffer from cancerA multiregional network for integrative therapy, counseling and social reintegration of persons who were diagnosed with cancer.• The Integrative Medicine

Entrepreneurs – PMI The www.patmedin.ro site, where you can fi nd more information about our current activities.

About us

OBJECTIVES• To represent and protect the interests of integrative medicine service providers from Romania, both at a national and international level.• To develop a framework for the associated members to discuss and ask questions, mention various issues, proposals for situations of common interest, as well as to help creating and developing unitary strategies for their support and for fi nding solutions.• To represent and to plead for the support of the strategies adopted by the Entrepreneurs when approaching the Parliament, the Government, other authorities and/or national/local institutions, as well as when approaching the media and any other relevant entity from Romania and from abroad.• To promote the best practices among its members, by assuring ethical, responsible means of organization and function for the integrative medicine, meant to comply with the expectations of the community, at the highest standards of integrity.• To take all legal actions for the creation of a proper normative framework meant to develop the organization and functioning of the integrative medicine. It should also best refl ect the compatibility process of the requirements of this economic group and the needs of the larger society. Thus, the Entrepreneurs will be able to initiate contacts with the authorities in charge of implementing approved projects of normative acts and to actively participate, as far as the legal system allows it, in the creation, approval, public debate and implementation of normative act projects which refer to our fi eld of interest, as well as to other related fi elds.• To become an affi liate or full member, from case to case, of those international associations which are actively involved in the organization and functioning of integrative medicine, so that the interests of the integrative medicine in Romania will be represented internationally, and for the correlation of its organization and functioning in Romania with the international standards in this fi eld.• To organize meetings, conferences, exhibitions and work-shops for exchanging experience with various associations, foundations or other institutions which have a similar profi le. To sign agreements of partnership with medical or non-medical institutions, foundations of associations whose objectives are common or close to those of the Entrepreneurs.


No Tears

Ihave recently watched a televised matrimonial reality show: there were some 20 beautiful, young men and women, plus a few mature

ladies, the mothers of the lads. Their children were very healthy-looking, well-built and proud of the earring hanging down their left ear, but the mothers were almost tearing themselves apart and complained about their miserable life, at the television show.

It all happened as thousands of people were eagerly longing to watch a scandal or love stories that completely lacked privacy, at their favorite show.

Had there been a gun in that house, so full of video cams, I am sure we would have seen a murder live, since life in not worth living anymore when the other participants in the show forgot to buy a kilogram of potatoes when they went to the Supermarket!!??

I unwillingly remembered that I joined a friend of mine in the Aula of the Romanian-American University, a few days ago. In that ambiance which reminded me of the Tower of Babel, with children, noisy students, serious representatives of corporations or sad disabled people, God had decided we should meet a large, generous and refreshing “SMILE”!

Nick Vujicic, a motivational speaker, is a breathtaking lecturer. He lacks both hands and both legs. All he has are two blue, shiny eyes and a… huge, warm, incredibly good and catchy smile.

I could not believe my eyes: he was telling jokes, making fun of us in a pleasant way, urging the men to let their sweethearts date him, since… isn’t it so, what could he do to them?

He shone an incomprehensible optimism in the academic aula that was used to the usually grey

university dogma and rigor.His faith in God and especially in his reason

for existing, as a limbless person, to help people transform their arms into wings and get over the small and large troubles, almost created an aura around his tormented body.

I was simply dumbstruck as if I was an Eskimo seeing a giraff e for the fi rst time and, aft er looking at its long neck, he or she says: “There is no such a thing!”

I shivered at the thought that people talked a lot about the suicide of a pop star, lately, a young, beautiful woman who had given birth to a baby boy, one year ago.

Just like that, I realized that the young man in front of us cannot even cry, since he does not have arms to wipe his tears.

I suddenly smiled to him when he looked at me and I sent him a kiss from the tip of my lips, for I didn’t want to blow that kiss from my hand… as I was lucky enough to have hands.

Beloved girls, defeated by your pett y life, as presented in the televised matri mo nial show, you can hardly guess what a wonderful man I met the other day… I almost wanted to ask his hand and marry him… but how can one ask for the hand of a SMILE???

Angela S.


Autism and its implications

Practical ideas and pieces of advice, news in education, activities for children, lists of nursery and elementary schools, discussions

between parents and specialists. All these took place in the event organized by the Center for Autistic Persons in Dâmboviţa County, at the end of April.

This conference was planned as a special umbrella event, meant to mark a signifi cant collaboration between the specialists involved in the management of autism in Romania and the families of autistic persons, together with the associations which militate for the compliance with the rights of those suff ering from autism. The purpose of the Conference was to present information about the early discovery, evolution, therapies, care standards for autistic persons, both by specialists and by those who take care of autistic children. There should be the best possible collaboration between the two sides.

Representatives of the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs took part in the event and also sent the message of their President, Mr. Liviu Mandler: “I am honored to salute today’s meeting, which focuses of autism-related issues and their implications.

It seems to me that this is an important, very actual topic. I am very sorry for not being able to be with you today, but let me assure you that I personally, as well as the Integrative Medicine

Entrepreneurs, we are always available to you and we fully support your endeavors.

I am sure that the Center for Autism Dâmboviţa, together with the General Social Welfare and Child Protection Department – Dâmboviţa, will seek and fi nd the best solutions to certain acute, serious problems faced by autistic persons. I would also like to salute your very humane initiative, which proves your deep love for children. We, the people of PMI, truly believe this country, so dear to us all, needs healthy children.

Kindly receive my brotherly message, my best wishes of success and my gratitude as a human being and as a colleague.”

Still, I have to mention the lack of interest showed by local authorities. They were invited as the conference, but only the Director of the Social Welfare and Child Protection Department of Dâmboviţa was present, as well as a representative of the Archbishop in Târgovişte. The same happened at the conference about autism which took place on May 6, 2011, organized at the headquarters of the Valahia University. This time, not even the two persons whom we have already mentioned bothered to come.

Still, we wonder where is the human side of those who were hired by the state to solve social issues…

Irina Ghiţă-Cioroba


Irina Cioroba: Where do you do your work and what is your role in the life of disabled persons?

Ioana Cercel: I work at the National Association for Autistic Children and Adults in Romania – the Dâmboviţa Branch, as psychologist and President of the Association.

I.Cioroba: What are your fi rst experiences and reasons for working with disabled persons?

I.Cercel: I had my fi rst experience with disabled children when I was a practicing student at the “Alexandru Obregia” Clinical Hospital of Psychiatry. I was impressed by these special persons, as well as by their desperate parents, did not know what to do in order to help their children.

I.Cioroba: What do you think there could be added to the people’s beliefs and behaviors so as to treat disabled person in a natural way?

I.Cercel: More tolerance, humanity, a spirit of empathy and mutual aid.

I.Cioroba: I am sure that the world will soon be more and more aware of the problems faced by disabled persons. What are some of the actions which could improve their integration?

I.Cercel: Meetings, round tables that focus on the symptoms of disabilities, on treatments, therapies, on ways to improve their lives, information campaigns, socializing activities for children with a typical and atypical development, as well as for their parents. All these could be taken over by the media, as well.

I.Cioroba: From your experience, can you provide an example of att itude or activity, of a European country, focused on disabled persons, to be used by us, Romanians, as a model?

I.Cercel: Yes, we could copy the models that are already implemented in Great Britain. They were

also involved in activities with disabled children in Romania.

I.Cioroba: What is the fi rst solution you would implement about the issues faced by a disabled person when trying to integrate?

I.Cercel: The fi rst thing we should do for the integration of disabled persons is a very intense campaign for other people to understand their problems, preferably all the members of the larger society.

I.Cioroba: I am sure there were many cases, but could you tell us of a special/exceptional case to be used as a model by the Romanian society?

I.Cercel: Last year, we tried to integrate a child in a nursery school. At the fi rst meeting, the children welcomed him quite nicely. They were only a bit surprised of his reserved behavior. Nevertheless, that child was rejected the very next day by the parents who would not have a “handicapped” child in their class. While the parents of the child were trying to persuade the others to accept him, another child from a higher-age class, suff ering from the Down syndrome, came and hugged him, and this is how they entered the room. Everybody was amazed to see how that child solved the problem much bett er than any adult could have.

I.Cioroba: What do you think is the future of autistic and Down Syndrome suff ering children in Romania?

I.Cercel: If people understand and help them, these children will be able to have an almost normal life.

Interview by Irina Ghiţă-Cioroba

Children suffering from the Down Syndrome will be able to have an almost normal life

– Interview with Psychologist Ioana Cercel


Our family’s life changed dramatically aft er the birth of our son. It was in the summer of 1981, when, immediately aft er his birth,

doctors noticed certain problems: the lack of the sucking refl ex, faded weeping, deepened palatine velum.

It was the beginning of a very tough, permanent fi ght for our son’s survival and best possible recovery. I was about to fi nd out that his disease was called spastic tetraparesis.

As a mother, I had to be with my child at all times. This is why I quit my job and I started going to various pediatricians and neuro-psychiatrists. They provided the necessary medical prescriptions and pieces of advice for movement recovery. As time went by, there appeared many other important challenges: late speech, a diffi cult, unsure gait, the impossibility to run, as well as a huge barrier in my child’s evolution – a very low immunity.

Still, I have to admit that our eff orts were worth it and Almighty God helped us, so that our son recovered unexpectedly much, both from the physical and mental point of view.

The fact that he att ended a normal school – until the end of high-school – but mostly his having graduated from a faculty and a master’s degree, is a clear token of our eff orts – my husband was always here for us and made great sacrifi ces to take him to school every day – since he was in high-school until he took his master’s degree.

I cannot simply overlook the fact that we, as parents, had to face daily challenges in order to provide proper meals every day, materials that were absolutely necessary for his studies, as well as medicines (he still needs some of them today). We also provided his with access to alternative therapies (acupuncture, pressopuncture, bio-energo-therapy, apifi totherapy) and balneo-physio-therapy. Fortunately for us, the applications of non-conventional medicine had much bett er eff ects than the treatment of allopath medicine.

I think it is quite important for me to give the general details of our daily life, which was absolutely necessary to get positive results in all fi elds. In order to comply with the proper schedule needed by our family, we had to have discipline, a lot of will, to give certain things up and the parents went through a lot of nights without sleep.

Thus, a regular day used to begin with corporal

hygiene. Aft er that, we ate breakfast, studied together and my son went to school. I had to prepare food and clean the house. Of course, my husband was the one who provided the funds for all this. Lunch, rest and reading were included in the second half of the day and the evening ended with corporal hygiene, watching TV and sleep. While he was att ending the faculty and his master degree classes, individual studies took most of his time, but he never neglected meals and sleep.

Aft er almost 30 years as a mother of a disabled child, I think it is both useful and necessary to state a few things about the educational system in our country.

My son’s marks were bett er and bett er, as time went by. As far as we noticed, this was due to the fact that our son grew and became more and more mature, as well as to the fact that the curricula lost “dead weight” subject matt ers. Teachers have a very important role. They must be very well prepared professionally, as well as to be very good psycho-pedagogues, so as to correctly assess the complexity of the various situations they might face. Unfortunately for us, we also met impassionate, unlearned pedagogues.

Ever since he was a high-school student, our son realized he liked subject matt ers about the economy, and focused on their study. He also went to a faculty of economy.

An issue which could be substantially improved refers to the integration of a disabled person in a larger group. For us, it is very sad to see that there are still old-type views about these people. Almost without exception, both children and adults consider them to be inferior, incapable of high-performance and unworthy of being close to them.

Fortunately for him, our child – due to his balanced thinking and to his parents’ support – felt very litt le of the hostile att itude of the people around him. This was also due to his tolerant and sociable mood.

Still, without a deep reform of education in the family, as well as in school, these mentalities will continue to exist and hinder the normal development of the Romanian society as a whole, and especially the development of persons with special needs.

When he turned 18, we went through hard to imagine emotions. Had it not been such a dramatic

We are winners…A late speech capability, a difficult, unsure gait, impossibility to run and a low immunity, plus the verdict of the army: non-combatant, but able person…


moment, I would have hilariously called it the time when our son was called to join the army. What do you think was the verdict of the medical committ ee? I am sure you will never guess it, since it is most absurd. His military ID mentions “NON-COMBATIVE, BUT ABLE”. I will only quote one of the military doctors: “Look who are the fi ghters of the Romanian Army”.

I cannot end the short presentation of our story without mentioning the desperate situation we have been facing these last four years.

Aft er the suff ering faced by our son, aft er having been close to death a few times, already, aft er having lost his childhood because of bad health, the many times he had to give something up no longer left a mark, as time went by. But the fact that he does not have a job had a negative impact on the life of the whole family. We have never thought that such a plan would last so long to happen and we almost lost all hope for the near future. His passion for study and the hope that he would sometime work in the fi eld for which he sacrifi ced so much, all these became only disappointment and failure, today.

We hope the economic situation in our country improves soon and new jobs are created. We also hope the proper authorities will not just register disabled persons as having various disabilities in order to simply give them the very small amounts provided by the social welfare system. These persons need, more than anything else, a really effi cient collaboration with state and private institutions for a fair implementation of the legal provisions, so that employers are encouraged to accept disabled persons who can work for them. Let me tell you: here, bureaucracy is a real barrier to gett ing mutual benefi ts (employer – employee), as provided by law.

My statements are supported by our negative experience in these last four years, as well as by the media feature stories about persons in similar situations.

We hope that we shall get our share of luck from Almighty God and we keep on being (moderately) optimistic, looking forward to sharing bett er times.

JEFF and MOTHERCollected by Anca Moraru


A short perspective of the issue of personal mission for the Romanians

Ithink one of the most important issues in life is to make a conscious decision about your life’s mission, as well as to establish the means

needed to implement that mission. It is from that moment that there begins a selection of the participants in the great adventure of life. Some of us do understand early on that mission. Others, maybe quite many, fi nd out quite late about such a concept or they may even have doubts about it, at the dusk of their lives.

The charm and beauty of such an identifi cation itinerary and implementation of one’s life mission is the fact that such a concept entails a very personal touch. Most of the times, this touch is infl uenced by the education level, social context, etc.

From the dawn of antiquity, great philosophers told us that, no matt er of the age we are to realize we have such a mission, it was vital to go for it, no matt er what. Only like that was it possible for us to fulfi ll our destiny and to be complete as human beings. Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha, in fact all great founders of religions, told us to think about the

fact that we are not what we are. It is completely illogical to accept, in general, the theory according to which we are just physical bodies, we are born and die and we have to use resources (most of the times, very, very many) between the two moments. But there is more to it. Maybe it is that “something” which makes us noble and diff erent from the rest of the beings: the power to identify the reason for which we were born and what we have to do, for a change to the bett er. This change necessarily entails gett ing over countless barriers, which are most of the time artifi cial or artifi cially built. Those barriers are necessarily scaled according to the importance of the personal mission. The higher the mission is, the higher and harder to pass the barriers are. Many times, such noble missions include the concept of sacrifi ce. A noble ideal, joined by a similarly noble mission, entails a similarly important sacrifi ce.

Starting from these premises, I will discuss only a few of these barriers in the following lines, which I think are somehow specifi c to our people, due to their diff erent manifestations.

What types of (extra) national specifi c barriers are there for a co-national of ours to pass in order to identify and fulfi ll his personal mission?

First of all, there is the country barrier. There are many, very promoted voices of our co-nationals (unfortunately) who say, from high platforms, as if they were patriarchs of the nation, that “we were not born in the right place”. We have corruption, but no one is corrupt, criminality is very high, mothers abandon their children in maternity hospitals, we see many car crash victims on TV and the social disaster is unstoppable. Anyway, Romania is “good to look at, but only from the plane”, the home of the concept “nevermind, it works like that, anyway”. Last but not least, it is “Dorel ’s country”, of course. According to them, we surely have the highest European level of lying Members of the Parliament, corrupt policemen, fi lthy-rich employers, stealing employees, maltreated children, raped young women, etc.

Second of all, there is a cultural barrier. Aft er having read the comments of many “specialists” in the culture of the Romanian people, I identifi ed the idea that one cannot ask much from a people who always remained at a “crossroads”, who changed rulers so oft en, in time (many times by murder), who have doubts about their own language (a strange Latin with Slavic and Turkish infl uences) and which has obviously not produced as many cultural masterpieces as Western civilization.


Third of all, there is the behavioral barrier. Almost every single time a national holiday is near, traditionalist Romanians are viewed in front of large barbeque grills. The volume of music is as high as possible and everybody can see the huge bellies under the sweaty T-shirts of unshaven men. During all this time, their wives will always run aft er naughty children, that is when they do not give short interviews to reporters who wear long-heel shoes and who passionately say on live television that this is how Romanians have fun on a free day.

There are many other barriers to present, but I strongly believe, dear reader, that you know about them much bett er than me.

How can one fulfi ll his or her personal mission in such a country? The answer seems to go up in the sky...

Anyway, a miracle solution keeps appearing in the media... to leave for the Occident. For sure, well paid jobs are waiting for us there, our colleagues at work will be very kind, inhabitants are freshly shaven, the ladies are all dressed up to the ninth, policemen are nice, politicians are honest, employers are empathic with their employees, there is endless hospitality, people are not discriminated on ethnic grounds and so on...

If you are as sure as I am of such a state of nirvana existing in the western world, how about helping each other defi ne ourselves and later fulfi ll our personal mission right here, in Romania, our unfortunate country.

I know that, for many “modern sages” it is stupid or not that smart to love one’s country as it is, with all ancestral troubles she was blessed to have, but I can surely, open-heartedly accept that I want to build something good right here, in the country of all ups and downs.

I met a lot of people with a great heart who want to do something good for Romania without looking for profi t (according to their own capabilities). They want to do something good for us all, those who remained here. These people are not members of any political party (and even if they were, I would not doubt their love for this country), do not want to be publicly known or to be promoted by the media. They are just regular people with an unusual behavior, these days (compared to the main trend) and who discreetly enjoy the fact that they can also partially contribute to the construction of a new basis for the modern Romanian society.

They are referred to as the “new revolutionaries of 1848”. In a certain way and at a certain scale, this expression is actually valid for those crazy, beautiful people, who, given quite similar conditions to those encountered by their ancestors, do contribute to rebuilding a modern Romania, today.

Some of them studied abroad (at universities such as Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, MIT, etc.) and are now having a hard time trying to have their studies acknowledged by the Romanian State, since educational systems are not compatible and the studies do not automatically match.

Others have studied at national universities and have already joined the labor force but have already faced the limitations of a rigid, nonfunctional system (and they are trying hard to improve it).

Let me state that love for one’s country and the identifi cation of the personal mission is not always a monopoly of those who are highly educated. Many of those who dedicate some of their time to a noble cause have only graduated from high-school or even less, but this does not mean at all that they are not good, for there is no competition based on qualifi cation criteria or a minimally acceptable level of learning.

In order to be included in this trend of the “new revolutionaries of 1848” they must be people of good will, who wish to do something useful for their country and who are not ashamed to be called Roma nians, just like their ancestors. It is also impor-tant that they should not fear some of their co-nationals, who could refer to them as “being ridi cu-lous”, since they obviously move against the tide.

It is almost sure that such a person would never be promoted by the national media, since their discourse would be labeled as nationalist (thus unacceptable for the new trends). I am also just as sure that the spotlights will have already been shut down for such a person. The funny part is that none of those who fi t this description really want to be successful with the media.

In fact, they are the real heroes of small, but important things, which have kept us here, in this part of the world, for thousands of years.

For the mothers who educate their children in the spirit of labor, decency and love for their country, for the youngsters who unite and make families and who stoically stand against all troubles of these times (taking an active part in volunteering activities of the civil society), for those who no longer wish to leave their country (if they ever thought to do such a thing) and who are now willing to build something durable here, for those who returned from abroad and who now have the knowledge and willingness to keep the fl ame of hope for a bett er world, for all those who live abroad but have not forgott en where they came from, for all of you, members of this extended family named Romania… let me express my respect and admiration as a conational of yours.

Sergiu STANVice-president of the

Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs


It It was on March 10-12 that the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs in Romania (PMI) orga-nized the “Exchange of Good Practices with

National and Transnational Partners – In order to identify the most proper model of partnership for the integration of disabled people into the labor market” seminar in Bucharest. “This seminar prac-ti cally ends a fi rst stage of the «Regional network for the promotion and implementation of social economy concepts in order to increase the chances of social reinsertion for disabled persons» project. I say this is the end of a stage because we have already added up practical and theoretical expe ri-ences in our implementation team, the expe ri ence of the members who have joined this network, such as NGOs, lucrative organizations, or represen ta tives of the local and/or national public administrations, plus the experience of our national and transnational partners in this project. Practically, during this stage and seminar, we had the opportunity to review various models of implementation of social economy concepts, as well as to assess which of them are best applicable, given the current situation – from a social, economic perspective, as well as for a bett er cultural development – in Romania” – mentioned Mr. Sergiu Stan, Vice-President of the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs.

Actor and trainerThe really new feature of this international

seminar is the fact that the roles of the people there changed successively, in a very dynamic way. One aft er the other, we were all actors, trainers, as well as students. “For me, the most interesting part refers to the intercultural exchange for the promotion and implementation of social economy concepts – mentioned Mary Jane Bird, the representative of Reid Kerr College from Scotland. NGO representatives already have a lot of experience aft er all these years and we are now sure that your project, as well as other similar projects, will be very successful. It is just a matt er of time, until mentalities and realities change in the fi eld of disabled persons’ reinsertion.”

„Every road starts with a fi rst step”

This is what Felix Gilfedder (Reid Kerr College) told me. “Any road, no matt er how long, starts with a fi rst step. This is not just a simple example of Chinese philosophy, but the reality. I can see the example in my own experience. When I fi rst

started in this direction, that of preparing disabled persons for social reinsertion, more than two decades ago, the Reid Kerr College was far from what it is now. There were a few modest looking buildings, in fact quite ugly looking and the institution was far from being able to provide the perfect location for this kind of training. But we all invested time, resources, energy, a lot of work in this project. Today, its transformation is amazing. We have a college with ultramodern locations and it keeps on developing. This college assures the training for the social reinsertion of a large number of disabled persons” – said Felix Gilfedder.

Where mentalities meet…• The Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs brought together two mentalities about subject matter

of disabled persons: the Saxon and the Romanian ones • International seminar attended by specialists from Scotland, England and Romania • How to discover the path to the social economy • A more than useful exchange of experience • Paths to the ideal model of integration and social reinsertion


„ I think we too can make miracles happen”

„I think we too can make such miracles happen, and we can help disabled persons step out of isolation. Thus, their social reinsertion will be successful and we shall bring them back to a normal life, day by day” – mentioned Professor Azota Popescu, the President of the Catharsis Association in Braşov. “I saw some very interesting examples at the seminar. They are useful and can be easily implemented in our country because there is a real wish to help this category of persons who have special needs. I am sure that the Territorial Center of Braşov, initiated within PMI’s project, will get

more than signifi cant results in this fi eld. Anyway, Catharsis and the other NGOs which are already members of your network are directly interested for us to succeed in the promotion of the protected workshops and of the social economy principles” – continued Mrs. Azota Popescu.

Face to faceThe seminar made it possible for people having

a rich, Saxon experience about social reinsertion to meet those at the beginning of the road, in Romania, face to face. PMI’s partners such as Joyce Amato and Naomi Bulliard of the Newham College for Further Education in England, Reid Kerr College of Scotland (Mary Jane Bird and

Felix Gilfedder), Mihaela Vonica (The Phoenix Post-High School Institute) and Heidi Honka (the Bethania Foundation) presented their own experience and also had am opportunity to hear the representatives of ONPHR (The National Organization of Disabled People of Romania), LNOPHCM (The National League of Organizations with Disabled Staff – Craft smen Cooperative), DGASPC (The General Department for Social Welfare and Child Protection), the H Foundation or Catharsis. It is important that viable models


for the implementation of the social economy concept developed here. Practically, this international seminar hosted by PMI was meant to validate the eff ort made by a strong group of researchers and practitioners, these latest months. They came to implement the POSDRU “Regional network for the promotion and implementation of social economy concepts in order to increase the chances of social reinsertion for disabled persons” project.

A matt er of mentality “Two aspects of this seminar are

more than relevant – concluded the president of the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs, Mr. Liviu Mandler. On one hand, we have two diff erent cultures and this is best refl ected in the approach of the educational process: for us, this process can be compared to the legend of Procrustes’s Bed: there is only one program for all disabled persons, no matt er of their diff erences. This type of education is meant bring them all to the same level, while for the British, the educational process is tailored for every single individual, depending on their precise needs. Yes, they do take them into consideration. Now, it is hard for us to reach a similar level. It is a matt er of cultural diff erences. On the other hand – this is

also a matt er of mentality – it refers to the way in which the community looks at disabled persons. In England and Scotland, this kind of persons is viewed in the most natural way and social insertion is performed without special eff orts or trauma. In our case, both the community as a whole and the disabled persons themselves tend towards isolation and self-isolation, respectively. Practically, I am now even more convinced that, by developing this kind of projects, we shall have to make strong eff orts to change the mentality of both categories.”

Cornelius POPA


Prostate, testicular, colorectal and skin cancers aff ect a large number of men, but they can be detected in due time, by screening tests.

Men’s organism does not have estrogen, which makes them more prone to suff ering from cardiovascular diseases, as well as from various types of cancer. Screening tests help men discover various types of cancer and thus, they have the chance of an effi cient treatment.

“Screening tests are meant to discover serious diseases at an early stage. Thus, the patient has more chances to fully recover or to be treated effi ciently, with less money”, explains Remus Lupu, a family doctor.

Disease that can be discovered before they show the symptoms

Prostate cancer is one of the most common diseases for men. Screening tests can discover this type of cancer even before the onset of the symptoms, which means that the treatment will be more eff ective. Men should make tests for this disease as soon as they reach 40 years.

“Prostate cancer has a high incidence aft er 45. Aft er 60 years, the risk is even higher”, says Dr. Remus Lupu.

In order to diagnose prostate cancer, two blood tests are available (the PSA, a prostate-specifi c antigen, and the Free PSA). If values are modifi ed, it is recommended to go to an urologist, for a check. Testicular problems may be discovered, fi rst of all, by palpation.

Should there be changes in size of the testicles,

you’d bett er go to a doctor, since this type of cancer may appear at any age. For starters, image tests should be performed (testicular echography) and, if the results are suspect, biopsy may be used.

Surveys show that men are more prone than women to have colorectal cancer, and it may happen as early as one reaches 40 years of age.

For colon cancer, the recommended screening includes sygmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. Sygmoidoscopy is a short colonoscopic examination, which may last 20 minutes and is limited to one third of the colon. Doctors use this procedure in order to fi nd causes of abdominal pain or constipation, as well as to look for early signs of colon or rectal cancer.

Colonoscopy entails the use of an instrument which is inserted into the colon and the gut is thus seen from inside.

Double risk of skin cancer for men

The most dangerous type of skin cancer is the melanoma, and men are twice as exposed to having this disease than women.

“Skin cancer may appear at any age, in any part of the body that’s exposed to the sun. This is why persons who have moles with unequal, accentuated edges and diff erent colors, should go to a dermatologist in order to assess the risk of skin cancer”, recommends Dr. Remus Lupu.

Ramona Dragomir

The guide of anticancer tests for men

We received at P.M.I.The Association for the Support of Physically Disabled Children – Romania

To the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs Att . President Liviu Mandler

Dear Sir,

Thank you for having sent us the magazine, as well as for your eff orts to make a bett er life for those who suff er.

Aft er 20 years of activity in this fi eld, we can say that it is a very complex process, a permanent fi ght against indiff erence and old, improper mentalities.

For a clearer image of reality, as seen by

disabled children, youngsters and their families, here is a survey made by our association in 2010, about their level of social inclusion.

We wish you lots of success in your activity, as well as best of luck!

Lică Ion,Executive Director


Dear friends, collaborators and readers,

It is my task to tell you that the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs will open six centers of counseling and information, aft er June 1, 2011, – three centers for disabled persons and three centers for people diagnosed with cancer.

The centers for disabled persons will be open in:Bucharest: 150 Dobrogeanu Gherea St., fourth fl oor, apt. 8 Contact person (Center coordinator): Mrs. Irina Cioroba, tel: 0725.67.65.10Braşov: 23 Mihail Kogălniceanu, block C7 PI, ground fl oorContact person (Center coordinator): Mr. Cornelius Popa, tel: 0744.50.24.59Constanţa: 12 George Enescu St. Contact person (Center coordinator): Dr. Iolanda Dinu, tel: 0722.54.89.85

The centers for persons diagnosed as having cancer will be open in:Bucharest: 150 Dobrogeanu Gherea St., fi ft h fl oor, apt. 10Contact person (Center coordinator): Mr. Ionuţ Gherasim, tel: 0745.07.67.91Cluj: 28 Tipografi ei St., ground fl oor, apt. 2Contact person (Center coordinator): Mrs. Mihaela Vonica, tel: 0721.22.55.85Iaşi: 42 – 44 Tudor Vladimirescu St., second fl oorContact person (Center coordinator): Mr. Virgil Kovaci, tel: 0751.65.77.10

All six centers will be open by June 1, 10:00h to 19:00h, Monday to Friday. The centers are closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Our centers are available for free psychological counseling, for social welfare counseling and for legal counseling.

I would like to mention that the network of centers for disabled persons was founded due to the “Regional network for the promotion and implementation of social economy concepts in order to increase the chances of social reinsertion for disabled persons”. I would also like to mention that the network of centers for people who were diagnosed with cancer and their families was founded due to the “Multiregional network for integrative therapy, counseling and social reintegration of persons who were diagnosed with cancer”.

I am using this opportunity to thank the POSDRU Management Authority and the Labor Ministry for having helped us open these centers which are so needed by the patients. They are unwillingly vulnerable and life was not easy to them. Should you know such persons and in case they need free of charge assistance, do not hesitate to tell us.

The teams at our centers will be waiting with an open heart, warmth and understanding.

Liviu MandlerPresident of the Integrative Medicine Entrepreneurs

Important Announcement!


Father Petru Dugulescu, a man who cared…

I had the honor and great pleasure of having a real friend and of knowing a valuable human being, in Washington, in 2005, at a meeting of an

association we were both part of. This gentleman, who is no longer with us, dedicated his whole life to the people in general and especially to vulnerable persons. He was a real Ambassador of Romania in the United States of America. There, he went to every larger town and state in order to discuss with the Romanian Diaspora. He was very famous in the Romanian Diaspora, as well in the American Congress. He never stopped praising Romania and constantly tried to do good things for his country.

Unfortunately, this precious person, both for the country and for the people, passed away on January 3, 2008. Nevertheless, he is alive and will always be alive in my soul.

Due to the Foundation that he created in Timişoara, “Jesus saves Romania“, Petru was able to do extraordinary things, such as to build a shelter for abandoned children and a canteen for the old. He always helped whomever he could help, with the few funds he obtained by going all over America. He felt a deep need to aid the needy, those who were far from their families.

Petru Dugulescu was and will always be an example for us all.

Petru Dugulescu also published a number of books, such as “The Dawn of a Millennium” (2005); it is from this book that I shall quote a poem dedicated to formerly abandoned children who now live at the “Onesimus’s Brothers“ Children Shelter from Timişoara (the orphanage was founded by Petru), as well as to all abandoned children in Romania. The name of “Onesimus” was taken from the New Testament, from Saint Paul’s Epistle to Philemon. He was a child of the street in Rome, and, due to Saint Paul, he was able to feel Jesus Christ’s love. The word “Onesimus” means “useful”.

„The child in the sewerage is an intruder, Born with no rights,A soulless mother brought him to life, But neither love, nor her breast was given to him.

She left him there, in the hospital, Just one day laterCarried away to the Seven Seas. But he, taken from place to place, had grown.

It was the bread of sadness that he ate, In homes of suff ering and tears. Forcedly showered with a hoseHe felt merciless discipline there.

In childhood, his dream was to be free, When drawing boats on paper,He left , a future to make for himself: An old child: no childhood for him!

I see him through the night, very thin,Never leaving his deadly bag of inhaling drug,Sick of being hungry and shivering,Keeping his few eff ects in a sack.

Crawling from one place to another,In cold trains and waiting rooms,They cynically called him a “bushman” -A new species, it seems...

The next step from the street is prison. For he will surely take a life for bread,Since he, unlike other children, Never saw a parent, planning for his tomorrow.

A family and loving parents,Is a never-ending dream to him:To have his brothers, sisters,To learn from the Holy Book, herein.

We are a Christian, sovereign state,Having joined Europe and the world,But who will ever go down into the sewerageTo see Romania’s unnamed sons???

The child in the sewerage is anonymous,There is no genealogy for him.But I found a symbolic name, „Onesimus“And I still carry in my heart his image.

This book, “The Dawn of a Millenium”, and Petru’s poems are, for me, an infi nite source of inspiration and strength to help the people who need us.

I am proud to have had the honor of being called a friend by Preacher Petru Dugulescu, from Timişoara, may God rest his soul in peace.

Liviu Mandler


The professor beat cancer due to his strong soul

For about half a century, he grasped back from the border between life and death a few thousands of people who were as good as dead.

Professor George Litarczec fought against the ugly black reaper with the tools of medicine. He was supported, in the terrible batt le with death, by the most modern, sophisticated devices of the artifi cial heart, the artifi cial lung, the electronic kidney, etc, which were replacing the „fl esh” for a moment. All this happened in the intensive therapy rooms, where death is always around the corner. In there, George Litarczec brought back to life certain patients whose heart stopped from beating altogether.

In fact, this great founder of a medical school actually opened the path of anesthetic implementation procedures in Romania: he helped in the creation of an intensive therapy unit (ITU). All clinics of our country include former students who specialized at ITU, as well as many doctors. Hundreds of Professor Litarzec’s „apprentices” are running intensive therapy units all over the world. George Liarczec, a very dedicated professor of medicine, was used to completely dedicating his life to saving the ill, but as a high-school appreciated student, he was urged by his father to work in a car garage and fi x engines, during the holidays.

When he decided to be a doctor specialized in anesthesia, in the intensive therapy units, he was already a legend of the Fundeni Hospital, due to the surprising image of the medicine Professor with the stethoscope hanging down his shoulders and a screwdriver, because he was also the one who always tuned in the many devices used as a substitute of human organs. This happened when somebody was alive only due to the scientifi c devices, despite the patients’ ill organisms and many diseases. But cancer, that treacherous ogre targeted the great professor of medicine from the Fundeni hospital, as well.

Aged 70, he was struck by colon cancer and it was necessary to surgically remove a part of his colon. Two days aft er this intervention, the great

professor suff ered a sudden hemorrhage and went into cardio-respiratory arrest. It was in the same room of intensive therapy that his former apprentices, nowadays teachers were fi ghting hard to bring their master back to life. Professor Litarczec suddenly felt his soul stepping out of the chest and going up to the ceiling. From there, George Litarczec’s soul was seeing what the doctors were doing to his body as they tried to save his life. His soul was now at the edge of the ceiling and shouted without words: „my doctors, give me a shot into the heart, start the cardiac massage; do as I taught you for so many years!” The Professor was seeing with the „eyes of the soul”, from up there, in the ceiling, that his former students were doing the same desperate measures as he suggested. Thus, Professor Litarczec was no longer clinically dead, his heart started to pump the blood, his lungs inhaled and his kidneys resumed their task. It was at that point that the specialist of intensive therapy-anesthetics felt his soul coming down and landing into the reanimated body, through the chest.

Aft er that, Professor Litarczec confessed: „I used to smile in disbelief whenever I heard someone mentioning their clinical death experiences. As a scientist, I did not believe in their stories about the tunnel of light they glided into, the rise of the soul to the ceiling and the return to the reanimated body. I was fi ghting to save their lives with the means of science, but, aft er having felt the same rise of the soul by myself and I saw my own body from above, I believe in this touching experience”.

Aft er he won the batt le with cancer, Professor George Litarczec continued to teach at the university, to treat patients and to write medicine tractates. Even now, when he is 85, due to the fact that he worked at full load all his life and never slowed down, aft er growing old and aft er having had the satisfaction of healing patients and teaching medicine to his students, aft er the diffi cult cancer surgery, all these gave him the strength to get over the threat of cancer.

Florin Condurăţeanu

Destinies

The Spirit of a Fighter

Pascal Bercovici spent his childhood and teenage in France. He was a high-performance sportsman, a gymnast, having become the

champion of her native region, Picardy. But, when she was just 17, she fell victim to an accident that could have depressed her for the rest of her life. Nevertheless, her sports activity educated her to be competitive and made her want to win. She was

on the platform of the Angers railway station when the air fl ow created by a train pushed her under the wheels, on the track, and she lost both her legs above the hips. Soon aft er, she emigrated to Israel, where she was accepted into the national team to take part in the Paralympic Games. Pascal Bercovici will compete once again, even without legs, but she will reach the medals due to her strong, iron will. (A.B.)


Infantile paralysis, a serious disability for any active person, never stopped Franklin Delano Roosevelt to be elected as President of the United

States of America four times. This is a unique case in the political history of the country. He led the USA at very diffi cult times. He fi rst became President in 1932, during the full economic crisis and due to the interventionist policy of the state, also known as the New Deal, he was able to take the country out of the crisis and organized huge projects of infrastructure meant to provide jobs for the millions of unemployed people (some say that he was inspired by the measures previously taken by Adolf Hitler in Germany, who also initiated such projects, but their purposes were diff erent: Hitler was preparing for war and he needed strategic roads). This great personality faced his second challenge in 1921. He was 39 and could only move around in a wheelchair. Perhaps the greatest challenge was that posed by Hitler’s Germany and Japan. The United States were forced to join the Second World War aft er the Pearl Harbor att ack, in 1941, when most of the American Pacifi c Fleet was destroyed by Japanese planes. In fact, Roosevelt would have liked to intervene against Hitler, but the American isolationists in the Congress, who voted aft er the First World War the so-called principle of non-intervention, stopped him. He could only support Great Britain by the famous Lend Lease Agreement (by which he granted huge amounts of money for military equipment), nine months before Washington actually joined the war. This agreement later extended to the Soviet Union, France and China, the US Allies during the war.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the cousin of another American President, Theodore Roosevelt, was born in 1882, in Hyde Park, near New York. He graduated from Harvard University, as well as the Law Faculty of the Columbia University. Like his uncle, he decides to focus on a political career, but with the Democrat Party. He is elected a Senator of New York in 1910 and President Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1920, he won the nomination for Vice-President of the USA, from the Democrat Party (but the elections were won by the republicans).

As I mentioned, he contacted polio in 1921. He was very courageous in the fi ght against this handicap, and he worked hard to get back his ability to walk, especially by swimming. In 1928, he became Governor of New York. He was elected President in 1932, when the United States hosted no less than 13 millions unemployed and most of the banks were shut down. He took many measures and elaborated

programs meant to aid the poor and reform American economy. Of course, he also made many enemies, especially because of the implementation of the new taxation system which was not in favor of the rich and because the activity of the banks was now strictly checked. He was re-elected in 1936, 1940 and 1944, and won the Second World War, aft er which the USA became the strongest state in the world. Still, he had a great weakness: he was fooled by Stalin’s friendship and accepted the Soviet requests for a division of infl uence areas. He died one month before the defeat of Hitler’s Germany and four months before Japan’s capitulation. Aft er George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Roosevelt is considered the greatest of American presidents. He never allowed to be defeated by his disability and had an outstanding persistence and courage. This is how he became one of the greatest personalities of the world.

Eva Galambos

MARI PERSONALITĂŢI ALE LUMII, CU DIZABILITĂŢI

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

23

Fever, fatigue, loss of weight, blott ing, abdominal pain, as well as coughing for long periods may “betray” the existence of many

types of cancer.Because they ignore symptoms, many

Romanians are reaching the doctor aft er already having advanced forms of cancer, and this leads to a dramatic decrease of their survival chances.

„Some women do not go to be consulted by a doctor even aft er they notice non-specifi c formation in the breast, despite the fact that it is good for them to make a mammography every year aft er reaching 40, as well as a the Papanicolau test, also every year, three years aft er having started sexual life”, says Şerban Negru, a senior oncologist at the Oncohelp Clinic in Timişoara.

This is the case of a 49 year old woman from Ploieşti, who found out she had cancer aft er she was already in a serious condition.

„I was not lucky enough to be prevented by obvious signs and, when they appeared, I did not really take them into consideration. My period was late, but not that much. Still, before I was diagnosed, I felt tired. I had to get a leave from work, on medical grounds, but I thought it was job-related”, says Măria Călin, a patient who was diagnosed with an advanced uterine collum neoplasm.

1. FatigueThe most ignored symptom is fatigue, since it

is not a specifi c sigh of cancer. „Fatigue has associated with cancer for a very long time and it is usually a result of the anemia it provokes”, explains oncologist Şerban Negru.

2. Loss of weightUnexplained loss of weight, without physical

eff ort or a diet, can be a sign that the thyroid is very active.

„If you did not change your usual diet and lifestyle, but keep on losing weight, it means that, no matt er of the type, cancer is already in there”, continues Dr. Şerban Negru.

3. Persistent coughingCough may also signal the presence of cancer.

It usually appears when the patient is cold, has the

fl u or an allergy. But a prolonged cough (lasting more than a month) should not be ignored. It can be provoked by the irritation produced by a malign tumor or it may signal a pulmonary disease, which is not cancer.

4. FeverThose who have fever, but it is not provoked

by the fl u or by another infection, should go to be checked by a doctor.

In cases of cancer, fever is present especially aft er the disease has spread in the whole body, but it can also be an early sign of leukemia or lymphoma.

“Fever is quite a rare symptom and it usually signals a supra-infection that is associated to any type of cancer“, oncologists say.

5. Bloated belly and abdominal pain

Blott ing may be joined by abdominal and pelvic pain, as well as the feeling of repletion and urinary discomfort.

“Pain is frequently associated with cancer. Still, one should keep in mind that not all cancers hurt and it is possible for you to go to the doctor too late, when the disease is already in metastasis or advanced”, Dr. Şerban Negru warns about the seriousness of the situation.

6. IndigestionIf indigestion does not have a good reason to

happen, this can be a reason to alarm.„This symptom appears especially in the case

of digestive cancers and can have very diff erent manifestations: from dysphagia (one can no longer swallow) to esophagus cancer, the sensation of repletion, constipation, diarrhea and defecation with blood”, mentions the oncologist.

Ramona Dragomir

Ignored signs of cancerWe believe in your happiness!

Important addresses:Important addresses:www.paces.rowww.paces.ro

www.informatiicancer.rowww.informatiicancer.ro

Documents

PACES.ro Magazine Nr.3 - May 2011 EN