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DR. GARY SY: "BEAUTY BEYOND SENIOR YEARS"
In these fast paced times we live in, the fine arts of listening and explaining are slowly going the way of the dinosaur. Sadly, this is a trend that is also happening in the medical profession, wherein doctors – unable to cope with the deluge of patients to their clinics – are forced to limit each consultation with brief questions on the patient's current complaint, a quick examination, and jotting down a lab request or a prescription. They don't have time to listen in-depth to their patient's complaints nor do they explain what their illnesses are doing to their bodies. This is a situation that Dr. Gary S. Sy knows all too well.
Birth of an Advocacy
As Dr. Sy admits, "In my early years of practice as a general physician and sports medicine doctor, I wanted to accommodate all the patients who come for check-up. But to be able to do this, I was forced to limit the time I spend for each patient, so I only concentrated on the complaints the patients are consulting me about. Most of the time, I didn't give the patients any further explanations as to what their diseases were doing to their bodies or the effects of the medicines that I prescribed to them. It's a procedure that most of my colleagues followed."
All this changed in August, 1997 when Dr. Sy was involved in a vehicular accident on the South Super Highway. A ten-wheeler truck slammed into his car, sending it flying across the road. The force of the impact caused Dr. Sy to slam forward with brutal force on the steering wheel, resulting in cervical whiplash and injury to his left shoulder.
In the months that followed, Dr. Sy wore a neck collar and suffered excruciating pain in his neck, back and shoulder. But nothing could describe the pain and disappointment he felt when his sufferings where brushed off by the doctors he consulted with.
"It really troubled me," confesses Dr. Sy. "There I was experiencing terrible pain, and yet these doctors seemed to think that I was overreacting. I would try to explain to them how I feel, but they would just slap me with one prescription for pain killers after another. Worse, none of these drugs worked."
Bitter realization came when Dr. Sy consulted with another doctor who would provide physical rehabilitation. "I was there very early because his clinic hours begin at 8 am. Also waiting was a stroke patient in a wheelchair. The doctor arrived at 11 am, and he did not even begin consultations at once. We had to wait for another thirty minutes. Being the first to arrive, the stroke patient was wheeled in, to come out only five minutes later. Although it was difficult for him to speak because of facial weakness, you could hear him cursing the doctor, saying that he waited for three hours and yet the doctor did not even bother to give any explanations about his condition or the medications he was taking."
Another eye-opener for the good doctor was those weeks in physical therapy. "Most of the patients undergoing therapy were Senior Citizens, and I would often listen in to their conversations. Aside from talking about their family and personal lives, they would discuss the qualities they like and don't like in their current doctors. Others would recommend the services of their own physicians. I was so touched by their stories and, having personally experienced what they are going through with their doctors, I prayed to God that if He would give me another chance, I would no longer be the doctor I once was and devote my medical practice henceforth to helping the elderly."
That opportunity came in January 1998. "I received a call from a family friend who is also a doctor, asking me if I would be interested in becoming a medical director for a company specializing in natural supplements. I refused at first, but then he told me that they would wait until I got better. In the meantime, they would send me literature about the product. When I saw that the supplement was effective for pain and muscle spasm, I tried it out and, by April 1998, I was completely healed. I did not take any other medications; just that supplement. To think that, back then, I was a non-believer in supplements, so I was amazed by its effectiveness in treating my aches and pains. Since then, I became a firm believer in supplements as a safe and effective complementary treatment. To fulfill the promise I made to the Lord, I established the Life Extension Medical Center in October 1998. But I felt that I was still not knowledgeable enough to handle geriatric cases, and I also wanted to learn more about natural supplements that could be helpful to the elderly. So, in 1999, I went to Romania and later to the Philippine College of Gerontology and Geriatrics to study Geriatric Medicine. Needless to say, by then, I was very ready to offer my services to my elderly patients."
Life Extension Medical Center
Life Extension Medical Center holds the distinction of being the first and only private medical center to offer free medical consultations and a wide range of medical services to the general public, with special focus on the health concerns of the elderly. But what is special about the center is that Dr. Sy personally sees to the welfare of each and every patient that goes there for consultation.
"The Lolos and Lolas who consult with the center suffer from common medical conditions that afflict the elderly, such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and stroke," explains Dr. Sy. "Obviously, they are already taking a lot of medications. I believe that if a patient is 70 years old, his vital organs are also 70 years old. Giving some drugs might be beneficial, but we should consider the possible side effects on a patient who's 70 years old. In my Geriatric Medicine practice, my principle is simple – The lesser a patient's drug intake, the better."
In order to minimize the popping of pain-killer pills among the elderly suffering from degenerative diseases like arthritis and rheumatism, Dr. Sy studied all possible treatment modalities that can be safely recommended to his patients. One very effective treatment for patients suffering from severe pain is Diathermy. It is the use of high electrical current to produce heat. It refers to a method of delivering core warming to deep body tissues for therapeutic purposes that effectively warm from within rather than from outside. Heat increases blood flow and makes the connective tissues more flexible. It lessens joint stiffness, pain, and muscle spasms. Diathermy is used to treat various forms of arthritis, frozen shoulder, back pains, muscle spasm, injuries such as sprains and strains.
"Since I strongly advocate preventive medicine, I would very much prefer to treat them in a natural way, including advising them to make the switch to a healthy lifestyle through dietary modification, the taking of vitamins and natural supplements, exercise, and giving up bad habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol. Behavioral modification is also important among the elderly…Bawal mainitin ang ulo ng gurangski ... Bawal masungit!!!" says Dr. Sy with a smile.
But it is not only diseases related to aging that Senior Citizens are afflicted with. Dr. Sy notes, "A good number of the elderly are lonely and depressed. They feel that they are being neglected by their children and their families. That is why I go out of my way to entertain them with stories and jokes. I don't treat them as patients. I consider them as my own Lolos and Lolas."
In order to better address the health needs of the elderly, Dr. Sy provides monthly lectures at Life Extension Medical Center. Not only that, he has several radio programs, the most notable of which are "Gabay sa Kalusugan" every Sunday on DZMM from 10 to 11 am and "Lunas" on DZRH every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. He also authored two medical books "Gabay sa Kalusugan" Volumes 1 and 2, which are available in Mercury Drugstore, and is a medical columnist for several broadsheets.
Not surprisingly, Dr. Sy has received numerous awards for his pioneering work with the elderly, including the Outstanding Young Gerontologist of the Philippines from the Kapatiran Awards in 2000 and the Humanitarian Award from the Philippine United Senior Citizen Association (PUSCA) for 2000-2001. He is also a four-time recipient of the Outstanding Young Professional Awardee in Medicine and Allied Sciences from the Parangal ng Bayan Awards. For his work in media, Dr. Sy bagged the 2005 Catholic Mass Media Award (CMMA) in Best Educational Radio Program and the 2006 KBP Golden Dove Award in Best Public Service Program on television. His Life Extension Medical Center was awarded the Most Outstanding Geriatric Treatment Center by the Parangal ng Bayan Foundation's The Who's Who in the Philippines Awards in September 2001.
Beauty and the Elderly Do Mix
With all the many accolades he has received, one would think that Dr. Sy would be content to sit on his laurels. But, no. He continues to observe and study the behaviors and attitudes of his elderly patients. For the past eleven years that he has been helping Senior Citizens with their health problems, he has made an enlightening discovery about the elderly.
"I have observed this among my patients," confides Dr. Sy. "After I have treated all their aches and pains, they would then whisper in my ear, 'Doc, is there anything you can do for my wrinkles?' or 'Doc, I have these ugly eye bags. Can you remove them?' I realized then that even our Senior Citizens desire to be beautiful again. But, I'm not talking about regaining their youthful beauty, since we know that that's impossible even with all the advanced cosmetic procedures we have out there. What they want is to lessen the ravages of aging upon their physical appearance."
Suffice to say, it is a demand that needs to be met. Aside from medical services, Life Extension Medical Center now offers Health and Beauty Services, which includes the most popular Basic Facial Treatments, Acne/Pimple Treatment, and Deep Cleansing Facials. They also offer highly specialized beauty treatments that you used to find only in posh cosmetic clinics, such as diamond peel, non-surgical facelift and eye bag reduction treatment, facial warts removal, Sclerotherapy, I.V. Glutathione Therapy, Radio Frequency treatments, and Cellutrim Mechanical Massage. And these services are being given at very affordable prices that are easy on the pockets of Lolo and Lola.
According to Dr. Sy, "In all my years of medical practice I have come to understand the needs of our Senior Citizens. While we know them as to commonly complain about high blood and arthritic pains, they have this unspoken desire to be beautiful again. Sadly, this desire has to come second to whatever aches and pains afflict them. But once these pains are gone, I see no reason why they should not be able to avail of the beauty treatments that would enable them to be physically attractive again. Just like everyone else, even Lolo and Lola have the right to be beautiful."
(Do you want to know more about Dr. Gary S. Sy and his Life Extension Medical Center? You can make inquiries at Life Extension Medical Center, The Garden Plaza Hotel, Unit E, 1370 Gen. Luna St., Paco, Metro Manila, with Tel. Nos. 400-4205 and 522-4835 Loc. 315. You can also check out Dr. Sy's website at http://www.drgarysy.com)
I called up today your number above but the operator told me that your clinic is no longer there at Paco, Manila. May I know where you transferred and contact numbers where I could make an appointment. Thank you very much.
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