Volume 46 - No. 17
April 28, 2016
by Friedrich Gomez
Though laughter and humor seem the exact opposites of tragedy these opposing elements in human life can miraculously work together to offset the negative. Currently, the science of medicine is studying the hidden miraculous healing power of laughter even in the most unlikeliest of events. Dr. Robert R. Provine, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland and author of “Laughter: A Scientific Investigation,” agrees strongly with the world’s scientific community that this unknown factor needs to be rediscovered: “The definitive research into the potential health benefits of laughter just hasn’t been done yet.” And San Diego’s own brilliant young Sophia Brock, a prestigious UCSD orthotech/medical practitioner (already featured on the cover of The Paper on April 7, 2016), is a powerful pioneering force behind this phenomenal worldwide study. Recent shocking discoveries that have stunned global scientists are that laughter actually releases a body chemical known as ‘endorphin’ which, among other things, actually boosts the human immune system!
It happened on March 30, 1981 when the world witnessed the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, only 68 days into his presidency. While departing a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr. Reagan was shot in the chest just under the left underarm. He had suffered a punctured lung resulting in heavy internal bleeding. At George Washington University Hospital medical personnel scrambled to stabilize the president. The president’s blood pressure was at a dangerous level of 60 versus the normal 140, indicating that he was in a state of shock. According to medical experts at the scene most 70year-olds in the president’s condition would not be expected to survive. Despite this dismal situation and even though in a state of shock, the president revealed an astonishing perseverance of humor to pull him through. This powerful will-to-live predicated on humor is still an “uncharted” area of medicine that can be the determining factor in a lifeor-death situation. When wife Nancy Reagan arrived in the emergency room President Reagan remarked to her, “Honey, I forgot to duck,” borrowing a humorous line from heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey to his wife after losing to Gene Tunney. The tenacity of President Reagan to hold onto humor when he was intubated (tube inserted into his body) greatly surprised those attending him. Though still in a state of shock and in great pain, the president refused to refrain from humor. There was no stopping him. At one point the president even scribbled a note to a nurse, “All in all, I’d rather be in Philadelphia,” borrowing another comedic line, this time from W. C. Fields. A pattern was developing
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which clearly revealed that President Ronald Reagan wished to hold fast to his humor in the face of death. Reagan’s heroic persistence at cracking jokes was his planned attack against impending doom, and he knew what he was doing. Dr. Benjamin L. Aaron, chief of thoracic surgery knew the life-strengthening benefit of humor during a crisis and was well aware of its miraculous healing and strengthening powers. Dr. Aaron decided to perform a thoracotomy (placing an incision into the president’s chest) lasting 105 minutes because the bleeding had not been successfully stopped. Reagan would lose over half of his blood volume in the emergency room and during surgery. Reagan had already made several attempts at humor prior to his surgery which shocked the attending physicians, but he was not yet done. What followed
next was extremely unusual and admirable. In the operating room President Ronald Reagan actually halted the initial life-saving surgery by removing his oxygen mask from his face while lying flat on the operating table insisting on cracking another joke. The unexpected and bizarre act of Reagan physically removing his own oxygen mask from his face was something he felt compelled to do, just so that he could unleash yet another comedic volley, “I hope you are all Republicans.” This last valiant attempt to resort to humor surprised and greatly impressed the medical staff. The doctors and nurses all laughed raucously loud. Dr. Giordano, a selfproclaimed Democrat, replied, “Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans.” Such events as cited above have captured
world headlines in regards to the power of humor in a life-threatening crisis. Talking to the print media last week, Sophia Brock refers to such scenarios as “humor therapy” and “alternative therapy,” which can be the deciding factor between life and death as in the case with President Ronald Reagan. As impossible as it may seem, laughter has now been discovered to protect the human heart by improving the function of blood vessels and increasing blood flow which can protect against a heart attack and other related cardiovascular problems even to the point of releasing infection-fighting antibodies – all the critical elements which came into play with President Ronald Reagan’s surgery and eventual recovery – when he was initially not even expected to survive --
‘Humor Facing Disaster’ Continued on Page 2