Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Dr. Viola Frymann, D.O. (1921-2016)

Dr. Frymann and Sophie, 1997




I learned today that the beloved osteopath who changed Sophie's and my family's life over twenty years ago died this week at the age of 95. All three of my children were patients of Dr. Frymann -- Sophie began treatments at ten months, when I'd fly to La Jolla for six week trips, living in a little motel by the sea. When I gave birth to both Henry and Oliver in Santa Monica, I traveled down to see Dr. Frymann when they were each less than ten days old so that she could give them a newborn treatment. She believed that treatment at birth and through infancy and childhood was of enormous benefit and freed the child from digestive issues, colic and the ailments that we've grown to expect and accept as we age (ear infections, "growing pains," back and neck pain, etc.). Over the next fifteen plus years, we made the trip down to San Diego multiple times a week and then month -- a drive that I never complained about because I knew what lay at the other end.

I credit her for setting Sophie on the path to true healing (something distinct from curing), and for ensuring the boys' vitality and ease (they were, quite simply, always jolly and rarely ill through childhood and neither ever on any antibiotic because of her treatments). I couldn't possibly describe this woman's impact on my own life and thinking. She is probably the only true healer that I will ever meet, the woman responsible for our move to California and for setting me on the path of integrative medicine and treatment. She guided me forward when I didn't know what to do. I believed Dr. Frymann when she told me about the body’s inherent ability to right itself, to heal itself, and that her work was to help the body find its optimal path. She never claimed to cure a person but to rather help that person reach his full potential. When she did speak of curing, it was in religious terms, an expression of her deep faith in Christianity and God’s power. Her work, though, was not religious, in the sense that she was a scientist who had studied and practiced osteopathic manipulation for over fifty years. If it weren't for Dr. Frymann, I have no doubt that Sophie would not be alive today nor she and her brothers in such good overall health.

She was your first ray of hope, my father emailed me this morning when I told him of her death.

Yes. She was my first ray of hope. She taught me nearly everything I know about healing and curing, about what it means to be human and whole. Her life not only affected ours but those of thousands of people around the world, and she worked and traveled and taught until her retirement at age 90, five years ago.

We will miss her and are grateful to have spent so much time, literally, under her powerful hands.

Here's an excerpt from a chapter in my book-in-progress about Dr. Frymann that gives you a small idea of her power and worth.



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Dr. Frymann believed in the inherent dignity of each child, no matter how “damaged.” She never used the word “damaged” at all, in fact. Every child is worthy and has potential. Every child can understand what is going on around him or her, able to sense the environment and whether it is positive or negative. Her beliefs resonated with me and with those who made such an effort to bring their children to her. The simplicity of those beliefs tapped into our most fervent hopes but also affirmed the things we already knew about our children.

I sat in the “quiet room” at Dr. Frymann’s office while Sophie got her treatments during my first few visits to California at the La Jolla office, flipping through old Reader’s Digests and prayer books. Sometimes, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the old chintz-covered armchair, my hands loose in my lap. I knew that outside the sun was shining and that the palm trees were swaying from the ocean breezes off of La Jolla Cove. I heard the faint sounds of piano music coming from the music therapist in the treatment room and the gentle opening and closing of the front gate. When I opened my eyes, I saw that a woman had walked into the office with a girl in her arms. The girl appeared to be made horizontally the way she lay flat on top of the mother’s bent arms. Her feet, twisted inward, stick-straight out, level with her head, a long black sheath of hair hanging down over the other bent arm. She made no sound and there was no way to tell, really, what her age might have been. I tried not to stare, smiled awkwardly, instead, and said hello to the woman. She sat down, still holding the horizontal child, murmuring to her. The girl didn’t move in her arms, lay straight like a board.


When Dr. Frymann came out with Sophie, she handed her to me and told me that she’d see us in two days. When I asked how Sophie “did,” she replied, “Fine. Her vitality is much better.” She then turned to the other mother and lifted the girl into her own bent arms. The transfer was effortless, and now it was Dr. Frymann who carefully balanced this child over her arms, walking back toward the treatment room. “You are an Indian princess, yes, aren’t you,” she crooned to the girl as she walked away.

24 comments:

  1. This has made me cry, the hot water flooding my eyes. Who can say what the value of a healer like this is?
    None of us.
    I am grateful for her presence, her hands, her healing in the the life of your children.
    It is no coincidence that you found her. None at all.

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    1. Thank you. She was truly a holy person. I'm not sad that she's died, but I am very emotional with memory.

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  2. Her whole life was dedicated to the children she treated. She touched so many lives. The world is not the same without her.

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    1. You are absolutely right, although I used to tell myself years ago that even if she died, she would have left a part of herself in each family that she touched and therefore a legacy that would be carried on forever.

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  3. Miel's cousin was treated by her, in early childhood, and I've always remembered Viola Freymann's remark to her mother: "This child needs to run free."

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    1. That sounds exactly like her. She said so many things to me over the years, nearly all of which I remember, her voice even still in my head.

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  4. Over the years, your words have made her so alive to me. What a wonderful, wonderful woman. Such a fine tribute you've given her. Her long life of service and love and attention is such an inspiration. Love to you.

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    1. Yes. And thank you -- I can only hope to describe her well!

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  5. I remember being so powerfully moved by your writing of her in your book, and the way she changed your life and Sophie's. This is a wonderful tribute to an extraordinary soul.

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  6. This is beautiful. What a wonderful wonderful woman.

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  7. I got goosebumps and tears from this post. She sounds like the biggest blessing you could have had. I wish I could know her in my life now. I'm sorry she is gone but glad you and your family had her healing touch and wisdom.

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    1. I think she WAS the biggest blessing we could ever have had -- especially during that very dark time.

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  8. Moving, inspiring and beautiful, as always, Elizabeth.

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  9. Elizabeth, this is a big event in your life. You and Sophie and your family are part of her legacy.
    Sitting in Barbara's class at UCLA was the first time I heard of Dr. Fryman. I'll never forget her. You brought her alive and the hope simply leapt off the page.

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  10. What a gorgeous tribute. A loss to us all.

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  11. Such a loving tribute. It sounds as if she was an amazing human being. Thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  12. Oh, why can't we have more of these beautiful souls in the world? A healer from birth. What would it be like if we had more souls like her?

    I actually came by but got sidetracked by your post. Curious what you think of this? I won't ever be able to know now!
    https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2016/01/28/vaginal-marijuana-for-menstrual-cramps-the-grass-isnt-always-greener/

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  13. Some people are truly special. I'm sorry for your loss. What a beautiful picture of her and Sophie!

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  14. I remember you writing about her before. There is something so amazing about people who just know who they are and why they're here. I often aspire to be that kind of person who just makes her way through life with a clear purpose and a calm, loving hand. So pleased that you and yours were touched by this fabulous person.

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  15. She sounds like she was a wonderful person from this moving eulogy. And thanks for treating us to a sneak preview of your book. With stellar writing like this excerpt, it promises to be a hit.

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  16. She sounds like an amazing person who did what she loved. A truly blessed woman.

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  17. So glad this amazing woman crossed your path.

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