David had used essential oils before, but was not super
familiar with them. He felt like they worked for many
things, but had not had many experiences with them. So
when his 10 year old boy, Ryan went to bed early… saying he
was not feeling well, he started going over in his mind what
he could do to help his son. His wife was out of town
for the weekend. He went into his boys room and felt
Ryan’s forehead… it felt very warm. His hand moved
from his head to his neck and chest. Yes, very warm.
David went to his hallway pantry and pulled a box from a
shelf. After digging for a while he found the
children’s Motrin and a thermometer.. He slid both
into his pocket and walked back to Ryan’s room. He put
the thermometer in Ryan������������s ear, and pulled the trigger for a
reading… 101.6. He tried to remember what the
temperature his wife said they need to worry about. He
thought she had said 102 and lower, you want the fever
because it is the body’s defense against infection.
He kneeled by the side of his Ryan’s bed and held his
hand. He explained that fevers are good and that his
body was fighting something off. Then he told a story
about when he and his friends were young and spent a weekend
building a club house. As he finished the story, Ryan
was asleep. His breathing was heavy and he still felt warm.
He walked back to his bedroom and looked at the box of
essential oils sitting on the dresser. He opened the
box feeling overwhelmed with all the different bottles.
He tried to remember what oils he had heard was good for
fevers. He took the bottles from the box one at a
time, and when he got to peppermint, a light went off.
“Peppermint… it’s good for fevers!” He also grabbed a
bottle of Lavender and put both in his pocket.
About an hour later he went into his Ryan’s room to
check him again. He had turned onto his side and was
clutching his comforter up around his neck like he was cold.
He touched his neck. “wow���� He seemed much
hotter. He felt his neck and chest again. He
felt very hot. He held the thermometer to his ear and
took another reading. 103.5.
Thoughts raced through his head. Should I take him
to the hospital? Should I call my wife? He
reached in his pocket and pulled out three bottles.
One Motrin, and his two bottles of essential oils. He
starred at his hand for a minute, and then began to open the
bottle of peppermint. He put about three drops on his
hand, and then rubbed Ryan's foot with the oils. He put
some more Peppermint in his hand, and did the same to the
other foot. He looked at the Lavender and shrugged,
remembering… “It won’t hurt him.” He put about 4 drops
on his chest and rubbed his chest with the Lavender.
He put the oils back in his pocket and went to the hall
bathroom. He filled the sink with a small amount of
cool water and put a washcloth in the water, and then he
dropped about 5 drops of the peppermint into to the water.
He rung the washcloth out several times to make sure the
peppermint and water were well mixed and saturated the
cloth, and then he took the cloth back to Ryan.
He carefully folded the cloth and laid it on his boys head,
making sure it was not near his eyes or dripping. He
then took the thermometer and took his temperature again.
103.8!
It had gone up! David wondered for a minute if he
had picked the right oil. He thought as hard as he
could, trying to remember if he was doing it right. He
looked at the clock. 9:45. He felt hesitant to call
his wife or her friend who he knew would know how to use the
oils.
It had only been about 10 minutes, but he was sure
someone in a meeting had once talked about frequency…
applying the oils often till there was a reduction. He
opened the peppermint again, and applied a few drops to each
foot. Then he put a few drops in his hand, rubbed his
hands together and rubbed his hands on Ryan’s chest.
Worried, the oil might be to strong on his chest, he ran
back to the room and got some coconut oil, and put a few
drops in his hand and rubbed it over his chest. As he
did, his boy still felt hot.
For the next hour, David would apply a couple drops to
Ryan’s feet every 10 – 15 minutes. He also refreshed
the wash cloth with the peppermint water, then would wipe
his boy’s neck and shoulders with the cloth before folding
it and leaving it over his forehead or neck.
After a bit over hour, he took his temperature again…
100.3
David let a relaxing sigh. He said a quick prayer
of thanks, and walked back towards his room. On the
way, he pulled the bottle of Motrin from his pocket, and
dropped the bottle into the hallway garbage.
David woke up once more during the night to check on
Ryan. He wasn’t near as warm, but he still put a few
drops of his new favorite oil on his feet and also put a
couple more drops of Lavender on his chest.
After that, the next thing he knew, it was morning and
he could hear Ryan downstairs with the television on.
What a great day, he thought.
