Dr. Natalia’s Inspiring Journey into Massage Therapy and Disability Care
Mark believed that if God spoke, He would also provide for him. When God told him to begin a massage therapy clinic for children with disabilities, he trusted that God would bring people already prepared to work alongside him.
For three months, Dr. Natalia provided specialized massage therapy focused on Mark’s left side, which had been affected by a childhood head injury. In addition to this therapy, she developed an exercise program to strengthen the muscles that were being relaxed during the sessions. However, her approach went beyond standard rehabilitation techniques. Normally the brain initiates a signal to the specific body parts. Dr. Natalia understood that massage initiates a signal to the brain from specific body parts. This signal would seek a receptor in the brain that was compatable with the body part that initiated the signal.
One day, while Mark was washing his clothes by hand, he noticed that his left hand was starting to move independently from his right hand. This discovery amazed him.
Mark felt a divine message guiding him on his way to his next massage therapy appointment. He arrived at Dr. Natalia’s office with a smile, eager to share his new experience, which he attributed to her treatments. She was pleased but not entirely surprised.
When Mark shared that he felt inspired to start a massage therapy clinic for children with disabilities, Dr. Natalia replied joyfully, “I have been praying about this for three years. Yes, I want to do it! However, if I take this on, I will need to stop your massage therapy treatments.” Smiling, Mark assured her that he completely understood.
Dr. Natalia and Mark met with Ira to translate our conversation. Dr. Natalia agreed to provide two hours of massage treatments each day at half the regular adult payment rate. She also agreed to explore a location and other business concepts that Mark didn’t fully understand.
Within a week, she requested a meeting at hes apartment with five mothers of children with disabilities. The mothers had several questions. Ira and Dr. Natalia answered most of them. Time would answer the remaining questions.
Dr. Natalia met with the Head Doctor of Illichevsk, now renamed Chornomorsk. He expressed surprise that an American had come to Ukraine to help children with disabilities. He felt embarrassed that the medical community in his city, as well as most of Ukraine, was not offering rehabilitative treatment for these children. He informed Dr. Natalia that MUCH could use a room in the polyclinic, free of charge, for massage therapy rehab work as long as he was the Head Doctor. However, the responsibility and cost of remodeling the room would be MUCH’s responsibility.
Part 3 is coming soon …
