Meet Craig Oster: A Real Pain

Craig Oster is a real pain in the ass. He won’t even try to pay attention to the very real problems in life.

I mean, for god’s sake, I need new tires on my car, I haven’t heard from a guy I like for over a week, and I just ripped a hole in my favorite jacket.

Does Craig care? Hell no. That guy is so damned focused on breathing he won’t even give serious concerns like mine the time of day.

Selfish, mm?

On top of that, he continues to shove things like this at us on his Facebook page and blog:

“My awareness is expanding so rapidly. I am beginning to teach people around me about the power of choosing the lifestyle of guiding their life by literally being vigilant moment by moment, continually inquiring into whether or not they are optimally in harmonious connection with themselves and their environment, and whether they are positively facing and resolving conflicts between competing needs, based upon their level of awareness at the time.”

Well guess what, Craig, maybe I am expanding too, except it’s around my waist now that I’ve hit my sixties and it’s none too pretty.

Ok, I get it. The guy has ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. He should have been dead years ago but he’s still here, pestering us with stories like this one about what his life was like before he got something that allowed him to speak again:

“I had a serious fall and unfortunately, I was unable to effectively provide the paramedics with all of the information they requested. Then, when I was placed in my emergency hospital room—with a broken nose, fractured cheekbone and a bloody gash near my eye—I was unable to get the attention of medical personnel who were walking by my room. They could not hear me. Because of the way I was tied down on the stretcher, I was unable to move my head. I was afraid I would begin gagging on my own blood. Fortunately, someone came before a problem arose but if I had had the Speech Enhancer I could have been heard, instead of lying there helplessly!”

All right, I’ll admit that sounds pretty awful, but dude, you can’t imagine the headache I had last week. It must have lasted for eight hours. Let’s see how you’d handle that!

Another irritating thing about Craig is that he works out two and a half hours in rehab three times a week. Held by a harness because he can’t stand up, he can’t wait to tell the world how he feels afterward:

“I exercise on a treadmill until my heart is racing and there’s a puddle of sweat underneath me. I feel joy and bliss lifting weights…in these peak experiences I flash back to exhilarating, body feeling moments I had as an athlete prior to ALS.”

I know what you’re thinking, Craigster. Yes, I can walk two miles today if I want to, work on my gut, maybe, but hey, I’m a busy person. In fact, I’m in quite a pickle with a neighbor who keeps her TV too loud and I need to discuss it with some friends over coffee. (Talk about “exhilarating”)

Anyway, back to Mr. Oster and his so-called dilemmas. Check this out. Once, when he was not able to breathe on his own any more, the good folks and medical personnel that help when the end is near set up shop in his home.

“In one world I was dying, in the other I had hope of healing. I was determined to do everything in my power to heal,” he wrote later on his blog.

I don’t mean to be critical here, but Craig was tossed out of the hospice program. (He failed to do what was expected of him, so yep, they booted his butt out.)

Doctors say they don’t have the answer to Craig’s incredible resurrection. Dr. Jay Sandweiss a D.O. and neuro-musculoskeletal medicine specialist can only say this much:

“Craig tries to heal on every level, his spirit, his soul, his body, his chemistry, his cells. He sees the big picture and tries to heal all of it and I think that’s why he’s doing so well.”

(Note to self: Get in to see Dr. Jay to find out why my muscles ache a lot after I garden for several hours.)

“He has to do a lot just to get through every day. He puts so much focus and commitment into staying alive. He holds on to every minute of life. We all say in clichés, ‘live every minute as if it’s your last’ but most of us don’t. Craig does,” Sandweiss continued.

Craig learned he had ALS in 1994:

“At the time of the diagnosis I was in the final two years of a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology at Michigan State University. It was difficult for me to imagine a life in which I was not doing psychotherapy. So, even though the diagnosing physicians at The University of Michigan hospital said that I may not live much longer than two years, I moved forward toward completion of my doctorate degree while working on my health and healing at the same time. In January of 1997, with enthusiasm and excitement, I opened a psychotherapy private practice.”

As The Church Lady would say, “Well, isn’t that special?” He could have relaxed and rested but no, he just had to keep going.

Kind of a show-off, isn’t he?

Recently he wrote, “My next 4 decades will be dedicated to playfully/joyfully/gratefully/prosperously/ with an open heart using everything I have learned to help millions. Will you help me live my dream by inviting all your friends to join my Facebook group?”

Ok, the ball’s in your court, readers. If you really want to invite this kind of personality into your daily life, with all the other troubles you have to contend with, be my guest. Search him on Facebook. He’s there, trust me!

“I am hungry to inspire millions and I truly want to communicate in a way that is helpful. If I seem like I am bragging, my heart is always on the vision of overcoming, inspiring, & helping. The Dr. Craig mission is about inspiring greater health & happiness, not about me being special. Love, Craig”

You decide, folks. Is this guy living in total delusion or just out to convince us how beautiful our frustrating lives can really be? Man oh man, who needs it?

Well, if you think you do, check him out here:

http://www.healingwithdrcraig.com

or see part one of a film he made about his life, with award-winning documentary artist Scott Allman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPrD9Rir8Qk

Here he goes again, from a posting last week:

“I look forward to celebrating healing with all of you, for many years to come. It’s going to be awesome. I love you because I know that love is your true nature as well.”

Ok, the end of joking around here. Craig needs help and you can help even if you can’t make it to the event listed below.

*Items to auction are needed
*Send in a donation
*Join his Facebook page to learn more about ongoing support

It all goes to the care he needs because, as we can clearly see, this guy ain’t goin’ nowhere anytime soon.

5th Annual Music Extravaganza Fundraiser!
Saturday, October 23rd, 4-10pm

http://www.perspective2studio.com/happenings/default.aspx#craig

Come celebrate his remarkable life with an evening of amazing music, friends, tasty food, beverages and a great silent auction!

Freddie Cunningham and the Root Doctor Band
Matt Bliton’s “Everloving Mind” band.
Jimmy G. and the Capitals
Virginia Lyric’Lee Anderson
DJ Dale Lamb of Hot Traxx Entertainment will MC