Sada's off all meds and still hasn't had any pain since the first 12 hours. No, luck has nothing to do with it. Four years of medical school did help a bit. Ready for the great reveal - what does Dr. Daddy have in his magic little black bag?

1. Arnica 200C - the number one homeopathic for any kind of trauma or bruising, both of which occur in surgery. The anesthesiologist got a 30-second explanation of what homeopathics are and said, "It's not going to hurt, so may as well give it to her." Jeff promptly popped 3 little sugar pellets into Sada's mouth as they were wheeling her away to the operating room. She also got another 3 pellets every 2-3 hours (unless asleep) for the rest of her hospital stay. And she never did get black and blue on her neck like they all expected. Of course, that could also be because of...

2. Magnets - medicinal magnets help lower inflammation, which reduces pain, and also help with spasms or cramps. Amber got through having all her wisdom teeth out without any pain-killers, including aspirin or ibuprofen, by keeping north-field magnets against her cheeks for two days. And just to prove it wasn't a fluke, a few other cousins pulled off the same trick. We have a little pouch with 5 magnets sewn into it, and keeping that on Sada's neck right over the incisions stopped most discomfort. Every time she said her neck was sore we'd check the placement and each time the magnets had slipped down too low.

3. High Anti-Oxidants - Anytime the body is under stress, free radicals (unfulfilled oxygen molecules) start stealing electrons away from other healthy cells. Your 2 year-old has a toy that the 3 year-old wants. 3 year-old takes the toy away and 2 year-old gets cranky. 5 year-old wants the toy and steals it from 3 year-old, starting a screamfest in the kitchen. 7 year-old takes toy and runs, slamming door on 5 year-old's fingers, and the house is full of furious wails. No one's happy until mama comes and gives something to everyone to get their attention off of what just happened. Mega doses of anti-oxidants (like 2-5 grams per day of vitamin C) keep the free radicals happy by giving them extra electrons so no one has to get inflamed or hot and cranky, lowering all cells' stress levels and leaving us with a happy immune system.

4. No Sugar - that sweet little substance causes inflammation in every single cell of the body. Most of the time, our bodies can handle the stress and we don't even notice. When you're run down, it can throw you for a loop. A nurse offered Sada a couple of chocolates on Christmas Eve, and our doctor-in-training did a marvelous job of explaining why she'd love to have them but wasn't going to eat them while in the hospital because of their "inflammatory effects". That was followed by a very nice 5 minute conversation about honey and maple syrup comparisons (not as processed so your body can metabolize them slower and more thoroughly).

There were a few more odds and ends thrown in, but for as simple as that recipe is, it did the trick above and beyond what we expected. The only option with a brain tumor is surgery... but mix in a little alternative medicine and it's a whole lot easier to recover and get back to life.