Thank you!! Donations so far:
£ 1049.10
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Follow our journey as we travel from Lostwithiel in Cornwall, UK to Bled, Slovenia to get treatment for our little boy, Ilya. Born with an extremely rare genetic disease, Type 1 GM1 Gangliosidosis, we hope that the clinic of Zdenko Domancic can help. We need to raise £1000 for the trip with anything over this amount going to the Klicek Foundation that helped us so much when our first son, Logan, died of this same disease.
If you’d like to donate, please click the PayPal link the top left of every page. Every penny helps us get a little further. Other than donating, you can help us by linking to us. You’ll see social-bookmarking icons at the end of each page and post so don’t be shy, blog, Tweet, FB & MySpace your socks off and help us get the amount we need for the trip.
Many thanks,
Rufus, Elena and Ilya Duffin
Lostwithiel, Cornwall
By now, the clinic was becoming a familiar and comfortable place. We checked to see if there were many wheelchairs in the quadrant of the room near Stipe and decided to leave Ilya’s chariot outside. It was relatively early still and we had plenty of time to get Ilya’s treatment and head over to Hotel Kompas for the seminar.
One of the things that so separates the methods of this clinic is the prioritising of treatment. There is no first-in / first-out system nor does the fact that you’re sitting near a particular therapists mean that they will be the one to treat you. Here, people are treated on an intuitive basis. Occasionally, someone walks in and is treated almost immediately; others, who seem perhaps quite ill, are kept waiting for hours and are then treated by a therapist on the opposite side of the room to where they are sitting. This seems strange at first but it soon becomes apparent that it works perfectly.
Sitting there amidst so much illness, one would think the clinic would have the feel of a run-down hospital waiting room but instead the whole place is vibrant, lively and full of energy. Seeing very sick people with a look of relief, gratitude or joy on their face is really something special to witness. All patients are treated in the same manner. Whether you come with a minor ailment, feeling a bit under-the-weather or have an otherwise untreatable terminal illness, you wont find tea and sympathy nor hollow promises, just the offer of treatment, no strings attached, no price to pay. It is this that draws people from all over the world.
The music playing in the background, we discovered at the first day’s seminar, is not for the benefit of the patients but for the therapists. As a classical piece finishes and a track from an unfamiliar band begins, Ilya’s name is called by Stipe Domancic. Elena takes Ilya to sit on the middle treatment chair. Each therapist has three normal, but fairly comfortable, chairs just as you would find in a waiting room or at a seminar. This allows them to have the patient seated with their legs up when necessary and for the therapist to be able to sit, also. It is extremely important when treating 30-50 patients per day for the therapists themselves are as comfortable as possible. They are performing many of the techniques over and over again for an extended period and their health is paramount. As in any form of assistance, it is vital that the “rescuer” does not need to “rescued” themselves! The therapists, irrespective of height, all have the same great posture and calm confidence about them.
Following Ilya’s treatment, it’s already 10am and time for the start of the seminar. We scurry off to Hotel Kompas.
By now, the clinic was becoming a familiar and comfortable place. We checked to see if there were many wheelchairs in the quadrant of the room near Stipe and decided to leave Ilya’s chariot outside. It was relatively early still and we had plenty of time to get Ilya’s treatment and head over to Hotel Kompas for the seminar.
One of the things that so separates the methods of this clinic is the prioritising of treatment. There is no first-in / first-out system nor does the fact that you’re sitting near a particular therapists mean that they will be the one to treat you. Here, people are treated on an intuitive basis. Occasionally, someone walks in and is treated almost immediately; others, who seem perhaps quite ill, are kept waiting for hours and are then treated by a therapist on the opposite side of the room to where they are sitting. This seems strange at first but it soon becomes apparent that it works perfectly.
Sitting there amidst so much illness, one would think the clinic would have the feel of a run-down hospital waiting room but instead the whole place is vibrant, lively and full of energy. Seeing very sick people with a look of relief, gratitude or joy on their face is really something special to witness. All patients are treated in the same manner. Whether you come with a minor ailment, feeling a bit under-the-weather or have an otherwise untreatable terminal illness, you wont find tea and sympathy nor hollow promises, just the offer of treatment, no strings attached, no price to pay. It is this that draws people from all over the world.
The music playing in the background, we discovered at the first day’s seminar, is not for the benefit of the patients but for the therapists. As a classical piece finishes and a track from an unfamiliar band begins, Ilya’s name is called by Stipe Domancic. Elena takes Ilya to sit on the middle treatment chair. Each therapist has three normal, but fairly comfortable, chairs just as you would find in a waiting room or at a seminar. This allows them to have the patient seated with their legs up when necessary and for the therapist to be able to sit, also. It is extremely important when treating 30-50 patients per day for the therapists themselves are as comfortable as possible. They are performing many of the techniques over and over again for an extended period and their health is paramount. As in any form of assistance, it is vital that the “rescuer” does not need to “rescued” themselves! The therapists, irrespective of height, all have the same great posture and calm confidence about them.
Following Ilya’s treatment, it’s already 10am and time for the start of the seminar. We scurry off to Hotel Kompas.
With our gifted paper and borrowed pencil, we now sat close to the side wall with the other English speaking attendees of the Domancic Method Level 1 Seminar. Filling the majority of the seminar area were Polish speaking attendees with Martyna standing at the front translating Croatian – Polish – Croatian. Our rather talented Croatian – English – Croatian translator was Bostjan, the therapist who had treated me earlier that day. I hadn’t intended getting treatment for myself but on the night before our departure from the UK I stepped from the camper. Carrying a drill, I found to my dismay that I had left a large piece of wood close to the door. As my heel hit the wood, though square in section, it began to roll abruptly sending me from upright to prone in the blink of an eye. I cracked my little toe on the tarmac which swelled somewhat but was easily ignored when wearing flip-flops and gained a minor craze to my right knee. But it was not these minor bumps for which Bostjan had treated me. As I landed, my lowest rib had met the corner of a tool box which, like a crocodile, had been waiting silently in the dark for an unsuspecting, rather tired and slightly stupid victim. A loud crack echoed through my chest as I landed and my intercostal muscles along with the rest my back had gone into spasm. As I got up and made my way to side of the camper for support, I realised that I hadn’t taken a breath for some time but it took a while longer to understand that I couldn’t take a breath. Having cracked ribs before, I knew how sore they could be and how long they take to mend properly. Back in 2002, shortly before I departed to Australia and New Zealand with a friend for a year, my sternum had been involved in an argument with the arm of a cast iron bench seat in the early hours of the morning following a nice quite farewell drink with friends. Though I don’t really recall the event, I understand that I fallen over a knee high wall and, upon jumping up to figure out what had happened, had fallen back over the same wall, spinning round in the process with my sternum acting as a rather poorly conceived airbag with my ribs taking the part of equally poor crumple zones. Some months later in Australia, I still felt the twinge of that night each time I coughed, rolled over in bed or carelessly bumped into an inanimate object.
Standing by the camper on the night before departure to Slovenia, I had no assistance with the pain from Jack Daniel’s and his sour mash magic or any other of the multitude of beverages that had graced my lips during my pre-Aus bash. Gradually, I began to take shallow breaths, becoming slowly deeper until I was no longer short of breath but still in pain. This pain would soon subside but be replaced by terrible spasms around the ribs. The drive to Slovenia was fine but at night the spasms would be very painful and left me once again short of breath. Bostjan had treated this area and now writing this, just 2 weeks after the incident I can sleep on my front, back or either side with only very minor discomfort and no spasms at all.
Zdenko Domancic now sat confidently in front of his audience and began to speak. His role here today was not to teach us of his methods but to discuss the philosophy and background to the treatment, to inform us how and why it worked and to demonstrate to those who hadn’t opened their own eyes just what wool had been pulled over them and who had done the pulling. He spoke of the various inequalities and conventions that led to our dissatisfaction with our lives and ultimately our physical condition and illnesses. Some nodded in agreement, some looked personally insulted and others simply confused. Domancic senior now took his leave and invited his son, Stipe, to take over. Stipe, possessing the same confidence and control of the room as his father, looked briefly across the faces of the attendees and spoke in a clear, penetrating voice. “Treatment”, Bostjan echoed.
It was then explained that all diseases were treated using a combination of 7 techniques which, used in varying amounts and in a specific combination could treat anything from tennis elbow to brain tumour. The techniques were then explained and demonstrated one at a time and in isolation with questions being asked in Polish or English with the responses being translated from Croatian. The words of Zdenko were now repeated by Stipe that therapists, and indeed doctors, do not heal the body, only the individual can heal themselves and that our role as biotherapists can be thought of as mechanics working on an energetic, rather than a physical, level. By helping in this way, the body is then able to return to it’s natural state of health.
We then broke for the afternoon with the other attendees asked to return at 18:45.
Walking around the lovely Bled, we decided to find a supermarket to buy some lunch. It seems that all food shops here in Bled are from the same franchise, namely Mercator. We enjoyed yoghurt, cereal bars and some fine sausages by the lake before heading back once again to the fourth floor of Hotel Lovec. Given that we were here for treatment for little Ilya, we got back early at around 17:30 after the clinic had begun it’s second session of the day at 17:00.
Sitting for some time, legs uncrossed and palms upwards as is the convention, we realised that everyone from the morning’s clinic had returned and that these were not different patients. Eventually, Stipe came over, nodded and called Ilya’s name once again. The enormous array of patients from all over the world waited patiently until being seen one at a time for their second treatment of the day. All were greeted upon arrival by Tanja in one of her many languages. Croatian, English, Italian, German and Slovenian – most impressive.
Finally, the last of the patients left and the doors were closed behind them. Domancic senior now took centre stage once again and continued where he had left off. He spoke of science and scientists and recalled being under scrutiny by the University of Zagreb. They had asked him to take part in experiments to qualify this strange method and during the experiment Zdenko Domancic and his therapists exposed aqueous solutions of calcium salts to bioenergy. The results were incredible – to the scientists, at least. The usual crystalline pattern was transformed, as verified by electron microscopy, into a variety of forms – the most stunning of which closely resembles a flower. Now, having shown us all copies of the electron micrographs, this confident, assertive man posed the question, “Do you think YOU could do this?” The blank faces and nervous insecurities of many in the audience were a contrast to those who already understood what was coming. “Of course you can”, he said with a smile, his face now softer and with a look of reassurance in his eyes.
Soon it was time for Stipe to once again take over and we continued with the techniques of this extraordinary method. We learned how the body responds to the 7 techniques and when they should and shouldn’t be used. It was incredible to see the utter simplicity of this treatment demonstrated step-by-step with the assistance of our “guinea pigs”, namely two of the therapists that were not otherwise taking part in the seminar.
With the conclusion of the remainder of the techniques, we were asked to come back in the morning at 10:00 but this time to meet in the reception of Hotel Kompass, the hotel next door to Hotel Lovec where the attendees, with the exception of the Duffin family, were all staying.
As we walked 45 minutes back to the campsite around the lake in the cool, damp air, we were thankful to all the people who had made our visit here possible and to those who had shown us such generosity now that we had arrived. Tomorrow would be a good day.
Our walk around the stunning Lake Bled was wonderful as the light mist and clouds parted a little but our minds were elsewhere as we were just hours away from treatment for Ilya.
We made our way to the 4th floor of Hotel Lovec to the conference hall that for 9 months of the year is the clinic of Master Zdenko Domancic and his therapists. As we neared the open door, the sound of classic music could be heard lightly dancing in the air. There stood 5 therapists, all slim, upright and with the look of utter confidence on their faces. They each had a patient with them, some old, some young, some in wheelchairs, some with nothing obviously the matter but all with a look of gratitude and relief on their faces. To the left of the door was a large desk with files, papers, phones and all manner of organisational materials being expertly driven by the tall, slender figure of Tanja Domancic, wife of Zdenko Domancic who treated his own patient a short distance away.
The atmosphere in the hall was like nothing I have experienced. For over 2 hours, I felt exhilarated, like I had just jumped onto a steep water-slide on a hot day. We were greeted with smiles as we explained who we were and what we were here for. Tanja directed us to the far corner of the room where Stipe Domancic, son of Master Zdenko was treating patients.
We watched as one by one patients were called to their therapist and they explained in Croatian, Slovenian, English, German, Italian, Polish or any one of a multitude of languages, what their diagnosis was. Domancic Therapy does not practise diagnostics (for a very good reason that we’ll explain later) so patients must be able to tell their therapist just what the problem is. This might seem a little odd given that they must first visit their doctor to get a diagnosis but we weren’t the only ones there for whom orthodox medicine had sadly drawn a blank.
Visitors to the clinic sit patiently for hours while they wait their turn, legs uncrossed with hand open, palms up in the lap. This open posture is very important and the open, group approach to healing is not accidental. This approach provides utter transparency as the “believes” and the “sceptics” sit side by side awaiting a slot. In reality, it doesn’t matter whether one accepts what is happening or not as it is simply fact and does not require any form of “faith”, unlike many alternative treatments. A few moments into the treatment, the therapist begins moving their patient using psycho-kinesis which is used both as a useful indicator of the patient’s condition and as a proof of concept for those that need one. Seeing a patient be moved by an “invisible force” is one thing but when you are being moved by an “invisible force”, that is something altogether. Tall, short, big, small, young and old, all are “magically” bent first backwards, then forwards. Some bend a little, some bend a lot but all move based on the apparent will of their therapist. Obviously, the infirm, the disabled and the very young are not subjected to this for their own comfort but seeing a 6′5″, well built young man bend double following the hand gestures of a 5′6″ therapist who has not come into physical contact with them is rather convincing.
The therapy then continues with the waving of arms and occasional holding of the head, chest, limbs or torso. Each disease has a different combination of movements and these expert therapists need only know the name of the diagnosis.
Finally, Stipe Domancic turned to us and with a nod and a wave, let us know it was Ilya’s turn for treatment. Treatment is carried out at the clinic twice a day as many of the conditions seen here are extremely seriously. Many come in the days before amputation or major surgery takes place in a last attempt to save their limb, breast or bowel. Others, like us, come with degenerative diseases for which medicine is unable to help too much with. As Lena took Ilya and walked over to sit in front of Stipe, a huge lump hit my throat and I choked down my tears. This soon gave way to a huge smile as Ilya sat there receiving treatment at the Clinic of Zdenko Domancic, thanks to the love, support and generosity of the countless friends, family and complete strangers who helped us so much in our journey to Slovenia. Ilya sat, fairly quietly receiving treatment sat in his Mum’s lap soon, it was all over. We were told that patience was the key and to return for the evening clinic and both clinics for the following 3 days. in addition, we were also told that his temperature may go up to fever point but this is normal and expected as the body is kick-started into action.
As is normal at the clinic, patients usually return to their seats after their treatment to bathe in the collective group energy and rest a little before heading off back to their hotels, camp-sites and friend’s house’s where they will be staying for the coming days of the clinic. As mentioned, treatment is for 4 days, twice a day and as people have come from al over the world for treatment, the hotels and accommodation of this region of Slovenia do not suffer the usual out-of-season blues as is common with many tourist destinations.
Sitting there peacefully following Ilya’s treatment, Martyna came over to speak to us. She said that she had spoken to Master Domancic about a place at the beginner’s seminar, starting right after the close of the morning clinic session. A few moment’s later, the man himself came over. His intense eyes, Mediterranean looks and deep voice give him an imposing demeanour but he had come not to challenge but to offer us a gift. Free places for us at the 4 day seminar, starting immediately.
This was more than we could possibly have hoped for. Places are limited and expensive as only those serious about the seminar are really wanted. Martyna, still sitting next to us, smiled and remarked that, though and imposing figure, Master Domancic was extremely generous.
With Ilya’s first treatment complete, we borrowed a pencil and some paper from another seminar attendee and started writing, “Domancic Therapy Seminar, Day 1″.
Bearing in mind our epic journey to get to Bled, we thought it would be worth checking out Bled to make sure that we knew just where the clinic was and get as much info as possible. We had been in touch with the wonderful Martyna Fon, who arranges English speaking seminars and treatment at the clinic in addition to translation, via Facebook. It was Martyna who advised us the clinic was no longer held in Bohinj but in Bled and Martyna who had offered us one of her places for treatment in the likely event that we could not get a place. The clinic doesn’t charge for treatment but there are waiting lists of around 6 months as some 200 patients per day come in search of treatment. It was Martyna who we now saw for the first time standing with her group in the reception of Hotel Lovec on the night before the clinic.
We recognised Martyna from her Facebook photo and smiled and, after a very brief pause, she came out to greet us. She explained the format for the next day and we had a chat before heading off, thoroughly thrilled, back to our campsite some 45 minutes walk away.
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