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The Medicine Man - Snap Classic - Snap Judgment | Wave AI Podcast Notes

The Medicine Man - Snap Classic

Thu Feb 20 2025

Chris Lundy has always wanted to figure out why his family took him to see a Vodou priest and how this treatment made him better. And a group paratroopers go on a trip with their Sergeant that’s out of this world.

Summary

Snap Judgment: "The Medicine Man - Snap Classic"

Release Date: February 20, 2025
Host: Glenn Washington, Snap Judgment and PRX

Overview

In the "The Medicine Man - Snap Classic" episode, Chris Lundy delves into a haunting childhood mystery that intertwines family secrets, cultural heritage, and the elusive quest for answers. Battling a severe, unexplained illness as a child, Chris's journey unfolds as he seeks to understand what truly happened during a pivotal moment in his youth.

Childhood Crisis: A Mysterious Illness

At the heart of the story is Chris Lundy's experience at age 10. In the summer of 1989, while living in Maryland, Chris began suffering from an intense, daily cough accompanied by excruciating chest pain and coughing up blood. Traditional medical examinations failed to diagnose his condition, leaving both Chris and his family desperate for answers.

Chris Lundy [06:12]: "I was 10 years old. I was almost 11. I was living in Maryland with my mom and my older sister. The year was 1989."

Despite ongoing medical visits, the cause of his symptoms remained elusive, compelling his mother to seek alternative solutions.

Turning to Voodoo: Seeking Alternative Healing

Unable to find a medical explanation, Chris's mother decided to take him to New York, where family members practiced voodoo. In New York, Chris and his family met a voodoo priest who claimed to have special healing abilities.

Chris Lundy [09:01]: "He said, what question do you have for me? And I asked him, how'd you get your powers?"

The priest provided Chris with an amber vial containing a mysterious liquid, instructing him to place a drop on his tongue whenever the cough returned. Skeptical yet hopeful, Chris followed the instructions and found immediate relief.

Chris Lundy [09:56]: "I found the vial and I put a drop on my tongue. And the coughing sensation goes away."

However, the relief was not without its challenges. A subsequent use of the potion resulted in intense pain, leading Chris to question the efficacy and safety of the treatment.

Chris Lundy [10:21]: "It went away."

This dichotomy between miraculous relief and severe pain left Chris grappling with his belief in the voodoo remedy.

The Quest for Answers: Bridging Medicine and Voodoo

As an adult in his 40s, Chris seeks to uncover the truth behind his childhood illness. His investigation reveals a fractured family dynamic and a reluctance to discuss voodoo practices openly. Efforts to connect with family members, including his Aunt Milei, yield little information, deepening the mystery.

Chris Lundy [12:18]: "There's this conflict of intellect and life experience..."

Frustrated by the lack of recollection and transparency, Chris turns to medical experts to understand his past condition. Dr. Chris Becker, a pulmonary and critical care doctor, suggests that Chris may have suffered from arteriovenous malformations—a rare condition that could explain spontaneous bleeding in the lungs. However, the spontaneous resolution of his symptoms remains puzzling.

Dr. Chris Becker [16:21]: "Hemoptysis, or coughing up blood is very distressing. We usually take this situation very seriously."

Despite expert opinions, the questions about his healing remain unanswered, prompting Chris to explore his cultural roots further.

Reconnecting with Heritage: Meeting Mambo Florence

In his search for closure, Chris meets Mambo Florence, an ordained voodoo priestess in Queens. The encounter rekindles memories of his childhood experience, as Mambo Florence conducts rituals reminiscent of those Chris endured as a child.

Chris Lundy [20:20]: "And one thing that really took me was how familiar it felt. It was very similar to the room that I was in back when I was 10 years old."

Through these sessions, Chris gains a deeper appreciation for his Haitian heritage and the role of voodoo in his family's resilience and survival.

Dr. Charlene Desear [24:04]: "Vodou is more than a religion. It's a system, a way of life and understanding."

Confronting Family Secrets: The Unanswered Questions

Returning home, Chris attempts to confront his Aunt Milei to finally unlock the secrets of his past. Accompanied by his cousin Gabby, he broaches the subject of his illness and the voodoo intervention. Unfortunately, Aunt Milei denies any recollection of the voodoo practices, leaving Chris feeling betrayed and without the closure he desperately seeks.

Chris Lundy [28:32]: "We were there. My mother, Auntie Maya and Auntie Esther, Auntie Annette, all in the room."

Aunt Milei [29:19]: "I don't remember."

This lack of acknowledgment underscores the cultural stigmas and familial fractures that have long concealed the truth.

Embracing the Mystery: Acceptance and Understanding

Ultimately, Chris arrives at a place of acceptance regarding his unresolved past. While he may never fully understand how he overcame his illness, he finds peace in acknowledging the strength and love that his family and cultural heritage provided.

Chris Lundy [31:46]: "I have to get my questions answered. And my aunt's the only one who truly can."

Chris Lundy [31:44]: "And as far as how Chris got better, I am more comfortable sitting with the mystery of it. I'm never gonna know why I got better."

This resolution highlights the enduring power of family bonds and cultural identity, even in the face of unanswered questions.

Reflections on Heritage and Family

Chris's journey not only seeks to uncover the medical mystery of his childhood but also serves as a poignant exploration of his Haitian roots and the complex interplay between traditional practices and Western medicine. Through this introspective voyage, he honors his mother's determination and the cultural legacy that continues to shape his identity.

Chris Lundy [27:20]: "Something that Dr. De Sere gave me, that I walked away with was this pride... being proud of the Haitian culture and where voodoo fits and where it came from."

Conclusion

"The Medicine Man - Snap Classic" masterfully intertwines personal narrative with cultural exploration, offering listeners a profound look into Chris Lundy's quest for truth and understanding. By navigating the delicate balance between skepticism and belief, Chris's story underscores the enduring impact of family, heritage, and the human spirit in overcoming life's most perplexing challenges.

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Transcript

Glenn Washington (0:02)

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Justin Kraymond (37:00)

Take the inventory sheet, we turn it into supply, we start heading Out. And as we were walking across the parking lot, the battalion sergeant major yelled out, hey, you two guys, what are you doing? Where you going? Oh, my God. Sergeant major. We said, we're heading out, Sergeant major, heading home. He said, oh, no, you're not. Get your gear. You're going on the jump. Because we had the additional duty of inventorying this guy's equipment, we believed that we weren't going to be involved in the jump. Beside the major, I think he cut me off. We need to get these chutes filled. Let's go. Let's move out. So I'm starting to think about all the things that go wrong. What if I get decapitated by a suspension line? What if I get towed behind the aircraft? What if I hit some equipment on the ground? I was starting to immediately feel fear and apprehension. If we would have said something like even slightly hesitant about being on a jump, it would have seemed suspicious. We call people who are not on jump status legs, and that's a dirty word. I would rather have died and turned down being on a jump. I wasn't going to be a leg. I was going to jump. I looked at Ron and I said, man, how you feel? He said, man, I don't feel nothing, but this is bad anyway. When we were on the trucks headed to the pack shed, this is at the air force base, I started having this feeling right then and there that everybody on the truck was staring at me. And I knew, oh, it's starting to kick in now. We all pour inside the rigger shed, all 500 of us, and one at a time, we're issued parachutes. As we enter inside, once you've got your parachute on and you got all your equipment hooked up, you stand in line for the jumpmaster's inspection. Open your ripcord protected flap hole, squat, hole, recovery, turn, bend, arch your back. Tick, tap, tap, tap, tick, tap, tap, turn, turn, squat, hold. I actually started saying that out loud, you know, squat, hole, squat. I was just saying it because I thought I should. And then I started thinking, wait a minute. If I do that, people will think I'm high, but if I act like I'm not high, they'll think I'm. Slowly. All the guys in line started getting their parachutes inspected, and we take a seat. I wanted to sit down, but I kept standing up. I kept walking around, and that was unusual. I started to think about how many thousands of paratroopers have been in this building preparing for a jump. And I was inspired to just yell out for everyone to hear. How many paratroopers have been in this place? I started thinking about there were ghosts maybe still impregnated in the memories of the building and in the walls. And I yelled that question out, too. Are there any ghosts in the walls? When I was startled by two. Well, what looked to be two World War II era paratroopers coming out of the walls, I couldn't help but walk closer to it, but on closer inspection was just a pattern of old paint scuffs on the wall. That's when I started to notice that other people were starting to stare at me, staring at them, and a few even laughed at me. And that's where I saw Ronnie. He was already rigged, sitting on the floor, crying, tears coming down his cheeks. To me, it was like a river of water. I asked Ronnie how he was doing. Ronnie looked at me and he just started to cry. And people noticed. I went to him and I said in a soft, loud voice, man, get yourself together. You are an American paratrooper. Do you know what our brothers have done before you? You act like a damn man. Get it together. And I started singing, and I'm not a singer, and I'm singing these corny airborne songs that they force on us. Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die and you ain't gonna jump no more and I remember somebody yelling out, oh, that's pretty damn appropriate, Sergeant Christian. That's really appropriate. Ronnie stared. I reached out and I wiped his eye. A little tear was coming from it. And I helped him up, and then he assisted me in rigging my chute. Once everybody's inspected, we stand up and we all march out toward the back of the airplane. The only thing you can see inside a C130 at night like that is this. The red jump light above the jump door and down on the floor, and there's this hum of the plane. Usually the guys sleep, but I didn't. I was just focused on the light. I mean, it was beautiful. An Air Force pilot turns on the green light. Go. Door opened up, and the wind rushed in. Normally, you really feel the impact of the prop blast hitting you and you twist into the night sky. But I don't know. I had the sensation that I just jumped into a big old marshmallow cloud and I just floated out. The stars were starting to twinkle, the moon smiled at me. The parachutes billowing across the drop zone, they looked like ghosts they were just floating and dancing. And I could hear everything, every sound through my arms out, looked up like Jesus, started contemplating the nature of the universe. God, it was just beautiful. It was probably the best jump I ever had. I loved it. Loved it. Seemed like it took me forever to reach the ground. I landed in a sandy pile amongst the pine trees and thickets. The guy landed close to me, and he hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. And he gave out a oh. And I just yelled out across the whole drop zone. This is beautiful. And it just echoed. I know everybody heard that, but I couldn't help myself. It was beautiful. Like those other parachutes that were billowing across the drop zone. It looked like a woman in a dress. Through the darkness, I heard this sound, and I recognized it as the sound of vomiting. And instead of going to the assembly area, I followed that sound. And that led me to Sergeant Ronnie. And there he was, sitting on the ground, vomiting, and he was crying softly. And I was thinking to myself, he must be having a bad trip. And that's when I decided I wanted to sing to him. We're all Americans and proud to be guardians of honor and liberty. Some flying gliders to the enemy, Some come down as paratroopers. The next morning when I woke up, the company commander, who I always try to avoid because of his manner, when he saw me, he said to me, you know, you need to go see the battalion commander. He wants to talk to you about your behavior pre jump and on the drop zone. So the battalion commander doesn't speak to me. People in my rank don't usually get a chance to talk to him. And I go into the battalion commander's office. All the senior officers in the battalion were present. That kind of a group usually means something bad. You're getting some kind of ugly reprimand. And I was scared as hell. Then he said, never have I seen such an unselfish act as a man motivating his fellow paratroopers. Sticking with a scared, nervous man during every phase of the operation, even on the drop zone. Sergeant Christian, you are the personification of an American paratrooper. Keep up the good work, Airborne. I said, thank you, sir. Airborne. I can remember shaking my head as I was walking away from his office, going, damn. I was completely dumbfounded. I. What just happened, it was like the blade didn't cut my head, but it fell. In the mornings, when all the units are doing physical training and they run up and down Ardennes street, they're the loudspeakers where they play nothing but Non stop military martial music. And these old airborne songs are the ones that you hear. And when they would come across the speakers, we would all start singing them really loud to Sergeant Ronnie, you know, much to his chagrin. Sergeant Ronnie, you was scared on the drop zone, man. Sergeant Ronnie, what's up? You lost your nerve? You was having problems? Sergeant Ronnie, he be running with his butt cheeks really tight. He was too stiff and too anal to respond up to that point. Everything. All of our encounters were always serious. They really didn't have anything to joke about. There was nothing funny. I had my boys back again. They were back in their spirit.