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infertility, menstrual migraines, and hormonal imbalances. Most often he<br />
made a mixture containing Contribo, Copalchi, Man Vine, and Zorillo. He<br />
called this Sacca Todo, pull out everything, in reference to its marvelous<br />
eliminative powers and ability to cleanse the uterine membrane of<br />
incompletely flushed menstrual fluids. Incompletely flushed fluids, <strong>with</strong><br />
consequent hardening of the membrane, was one of the main causes of<br />
painful periods, he said.<br />
While plants were an essential part of his treatment of women’s<br />
problems, his philosophy of women’s health centered on the proper position<br />
of the uterus. Don Elijio believed that displacement of the uterus was what<br />
caused the multitude of women’s complaints. He said that 90 percent of<br />
modern women have a prolapsed uterus that lies askew to one side or the<br />
other, tipped backward or forward, or too close to the pelvic floor.<br />
“The womb is the woman’s center,” he said. “Her very being and<br />
essence are in this organ. If the uterus is not sitting where it should be,<br />
nothing is right for her; she will have late periods, early periods, clotted<br />
blood, dark blood, painful periods, no babies, weakness, headaches,<br />
backaches, nervousness, and all manners of ailments.”<br />
He treated uterine displacement <strong>with</strong> vigorous external massage, which<br />
sometimes made the women cry out in pain. This was followed by Sacca<br />
Todo taken as a tea—three times daily, ten days before menstruation—as<br />
well as vaginal steam baths <strong>with</strong> Xiv.<br />
I watched him one day in action. Lola, a mother of three young<br />
children, was complaining of extremely painful periods that made her go to<br />
bed for three days at a time. She had had three hospital births in four years,<br />
and each one had been difficult.<br />
“It was very hard for me to have my babies, tatito,” Lola cried, “and it<br />
took me a long time, a very long time, to recover afterward. What is wrong<br />
<strong>with</strong> me? The doctors and nurses say there is nothing wrong, but I know<br />
something isn’t right. I come <strong>with</strong> faith to see you.”<br />
“Come, I must examine you,” answered Don Elijio, motioning to her<br />
and to me to follow him into the examining room.<br />
Lola lay down on the mattress and raised up her skirt, exposing a soft<br />
brown belly <strong>with</strong> many stretch marks. He began to examine her abdomen<br />
just above the line of pubic hair. Within a minute he exclaimed confidently,<br />
“Aha! There’s your sickness. The womb is out of position. It’s too low and<br />
lying on the right side. You have headaches, numbness in your right foot,