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This video was taken a week ago and just now published because we wanted his visiting family to see the treatment results firsthand here in China. After only 6 weeks of treatment Steve is now getting into a supportive frame that allows his legs to move freely while his upper body is supported and held tightly. As you watch the video closely you will see he is stepping forward with his left leg and using abdominal muscles to pull his right leg forward. It's a challenging walk using a great deal of energy but the connections between the brain and muscles are beginning to stabilize. "It's a lot of work," Steve says, " but worth it. And it makes me just a bit emotional."
After experiencing two and a half years in a wheelchair as a paraplegic it's exciting to see things beginning to move and progress being made. His spinal injury was a compression rather than a severing of the spinal cord allowing us to make great strides at reestablishing data flow from the brain to the legs. We're excited to see what we consider a rapid response. Many would call this a miracle but it's medicine...TCM medicine! As you know we consider TCM great but it is slower than western practices. Western medicine, although it is fast, has a lot of side effects and must be taken continually or in ever increasing doses to obtain the same results... and regarding rehabilitation often it is limited by insurance or well meaning practitioners whose experience is limited. Remember that Traditional Chinese Medicine combines a number of therapies including TCM medications that are taken for a limited time to effect a "cure" on a disorder and bring the body back into balance and harmony. Well, the weekend is coming and I'm actually beginning to regret two days off! Today the needles went in and I noticed a definite effect between the placement. It's just as I expected they are following the meridians and increasing and improving the data flow. I have always had a reddish tinge to my face and struggled with some adult acne. A few properly placed needles and the redness and breakouts are clearing. I must confess the needles were in my finger (4 of them) and when he put them in there was a brief sting but the results are great!
There weren't any other great revelations but I noticed today I get in and out of the car with greater ease. I will take advantage of the break and rest up over the weekend. Ruth  As each of you may know I had spent a great deal of time during my original treatment to notice needle placement and effect. Today 25 needles were used and of that four needles were placed on the fingers of my non-effected hand. In fact half the needles were on my non effected side and yet they seemed to have a great impact and at the end of the acupuncture, electric acupuncture, and tuina I found that the fat feeling was absent from my right pinky and the next finger. I also discovered my grip on that hand in those fingers is greatly increased. Well, one more observation tomorrow after treatment 3 before I get a few days off for the weekend.
Ruth Well 16 years post stroke and 13 years after treatment I was surprised to find that my acupuncture treatment is indeed having an effect. Dr Zhang discussed my history of earlier treatment and immediately developed a plan. He started on my head and then went to work inserting needles in my right and left forearms and hands. He then moved to my legs and feet, inserting needles on both left and right sides.
After 20 minutes the needles came out of my arms, hands and legs and he kept the needles in my head during tuina (medical massage). Wow! Do I remember why I loved to hate good tuina.... it's definitely not comfy massage? As the tuina Doctor started slowly I could feel the strength and intensity as he moved, manipulated, and stretched various muscle groups and applied pressure to Acupoints, it was definitely intense but when all was said and done there was a renewed normalcy that was in my right little finger extending toward the next finger. After the 13 years since my stroke they've developed a puffy feeling and that was definitely subsiding. I got a great nights rest and found myself sleeping hard and fully relaxed. I woke up reinvigorated and ready to get treatment number two. Ruth  A "Neoplasm" is an abnormal growth of tissue and when it also forms a mass is commonly referred to as a tumor. This abnormal growth usually but not always forms a mass. The World Health Organization classifies neoplasms into four main groups: benign neoplasms, in situ neoplasms, malignant neoplasms, and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behavior. Malignant neoplasms are also simply known as cancers.
In order for you to appropriately understand how cancers effect a healthy body you must understand how the body works. According to TCM Meridian Theory, Meridians or channels, are invisible pathways through which Qi flows that forms an energy network connecting all parts of the body. TCM understands and identifies the twelve major meridians in the body. Each one is related to a specific Organ System. The meridian network links meridians with each other and connects all body structures; skin, tendons, bone, internal organs, cells, and atoms. TCM also understands that meridians connect the interior with exterior and the upper body with the lower body. This interlinked, animating network through which Qi flows freely makes the body an organic whole. The meridian network is like a system of highways, roads and streets that links major cities. The highways (meridians) and the cities (organs) make up an entire energy map (the body). It is through this system of roadways that energy (Qi) runs. For example, if a city's internal streets are blocked with traffic, eventually this situation will cause a problem with the highways leading into this city. If the traffic condition worsens, even the cities linked by the major highways will experience a problem. Or two cities may be fine and traffic may be flowing smoothly within their areas. Yet, if there is an accident and traffic builds up on one of the roads linking the cities, eventually one or both of these cities will find themselves affected by traffic congestion. In the example of a stroke that highway may have been flooded out and either needs repair or a bypass road needs to be built for traffic (information) to travel. This analogy offers a way to understand how blockages in meridians can cause problems in organs. Meridians form a powerful information system within which each Organ also forms its own data system. In addition to transmitting Qi, meridians also transmit actual information to and among the Organ Systems. It is through the meridians and the flow of Qi that the various parts of the body communicate with each other faster than the speed of light. Interestingly, meridians are also sensitive to time and place. They reflect and respond to the changing energy of the seasons, the time of day and the climate of a particular place. TCM understands that when the meridian system functions well, the body (including its mind, spirit and emotions) is healthy and maintains homeostasis, a dynamic condition of internal harmony where yin and yang energies operate seamlessly. The ancient medical text Nei Jing states: "The function of the channel (meridian) is to transport the Qi and blood and circulate yin and yang to nourish the body." Because meridians respond to and carry stimulation as well as transmit information, they have the ability to bring healing energy to local, as well as distant, parts of the body. This can create physiological and other changes as Qi circulates. It is this function that makes acupuncture and acupressure work: at specific points along the meridian, the flow of Qi can be enhanced or modified either with needles or with the pressure of the finger or the hands. "If Qi stagnates for too long in any meridian, it can become blocked and eventually turn into matter, setting the stage for conditions that can create a physical mass (tumor - better known as a cancer)." The energy pathways and the Organ Systems they link provide TCM with a framework for identifying the root cause of health problems and the diagnoses to heal them. Meridians work by regulating the energy functions of the body and keeping it in harmony. If a dysfunction occurs, acupuncture or other therapies can stimulate the relevant meridian(s) to help bring an affected Organ back into balance. If Qi stagnates for too long in any meridian, it can become blocked and eventually turn into matter, setting the stage for conditions that can create a physical mass (tumor). Dysfunctional meridians can also become susceptible to external pathogenic factors that can migrate to Organs along the route of the affected meridian. TCM Meridian Theory states: "As long as Qi flows freely through the meridians and the Organs work in harmony, the body can avoid disease." If you'd like the truth on western treatments check out: http://reset.me/story/if-chemotherapy-fails-97-of-the-time-why-do-doctors-recommend-it/  The most common question we get is..."Is there someone I can talk to that has attended your program?" We are a healthcare company and although we are in China we take client or "patient " privacy very seriously. We choose to abide by US HIPPA standards. As such we do not offer references and or name, emails or phone numbers of previous clients. We do however allow posts on our blogs, offer interviews in the form of podcasts, letters, video, and most importantly we obtain our clients through referrals.
As a result everyone who attends our program has known or knows someone who either has attended our program or attended it themselves. Because each client is dealt with as an individual and all diseases, strokes, and spinal injuries are unique... comparisons are not advised. The doctors and hospitals we work with treat more patients in a day than the Mayo treats in a year. They are the best and assess each client individually and offer treatments specific to the client. We too, in regard to rehabilitation and exercises assess each client daily and modify the exercises specifically for them. I realize the seriousness of making a commitment such as this but I will share a bit of my story here to give you a better understanding. I came to China in 2004 as the first American ever to seek treatment for a stroke I suffered in 2001. I didn't know what it would cost or how long it would take to see anything happen. The result was that I was given my life back...my vision, my thinking, speech, feeling, mobility! I ended up spending 5 months here and came back 6 months later to get tweaked and continue my healing. When I returned I brought 2 stroke survivors with me... now I've helped over 500 people from throughout the world come here and have spoken with thousands. I stopped for several years to devote more time to my family. Now at the request of others I'm back with a renewed sense of purpose and urgency to provide hope and healing to foreigners and Chinese alike. The only regrets I have in my life are that I didn't come to China sooner and I stopped helping others for a brief time. Well I'm here now and if you are reading this you've found me. Ruth  Exercise: Once a client begins to receive TCM treatment they will also begin a series of exercises to reinforce the things that are happening in their body. In this we have an unfair advantage in that Ruth, one of our founders, was the first US patient to receive TCM therapy for treatment of her stroke. Unfortunately few rehabilitation physicians, therapists, and US acupuncturists know firsthand what a stroke can do and the devastation that it wreaks and the physical, mental, and spiritual challenges that a survivor faces.
Each of our clients are evaluated, photographed and videoed upon their arrival. Because we are working with clients daily we are constantly watching progress and assessing them. Exercises are listed and given to clients to complete in their daily schedule. Personal medical assistants assist as needed and provide additional support, massage, electric acupuncture, and manual stimulation of limbs as needed. These Personal assistants are irreplaceable and help our clients greatly in their daily tasks, increasing confidence, and regaining of independence. Every two weeks we complete a formal evaluation but we are constantly talking with clients, watching them carefully, and modifying exercises immediately to take advantage of new and improving movements and changes. This constant monitoring and involvement sets us apart from other “rehab” programs, each client is an individual and is treated as such. No two individuals and therefore no two programs are exactly the same. Each person responds differently and so exercises and tasks are uniquely provided to each individual and monitored closely by the personal assistants. Ruth found that the phrase, “been there…done that” is very powerful when it means we can think out of the box and create exercises that actually offer improvement and great results. Too often in other programs patients are given unattainable or useless exercises that produce nothing but frustration. Here results of exercises must be “demonstratable” and repeated in order for us to ask the client if the exercises are successful! Only then can we state emphatically the exercises are a true success.
One of the biggest challenges I face is that of educating friends, family, and the public about care in healthcare. Often spouses and family members want to jump in and help too much, are satisfied with what physicians or professionals say is gospel and not up for debate, and their lives or apparent sacrifice should be honored beyond all. Hogwash! I realize that I may make some upset but please take a step back...hold your temper and listen a bit.
I became a stroke expert quite by accident after suffering one, being the first to seek and obtain TCM treatment in China, speaking with thousands of stroke survivors and family members and personally being involved in the treatment of thousands. I've watched family members and survivors try and use less than stellar excuses of why they didn't get the results they wanted. I've heard very educated physicians and medical professionals make statements of what they see as fact because that's all their experience has shown them. Well I learned one very important thing in life... you see and get what you look for! If you set low expectations then you will reach them because that's what you expect....but if you set high goals you'll reach them too! Expand your thinking.... God is not the God of the possible or probable...if that were true why do we need Him? God is the God of the impossible! Reach for the highest and the best...expect your best and that of others and do not settle for less. Be an individual of hope and faith and if you feel week God will be there for you! |
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