Mr. Thapas is a 43 year old Nepali police officer who suffered a severe stroke over 10 years ago. I wrote about his case in one of my blogs last year but after seeing him again this year, I though I would share his story again.
When I first met Mr. Thapa he could not walk, speak or use his right arm. The entire right side of his body had been paralyzed for the better part of ten years and he claimed that I could "cut off his right leg" and he would not feel it. Five treatments later, I was shaking his formerly paralyzed hand and our interpreters all said that he was beginning of speak much clearer. Now a year later, in looking through his treatment records, Mr. Thapa has received 45 acupuncture treatments and I think every ARP volunteer practitioner has treated him at least one or twice. Of course it is very dramatic when we can have success in treating someone who is paralyzed but this story is not unusual for us here. We have many successes just as dramatic but few are as visually satisfying as this one. Please view this video example of how our Acupuncture Relief Project practitioners make a real difference here in Nepal. – Andrew