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By Andre Capiez

Created: 18 January 2016

Today I treated 17 patients. It is my first treatment day in the village of Bajrabarahi, in Nepal, working side by side with fellow acupuncturists from around the globe, brought together by the Acupuncture Relief Project.

I knew that the local villagers would be lovely and friendly people; I was told that they have a hard life and do not complain, but are grateful for the treatment and care. I also knew that I would treat a variety of health issues beyond the usual scope of an acupuncturist trained in New Zealand. But what I did not expect was to see an eleven year old boy come with his mum, and to feel helpless to do something for him.

He has, what appears to be a large lipoma on the inner thigh of one of his legs. It is hard and heavy, and it weighs down his leg and affects his walking. I am told that he has seen a doctor who advised surgery. I am also told that the family cannot afford to pay for the surgery. 

Even worse, I do not think that the surgery would solve his problem. The growth appears to have taken over the muscles and is probably intertwined with veins and nerves. I have seen a similar case before in an elderly relative at home;  a surgeon operated but it grew again, as not everything could be removed. Worse, it turned cancerous and the only further advice was amputation, as the growth increasingly cut off the blood supply to the lower leg. 

But this is an eleven year old boy and he has walked to the clinic to see me, hoping that I can do something for him. And I feel so helpless. I do some acupuncture points for pain and one of my colleagues gives him some Chinese herbs to take. 

I thank him for coming and tell him to come back in three days. As he leaves, he looks at me with a beaming smile on his face, happy with the care, and maybe relieved that the needles are out. And his shy smile makes me realise that the most important thing I did for him today was that I cared for him and that I showed him that I cared. But what he gave me in return was far more important; it was his trust in sharing his burden with me and in allowing me to treat him and to do the best I could for him. This little boy taught me not to feel sad for him, but to accept my own limitations, and to appreciate the connection that we all share as human beings. --- Andre Capiez

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By Sheri Barrows

Created: 18 December 2015

In Camas, Washington there is a very special woman named Kathryn Oftedahl who creates the most beautiful quilts.  They are not just creations of beauty they are creations of love.

Recently, Kathryn graciously asked us to gift one of her quilts to a patient of our choice at our Bajrabarahi clinic and after much consideration we chose Laxmi Buddha Shrestha and her husband Ram Krishna Shrestha. Laxmi and Ram have lived in the village of Bajrabarahi their entire lives and they are farmers who grow rice, millet, potatoes, corn and more.  

About 8 years ago, Laxmi began presenting symptoms of personality changes and uncontrollable muscle spasms. When Andrew was introduced to Laxmi a year ago, her family claimed that she had suffered a stroke, however, he immediately recognized it as Huntington’s Disease.  Huntington’s is a progressive neurological and psychological disease that is due to a genetic defect. It typically appears in mid-life and starts with a slight tremor similar to Parkinson’s Disease.  The tremors get progressively worse until every joint in a person’s body twitches violently in puppet-like movements. The tremors are relentless and even when Laxmi is sleeping her body doesn’t rest. 

Laxmi is very fortunate to have a loving and compassionate husband whose humor brings a smile to her quivering face and extended family that help provide for her. She is especially appreciative of visitors as they bring a bit of joy and entertainment into her isolated world.  A few of our ARP team visit and have tea with her at her home twice a week and Jamil, her doctor, treats her with acupuncture.  While nothing can be done to cure or even slow the progression of Huntington’s, Laxmi says the acupuncture helps her feel “lighter” and sleep better. 

In late October I had the opportunity to meet Laxmi and she had a ready smile as Tsering, Andrew and I walked into her room. Nothing that I had been told about her case had prepared me to see her twisted and constantly tremoring body on her sleeping pad. Amazingly to me, her eyes immediately went to the bright quilt Andrew was carrying and she was delighted when we covered her with all of the colorful flowers.  

I cannot describe how very blessed I feel to have had the opportunity to be part of sharing Kathryn’s gift and seeing the joy it brought to Laxmi.  

I would like to offer my heartfelt Thanks to Kathryn and everyone who makes this project possible.  I wish you could all be here to witness the effect of your support. --Sheri Barrows, Secretary/Treasurer, Acupuncture Relief Project 

Directors Note: A few weeks after Sheri's visit to Bajra Barahi, Laxmi quietly passed away in the arms of her husband. We were all honored to be able to work with Laxmi and her family and while we are deeply saddened by her passing we also recognize the relief in the end of her suffering. We continue to see Laxmi's husband, Ram Krishna, in our clinic and he is a cheerful reminder of the small role we play in this village in Nepal.

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By Alyssa Baser

Created: 04 November 2015

At our clinic in Bajra Barahi, Nepal each practitioner sees up to 20 patients a day. At the beginning of my stay there I was meeting all new patients. I knew some cases would be challenging and others would be a bit more familiar. I know right now, that some will need long term treatment and have slow progress, whereas some find relief in only a few treatments.  I do hope however, to have as many successes as I can in the short amount of time that I am here. And it's the successes, little or big that keep me inspired to moving forward to help people.

The first time I met this patient he presented with low back pain, painful urination and red coloured urine. He complained that he experienced the back pain when bending over and had some frequency of urination. I thought he may have been experiencing a kidney infection but he did not have a fever nor was his pain severe. 

I consulted with a colleague and he clarified that this was not a kidney infection but more likely kidney stones. After doing a kidney punch test confirming the presence of stones and taking his temperature (which was normal), my recommendations were to drink five to six liters of water, quit drinking alcohol, chewing tobacco, and come for acupuncture to move the stones. Expecting him to argue with me, he surprisingly agreed saying if that is what it took to pass the stones, that is what he would do. 

Within a week he visited the clinic every day and every time I saw him he looked better and better. The pain kept decreasing as he held his side of the agreement to drink six liters of water! I enjoyed his energy a lot, he was a very positive man and grateful for the work I did on him. I especially appreciated that he wanted to get better as much as I wanted him to!

I predicted it would take about 6 appointments of checking in and doing acupuncture to resolve the stones. When appointment 6 approached, he came back saying he was having frequent urination but no red urine, urgency, or back pain. How could he be urinating ten times a day after all the work we had done? It was because he was still continuing to drink 6 liters of water per day because I had advised him to when he had the stones! Laughing at the very uncomplicated explanation, I told him he could now return to half that amount since the stones had finally passed. What else was there to do for him now? I could not think of anything to say but that he did not have to come to the clinic anymore unless something else came up. It does not seem like a big deal but for me, it was the first time I told a patient that our work here was done and I did not require him to come back again! It felt rewarding to know that this case was for now closed successfully. It enforced a reminder to me that it is great thing to give a patient the help they need with the intention of eventually seeing them less and less because they are improving. On the other hand, if we are constantly seeing a patient for several months/weeks without seeing any changes in their condition, what good are we doing? 

I do believe that this patient did more than half of the work because he truly wanted to get better and was willing to put in the effort for that to happen. Patients and us practitioners have to work together as a team! I am hopeful for more experiences like this in the future. Specifically, I am looking forward to more successes as well as overcoming challenging cases. Even more so, having the right to say, "Great work! You don't have to come anymore unless something else happens!" and send them on their way. -- Alyssa Baser