Ok, so now fast forward fifteen years….
I’m an interning Doctor of Chinese Medicine, learning acupuncture and herbal remedies. My life is now filled with research on how to help myself and others. I regularly go for acupuncture treatments to understand how to treat patients by using myself as a guinea pig and I must say – there is no better way to learn than to live it myself. While countless hours are spent sitting in a desk learning the old fashioned way from teachers sharing their wisdom, much of it is also spent in a clinic where I put on a white coat and observe how doctors are solving health issues with needles and herbs. It is completely fascinating and I cannot imagine doing anything else.
How did I choose Chinese Medicine?
Well that’s another story. I grew up with terrible allergies and asthma and suffered with them through my teens and into adult hood. The reactions from animal dander were the worst and were only relieved by an inhaler, or in severe cases put me in the hospital sucking oxygen. I had one particularly bad attack around the same time I was being treated by a chiropractor for back problems. The practitioner told me that she also knew acupuncture and that she would be able to reduce the asthma with needles. I thought it was unlikely considering my reactions were so severe and I had suffered with them for so long, but was willing to try anything.
After the first treatment my allergies almost left completely. I had a few treatments after that to follow up and I can swear that my allergies have not come back since. This was nothing short of a miracle. I couldn’t believe that I could breath so easily. It changed me forever. I wanted to understand how a difficult situation such as my own was solved so easily, and without medication.