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Chinese medicine ignites American's hope
By Jiao Xiaoyang (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-05-14 00:07
Fifteen years after being left mute and seriously brain damaged in a car
accident, Washington woman Corrie Anna has travelled to Shanghai in search of
traditional Chinese medical treatment.
She joins a wave of travellers who head to a clinic in Shanghai's Pudong
District in search of cures they could not find anywhere else.
"More and more foreign patients are aware of the value of traditional Chinese
medicine for many difficult diseases," said Shen Weidong, deputy director of the
traditional Chinese medicine centre in Shanghai's Shuguang Hospital in Pudong.
With serious brain damage from the accident 15 years ago, Corrie, now 32,
suffers dementia and spasms. She cannot talk and can hardly raise her head.
Currently on a three-month treatment regime prescribed by Shen, she undergoes
acupuncture and physiotherapy, five days a week.
The acupuncture is painful and sometimes makes her cry, but has some
immediate effect in relaxing spasming muscles, says Corrie's mother Kathy, who
came from the US with her daughter three weeks ago.
"It's possible she can raise head more than before," Kathy told China Daily.
"But It's too soon to tell how much progress we can make here."
After doctors in the United States said treatments available there could
offer no further improvement in Corrie's condition, Kathy brought her daughter
to Shanghai in February this year on the advice of her son who has worked in the
city since 1998.
The first treatment ignited some hope of improvement and Corrie returned in
mid-April for more treatment.
"Our plan for now is to complete the 12 weeks and see Doctor Shen's
recommendation," said Kathy.
"I have strong hope," she added.
While Western medicine is vital for the treatment of many diseases,
traditional Chinese medicine plays a special role in treating functional
deficiency, nerve diseases and many other symptoms, says Shen.
His clinic, located in Pudong's Zhangjiang High-tech Park, receives 20-30 out
patients every afternoon, many of whom are expats from the multi-national
businesses in the area.
"Some patients get to know about us by searching the Internet, but most of
them heard about our centre through word of mouth," said Shen.
In the Shuguang Hospital, expat patients can opt to register and line up
along with locals, instead of paying for the expensive private service, said
Shen.
"Traditional Chinese medicine is making progress thanks to constant
innovation and integration with modern technologies," he added.
It is now common for traditional Chinese medicine doctors to use MRI and CT
scans in diagnosing diseases, finer and less painful needles for acupuncture,
and processed herbal medicines that are less bitter, said
Shen.
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