A few years ago I completed a year-long Acupuncture fellowship at a major hospital in NYC. While there, I provided in patient care and worked closely with physicians in Family Medicine, Surgery, Cystic Fibrosis, Oncology, Cardiology, Rehab and Hospice. This experience proved invaluable in learning how to integrate eastern and western medicine with many different conditions.
One of my first days there I met a Physical Therapist and she asked me for help. One of her “frequent flyers” (as they call them) was back. This was a 32 yr. old mother of three with advanced Cystic Fibrosis, a terrible genetic disease that causes a thick, sticky build up of mucus in the lungs, pancreas and other organs. She was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and wasn’t expected to live. She was highly addicted to pain medication, severely underweight and struggling to breathe.
The only reason I was even brought there was because there was nothing else they could do for her. It was an extremely difficult situation. This woman was several years younger than me, a mother of three and in SO much pain. It was hard not to cry. A doctor, two nurses and the PT stood by to watch. No pressure or anything.... Not intimidated one bit. Nope. Not me. Totally cool here. Focus Nicole, focus. So I assessed her the best I could.
I thought, this woman hasn’t slept in days, she hasn’t eaten and she can’t breathe. There is absolutely no chance her body can heal itself in this state of exhaustion. She was moving a lot because she is so uncomfortable, can hardly speak and has never had acupuncture before. So, I thought I better just try my best to calm her nervous system. If I could do that, we will go from there.
I began with needling a few points in her ears as well as a few points on her arms. While the needles were in, I started to gently massage her legs and feet with mild then medium pressure. Within minutes she fell asleep. HALLELUJAH!
I had never had the opportunity to treat a patient while their vitals were being monitored and it was fascinating. I saw what was happening and though I truly believed in the power of acupuncture, I couldn’t believe it! No one could. The doctors were speechless. Now you would think this would have created a dialogue and relationship with the practitioners but unfortunately it did not. I do hope that it impacted them in some way.
I did continue to treat this woman for several months after the episode. In the weeks that followed our initial visit she was doing great, requesting treatments, asking questions and wanting to understand how acupuncture works. I would spend time explaining things to her and I enjoyed our time together. I saw her spirit return. To all the nurses’ amazement, she started walking the floors. Now, let me stress to you, this woman was not expected to live a few months ago and she was improving against all odds. But, the body is so amazing and can do wondrous things if you let it. She told me that she has been in and out of the hospital over the years and this was the ONLY thing she was doing different and it was making such a difference for her. This made me proud. Eventually she was discharged and sent home.
I was so happy for her and hopeful for her family. About a month or so later, I inquired about her and a nurse informed me that she had overdosed on her pain medication and passed away. We had failed her. I firmly believe that acupuncture was helping her pain and spirit without any side effects, which gave her body a chance to heal. When she left the hospital, the pain returned and her little body just couldn’t handle it anymore. I share this story with you for many reasons. Overdosing on pain medication is an epidemic. From 1999-2015 over 183,000 people have died in the U.S. from overdoses related to prescription opiods. Something has to change and fast. I hope things do and the medical field starts embracing other alternatives to pain management.
I also want to honor this brave soul who was so generous in spirit and gave a good fight. She changed me and I was never able to thank her for our time together so I’ll do it here.