Before coming to China, Bryan was, at best, skeptical of Chinese traditional medicine. All the talks about the "hot" and "cold" properties of food, and all the concoctions of herbal soups all seemed like voodoo medicine to him.
His opinion on the subject, however, started to change after the successful treatment of my back pain by a traditional Chinese doctor. I had injured my back early in life while in intensive dance training as a young girl. The problem worsened after I had my first baby. The physical demands of pregnancy, delivery, and improper posture during breastfeeding really took a toll on my back. Despite physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, and steroid shots, the problem persisted. In fact, it got to be so bad that I couldn't put on a pair of pants without wincing.
When I arrived in Shanghai, a family friend referred me to an old traditional Chinese doctor. He saw patients in his small apartment. He used a combination of qigong and homemade herbal patches to treat his patients. The herbal mixture is made from a secret recipe containing more than twenty ingredients. The ingredients are ground and then cooked into a thick black paste. It was this compound that was spread onto an adhesive bandage patch. I would place patches on the areas where I had pain. I wore them for a week at a time without taking them off or getting them wet. In the meantime, I had to stay away from all raw vegetables and fruits and avoid anything sour. After four weeks of treatment, the pain was completely gone. I didn't even hurt when I went skiing for an entire week immediately after the treatment. Much to my amazement, my back pain has not returned.
My son has had a similarly good experience with traditional Chinese medicine. When he first started preschool, he was sick twice a month on average. His colds lasted so long that he seemed to have a perpetual cough and an unending runny nose. The repeated upper respiratory infections were starting to cause ear infections that were affecting his heating. We were very worried when the ENT doctor told us that he might need surgery on his nose. Fortunately, a Chinese friend introduced us to a Chinese traditional doctor who specializes in pediatrics. After a few weeks of treatment, our little boy became much healthier. Both his nose and ear problems went away, and he now rarely gets a cold. We used to suspect he had exercise induced asthma because he would cough as soon as he started running around. Now he can run around for an hour straight without a single cough!
Both my son's and my experiences really changed Bryan's attitude toward Chinese traditional medicine. Much to my surprise, he even agreed to see one himself to treat his asthma. The air pollution in China combined with his hectic travel schedule had made him quite susceptible to pulmonary problems. But after he saw our son's doctor (who kindly agreed to take on an adult patient), Bryan's immune system seemed much more resilient to viruses. Now he is definitely a believer in this ancient art. Even the terrible tasting herbal drinks didn't seem so bad to him anymore. He would take his herbal drink every day at 10am and 3pm. In our house, we call our traditional Chinese doctors the miracle workers!
(selected from 101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People by Yi S. Ellis and Bryan D. Ellis, published by China Intercontinental Press in 2012)
