Acupuncture

Several people have asked me about acupuncture, so I thought I would show you what it looks like. Here is me on the table, with a tummy full of needles. Mostly they don't hurt going in, although occasionally one does. Today Dr. Lin put a needle in my calf, and it felt like I had just been cattle-prodded. Whatever had been blocked in there unblocked with a vengeance. In Chinese medicinal theory, to oversimplify, the body's energy, or "chi," travels along 12 main routes, or meridians. Illness results from blockage along these routes; the needles unblock blocked energy, allowing the chi to flow, and the body's yin and yang, male and female, dark and light forces to rebalance and come into harmony.


The meridians are associated with various organs: lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, large intestine, and so on. Needles are inserted at various points to address specific issues. Today, for example, Dr. Lin placed a total of 22 needles at various points: a couple on my head to boost energy; one in each crook of the elbow and at various points along the inner arms for the lungs; some around the tummy to control constipation and nausea.

I don't think the acupuncture will cure my cancer, but I do believe that it is helping me survive the treatment. I go twice a week to the office in Oak Park, which is more convenient to my apartment than the one on Michigan Avenue, with its attendant parking hassles.

I had a good day today, great energy all morning, I actually felt very close to normal. Had a lovely nap from 2-4, and the rest of the afternoon tried to make a dent in the endless pile of paperwork that doesn't stop just because I have cancer: filed receipts, returned phone calls, paid a few bills. My upstairs neighbor stopped by with some frozen squash and lemon grass soup, which I will have for lunch tomorrow. My appetite remains voracious, I am happy to report.