In Your Own Words: Patients Share Their Acupuncture Story
After experiencing severe pain and a serious vascular condition that acupuncture helped relieve when other treatments did not, Tomás developed a lasting trust in its effectiveness. Tomás later found CAP and was drawn to its accessibility and care, continuing treatment for stress, anxiety, and recovery from long-term Bell’s palsy after COVID-19. Acupuncture has become a steady source of healing, offering both physical relief and a space for rest, presence, and alignment.
Name: Tomás M.
Age: 45
Where you live: White Center
Job: Public Service
Why did you start getting acupuncture?
When I was still a graduate student, I was in the field completing research on agricultural workers in Washington State. There was a labor organizing campaign that was very stressful and I had developed high blood pressure which remained untreated. At one point I started to feel tremendous pain in my arm and the painkillers that were prescribed by the emergency room did not work very well. Someone suggested acupuncture. In one treatment, the pain I felt was significantly reduced. Not long after, I went to the emergency room in Bellingham for the same issue and found out that I had a blood clot stuck in my arm that was caused by the high blood pressure dislodging thrombosis caused by an aneurism of the subclavian artery due to undetected Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. I was very lucky and the surgery was a decade ago. Since then, I have believed in the power of acupuncture to resolve issues that western medicine falls short of.
Why have you brought others in your life to the clinic?
I was drawn to CAP because of my background in supporting cooperative development. I was excited to see that a business like this existed close to me and was mask positive in the aftermath of COVID-19. I think I picked up a business card and coupon for CAP at the SeaTac Farmers Market. The quality and friendliness of the providers was endearing and the sliding scale pricing made returning regularly more accessible. I continue to work in a stressful work environment and also have anxiety from the current state of the world in general. Coming to CAP offers me a structured timeline to plug out and just be which is a god send.
Further, in May of last year I caught COVID-19 for the first time. The disease left me with Bell's palsy, where I lost muscle control of the left side of my face, and I am still recovering from it almost a year later. Acupuncture is one of several tools that I’ve sought out to create a regiment of treatment that has included LMT, a Chiropractor, and soon Physical Therapy. Though many people who suffer from bell's palsy can return to normal within six months, I am one of the folks for whom it’s taken longer. The Acupuncturists at CAP having treated me for several months have developed a healing strategy and have taken it upon themselves to consult with other practitioners about treating Bell’s Palsy with Acupuncture. I believe that there are now more clients who are benefiting from this expertise.
I work in Public Health, I was part of the state’s emergency response and part of the Community Engagement Task Force where I got to access data about the disease and support community partners, like the Latino Center for Health at the UW that were studying the prevalence of Long-COVID among the Latino Community. Though Bell’s Palsy is not recognized as a symptom of Long COVID, it sure feels that way to me. Which is why I pay attention to current trends in the literature related to treating chronic disease.
Recently, I brought up to Sonja, chatter that was happening related to the role of interstitial fluid in spreading disease like Cancer. Though the first journal articles that were documenting this were published a decade ago, it usually takes that long for research to be implemented. What that research shifted in the treatment of diseases like cancer, was the realization that disease does not only spread through lymphatic or cardio-vascular systems, but also through interstitial tissue which covers all of your body like skin, and because it is liquid, it conducts electricity.
The comment that I made to Sonja, knowing enough about Acupuncture that it helps to channel and redirect Qi. Which I first experienced a decade ago in relation to pain signals. The observation that Western Science was catching up to the millennial traditional ecological knowledge of Eastern Medicine in much the same way that Medicine seems to slowly catch up with the Traditional Ecological Knowledges of the Americas.
How has acupuncture changed or impacted your life?
Acupuncture has reinforced that there is a wider variety of tools for wellness available to draw from.
How has acupuncture supported your life?
The treatments I receive at CAP have been a refuge from the stress and anxiety of the world.
How has acupuncture helped you grow?
The time that I am forced to plug out and be present during an acupuncture session has helped me bring that into my everyday life.
How has acupuncture healed your spirit?
The friendship I’ve developed with providers such as Sonja has been a blessing.
How has acupuncture improved your body?
I crave look forward to the next treatment. I think the body knows when something is beneficial.
How has acupuncture provided alignment?
Being forced to be present has helped bring alignment between my brain and heart.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Gratitude.