Houston CFIDS Association

www.ada.gov can provide information on dealing with schools, doctors, work, etc.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE

Please go to the Grassroots Advocacy section of the CFIDS Association of America website:

http://www.cfids.org/advocacy/default.asp

To participate in their amazing Patient Advocacy program sign up and they will notify you of all current advocacy issues. You do not have to be a member to participate.

UNDERSTAND

One of the most difficult aspects of this condition is the lack of understanding experienced by PWCs. People think we’re malingering, or that they, too, experience these symptoms, or otherwise simply “don’t get it” no matter now well-intentioned they may be. By simply getting a basic understanding of what’s happening with your loved one or colleague, you can be a tremendous gift and support. Five minutes is all it takes.

• CFIDS Assn/CDD Spark! Campaign PSA (requires Windows Media Player)
• Sleepydust.net Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Video for Family & Friends

M.D. in Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (trained in China)

• Diplomat of Pain Management by American Academy of Pain Management (AAPM)

• Texas Licensed Acupuncturist (AC00477)

• Diplomat of Acupuncture by National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM)

• Diplomat of Herbology by NCCAOM

• Associate Professor of Oriental Medicine teaching Acupuncture, Tai Chi and Qigong at the American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Houston, Texas

• Instructor at Rice University in Continuing Education

• Acupuncture research at Baylor College of Medicine on knee arthritis

• 6th Generation Tai Chi-Qigong Disciple trained by Tai Chi master Jinghui Song & Ziyi Li since 1989

In the mid 1980s I planned to go to Western medical school because it made better sense to me, a modernized young Chinese man, with all its scientific-based information. But my father, a winery engineer, directed me to find a school which provided equal education in both Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine – as he put it “Traditional Chinese Medicine has withstood three thousand years worth of tests and trials and has never been overridden, including the introduction of Western medicine to the Chinese people in 1820.”

In my first year of medical school, one of my roommates had a toothache in one of his wisdom teeth and we gave him ibuprofen (it was not an over the counter drug at the time in China) and he was very excited because it killed the pain right away. That was the first time I ever gave a drug to a patient! Then we found out he had to take the drug every 4 hours and increase the dosage gradually. The next day he stopped taking the drug because of the effects it had on his stomach. On his next visit, he received acupuncture treatment on his hand and applied herbal powder to his gums to stop the pain and clear the inflammation. The pain stopped after 3 days’ treatment and the patient was able to keep his wisdom tooth.

After 12 years of medical practice, my deepest appreciation goes to all the great Chinese and Western medical doctors who have bestowed their healing knowledge upon us.

Secondly, I thank my father whose initial advice led me to my pursuit and enjoyment of practicing integrative medicine. In the beginning of my medical practice, I used many more drugs due to their rapid effects. Not long after, I realized that traditional Chinese therapies would be my therapeutic priority for many of my patients after giving them a full and complete diagnosis based on my integrated knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western medicine. The advantages of integrative medicine are obvious because it enables me to look at the patient from both perspectives and provide a wider range of treatment options, often avoiding unnecessary and hazardous actions by carefully selecting the safest and most effective approach to the patient’s problem from either system of medicine.

Finally, my appreciation goes to Tai Chi-Qigong Masters Jinhui Song, Ziyi Li, and Mogen Lin. With distinct honor I became a sixth generation Tai Chi disciple and received Master-to-Disciple training since 1989. Such training enlightens me to heal a person physically and mentally with energy medicine.