Acupuncture Personal Statement

If I had never been injured, I wouldn't have found acupuncture. For almost 25 years I had a career that subjected me to constant overuse and impact injuries. Although I’m young, I have a high milage body because routinely I had to carry 60-80 pounds of weight over treacherous terrain for days at a time, jumped out of aircraft carrying over 160 pounds of equipment, dive on live ordnance at depths exceeding 150 feet, as well as being subjected to blunt trauma and explosions. My former occupation was physically demanding and resulted in physical damaging that kept me in constant physical pain. At that time in the military, alternative medicine like acupuncture was not available or even discussed as a treatment option for my injuries.

My injuries

had evolved from acute to chronic by the time I was 40. My recovery plan consisted of x-rays, MRIs, physical therapy, manual adjustments, traction, electro stimulation, ultrasound and of course, pain medications and muscle relaxers. Although I was following the prescribed treatments they only provided a marginal improvement to my conditions. Eventually, I was informed that my only course of action was to wait until the condition worsened to the point that it required surgery. I still remember the conversation when my physician told me the reality was that I would have to get used to a life of pain. Providing me all the appropriate drugs was the best they could offer. No one should hear news like that just as they turn 40, I didn’t like what I heard and I refused to accept their diagnosis.
My personal discovery of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine came from the frustration with the limitations of Western Medicine.

While I was researching what options alternative medicine offered, a very good friend recommended I try acupuncture, and as you can imagine, it changed my life. Each treatment provided benefits that left me in awe, my doctors were wrong after all and I had finally found pain relief for my high impact, high millage body. As I began to research other benefits of Asian medicine provided it occurred to me that this is a field that I would love to work in. For over 2 decades my passion had been helping others in need. Though I loved my job, I could no longer make that kind of physical sacrifice. After being exposed to medicine where attention to detail, thoroughness, and a holistic view the individual mattered, the idea of becoming an acupuncturist took hold. For the next few months, I conducted online research about the medicine, schools, student life, success stories and horror stories. For each piece of information gathered, I considered how my situation and personality would be well suited to becoming a successful student and practitioner. Feeling that I knew enough to start asking the right questions I conducting several informational interviews with local practitioners and contacted several schools filling in the blanks. One big attraction to entering the community was the diversity of backgrounds of people I interviewed: an

accountant, ballerina, chiropractor, postmaster, interior decorator, nurse, massage therapist, why not me.
My experience as a patient and devotion to the medicine increased in 2015. Just three months after moving to Seattle I was a passenger in a vehicle that was rear-ended at 40 MPH, in August surgery to repair a fractured shoulder, then in November suffered a pinched nerve between the C5-C6 which caused pain and other neurological problems. That’s a lot during a 9-month period, even for me. Through all of this, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, qi gong, tuina were all key medical aspects of my treatment giving me more firsthand experience from the patient’s perspective. The most amazing part was that I was able to avoid the “recommended” neck surgery by following my passion in alternative medicine. It’s become a lifestyle rather than just a career change.