Rosewood-Like Feet

A woman from New York had been sick for almost twenty years.  She could not walk much and the skin from her knees to her toes was the color of rosewood.  She had already seen about 200 doctors, including Chinese doctors.  When she learned that a medical doctor was invited to see a government leader in China, she at once tried to see that doctor.  After talking to her, the doctor said, “You should see my professor.”  She did so and was able to improve somewhat, but she wanted even more improvement, so she went looking for more doctors.  Her relative recommended her to me.  
 

After conducting the examination, I asked how her doctors had treated her.  I knew that the doctors had done a good job but I knew I needed to finish what they had started.  I learned that her problem was from a germ, but I asked myself how come the problem had persisted for such a long time?

If your house is damp or wet, germs, mildew or mold will grow.  Even a mushroom can grow!  My diagnosis for the problem was a yang qi weakness.  Yang qi warms up and mobilizes the body, but when yang qi is insufficient the body cannot create enough energy to clear up the excessive water.  If the body is damp, the excessive moisture takes the characteristic of water, which will gradually accumulate and like a stream or river try to flow downwards.  In this kind of environment, the germs can grow easily. Even after they are destroyed, if the environment is damp, their growth will again be easily supported.

             

So I helped the patient adjust her internal climate by decreasing the excessive water and energizing the yang qi at the same time.  As time passed, the color of her feet became lighter and lighter and the rosewood hue disappeared.  After a period of time I told her she could now walk more, but she was still afraid, and she and her husband continued to come by taxi.

            

One day after treatment, we called a taxicab for her as usual.  It was a nice day, there was no big event, and it was not a holiday.  It was a little bit passed 1:00 p.m.  First we called one cab company, but no car showed up.  Then we called a second cab company, but again no car showed up.  One hour later, we were all frustrated.  We kept dialing, but still no one came.

             

The woman’s husband became impatient.  He said, “Let’s walk back to the hotel.”  But the patient said, “I can’t!”  They argued back and forth.  Two hours had already passed yet still no cab showed up.  By now her husband was angry.  He said, “Let’s walk!” Finally he pulled her up to walk, and this anger made all the difference.  She began to walk back to the hotel.  The next day she and her husband walked to and from the office without a cab, and the following day they walked to Fisherman’s Wharf.  Finally, they were able to walk to the Golden Gate Bridge, and on the last day they said, “Good-bye!” and flew to New York.