Mary Ellen's Toes – Adventures in Acupuncture

by Mike Burton

My wife Mary Ellen's toes were swollen, blistered, and painful.  The blisters were fluid filled and covered the tops of her red and purple toes.  It hurt her to walk, even across a room, and she's tough.  We spent a great deal of money on seamless socks and lady's shoes with big toe boxes, which wasn’t what she wanted to be wearing.

Mary Ellen was referred to a vascular specialist.  He looked at her toes, ran some tests, and diagnosed Raynaud's Disease.  Procardia was prescribed, and surgery was mentioned as a possibility.  Then our physician suggested that Mary Ellen see yet another specialist, Richard Martin, M.D., a rheumatologist.  "Great," I thought, "my wife is going to go see Ricky Martin.  At least that should take her mind off her toes."

Dr. Martin said that the condition was not Raynaud's, but erythromelalgia. He was confident of his diagnosis, but could offer neither cure nor treatment other than stopping the Procardia.  Then he told her about his grandmother.  She'd lived in New York City and had chronic ringing in her ears, probably related to Meniere's Syndrome, another of Mary Ellen's diagnoses. 

Dr. Martin's grandmother was evaluated by several ENT doctors, including visits to the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital.  The suggested treatment provided little benefit.  However, the proprietor of a Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood suggested an acupuncturist.  Those treatments provided more symptom relief than any of the orthodox therapies.  Dr. Martin suggested that Mary Ellen visit the Wege Institute at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and look into acupuncture. To me this sounded like a good way to shed excess money.  Needles, I remember thinking, are for voodoo dolls.  I managed to keep my doubts to myself. Mary Ellen made her appointment.

Dr. Zhou Zhiqun, O.M.D. (to me her name sounds like zoo chin) asked Mary Ellen questions and did some physical examination.  Then she put some narrow gauge needles into Mary Ellen's feet, legs, arms, and hands.  It wasn't painful and, to Mary Ellen's surprise, she found the experience restful.  It was explained that acupuncture is believed to help circulate energy through well-defined pathways connected to the body's organs, structures, and systems.

After several sessions, the blisters, redness, and swelling subsided.  Mary Ellen could walk without pain.  After four visits, Mary Ellen brought flowers to Dr. Zhou Zhiqun, whom she continues to see.  We like her very much.

It's all very strange to me, but I've seen significant positive results. Mary Ellen's internist and dermatologist have noticed the distinct improvement.  Mary Ellen continues to enjoy tremendous relief from the symptoms of erythromelalgia.

We were in Mexico not long ago with another couple.  We ran low on refreshments and Mary Ellen volunteered to walk to the store and bring back some beverages - it was half a mile each way.  She couldn't have done this before the acupuncture. 

I'm learning to be more open to new ideas.

Mike and Mary Ellen met at Grand Valley State University, and have been married 34 years.  Their son, Brian, is a musician living in North Carolina.  Mary Ellen finds some additional relief from her symptoms by walking the shoreline wherever the water is warm and salty.