I suppose you’d like to know a bit about the person hovering over you with needles! I am a graduate of Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine. I also have 30+ years experience in allopathic medicine, having studied nursing and worked as a respiratory therapist in hospitals from the Virgin Islands to Maine. I have cared for all patient populations from 1 pound preemies to the elderly, in settings as varied from large teaching institutions to small community hospitals.
My current interests include all aspects of medicine usually seen in a full service acupuncture practice, including orthopedics, women’s health issues, pain management, and emotional balancing. My master’s thesis concerned the study of alternative treatments for fibromyalgia. I am very excited to be working with infertility patients who are undergoing treatment at Chattanooga’s Fertility Center and Tennessee Reproductive Medicine.
I know intimately the limitations and strengths of Western medicine. I am discouraged with the system’s emphasis on disease, not prevention and wellness; upset with the insurance companies’ willingness to pay out thousands of dollars a year for emphysema treatments, but not for a cheap stop smoking program. I see hospitals still serving patients bacon and coffee for breakfast. I get aggravated at TV commercials pushing you to ignore and suppress your symptoms. For example, for heartburn, why not avoid the greasy spoon diner instead of taking prescription drugs? Well, to no one’s surprise, those medications then cause side effects that also need medication!
Many doctors and patients alike see humans as a machine, not as whole complex organic being, with the physician acting as a skilled mechanic. This type of thinking leads to overkill when dealing with nagging complaints like headaches, menstrual irregularities, skin problems, joint pain, digestive complaints, and more. Of course, most doctors are truly trying their best, and following their training. But they are unfamiliar with the options for patients, with little or no training in nutrition, hormones, herbs, and emotions’ effects on symptoms.
I originally became interested in acupuncture when working at a children’s hospital in California, where physicians quite successfully used it for pain and nausea control for chemotherapy patients. In Hawaii, families are encouraged to blend traditional Pacific Islander and Asian medicine techniques with western technology. There I first saw cupping and coining. The patients were happy, the families were comfortable, and outcomes improved. Until that time I was strictly a western medicine snob, thinking all this alternative medicine garbage was just a quirky cultural habit. Dramatic results convinced me otherwise!
I recently moved back to the South, where herbal traditions are still strong. I recall my granny using plants from the woods and garden to heal minor injuries and ailments, and would love to learn more about native Southeastern American plants and Cherokee herbal cures.
Clients who come to me are interested in wellness, self educating, and are willing to try lifestyle changes to improve their life. Of course, some come to me as a last resort after having failed surgeries, seeing multiple specialists, and taking suitcases full of medications. I will try my best to wean you from pill bottle bondage.
Thank you for your interest. If I can assist in any way please call.
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