Before She Tried it, She Thought Acupuncture was CRAZY!

For Mike Williamson, it was just another family-centered Saturday. His wife and three children were goofing around in the backyard of their north Georgia home. He was on the deck barbequing chicken over a charcoal grill and enjoying the happy sounds of his family at play.

Stepping inside for a fresh pair of tongs, Mike returned to the deck to find that the chicken juices had caused the fire to flare up over the meat. Rushing to save the family dinner, he tripped. “Unfortunately, the top half of my body was faster than the lower half. My body flew through the air and landed stomach down in the charcoal grill,” Mike said.

Only after cleaning the charcoal mess and salvaging the chicken did Mike venture inside to peek at his wound. “Oh, this is not good,” he thought. “This hurts.”

As an office manager at a medical facility, Mike knew to seek immediate medical treatment. He was diagnosed with severe second degree burns and put on a standard round of antibiotics, silvadene ointment, and gauze wraps.

“In one week, I was not healing. I was in constant pain and discomfort, and I was starting to have an allergic reaction to the antibiotics,” Mike lamented.

A co-worker suggested Mike try acupuncture, and even though he was not too keen on the idea of having needles poked in his already ailing body, he decided to give it a try.
“The pain went away after the first treatment,” Mike said. “I was skeptical, but I got off that table, and there was no pain,” Mike said. “My burn crusted over that night. I was afraid it was worse, but within three days and three more acupuncture treatments, it peeled off, and my skin was like baby skin. I hardly have a scar at all.”
Linda Lennear was creating a cozy fire in the hearth last February when she realized the fireplace flue was closed. As a healthcare professional, she knew that a closed flue could be dangerous to her family’s air quality so she quickly reached into the chimney to open the flu. The flames rose to meet her forearm, and Linda was filled with the searing pain of a second degree burn.

After a week of silvadene cream, Linda was still in immense pain. At the prompting of a friend, she decided to give acupuncture a try.


“Before I tried it,” Linda said, “I thought acupuncture was crazy! That’s just way too many needles.” Now, Linda is one of acupuncture’s most vocal converts.

Both Linda and Mike were treated by Sung C. Cho, a licensed acupuncturist at the New Hope Medical Center in Duluth. Cho studied acupuncture under the legendary Master Nam-Soo Kim, a 95-year old acupuncturist with an almost cult following in South Korea. Master Kim is considered a pioneer in treating burn patients with acupuncture.On a recent week day. I visited Cho at the G.D Institute of Integrated Medicine, to learn more about acupuncture and to talk with some of his patients.

WHAT IS ACUPUNCTURE?
"Acupuncture is an ancient Asian healing technique that involves the insertion of tiny needles into specific points of the body called acupoints. Acupuncture is based on the principle that disease and pain are a response to a blockage caused by either excess or lack. Acupuncture restores the body to a state of natural balance and harmony by removing blockages and allowing qi (vital life energy) and blood to flow freely.”

HOW DOES IT WORK?
"No one is 100 percent sure how acupuncture works. There is clear anecdotal evidence that acupuncture provides cost-effective relief for many symptoms and diseases, but many of the studies that were done in the past did not hold up to scientific scrutiny. More and more doctors are performing studies, but still no one knows exactly how or why acupuncture works."

WHAT IS MOXIBUSTION?
"Moxibustion is the practice of warming the skin with herbs next to acupuncture points to stimulate healing and pain relief. Trial studies suggest that a protein is formed in the skin when moxibustion is performed. These proteins may have healing properties, but more research is needed."

HOW DOES ACUPUNCTURE WORK WITH BURNS?

"No one knows the exact mechanism of why acupuncture works to heal burns, but we can guess. Perhaps the heat is transported through the needle outside of the body. Another theory is that acupuncture stimulates the cell to recover. With acupuncture, you don’t cover the injury with cream, only loose gauze. That’s because the skin needs oxygen. The body’s breathing system is 80 percent lung and 20 percent skin."

WHY ISN'T ACUPUNCTURE MORE POPULAR IN THE UNITED STATES?
"It is hard to fit acupuncture into a capitalistic medical disease model. In the United States, the healthcare industry is designed to make money. Acupuncture will never make a lot of money. It is about healing people quickly and inexpensively. It does not keep people in hospital beds, and it does not push the pharmaceutical industry. That just doesn’t fit with the current American healthcare model.

"In Korea, people come from all over the country to see Master Kim for acupuncture healing and relief. But here in the United States, acupuncture is a treatment of last resort. When nothing else works, people will try acupuncture. With time, I think that will change."

J. W.'s Story - Acupuncture and Stroke Rehab

A little more than a year ago, 25-year old J.W. Kim was driving a car when his left arm started tingling. The sensation didn't subside, so he pulled the vehicle to the side of the road. It wasn't until he cut the ignition and telephoned his mother that he realized he couldn't move his left leg. J. W. was suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke. His brain was bleeding internally.

The next few hours were a blur. He was admitted to the emergency room at North Fulton Regional Hospital, airlifted to Emory Johns Creek Hospital, and within two hours, J.W. was on an operating room table receiving the first of two brain surgeries to remove and prevent clots in his right cerebral hemisphere. When J.W. woke up in the recovery room, the left side of his body was completely paralyzed.

These days J.W., a former University of Georgia psychology student and "Bulldawg" fan, spends a lot of time focusing on his recovery. In addition to traditional Western medicine, J.W. receives acupuncture once a week. Acupuncture is the ancient Asian practice of inserting tiny needles into various points in the body to alleviate pain or stimulate healing.

"It definitely helps," said J.W., who has regained most of his mobility. In the 15 months since his stroke, he has graduated from wheelchair to walker to cane to walking independently.

J.W. receives acupuncture treatments once a week at the GD Institute of Integrated Medicine in Duluth. "It definitely helps," the 25 year old says.

According to J.W.'s acupuncturist, Sung C. Cho with the GD Institute of Integrated Medicine in Duluth, acupuncture treatments help patients like J.W. by increasing circulation, removing blockages, and encouraging the body to return to a state of balance and harmony. He said many American patients discover relief and healing from acupuncture after exhausting more traditional forms of medical treatment.

Sung C. Cho, licensed acupuncturist with the GD Institute of Integrated Medicine, works alongside medical doctors, physical therapists, and other health care professionals to "deliver an integrated approach" to healing and pain relief. "The goal is to maximize results and minimize side effects," he said.

According to the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH), the federal agency that conducts and supports medical research, an estimated 3.1 million adults and 150,000 children in the United States received acupunture in 2006, the latest year for which data is available. In a consensus statement issued in 1997, NIH stated that acupuncture is "useful as an adjunct treatment" for the following conditions: stroke rehabilitation, asthma, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, addiction, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, myofascial pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Acupuncture is a promising primary treatment for general pain relief and nausea caused by chemotherapy, the NIH statement said.

J.W. said he started acupuncture treatments at the recommendation of his chiropractor. "It's kind of addicting," he said of the treatments. "It feels hot at first, but then soothing."

Reader asks, "What is a B-Boy?"

This is a B-Boy named "Red," pictured here spinning on his back at the Relapse Theatre in downtown Atlanta. There are 17 entries for "B-Boy" in urbandictionary.com.

Many of us know "B-Boys" by the name "breakdancers," a term coined by the media in the 1980s. I recently learned that serious dancers of that style prefer to be called "B-Boys." Calling someone a "breakdancer" is tantamount to calling them a "poser." Don't do it!

B-Boys trace their roots to the early 1970s in the Bronx. "B-Boy" might be short for "Bronx-Boy." Other sources think it is short for "Break Boy." Break, by the way, refers to a break in the music - where the lyrics end and the dancing begins.

B-Boy dancing looks like a gravity-defying mixture of hiphop, gymnastics, and martial arts. Truly incredible moves! I am by no means an expert, but I am definitely a fan now! If you get a chance to attend a competition, go! Not only will you have a renewed sense of awe for the human body and its ability to flip and flop and twist and thump and spin and gyrate to music, but you will find yourself in the kind of melting pot that diversity officers dream about -- ethnically, that is. (There is a gender imbalance, but I hear that is changing).

B-boy dancing has an international following, complete with its own World Championship. While fairly new to the style, South Koreans have been in the news lately for capturing international B-Boy titles.

One of my classmates has been filming Korean American B-Boys in the Atlanta area for a documentary that explores family dynamics of Korean immigrants. So far, he has found that most Korean parents are supportive, or at least tolerant, of their childrens' interest in B-Boy dancing as long as they continue to excel in school. I will share a link to his video clips as soon as it is available.

Who says we can't all get along? B-Boy competitions have a "melting pot" feel.

There seems to be a connection between B-Boy and grafitti. Where there are B-Boys there is also grafitti. The only connection I've found is that both began as counter culture movements of poor youth.

Free Health Screening at KAAGA

The Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta sponsors free health screenings the first Saturday of each month.

Healthcare professionals screened more than 40 patients this morning at a free clinic sponsored by the the Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta (KAAGA). Most of the patients were elderly Korean American immigrants seeking blood sugar and blood pressure screenings.

“We see an average of 20 people each month “, said Soon Hee Lee, director of KAAGA’s Family Center. “Diabetes screening is very important for Korean Americans, especially as they get older,” she said.

In addition to the free health clinic, KAAGA’s Family Center also sponsors free counseling services for Korean American families experiencing domestic problems, childrearing issues, and drug problems, Ms. Lee said.

Approximately 20 doctors, counselors and healthcare professionals donate their services through KAAGA’s Family Center, located on Buford Highway in Gwinnett County. Established in 1968, KAAGA is a non-profit organization designed to serve as a bridge between the Korean American community and mainstream American society.

Soon Hee Lee (right), director of the KAAGA's Family Center, poses with Rachel Yu, office manager for the nonprofit community center

First Korean attended Emory's Oxford College

According to local lore, the first Korean to live in the Atlanta area was Chi Ho Yoon, a student at Emory University's Oxford College, located in Covington Georgia. Yoon attended the college from 1891-1893 before returning to Korea as a Christian scholar and political activist. He is best known as one of the lyric writers of the Korean National Anthem. This English translation is reprinted with permission from www.nationalanthems.com:

Until the East Sea's waves are dry, (and) Mt. Baekdusan worn away, God watch o'er our land forever! Our country forever!

CHORUS: Rose of Sharon, thousand miles of range and river land! Guarded by her people, ever may Korea stand!

Like that Mt. Namsan armored pine, standing on duty still, wind or frost, unchanging ever, be our resolute will.

CHORUS

In autumn's, arching evening sky,crystal, and cloudless blue, Be the radiant moon our spirit, steadfast, single, and true.

CHORUS

With such a will, (and) such a spirit, loyalty, heart and hand, Let us love, come grief, come gladness, this, our beloved land!

CHORUS
Korean Chi Ho Yoon attended Emory University's Oxford College, 1891-1893. Will my daughter Jessica, pictured above at the Covington campus, follow in Yoon's footsteps nearly 120 years later?

Drama for Documentary

Slight snag in my documentary production: The 95-year-old Nam-Soo Kim, legendary acupuncturist who has been visiting the GD Institute of Integrated Medicine in Duluth, had to return home to South Korea for a court appearance, as the email below informs me.

It is not clear when he will be allowed to return to the United States, where he serves as a consultant for two clinics, including the one in Duluth.

Drats!

Kim, master acupuncturist, has an almost cult following in South Korea where he has been practicing the Asian healing methods of acupuncture and moxibustion for more than 70 years. Sources tell me that Master Kim rankled fellow acupuncturists when his nonprofit organization sponsored a clinic offering free acupuncture. The free treatments, given to hundreds of patients, were administered by volunteers who were not licensed to practice acupuncture.

Does Acupuncture Hurt?

On a recent weekday, Samuel Lee, senior Oriental medicine doctor and licensed acupuncturist with GD Institute of Integrated Medicine, took time from his busy schedule to show me the tools of his trade: an assortment of disposable needles!

"Does acupuncture hurt," I asked.

"You be the judge," he smiled.


Here I am with several needles in my hand and arm, and I am happy to report that I experienced no pain -- from either the needles or, later, from my carpal tunnel! This is not typical! An ordinary patient with carpal tunnel would require six to eight weekly treatments before experiencing significant pain relief or healing, Lee said.

Whew! I'm so glad to receive confirmation once again that I am not ordinary!

Please stay tuned. I will be visiting the GD Institute of Integrated Medicine in Duluth throughout the semester to learn more about acupuncture and the life of the 90+-year-old Nam Soo Kim, who has been practicing acupuncture for more than 70 years and who is considered a legend in South Korea.

Hope for the Uninsured

Photo courtesy of New Hope Medical Center in Duluth: www.newhopecare.com

New Hope Medical Center in Duluth is offering hope to those who cannot afford health insurance, and the Korean American population in Gwinnett County is taking notice.

Since its unveiling two months ago, more than 700 uninsured families in Gwinnett County, or 2,500 people, have signed up for New Hope's medical membership plan, according to SK Hong, public relations coordinator for New Hope. Most of the members are Korean Americans, the target market for the first phase of implementation, Hong said.

The plan, which costs $60 per month for a family of four, allows members to receive medical treatment at New Hope Medical Center and partner medical offices at the same prices charged Medicaid and Medicare patients. That is a typical savings of 70 percent, said Dr. Peter K. Lee, New Hope chairperson. Some services, such as dental cleanings, cancer screenings, and basic examinations are free of charge once a year, he said.

Dr. Peter K. Lee, New Hope Medical Center Chairperson

"Right now we are testing the ground, forming the infrastructure," Lee said, adding that New Hope has been investigating supplementary hospitalization plans that would help patients with catastrophic illnesses. New Hope is able to offer services at substantially reduced rates by eliminating the need for insurance and billing clerks as well as other administrative costs related to insurance processing, Lee said.

The New Hope Medical Center houses 14 specialty clinics in its three-story Duluth medical facility, including internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, family practice, dentistry, opthalmology, urology, imaging, and ear/nose/throat. The center also has an integrated medicine practice that includes traditional Asian healing modalities such as acupuncture and moxibustion.

Plan members can also receive reduced rates for some hospital services through a partnership with Emory St. John's Hospital in Gwinnett County and two hospitals in Seoul, Korea.

Lack of access to health care is the number one issue facing Korean Americans in the Atlanta area, according to Helen Kim, director of advocacy and education for the Center for Pan Asian Community Services. "Three out of five Korean Americans are not insured because most are small business owners," she said.

High medical care costs prevent many patients from receiving important follow-up care, Lee said, which often leads to even costlier complications. He said he hopes the lower costs for preventative care will encourage better health through continuity of treatment.

"What happens is when you have private pay patients, they will come in for new patient visits but will not show up for follow-up visits because the cost is just too much," Lee said. "Then, what happens is they end up in the emergency room, being hospitalized because of uncontrolled high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, and that is going to cost a huge amount."

Census Awareness Day

Brightly colored balloons and banners bobbed and waved in the wind Saturday morning, as community volunteers shared information about the upcoming Census with Hmart shoppers. The awareness event was sponsored by the Atlanta chapter of the Korean American Coalition.

The event was held at the 60,000-square-foot Super Hmart on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth. The upscale Asian grocer store attracts thousands of shoppers each week. Hmart was founded in 1982 as a small corner market in Queens, New York, by Korean immigrant Il Yeon-Kwon.

New Jersey-based Hmart has received national praise for promoting Census awareness among Asian Americans. The upscale grocery chain owns five stores in Georgia, which has the second fastest-growing Asian American population in the country, according to Census data.
Catherine M. Lee-Park (left), partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, preaches the importance of being counted in the Census to Korean Americans she sees at Hmart. According to a 2008 Census survey, 54,000 Koreans live in the state of Georgia. Community leaders believe the true count is closer to 120,000.
Historically Koreans and other minority groups have been undercounted in the Census “Education and awareness are needed,” Lee-Park said.

Census employees set up a makeshift office under a tent Saturday morning to stuff 1,500 plastic bags with literature and freebies. The U.S. Census Bureau employs some 1.4 million seasonal workers to count the approximate 300 million people living on American soil.

Census forms are available in six languages, including Korean. Help is available in 59 languages. The Census is conducted once every 10 years, as required by the U.S. Constitution.

Snippets of conversations in English, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese mingled in the breeze as volunteers chatted with Hmart customers about the importance of being counted in the upcoming Census.

Community volunteers Michael Park (left) and Ike Chi enjoyed the nippy weather and sense of camaraderie at Saturday's event.

Many immigrant populations need to be reassured that their private information is safe, said Lee-Park. "The Census does not ask for social security numbers or driver's license numbers or citizenship status," she said.

"Census counts are directly tied to the federal dollars communities receive for important services such as education, social services, and other community development opportunities,” asserted Lee-Park.

All Things Korean American

Life has become much richer since enrolling in a senior capstone course at Kennesaw State University. My classmates and I have been charged with learning about the local Korean American population. Here I am with my new B-Boy buddies, “Virginia Crew,” at the Relapse Theatre in downtown Atlanta. (I'm the 47-year-old white woman.) In this photo, we are taking a break from shooting footage for classmate Ryan's documentary on intergenerational dynamics of Korean American immigrant families.

Has this ever happened to you? You see or hear a word for the first time, look up its meaning, and commit it to memory even though you are reasonably sure you will never see or read the word again, -- only to find that once you take the vocabulary plunge, the once obscure word has now become commonplace, appearing in everyday conversation, tumbling out of the mouths of ordinary folk, and popping off the pages of mainstream newspapers and magazines? That happens to me all the time.

And now that same principle is at work in my life on another level. Kennesaw State University, the institution of higher learning where I both work and go to school, has deemed the 2009-2010 academic year as the “Year of Korea.” For our senior capstone course, my classmates and I have been charged with learning about issues facing Korean Americans in Atlanta and then developing a platform for sharing our new knowledge. When I first learned of the assignment, I was baffled: “Korean Americans in Atlanta?” I wondered. “Is there a large enough population here to justify a semester of study?”

Obviously, I was past due for a road trip to Duluth. I had not ventured down Buford Highway in nearly two decades. I had no idea that Georgia ranked number two (after Nevada) for having the fastest growing population of Asian Americans in the country. Nor did I know that the Korean American population in Gwinnett County grew at a rate of more than 120 percent over the past decade, and that Korean Americans constituted more than 14 percent of the population for the city of Duluth, according to Census data.

Billboard on Buford Highway

Suffice it to say that I started the academic year with an embarrassing dearth of knowledge about Koreans and Korean Americans. I was familiar with only a few big name companies, (Samsung, Hyundai), a few big name cities (Seoul in South Korea and Pyongyang in North Korea), a few big name events (the Korean War in the early 1950s, the 1986 Olympics, and the Los Angeles Race Riots of 1992), and two culinary treats (kim chi and barbecue tofu), neither of which had touched my tongue. The only Korean American I knew was Heeman Kim, an assistant professor of communication at Kennesaw State University, who taught my Research Methods class.

My how the landscape of my mind, my palette, and my rolodex has changed during the course of ten short weeks! I now have dozens of contacts in the Korean American community. Some have trusted me with their personal stories, tales filled with an inner conflict of straddling two worlds -- the old Korea preserved in their memories and the mainstream America that stares them in the face each morning. A few have confided the difficulties of being in Generation 1.5, wanting to please and honor their immigrant parents and also wanting to embrace the new culture of mainstream America. Some have shared their business dreams and political aspirations. Two have taken time from their busy medical practices to verse me in various issues facing immigrant populations, such as healthcare access and affordability.

My life is immeasurably richer in experiences, too. I now know what an acupuncture needle feels like, what kim chi tastes like, what the Korean language sounds like and what a number of heretofore unknown vegetables look like (see my Super Hmart blog). For the first time in my life, I deeply and truly desire to learn another language. (For one thing, it would help me read what the Korean media in Atlanta are saying about me and my classmates. Our photographs have appeared in at least two local Korean newspapers and one community organization newsletter since we began our mission of sniffing out the community).

My family jokes that I am becoming a “Dictionary of All Things Korean American.” While that’s an exaggeration, it is true that I have become a magnet of sorts for Korean people, news, factoids, and, also, bakeries. Eeks! I am eating at the White Windmill Bakery with alarming regularity! It's near the Super Hmart on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Duluth.

I have decided to blog about my experiences because blogging allows the journalist to reflect as well as report. Blogging can be conversational, both in tone and in give-and-take, since blogs allow for comments and dialogue. Plus, I am curious about this new (for me) medium. Please join me as I go forth in pursuit of All Things Korean American.