Testimonials

1. Bobette

My name is Bobette Senn. My husband, Chico, was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer in 1993. He had surgery and radiation, and responded pretty well, but by 1999 he was on hospice. We were introduced to acupuncture because at that time Kaiser Hospice offered five in-home acupuncture treatments to patient and caregiver. I wanted to try it, but Chico was reluctant. He did it for me, because I couldn't get it unless he got it too. Once he tried it, he liked it very much. He was looking for anything positive he could find, to help him keep fighting, and it made him feel better. We looked forward to the acupuncturist coming every week.

When the five treatments were up, Chico wanted to keep getting acupuncture, and the hospice nurses found a facility that would continue the treatments on a sliding-fee scale. Otherwise we could never have afforded it; we were on OHP and Medicare. Chico wanted to reduce the amount of morphine he was taking, partly because the Medicare laws had changed and it had gotten really expensive for us.

We got acupuncture once a week for three years, and then twice a week for two more years. As a result of getting acupuncture once a week, he got off Oxycodone completely, and reduced his total narcotic use by 70%. He gradually got better; he started mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges, playing golf. We traveled, and he didn't get a wheelchair at the airport, he would walk. He gradually came back to living a fairly normal life. He would get winded, of course. But he went fishing. He babysat our grandson. We would leave acupuncture and go do errands all day. His health would always get worse in the winter, but acupuncture would pull him through.

Each time he got a treatment, it would give him the energy to go until the next treatment. It sustained him. It calmed him. It gave him the will to continue to fight. It added five years to his life.

When we started getting acupuncture twice a week, his energy really progressed, and he started doing something he hadn't done in a long time, which was playing music. Chico was a drummer. He played with some famous jazz musicians when he was younger. He loved to play. Music was a big part of his life. It was so good for him. I can't tell you how much enjoyment he got out of it. He would say that when he played, he felt 17 and not 70.

Chico always used visualization, and he prayed constantly. Acupuncture worked along with all of the faith that he had. Acupuncture was a piece of the puzzle that made up the whole picture -- along with prayer and visualization and music -- the whole picture of five more years of living together, of being happy, and without acupuncture, that picture would not have been there.

As far as being the caregiver, acupuncture gave me a calmness -- not just because of the treatments themselves, but in knowing that Chico was doing something for himself. It was something we shared together. I'm going to keep doing acupuncture because it gives me energy and I know it's preventing bigger health problems. I don't want to take pills for every little thing. I want to be able to control my own health with any alternative that's reasonable to me.

2. Jasmine

For almost one year, Working Class Acupuncture operated an on-site clinic for employees of the American Red Cross. This statement was written at the beginning of that clinic.

As a patient of Working Class Acupuncture and an employee here at the American Red Cross, I hope my testimonial to the benefits of acupuncture will encourage you to take advantage of this unique, affordable and convenient service the clinic and our employer have offered us. You may want to quit smoking, manage a chronic or acute health issue, address stress in a new manner, optimize your health or simply quell your curiosity. Whatever the reason I can't encourage you enough to visit the on-site clinic.

My reasons for seeking acupuncture were many and pressing. I began weekly treatments two years ago to treat fatigue, a poor immune system (I was having too many sick days), and sleep disorders including scary night sweats. My quality of life was unacceptably low. I made the decision to improve my state and began my regimen of weekly treatments.

Without exaggeration, the majority of these symptoms were successfully treated; some completely disappeared, within a couple of months. Some symptoms saw quicker results while some require ongoing treatment to this day. Luckily, Working Class Acupuncture's affordability makes this ongoing commitment possible.

I can honestly attest that acupuncture changed my life for the better. This includes my ability to perform better at work. My vitality, overall health, happiness, and self-awareness continue to improve. Special consideration should be given to self-awareness.

Ongoing treatments began a form of biofeedback for me. I am tuned into signs, symptoms, and red flags that I was previously oblivious to. It is my conviction that although the acupuncturist is treating me, I am now in charge of my health. This is quite empowering. I have also found an unexpected flipside to this: making peace with limitations. Some chronic conditions I experience require ongoing or special attention. Coming to terms with my constitution's needs and limitations has made me a more balanced person.

If you visit the clinic, you will be exposed to some rather esoteric and seemingly exotic concepts and approaches to health care. What I can share with you now is this: the acupuncture points can be considered the gate keeper and steward to our bodily spirit or life force. The acupuncturist can be considered the gate keeper or steward to their patient's health and well-being. In a lot of ways this coincides with our role as gate keepers and stewards of the life-giving blood supply we provide for our patients. I can enthusiastically and confidently recommend the practitioners of Working Class Acupuncture to act as your gatekeeper.

--Jasmine Hite

3. Jessica

A letter received from a patient:

Lisa, Skip, Ilse and friends,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. What a gift you all have been to me and my growing sense of wellness. The other day I was asked how long I've been a patient of acupuncture and I added quickly in my head "a year and a half." Later, I counted again. No, it's been 2 1/2 years. Wow! What a different person I am today after these years of knowing you all. I know myself so much more. I experience health every day. I recognize when I feel good and I understand when I don't. How grateful I am of all that I have learned from you through your mastery of acupuncture. And, I am grateful of the healing name you have created and welcomed me and so many others into. You are a spiritual, nurturing home for me. (It's like going to church once a week!) Finally, thank you for this great risk you are taking to turn into a Working Class Acupuncture Movement! I'm so excited to continue this journey with you and blessed to be a part of your growing community. Many blessings and much gratitude to you always.

Love, love, love! Jessica