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Authors: Jamuna Rangachari

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BOOK: Dancing with Life
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Notes and References:

1
. Peter D’Adamo,
Eat Right For Your Type, Riverhead Books, USA, 2002.

*
Source:(
http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/ucm303318.htm
).

Chapter 5

M
Y
A
CUPUNCTURE
S
TORY

I
N
2010, I
READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT
D
R
M M
UTHUKUMAR
in Chennai and his work with acupuncture in
theTimes
of India, Crest
Edition. The article was quite impressive as it mentioned that many so-called incurable diseases were being treated by him using acupuncture.

Acupuncture was a therapy I wished to explore even before reading about Dr Muthukumar because of the results I had got from acupressure and reflexology, which followed the same principles. I also wanted to try it because of what Karen Cioffe had told me about the efficacy of acupuncture through her email. You might remember that I was unable to locate a good acupuncturist at that time. But this time around luck favoured me.

In 2010 my husband was again transferred to Mumbai and I continued working with
Life Positive
magazine. At this time I was planning to go to a wedding in Chennai. I made up my mind to go and interview Dr Muthukumar and see if he was worth writing about.

When I reached Chennai the doctor examined me and said there would surely be improvement or at least stalling of any deterioration in my condition if I regularly took treatment in acupuncture. During our meeting he briefly explained the process of acupuncture to me and also cited the example of Anton Jayasurya’s book
The A to Z of Acupuncture
.
1
But more about acupuncture later.

After meeting the doctor, I went for the wedding.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Indian weddings usually go on for two days and involve a good deal of activity.

This time, however much I tried to mingle in the crowd I could not. People were able to figure out that something was wrong with my sense of balance, the way I was walking, etc. Earlier, I would always be among the first ones who would help around and do all that was necessary, invite people, get chairs for everyone and ask the waiters to attend to all of them, etc.

This time, I could hardly be of much help. I used to waddle quite a bit. The moment I saw a chair, I would sit down, sometimes not even seeing if others, even the elderly were nearby. Now, I was more in need of others’ help and really felt I should stop going for weddings if I was really of no use to anyone anymore. Even when it came to the various rituals, or my favourite, the
sangeet
ceremony, I did not take part.

Though some relatives did extend help, many of them started giving me sermons on the temples I should go to, the gods I should pray to and the routine I should follow every day. More than enjoying myself at the wedding, these kinds of sermons left me feeling quite low.

As far as Dr Muthukumar was concerned, I went to him in the midst of attending the wedding and understood the technique more deeply and got treated by him for a short while till I was in Chennai.

Afterwards, when I was taking leave of him saying it would be my last session, he said, ‘Your brother lives in Chennai. Why don’t you consider staying here for a while with him or in a hotel?’

At that time, I really did not want to take such a step but did keep this in mind and like Ayurveda, thought I would explore it when the children had become older and independent.

When I left Chennai, my sisters-in-law, Ahalya and Lakshmi, told me to come anytime I wished to and asked me to even bring the children to stay with them. Now, who in today’s times is so fortunate to have so many people who would be ready to do anything for them? This is why in my list of people I can always count on, my aunt, uncle, their sons and their wives are always there.

From Chennai, I had to go to another wedding in Bengaluru. The wedding took place in a typical Indian locale with my cousin, Anusha, my maternal uncle Krishnakumar’s daughter marrying a Frenchman. There were wonderful events and people attended from all over India and the world.

My aunt, Bhanu had purchased a wonderful sari for me and had even fixed a schedule with a beautician for everyone who came for the wedding. I made several excuses and did not take part in any of the pre-wedding events, including the session with the beautician. This was primarily because I did not wish to make my challenges too obvious.

Whenever there was any photograph being taken, I would just try to shy away as I felt perhaps I would not have the right pose and not be able to stand properly or perhaps the photo session would take too long. Still, my aunt and uncle ensured I was there in most, if not all the photographs. At the wedding, there were dance sessions, a henna session and lots of eating and drinking involved. In the henna sessions, I was fine as we just had to sit. However, buying bangles at the stalls was a huge challenge. I just slipped away saying I was really not interested in bangles.

I love meeting old friends and relatives at weddings and this is always the main reason I love to attend weddings. This time, I just hoped and prayed I would cope reasonably well. At that time, incontinence was the issue I was primarily worried about. I identified the washrooms at the wedding venue even before interacting with people as I could not afford to waste time when I needed to use the washroom.

After this, on the pretext of meeting older people, I quietly went and sat with them as I really could not keep standing for a long time. I had lunch with the elders and did most of the things with them. The older people were quietly observant and did not really ask me to do anything for them but called someone else who was around if they needed help. This did indicate that they probably realized I was either tired or ill. However one incident stands out in my memory.

A lady I knew fairly well came to me in the afternoon and said, ‘Jamuna, you seem to have had a lot to drink even in the afternoon. Take it easy. Perhaps you should have lunch now and think of drinking in the reception in the evening.’

The comment she made was appalling. I knew I was not walking properly, but I never thought people would ever think I was not walking properly because I was drunk. This had never even crossed my mind. This was not a random social get together but a family wedding. Everyone actually knew me fairly well. How could she ever have thought I would do such a thing at a family wedding? Her comment really exasperated me and I wondered what lay ahead in life.

This incident made me feel really weak and emotionally drained. At that moment the comment that Dr Muthukumar made came to my mind about staying in Chennai for treatment. I wondered if I should indeed take the children and get them admitted in Chennai for a while like we do during my husband’s transfers and get myself treated soon, and not postpone it any further. On the other hand I wondered if I should go to Chennai during my children’s vacations and take treatment from Dr Muthukumar.

Back Home in Mumbai

With all these thoughts, I returned to Mumbai. Within a month, there was a Parent Teachers’ meeting (PTM) at my daughter’s school. My husband was too busy to attend and told me I should go with somebody as the school was pretty far from our residence. I requested my neighbour, whose daughter was also in the same school to give me a lift. She agreed to take me along. Whilst going for the PTM, there were many steps in the staircase that I had to climb, and some of them were not really very even. Now, this was a huge challenge for me. Since my neighbour did not know about me suffering from MS at all, she happened to see an old friend and went running to her. Her husband too saw an old friend and left. I did not know what to do and who to ask for help. I hesitantly asked a worker from the school present there to give me a hand and told her I had some issues with my footwear and thus needed her help in climbing the steps. Of course, she promptly came to my assistance and I attended the PTM. When I met my neighbour there, I gave her the same silly reason for me being late – problems with my footwear. The day passed on uneventfully after that. However, I kept thinking about how I would handle all these regular events.

F
INDING
‘M
Y
’ A
CUPUNCTURIST

At this stage, my sister-in-law, Ahalya, called me from Chennai and reiterated her unconditional offer that I could come to their home and pursue acupuncture treatment if I wanted to. At the time of the call, I was with a family friend called Tapan Banerjee.

I hung up and was extremely moved by her attitude of always thinking about my wellness. I mentioned this to my husband. At that time, grace once again presented itself to me. Tapan recollected that he knew of an acupuncturist in Mumbai quite close to where I was living as one of his friends had benefited after taking acupuncture treatment from him. Tapan, an erstwhile social journalist, was the last person who I would have expected to know anything about acupuncture. This only shows how openness in sharing our issues and not trying to hide them can help us big time.

His friend Rashida who had benefited from acupuncture was extremely open to sharing her experience with me. Rashida was an independent businesswoman, who would go by train all the way from Andheri to Colaba everyday to run her business. She began noticing that day by day it was becoming a little uncomfortable, since she started experiencing discomfort in her legs and up to the spine. She ignored it thinking it was just a minor issue or perhaps the effect of change in season. However, things slowly got worse and she was forced to go to the doctor. She was diagnosed with sciatica (pain in the back, hip and outer side of the leg, caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve) in 2007, after an MRI report confirmed it. Her life seemed to have come to a standstill. She was just fifty and had her whole life ahead of her. Now, painkillers and physiotherapy were the only options she had and she became bedridden. The only option offered to her by the doctors was surgery, the outcome of which was not certain.

She really did not know where to go or whom to turn to and kept hoping for the best. It was then that one of her customers told her to go to Dr S.S. Rawal, an acupuncturist, who had cured many people’s illnesses. He happened to be near her workplace, so she went to him, without much delay.

In a couple of months, she was mobile again and had gone back to leading a complete life. After her recovery, she became an inspiration to her entire family and friends.

She spoke to me at great length and convinced me that I should try acupuncture with Dr Rawal at least once. She told me I could call her anytime with any queries I may have.

I went promptly to Dr Rawal’s clinic. He examined me and said acupuncture would be able to help in my case. ‘You come only when you can come regularly at a stretch for at least for two months,’ he said softly. ‘When will I be completely fine Sir?’ I asked. He smiled gently and said, ‘You may be aware that I apart from being an acupuncturist am also a general physician, with several years of practice behind me. I do my best to make sure people don’t need to come to my clinic time and again. However, sometimes even a minor ailment may take several months to be cured. Hence, I really cannot predict when you will become completely cured. What I do know is, I can help you through acupuncture only if you are able to come to me regularly for some time.’

I wondered what he meant by that as he did not give me any sort of time frame, I wondered if I should explore it. However what other choices did I have? Had Karen not told me long back to look for an acupuncturist? When this actually happened, why did I need to think again?

Looking back, all I can say is that Dr Rawal gave me the sort of emotional support that I needed at that time. He was empathetic and not sympathetic. He was being realistic and practical. He did not give me too much hope regarding my condition but did assure me that there would be an improvement.

Dr Rawal gave me the treatment diligently and kept on talking about things other than my health in order to keep me engaged and not be stressed. Each session of acupuncture goes on for twenty minutes hence I ended up making a lot of friends who would also be there for treatment. The doctor’s wife, Poonam Rawal, would come there to take acupuncture for her minor ailments and so would his mother and mother-in-law. They all showed improvement in their health as did others who came to him. Poonam would also keep motivating me by mentioning people who had improved through acupuncture and also mentioning the changes that were taking place in me as she had seen me right from the beginning.

Their entire family became good friends of mine. My husband and I attended a puja (prayer session) in their home where we sang some songs/recited prayers. This was the first time I sang after a long time as I had become too conscious to be in the public eye. I really felt very good that day and realized music was an essential tonic for me, something that soothed my nerves.

Though I am not a doctor, I could see that acupuncture was certainly helpful in many cases. For instance, a lady, Neetu Kapoor (
*
name changed), who was a little obese came there as she had severe hypothyroid. She told me that results of her thyroid test showed improvement after taking acupuncture and gradually she reduced the medication. In the process, she had also lost quite a bit of weight and was looking fairly healthy.

M
Y
R
ETURN
TO
W
ELLNESS

Life has a way of taking one through all sorts of paths before you reach your final destination. I had wished to explore acupuncture after hearing from Karen. Why on earth did I not think it would be possible in Mumbai? When I explored so many things when I wished to, why did I not think of locating an acupuncturist in Mumbai? I only have to say it was foolish of me not to think of doing this earlier.

As far as my health was concerned, my incontinence vanished in a couple of months after taking acupuncture treatment. I did not even need to think of adult diapers or locating washrooms with urgency whenever I went someplace new. My mobility was also much better.

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