I answered my phone and a tiny voice whispered a thready “Jeremy?”
“Yes, what can I help you with?”
Again the whisper came. I could barely hear her.
“I lost my voice.”
“Vicky” was a 48 year-old whose main complaint was laryngitis (loss of voice). When she came to her first appointment it was immediately apparent there was a lot more to the picture.
She walked with a cane. And wore a medical boot on her left foot.
She explained about the boot and the cane. She had been diagnosed with CRPS which later changed to RSD.
She was walking down a city street one day and a manhole cover fell on her foot. Nothing had been the same since.
Imagine that pain.
She also carried a lot of grief, and was in a marriage that wasn’t fulfilling her.
We started treatment on her voice. Believe it or not there are a few different strategies for restoring the voice using acupuncture and herbs. Vocal cords are muscular, and can respond well to treatment.
Additionally we utilized acupuncture protocols for pain relief and nervous system repair.
After a short time her voice came back, and she became able to walk without the boot or the cane. That was a good day to see her come in unencumbered.
She kept up with maintenance treatments for a few years, and then took a break.
When she resumed treatment two years later she couldn’t drive herself to the office. She had to get rides from friends and family.
“What will it take to get you driving again?”
We resumed treatment and within weeks she was driving herself to her appointments.
Once she developed a lung infection. Could’ve been bronchitis. We used herbs to clear out the infection, and make the phlegm more watery and easier to cough up. While taking that formula she had huge personal breakthroughs around grief.
In Chinese Medicine we say that grief is held in the lungs. The lungs, by the way, power the voice.
I’m really quite proud of her as I had a chance to watch her transform her life, and truly find her voice.
She eventually divorced her husband and got out of the dysfunctional relationship.
She learned to practice Qi Gong meditations that enhance her sense of self and personal boundaries.
Her pain was real, but also was only exacerbated by emotional stress and holding. By changing her life situation she had removed a lot of daily stress and verbal abuse. By getting to the point where she no longer needed the cane she found some independence. When she started driving herself again, even more freedom.
This was a great case.