Ireland, 26 years old

Around 2001 she started noticing lack of balance and problems in holding things. She went to the doctor with her brother Jason and found that they both had Friedreich's Ataxia.
About two years ago, Linda got pneumonia and had to lay in bed for about four weeks. After that she got tired a lot more easily and started to rely on a wheelchair. Her conditions slowly worsened until she and her brother decided to try chinese treatments, hoping to regain some independence.

Before the treatment

Linda’s balance was poor: a lot of her time was spent in the wheelchair. Due to balance problems, she sometimes fell. During the night cramps woke her up, and in the morning Linda stretched three to four times to avoid more cramps. When Linda rose from the bed she felt fine, but right after breakfast she again had to go for a nap because she felt very tired. Linda had no complete sensitivity in her legs: when the acupuncturist put the needles in, she could not tell where they had been inserted.

Her voice was slurred but after some speech therapy this problem was solved, so Linda did not need to improve this part.

Videos:
Before 1 Play - Download
Before 2 Play - Download
Before 3 Play - Download
Before 4 Play - Download

After the treatment

During the last two weeks of the treatment she did not feel off balance at all, though she still preferred to hold her mother’s hand when walking. Even though she walked slowly, she felt more sure footed. She never fell during the whole period in China anyway. Right after the first injection the cramps in her legs disappeared and Linda no longer had to stretch in the morning. After getting up in the morning she felt stronger and the sensation lasted during the day. The sensitivity in her arms and legs came back: Linda was well aware of the acupuncture needles in her legs, and she knew that they hurt.

Videos:
After 1 Play - Download
After 2 Play - Download
After 3 Play - Download
After 4 Play - Download
After 5 Play - Download
After 6 Play - Download

(We apologize for the poor sound quality on these videos. We will do our best to avoid this in future)

An email from Linda - december 12th 2006

The two of us are doing great. We kept up the exercises since we've been home and Mum is even making us have acupuncture every week.

We're still improving a bit at a time. Cramps in our legs are totally gone for both of us, we have bundles of energy so no more naps during the day. Before the treatment Jason had dizziness and passing out due to all the unbalance and lack of co-ordination, and that’s gone too. Jason is now walking around on the flat of his feet, whereas he used to walk around on tiptoe. He feels a lot more controlled because of this.

I’m balancing on my feet now, and can even go for a little walk in the evenings - not far now, for about 5 minutes - and even though I still need someone to hold my hands with, it is still a big improvement.

Neither of us got a bad cold when we came home - we just had a dose of sniffles for about a week. But luckily enough Mum has had us on a truck full of daily vitamins so we we're able to keep it at bay. Grace told us that we shouldn’t catch cold when we arrived home.

So far so good. Everything is going great for both of us - I just feel so much better in general since I came back from China – and that kind of result you just can’t put a price on.

Email interview with Linda – december 12th, 2006

Beike: Did you go out for walks before at night? How was it different than now, after the treatment?

Linda: I never went for walks before - I was too tired, and I wouldn't get very far at all when I'd get really bad pains in my legs. It's different now - because I can and because the therapists in China taught me how to walk slowly and with more control. I have no muscle pains since China.

Beike: How is the sensitivity in your legs now?

Linda: I still have sensitivity in my legs and it seems to be getting more and more intense but its not happening as quickly. When in China I saw such an improvement straight away, and now its about every week or so that I can do new things. For example, I can wiggle all my toes now in turn, which is a big thing because I haven't felt my toes in years.

Beike: Is your writing any better?

Linda: My writing and hand control in general is a lot better. I can carry hot drinks from A to B without shaking and while working my typing is quicker with a lot fewer mistakes.