The Return of the Elephant

Part 1

1

On the last day of Christmas 2011, a long-haired Chinese woman in her early thirties announced her arrival at the reception of a clinic. The receptionist handed her a new patient form to complete and invited her to sit among several other patients in the reception area. Shortly after, the completed form was handed back to the receptionist.

Moments later, a lady in a white gown holding a folder in her hand called out to the crowd in the reception area, Eunice.

The long-haired woman raised her hand. The lady in white beckoned her to follow her into one of the rooms. There were many rooms at the clinic, of various sizes, each furnished with a bed, a desk, and a shelf for medical supplies.

Eunice followed the lady in white, who appeared to be in her late forties. They arrived at a very large room at the end of the hallway. After both parties were comfortably seated, the lady in white briefly read through the form in her hand and asked, What brought you here today?

I have dandruff. She halted. She felt uneasy in verbalizing her signs of ill health, as if she refused to admit it. However, realizing that a description of her concerns was required to facilitate the proper diagnosis of her condition, she went on, Umm … a bit of hair loss.

The lady in white gave a cursory glance at her thick long hair.

I also have white hair. In fact, what prompted her visit was exactly the three strands of grey hair that she sighted that morning. At that moment, she thought of Garfield, who had three strands of hair on each side of his head. Although he did not have much hair, but at least all of them were black.

Upon hearing that, the lady in white’s gaze returned to the form, this time deliberately in search of a specific piece of information. You are thirty-three years old?

Yes.

Hmm … it’s too early for you to have grey hair. Generally, there are two reasons for the emergence of grey hair. One is genetics. The other is illness. She inspected Eunice’s face and head more closely. Show me your tongue.

She stuck her tongue out. The lady in white inspected it visually.

What is your occupation? As she was asking, the lady in white scanned the form in her hand again, to look for the answer to her question.

Accounting.

Hmm … okay. A mental image of Eunice sitting in front of a computer all day long appeared in the lady in white’s head. Give me your wrist. I will read your pulse.

Eunice stretched out her right hand toward the lady in white. The lady placed Eunice’s wrist on her lap, and laid three fingers on her inner wrist.

Shortly after, the lady in white concluded the diagnosis. Your digestive system is weak. That is the cause of your dandruffs.

Eunice was rather surprised at the seemingly non-existent correlation between her stomach and the dandruffs. Nonetheless, she accepted the diagnosis, because she indeed had poor digestion, except that it didn’t bother her as much as the dandruffs, and therefore, she never addressed it. The lady in white continued to explain her condition, but most of it went in one ear and out the other. She did not have the necessary background in Traditional Chinese Medicine to comprehend it. But she trusted the lady.

Okay, now, what we will do today is to treat your stomach, and see how that goes. Take off your clothes, and lie on the bed. I will come back in a few minutes to start the acupuncture.

Eunice was aghast. How about my underwear?

It’s better to take them off too. You can use these towels here to cover yourself. The lady in white pointed to a couple of towels on the table to the left of her.

Okay.

After undressing, she wrapped herself with the towels, then climbed on to the bed that was covered with a thin sheet of white paper used for hygienic purpose. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

Come in.

The lady in white came in. She took a cotton ball from the desk drawer, dipped it in alcohol, and rubbed it on the acupoints that she planned to puncture on Eunice’s body. Next, she placed a small metal tray with sealed disposable needles on Eunice’s tummy. She ripped open the sealed packages, and began inserting the needles on Eunice’s body.

There was no intense pain. Each insertion was a quick and bloodless puncture.

After having multiple needles on her body, the lady in white removed the tray from her tummy, and emptied out its content in the garbage can. She moved a lamp heater toward Eunice’s feet, and turned it on. Is this too hot?

No.

Just warm enough right?

Yes.

Is the room too hot or too cold for you?

No, it’s fine.

She turned on the stereo system on the table and played some nature music. The sound of ocean waves filled the room. From the table, she took a black device and put it next to Eunice’s hand. If you need me, you can just press the button on here, and I will come in. Okay? Try to take a nap. I will be back in thirty minutes.

The lady turned off the lights and closed the door behind her. There was a little night light on the wall that dimly illuminated the room which was bigger than her own bedroom. The setting was cozy. She could have dozed off, but due to her curiosity, she was more awake than before. She began to notice the details of the room. There was a wooden book shelf at a corner beside the lamp heater. Sitting on the shelf were a selection of books about health and the human body, in both English and Chinese. Further away from the shelf hung a watercolor painting on the earth tone green wall.

As she visually scanned the half of the room where her feet were pointing, she began to sniff a bit harder. Ever since she entered the room, she had noticed the presence of incense, yet she could not find any burning incense. She was curious about the source of that smell. She wondered why an acupuncturist would have the inclination to burn incense. How could incense contribute to health? Was there an altar anywhere in the room? In her memory, incense was only used for religious purposes.

Half way through the session, the lady in white came into the room. How are you doing?

Okay.

The lady in white looked at the needles on her body. She spun a couple of the needles. She touched a couple other needles. Then she left the room.

Half an hour had passed, and the lady in white re-entered the room. Close your eyes. I am going to turn on the lights. The room brightened, and she walked toward the bed.

She inspected all the needles on Eunice’s body, for signs of anomaly. None. Holding a fresh cotton ball in her left hand, she began to remove the needles with her right hand. Sometimes, she would immediately press the cotton ball on Eunice’s skin upon the removal of the needle. She pressed firmly, for a second or two, then lifted the cotton ball and wiped gently.

After all the needles were removed, the lady in white glanced over Eunice’s body, and glided her fingers along Eunice’s skin swiftly, to make sure there’s no more needle left on her body.

Today I adjusted your digestive system a little. Your dandruff should decrease. But you would still need to come again in a few days, to continue the treatment. In the meantime, try to eat light. Don’t add too much stress to your stomach. Okay?

Okay.

You can go to the reception on your way out to book the next session.

The lady in white left the room.

After she put on her clothes, Eunice proceeded to the reception. Hi, I would like to pay for my session.

Is this your name? The receptionist pointed to one of the many patient folders that were neatly laid out in front of her. At the bottom of each folder was the name of a patient.

Yes.

Okay. Would you like to buy a package of five sessions or a package of ten sessions?

She did not know that the acupuncture visits could be regular enough to benefit from a package. She expected that the treatment would bring immediate effect, like magic. However, since the lady in white suggested that she returned for a couple more sessions, she bought a package of five, thinking that it should be sufficient. Then she booked her next appointment.

Is your acupuncturist Jess Lee? The receptionist asked as she flipped through the big calendar planner to look at next week’s schedule for all the practitioners in the clinic. Her index finger was pointing at Jess Lee’s column.

Yes, I think so.

Okay, which day would you like to come in on? The receptionist gestured her to look at Jess Lee’s opening for the next few days. Some of the time slots were penciled in.

She moved her index finger to a time slot that had not been blocked off. The receptionist wrote her name down in that time slot.

On her way home, she began to notice a faint smell of incense quietly announcing its presence to her nose. She sniffed slowly and deeply. Where did that smell come from? It was the smell from the room in the clinic, but how did it follow her?

She sniffed her brownish black hair. The scent was not too noticeable. Then she sniffed her down-filled jacket. Viola. That’s where the scent was hiding. Her jacket had absorbed the scent of the incense.

Over the next couple of days, her dandruff became less noticeable, although there were still a few small flakes on her scalp. She had not taken Jess’ advice of eating light.

On her second visit, Jess used moxibustion, in addition to acupuncture, to treat her stomach. She discovered the answer to her previous question. The scent she mistaken for incense was from the moxa leaves, which Jess burned near her navel. The burning gave off a thin curl of smoke. Jess turned on the fan in the room while the moxa was burning. In Canada, few practitioners used moxibustion, due to the strict laws regulating smoke inside a building. The rooms in the clinic were outfitted with a type of fan that drew the smoke out of the building.

As the fan hummed in the background, the meditative music played on in the foreground. No smoke could be seen in the room, yet she could feel the heat near her navel and she could smell the smoke.

That night, after her first session at moxibustion, she felt deeply relaxed, as if all her muscles had suddenly loosened up, and she was overcome by a strong wave of somnolence.

Eunice began to visit the clinic regularly, usually once a week. Her body was very delicate, with an energy level of two, while the average person’s level was eight out of ten. Situations and events of average intensity would often be too overwhelming and exhausting for her, and if she forced herself to perform at the level of the others, the strain inevitably furthered the damage to her health. Since she was a child, everyone except her mother treated her like the average person, and when she asserted that she had special needs, the adults dismissed her needs as nonsense. Since her mother’s departure, she grew up with different adults and had many health complications, with each one compounding on the previous one, accelerating a downward spiral of physical deterioration. Medical intervention of average strength would often be an overdose for her, and therefore do more damage than repair to her body. As such, western medicine was far from a solution to her, as it failed to acknowledge the foundation of her body. But Jess knew. Traditional Chinese Medicine specializes in treating deficiency. Hence the acupuncture treatment was to be administered delicately and over a longer span of time, to accommodate Eunice’s delicate constitution.

Jess addressed her hair loss by stimulating her blood circulation and advised her to do so regularly, but she did not believe it to be helpful and hence paid little heed to it. Eunice did not inquire about her grey hair because she knew that once all the other symptoms in her body had gone away, the change would be reflected in her hair color. Hence, she continued to see Jess, hoping that Jess would restore her body to perfect health again.

Every time she visited Jess, she did not say much. She would proceed mechanically to undress and rest on the bed. Jess would habitually ask her How are you feeling? And she would habitually give a one-word answer Good.

Jess would go through the same set of motions, and while doing so, would talk about various topics, perhaps to fill the silence that Eunice left.

Over time, Eunice came to know Jess quite well. Sometimes Jess would talk about her cats. Sometimes she would talk about her ex husband. Sometimes she would talk about a new treatment that she discovered.

The other day, one of my best friends told me about past life regression. Have you heard of it? Jess asked as she efficiently moved the tray of disposable needles around the massage table, next to Eunice’s body.

No.

Well, it sounded quite fascinating. My best friend found it very helpful. I think perhaps you could try it too, if you want to explore other forms of treatment.

Oh, okay.

She was telling me all the stories about the treatment. I thought they were amazing. I am really curious. Some people don’t believe in this kind of thing. But I do. The world is so large. Anything is possible, you know.

Yes. Eunice did not know what Jess was talking about, nor did she ask. Yet, she was curious. She waited, hoping that Jess would elaborate.

But my best friend is in Edmonton. Perhaps there’s someone who offers this kind of therapy in Calgary too, and you can check it out.

Oh, okay.

Over time, Jess grew quite fond of her, despite the fact that she was unusually reticent. Every time when Jess saw Eunice, they would routinely go through the same set of motions, and Jess would talk while she prepared for the needle insertion. Once, Jess told Eunice about an unusual addiction that she had.

You know, when I was younger, that was when I was still in Singapore, I would buy a lot of pickled plums. You know the sour plum that Chinese people eat as snacks?

Yes.

Yeah, I would buy a lot of those, and put them in my pocket. Everywhere I go, I would have at least one package of sour plums in my pocket. Then I would eat it all day long. A smile appeared on Jess’s face as she recounted her earlier days, and the fond memories of a silly girl with an unusual attachment to sour plums. Jess could still remember her mouth salivating as she placed a sour plum on her tongue. She found comfort in the sourness of the pickled fruit. Instead of finding it sour, she felt a sense of sweetness from the plum, as if all the sourness had melted into a kind of sweetness as it sat on the silly girl’s tongue, and this sweetness had carried her through many hectic days when she would run around the busy city meeting clients. In that moment, she was yet again reliving that sweetness.

Oh okay. Eunice thought it was quite excessive, as most people only ate one or two at a time.

Then I don’t remember how I stopped eating sour plums after I came to Canada. Maybe because I got pregnant, and then my appetite changed, plus I was living with my husband then, and he’s a Canadian, you know.

Although unspoken, Eunice was keenly aware that Jess had been Canadianized, primarily by her husband, and to a subtler extent by her new environment, which naturally would trigger a radical shift in lifestyle. Perhaps the sweetness of the sour plums was replaced by the sweetness of her marriage and new home.

Then Eunice thought of all the acupuncturists at that clinic. Most of them preferred to speak in Chinese, although they all could communicate in English. Jess was the only one in the clinic who was most Canadianized, judging by her colloquial English. Perhaps it was meant to be that Jess would be her acupuncturist, as Eunice had a strong preference for communication in English, even though she never specified which practitioner she wanted to see when she booked her first appointment with the clinic.

While Eunice marveled at the courage that Jess had in moving to a new country to start a new life, Jess was still reminiscing her past. Silence befell upon them as they each lost themselves in their own mental landscape. But despite the silence, there was a sort of comfort from their non-verbal interaction, and this sense of comfort formed a friendship that grew over time.

Jess was always swift and efficient. She was never hesitant in identifying the acupoints needed for the needle. And the needle insertion was equally swift. From Jess, Eunice could sense a kind of confidence, that she had no doubt of how to approach Eunice’s health problem, or which acupoints to puncture. She never second-guessed her treatment, and she rarely slowed down to ponder on the cause of the illness.

Once, while Jess was going through the same routine, she suddenly paused. Frozen in midair, she tried to search for the words to say.

You know, you have anxiety. The announcement broke out suddenly.

Ah? Oh … okay. It was the first time anyone had mentioned the word to Eunice. She had zero awareness of it.

Jess then proceeded to explain and treat her anxiety. Eunice listened and acquiesced. In fact, Eunice had very severe generalized anxiety disorder. But she did not know because it had accompanied her since childhood, and she had grown accustomed to all the discomfort that came with it.

After Jess alerted her, Eunice began to pay more attention to her body. Gradually, she began to recognize the symptoms. She Googled anxiety, and found that it belonged to one of the unexplained and ill-understood medical condition in the western medical community. She thought perhaps that was the reason that the concept of hypochondria was created—to conveniently but irresponsibly shove all unexplainable and untreatable medical conditions into an unattended basket, like lepers in leper colonies.

Over the course of the treatment, Jess had revealed many ailments to Eunice, almost all of which she had no cognitive awareness of.

Do you worry a lot? Once, Jess suddenly broached the question, seemingly out of nowhere.

Hmm … I don’t think so. Eunice didn’t have any awareness that she worried a lot. Sometimes her over-thinking mind would prevent her from falling asleep, but she did not consider that as a sign of worry.

Your mind is very active. Do you think a lot?

Yes.

What do you think about?

Hmm … How should I do something, what should I do, what is better, how to say something, whether I should say it or not, how would the person react, can I say this or that, where should I go to buy shampoo, which brand to buy, should I wait until I have used up the last drop of shampoo before I buy, and things like that.

Hmm … okay. I think some of that is worry.

Oh, okay. Eunice thought that every human being had the same thought process as her. She thought that the content of her thoughts was normal. She had no cognizance that they would be considered redundant, which was what worry meant to her.

I can tell that you think a lot. Your brain is very active all the time. You are so so so smart.

Oh … Eunice was used to being called smart, but only by people who had seen her performance at work or at school. She did not expect an acupuncturist to know that she was smart. Over time, she came to know more and more about herself, through the eyes of Jess.

Once, Eunice asked about the kind of patients that Jess saw.

Most of them are Caucasians. I would say about ninety percent of them. Jess thought for a second.

Wow, that many? Eunice had expected her patients to be mostly Asians if not Chinese.

Yes, because what happens is that they would seek western medical treatment first. Then after trying all kinds of medication and still don’t work, then they come to acupuncture.

Oh … I see.

And it’s necessary for us to have a basic understanding of western medicine, so that we know what the effects are in their body, and how to diagnose them properly. Because when they get sick and don’t get the proper treatment, then the problem compounds. So by the time they come to us, a simple problem becomes complicated. We need to have the knowledge to undo the damage of the improper treatment.

I see.

This is not to say that all western medication is bad. Only when it is not treating the root cause, and the patient’s condition gets worse and chronic, then it can be quite damaging. But the human body is very resilient. It has the natural ability to heal. We only help the patient to heal their own body.

Right.

A lot of my patients come because they have pain.

Oh, okay. Eunice knew that her colleagues and friends suffered from all kinds of pain and migraine. She had always been curious how a person could have so much pain, and so regularly.

Let’s see. I see about two to three hundred patients per month. Jess was doing some arithmetic in her head while busying her hands with the needles.

Wow, that many?

Well yes. On average, I see about eight patients a day. It’s about one per hour.

Eunice thought she must be the busiest acupuncturist in the clinic, although she had no idea how many patients the other practitioners had. What she knew was that Jess’ movements were always very swift and efficient, which gave Eunice the impression that she was very driven. And Eunice would wonder, why did she have to take on so many patients? Was she paid on a commission basis? But Eunice did not dare to ask Jess any financial information, thinking that it might be too personal.

Occasionally, Eunice would complain about her muscle ache. Jess would use electroacupuncture on her muscles while using traditional acupuncture on her internal organs and meridians. The first time when Jess used it, Eunice stared at the machine that generated the electrical pulses, and wondered if she would be electrocuted accidentally. But her wild thought was overcome by the comfort of Jess’s presence which she had grown to be fond of. Staring at the machine, she had no fear, only wild curiosity. Then after having a taste of it, she began to like it, as the pulsation was gentle and rhythmic. In fact, she liked electroacupuncture more than traditional acupuncture because the latter was duller and less stimulating.

One day, Eunice came in to tell Jess about her left foot. After a brief visual inspection, Jess said, You have a bunion. Don’t worry. We will treat that.

Having Eunice on the massage table, Jess pinched her right toes, ready to insert a needle to the right foot.

Oh no no no, not there. It’s my left foot. Eunice yelped, and was about to jump up from the bed, although Jess was still holding her right toes.

Yes, I know I know. I have to treat the right foot to balance the imbalance on your left foot. Don’t worry. It’ll be alright. Still holding to Eunice right toes, Jess assured her.

Eunice put her head down on the pillow again, and let Jess do her job.

After the session, Eunice’s left toes no longer hurt when she walked in her shoes. But after a few days, she wore her high heels again, and the bunion reappeared again. And again, Jess would treat it, and Eunice’s left foot would reshape itself again. From then on, Eunice paid more attention to her choice of footwear, and her bunion never returned.

Eunice was not able to verbalize the different developments inside her body between sessions. She only knew that she did not feel right and she wanted to be in perfect health. She wanted Jess to bring her back to a state of perfect health.

She trusted Jess.