A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Zhou Hongmei carried two large suitcases and walked briskly into the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Shihezi People's Hospital.

Before coming here, she worked at the Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine for ten years and was a well-known TCM expert in the department.

She grew up with her grandfather, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. She learned about herbs at the age of three and could recite herbal formulas at the age of five. She studied traditional Chinese medicine in college and devoted herself to clinical practice after graduation. She specializes in treating chronic diseases such as rheumatism, insomnia, and lumbar muscle strain. She has treated at least 800 to 1,000 patients.

After the hospital launched its call for aid to Xinjiang, she signed up almost without hesitation. Her grandfather had once supported medical care in Northwest China and always told her that doctors have a benevolent heart that transcends geographical boundaries. She had always thought that she could bring her traditional Chinese medicine skills to places where they were needed more, so that people in remote areas could also benefit. This was the duty of a doctor.

With this thought in mind, Zhou Hongmei was full of energy, even walking with a brisk pace, but this enthusiasm didn't last until noon.

She sat in the consultation room, dressed neatly in her white coat. The pulse pillow on the table was an old item passed down from her grandfather. The stethoscope, acupuncture needles, and prescription slips were all arranged in an orderly fashion. She had been waiting since eight in the morning until eleven o'clock, but there were only three lonely names on the registration book, which made her feel uneasy.

The first person to enter was a woman in her sixties. Her hair was neatly combed and held in place with a black hairpin, but she walked with a limp, clearly unable to put weight on her right leg. Her right hand was tightly gripping her knee, and her face showed obvious pain. Zhou Hongmei quickly stood up to offer her a seat, her face beaming with a gentle smile: "Auntie, please sit down. Are you feeling unwell?"

The woman slowly sat down, and as soon as she was settled, she sighed heavily and spoke a string of words in a thick local dialect, which Zhou Hongmei couldn't understand at all.

She paused for a moment, wanting to ask again, but the old woman had already stretched out her left hand, pointed to her knee, rubbed it back and forth, and gestured that she was walking with a limp, while muttering to herself in a tone full of helplessness.

Zhou Hongmei immediately understood that the elderly woman's leg was uncomfortable. She bent down, gently placed her hand on the woman's knee, and slowly pressed along the acupoints around the knee joint, asking softly as she did so, "Auntie, does it hurt here? How long has it been hurting? Does it hurt more on rainy days?"

The older woman nodded repeatedly as she watched her movements, then stretched out her hand to make the famous ten-year gesture, still muttering in her dialect.

Zhou Hongmei then asked her about her usual routine and whether she was always outdoors. The older woman simply nodded or shook her head based on her intuition.

Although communication was difficult, Zhou Hongmei already had a good idea of ​​what was going on. It was a typical case of rheumatoid arthritis, which was closely related to the dry and cold climate of the area. It was exactly the kind of illness she was best at treating.

"Ma'am, you have chronic leg pain, which is a type of arthritis."

Zhou Hongmei spoke with certainty, slowing down her pace and saying each word clearly: "I will prescribe a Chinese medicine formula for you to regulate your internal organs, and combine it with acupuncture to unblock your meridians. If you persist with a course of treatment, I guarantee it will cure the root cause, and you won't feel so much pain on rainy days in the future."

As she spoke, she picked up a pen, preparing to write a prescription. Unexpectedly, as soon as the old lady heard the words "traditional Chinese medicine," her expression immediately became more varied, and she waved her hands repeatedly.

Zhou Hongmei's pen froze in mid-air, completely bewildered by the old woman's meaning.

"Why, ma'am? Traditional Chinese medicine is very effective for treating chronic diseases. I've treated many patients like you, and the results have been excellent."

Seeing that she didn't understand, the older woman slapped her thigh in frustration and spoke even more urgently, but the two were still talking at cross purposes and couldn't communicate at all.

Seeing the woman's anxious expression, Zhou Hongmei was also at a loss. She looked at Ayiguli at the opposite desk and pleaded, "Dr. Ayiguli, could you please come over here? This woman is speaking the local dialect, and I really can't understand it. Could you please help me translate?"

Aygul put down her work, got up and walked over, speaking a few words to the older woman in fluent local language.

The woman felt like she had found a savior and immediately began to confide in Ayiguli.

After the older woman finished speaking, Ayiguli turned to Zhou Hongmei and said, "She said that traditional Chinese medicine is too bitter. When she was young, she developed health problems after giving birth and drank traditional Chinese medicine for more than half a year. It was so bitter that she kept vomiting. Now, she feels nauseous just hearing the words 'traditional Chinese medicine' and can't swallow it."

"Even treating the symptoms won't work!"

Zhou Hongmei wanted to explain further, but the older woman had already understood her meaning through Ayiguli's translation. Her face showed a resistant expression, and her tone was quite firm.

As she spoke, she stood up, supporting her knees as she slowly walked out. Without stopping, she turned back and relayed the message to Aygul: "I'd better go to the orthopedics department for an X-ray and get some Western medicine. Western medicine relieves pain quickly and I won't have to suffer that pain."

Zhou Hongmei quickly said, "Auntie, wait a minute! Traditional Chinese medicine can be made into a paste, which is less bitter and easier to take!"

As she spoke, she gestured for Aygul to translate, but the older woman waved her hand and swayed out of the clinic.

The second patient followed closely behind. He was a young man in his twenties, dressed casually, clutching his lower back with one hand, and his complexion wasn't good. "Doctor, my back hurts," he said as soon as he sat down, his tone quite urgent.

"How does it hurt? Is it a dull ache or a sharp pain? How long has it been hurting? Do you usually sit for long periods?"

Zhou Hongmei quickly asked, reaching out to check his acupoints on his lower back.

"It hurts when I sit for a long time, but it gets better when I stand up or move around. It's been like this for two or three days."

As the young man spoke, he couldn't help but rub his lower back again. "I'm a designer, and I sit in front of the computer all day working overtime. I guess I'm exhausted."

Zhou Hongmei nodded, understanding the situation: "You have lumbar muscle strain, mainly caused by prolonged sitting leading to poor blood circulation in your lower back, which causes pain due to blocked meridians. Traditional Chinese medicine can cure the root cause. I will give you acupuncture and massage, along with some topical blood-activating ointment. You won't need to take any medicine, and it won't interfere with your work. You'll see results after a few treatments."

She recalled a programmer she had treated before, whose condition was the same as this young man's. He recovered after three acupuncture and massage sessions and never relapsed.

"Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment?"

The young man interrupted her, "Doctor, I know that traditional Chinese medicine can cure the root cause, but isn't it too slow to take effect?"

"Treatment methods do take some time, but they are more effective than simply taking painkillers. They can solve the problem at its root, making it less likely to relapse in the future, and you won't have to rely on painkillers all the time."

Zhou Hongmei explained patiently.

"That won't do! I'm working on a project these days, working overtime until midnight every day. How can I wait? If the pain gets too bad, I won't be able to finish the project, and that would be a real problem."

He stood up and picked up the registration slip on the table: "Never mind, I'll go buy some painkillers first, and we'll talk about it after I'm done with this."

Zhou Hongmei wanted to say something more, saying that the massage could relieve the pain on the same day, but the young man had already strode out of the consultation room, leaving the room empty again, with only one old lady sitting there.