Northwestern Health Sciences University Acupuncture Interns Learn More Than Just Points

Amid acres of natural beauty, hope and courage bloom at rehabilitation facility

Imagine, if you will, a young man dancing with his new bride at his wedding reception, only to be captured a year later by the confines of a wheelchair due to an accident. Or a teenager working to regain use of his legs after a motorcycle crash. These are just a few of the real cases of people who spend months, maybe even years, rehabilitating at the Courage Center located in Golden Valley, Minnesota . The Center assists 20,000 children and adults annually through more than 70 programs and services including acupuncture treatments provided by students from Northwestern Health Sciences University .

A glimpse over my shoulder reveals the transparent square windows through which many stars are wished upon and many prayers are cast. Vibrant colors dance outside in the form of evergreens, maples, daisies, freesias, peonies, and exotic plants. If you would walk outside you would smell the calming scent of lilacs and hear the relaxing sound of rippling water from the fountain and the stream that winds its way around the grounds. Unfortunately, many of the people staying at the CourageCenter are unable to walk outside, relying instead on wheels and their dreams to carry them away.

The Courage Center provides a full range of rehabilitation, mental health, community living, vocational and recreational services at its two main campuses in Golden Valley and Stillwater, Minnesota. The Courage Center’s mission is to empower people with physical disabilities to reach for their full potential in every aspect of life. They are guided by the vision that one day all people will live, work, learn and play in a community based on abilities, not disabilities. One of the newest services offered at the Center is acupuncture treatment as a means to reduce pain and problems resulting from the patients’ accidents.

The Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MCAOM) at Northwestern Health Sciences University has had the opportunity to be a part of the initial acupuncture clinic at the Center. It is also a place where students from Northwestern are encouraged to explore their classroom knowledge with real-world experiences.

A young woman glides past as I stroll along the wide path, soaking in the richness of the surroundings. Her friends are visiting and appear to be taking her for a joyride along the creek. Her infectious laughter elicits an illusion of joy and happiness, not of pain and fear. How can she feel so free while being completely bound? The thought is unfathomable to me. Her sweet sound dissipates as she vanishes behind the lilac bushes, returning me to the simple sounds of nature.

“The involvement of Northwestern at the Courage Center is mutually beneficial to both parties,” says Lisa Simenson, clinical education coordinator for MCAOM. “Students are allowed to work on an extremely diverse patient base, including spinal-cord injury patients. It is a great service to the patients as well, offering them potential relief from their aches and pains.”

Currently there are three acupuncture interns treating an average of five (?) patients one half-day per week. The interns rotate between the two floors at the Center each week, allowing for one treatment every other week. “We hope to expand the program in the future trimesters to allow for more frequent visits with patients,” says Simenson.

“Patients seem to really like having the acupuncture as an option for health care,” notes Tamara Hauck, LAc, MaOM, acupuncture clinic supervisor at the Courage Center and a graduate of MCAOM. “It is a great addition to have and we are looking forward to the program growing.”

I feel selfish as I walk along. My life has not been torn apart and then rebuilt to resemble who I once was. No, I have always been who I am right now. No wheelchair, no real problems. As I press my back against the hard, cold bars of a bench, I try to imagine away my ability to walk. My eyes close and the beautiful world outside of the Center disappears. All at once, my legs become hot with fire and then cease to have feeling. I use my hands to sense where I am. My arm drops down and slams against rubber and metal. “What is this?” I ask myself. It is a wheel, I discover. Oh no. It can’t be. Am I trapped in my imagination? Or am I really trapped in this chair?

John, a first-time acupuncture patient, suffered a stroke in January and has had a lot of pain in his shoulder since regaining feeling after two months. Sarah Sanford, a T6 acupuncture student, asks him a variety of questions. “How is your attitude today?” she asks. “I am always in a great mood, just ask the ladies at the front desk,” John jokes. In reality, the atmosphere at Courage Center is one of hope for the future. Many patients have moved to the Center after long, rigorous struggles during recovery. So, according to John, the Center is a nice improvement.

As far as the acupuncture treatment, John is a bit leery, but is willing to try. “It is worth trying to see if I can get this fixed,” he says, motioning to his shoulder. John is able to stand and walk short distances, and hopes to expand that to longer distances and recovery.

Other acupuncture patients spend their time getting used to motorized wheelchairs and everyday life on their own. Treatments are often in the patient’s chairs, or laying on their bed, depending on the comfort level of the patients.

Minutes pass until my imagination lets me escape away from a deep fear. The fear of losing my mobility, the very thing that I didn’t realize I cherished. I was only trapped in my imagination for a short period of time. I can only imagine what it is like to wake up daily like this. How would I be able to face every day? I am amazed at the strength of the patients at the Courage Center.

In one room, walls are plastered with photos of beautiful women and bands, much like any young man would decorate. It is difficult to imagine that Travis, a once carefree man, will now lead a more challenging life due to one incident that damaged his spinal cord. The acupuncture intern works to ease his pain from surgeries and his nausea from medications, while another intern works to ease the pain on another patient nearby.

Northwestern’s involvement with the Courage Center is a direct result of a grant that was received in 2002 from the Minnesota Community Compact organization. The University was looking for a grant to help foster service learning when they came across the Compact grant. “This grant was specifically for organizations that are first-time applicants for service-learning grants; it was a great fit,” says Lynne Hvidsten, DC, director of clinical education at Northwestern.

The acupuncture and Oriental medicine students must observe for 15 hours before being allowed to actually provide treatment at the Courage Center . Northwestern also has massage therapy students working in the Courage Center throughout the week.

“It is so important for the University to establish a sense of service learning,” said Dr. Hvidsten. “Our goals in partnering with Courage Center are three-fold. First, we want to establish a model of partnership in service learning; second, we want to expand our opportunities for our students; and third, we want to integrate a concept of service learning throughout the curriculum, creating more community-minded alumni.”

I have traveled to many places and visited many beautiful areas, but nothing seems as enchanting as the paths I walk on this day. Perhaps it is because I expect them to not house such happiness or such beauty. I expect them to bear hurt, anger, fear and revenge. I have found little of that today. I seem to have lost myself in the glory of human strength and courage. I seem to have found a place where burdens are bearable. Amidst the maples, daisies, and lilacs I have managed to find hope - hope and the Courage Center .