Ruth E. Lycke & Karen Lauritzen
Hope Help and Healing is the foremost book on cutting edge medical advances and opportunities for traditional treatment in China today! A
must read for anyone contemplating medical treatment or surgery of any kind.
Often thought of as a country steeped in rich culture and ancient history, China also delivers some of the finest medical care in the world. China is on the map as a leader in the global economy, host for the 2008 Olympic games and the nation with the largest population and oldest civilization in the world. China is now a leading economic powerhouse and hub for medical treatment and tourism.
With the surge to improve the Chinese infrastructure, state of the art facilities have been built and staffed with world-renowned physicians. Many people know China to be a center for rejuvenation promised by acupuncture, Chinese medicines and Chinese massage. Both TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and top class medical expertise are offered at very competitive prices. New Chinese corporate hospitals attract foreign patients for high-end surgeries such as Cardiac Bypass or a Knee/Hip Replacement.
Ruth Lycke is the CEO of China Connection LLC, the only company poised to offer a bridge to surgery and medical treatment in China. A published author, Ruth told her story of becoming the first stroke patient treated in Tianjin, China in her book,
Out of the DARKNESS & into the Light.Following a remarkable recovery, she now facilitates others in their successful treatment in China. Her experience as a former nurse, paramedic, surgical specialist, clinic manager, and stroke survivor gives her a unique point of view and makes her knowledge and expertise invaluable. The extensive time that Ruth spends in China each year (9 months) allows her to develop direct and personal working relationships with the Chinese doctors, hospitals, and provincial governments. She oversees a full time staff of dozens of people both in the states and overseas as they work to help others find hope and healing in China.
Karen Lauritzen spent many years working as a medical social worker in a variety of hospital and clinic settings in Chicago, Illinois. Her job as a medical social worker included working with dialysis patients, in mental health, in workshops for mental retardation, with nursing homes, and teaching group dynamics.
She has become an advocate and expert on medical treatment in China after her son became the first RSD patient successfully treated there with Traditional Chinese Medicine. A published author of short stories, this is her first work of non-fiction. She says,"The extraordinary medicine China offers is a story that has to be told." She currently resides in the mountains of North Carolina were she is drafting her first novel,
All Her Worldly Goods.
Chinese Medical ApproachWhat is different about the Chinese approach?
In China, the body is viewed as an emotional, spiritual and physical being and treated as such. The result is treatment that reflects that observation as the Chinese believe that treating one part of the body affects all others. We often fail to acknowledge that we are complex beings. Our failure to acknowledge this often ends up with results we either didn’t fully expect. In other words, many times the operation or treatment is a complete success and yet does not give us the results we seek.
Treatment is often referred to as the application of medical care to cure disease, heal injuries, or ease symptoms or a particular remedy, procedure, or technique for curing or alleviating a disease, injury, or a condition.
Treatment goes beyond science into the spiritual. In other words, it is not enough to just have someone do the right things physically, they must also believe in those steps. Removing someone’s gallbladder may seem like a simple surgical procedure. The patient is told they must have this surgery or risk additional pain and suffering or even death. With this looming over them they make the decision to go ahead and trust that the surgery will lead to a full recovery. The surgeon removes the diseased organ, sews up the patient. Their job is complete. The patient leaves the hospital with discharge instructions, a prescription and an appointment for a follow-up a week later. A week later, a visit is made to make certain all is healing. The patient is discharged.
As a medical professional and patient I’ve seen and experienced treatment first hand. Whether it’s emergency medicine, surgery, or long term care, I've had the opportunity to participate and receive care on both sides of the planet and I can say without hesitation there is a huge difference. That difference is not in the technology or skill that is available, but in the environment in which it is practiced.
China's culture is reflected in its medicine with a slower paced, unhurried approach to care. The patient's total well-being is the focus of all treatments and is considered by each of the doctors treating the patient.
I have learned first hand how valuable good health and medical care is. Unfortunately, with the sky rocketing costs of surgical and medical care in the United States, more people are looking around the globe for solutions. With technology and training available and ease of travel, unprecedented vistas are being made available to bring new hope. Current statistics show that over 43 million Americans are currently uninsured and between 1997 and 2003, there was a 5.5 percent decrease in the number of hospitals registered in the U.S. Following this trend, over 550,000 Americans left the U.S. in order to seek health care elsewhere. Hence, growth of medical tourism as a new industry has developed.
