By Duane Perron

My name is Duane Perron. I am 65 years old and I have had Multiple Sclerosis since 1978. I was involved in a double-blind study in 1983 because things had gotten very bad. My MS is classified as Progressive-Relapsing MS. The treatment given was a mixture of ACTH and Cyclospasmal. It was able to hold my MS from getting worse for 5 years. I went for a second treatment but that was not effective. Since then I have been slowly going down hill. The newest aids out do not work on my type of MS and if it wasn't for my determination to exercise each day and not give in to MS I would have gotten much worse then I did. I had read about Bee Venom Therapy and Acupuncture on the Internet. I tried to get involved in the first but the clinics that were giving the injections and the year study were too far away for me to participate. So I decided to somehow try acupuncture. My primary care physician (Dr. Jack Chang) is Chinese so I asked him who to go to. His answer changed my whole life.

He said that he did not know any acupuncturists in the area but he gave me the address and telephone number of the New England School of Acupuncture located in Watertown, MA. He said call them, tell them your problem with MS and ask for a name of a local acupuncturist to consult. I did and the next day they called back with the name of Cynthia LaBruzzo in Chelmsford, MA (the next town) and her telephone number. They also told me that she had treated MS patients before with good results. I called her and we talked and made an appointment for that Saturday. That was 2 months ago and this is what happened.

I told her all about my MS. She took my pulse and checked my tongue and asked a great many questions about my MS and what exactly I wanted treated. My MS is on the left side of my body from head to toe. The optic nerve in my left eye does not function. I cannot hear in my left ear. I have trigeminal neuralgia on the left side of my face. My left arm is weakened. I drag my left leg along when I walk (shuffle). I cannot lift my left foot or wiggle my left toes. I have spasticity in both legs but very much so in the left leg. Then to add insult to injury, I am 100% left handed. She has been treating me for 2 months and this is the result so far.

About 2 weeks ago my wife and I went grocery shopping and as we left the store I said to her, "Stay behind me and watch how I walk". She did and she said, "You are taking much larger steps, you are lifting up your left leg not dragging it, and you are standing up straight!" I did the same thing at both of our daughters' houses. Then that Wednesday I had an appointment with my eye doctor (Dr. John Capino) for a 6 month checkup and he said to me, "I don't know the reason but in all the tests run today, the parameters on the results have at least doubled. That should not occur but it did!" I also have cut down on the medication I was taking for trigeminal neuralgia from 4 tablets a day to 1 tablet a day. The only reason I am taking that is because my acupuncturist, Cynthia, didn't want me to stop completely yet even though I feel that I don't need any because of the needles she puts in my left jaw. But the best is yet to come.

Over Labor Day weekend, my wife and I went away to the ocean for a bit of time off together. We stayed right on the beach. We walked around town, went out to eat some, did some cooking in the motel unit, read a lot, and each day we walked through the beach sand to the water and waded in the water and waves a number of times each day. Now I haven't been able to walk in the sand at a beach or let waves hit my legs for at least 12 years! But I did that week and I did it bare footed without my brace, just my cane for balance. On the last day, I walked down to the water alone and then down the beach at the water's edge for about 3 city blocks and then back. All this was again bare footed, etc. I thank God for ALL he has done for me and for leading me to Cynthia my acupuncturist. She has really been so helpful and caring. I also know that this will continue to improve. I had a friend tell me, "Finding a good acupuncturist is like finding a good doctor....and it seems you have finally found your angel."