pins & needles

the oxycontin is working. stephen is feeling better. the pain is still there (he's nearly incapacitated when the medication wears off) but the drugs mask it for a few hours at a time. so he is (we are) finally getting a little sleep. we talk a lot about alternative solutions to his pain... acupuncture, tai chi. we googled a couple of community acupuncture clinics, but didn't really decide where to start.

i emceed a big day-long music festival yesterday, which took place in a park literally across the street from stephen's house. (it was nice being able to use his place as a 'green room' throughout the day!) in addition to about 8 wildly varied musical acts, there were food vendors and about 30 community and neighborhood groups set up around the park, too.

as stephen & i were watching representatives of these groups arrive to set up, one woman parked right in front of his house and started unloading an amazing array of stuff from her trunk. we offered to help her carry her things to her group's table, and as she handed us a couple of folding reclining chairs she told us she had just opened an acupuncture clinic on the other side of the park; she was offering free acupuncture all day long as a way of promoting her new business.

stephen & i just looked at each other, slack-jawed, and laughed at the serendipity of it. her name was diane, and she was an angel. when stephen sat in her chair, she listened --really listened-- to where his pain was, and after the very first needle was inserted his face changed; the pain was instantly reduced. in total he had about 10 needles inserted --up and down his sciatic leg, a few in his hands, and one between his eyes-- and when she was done he broke out in tears. he was *pain free*. i started crying, too. the serendipity was so moving, and i couldn't believe, after all i'd seen this week, that stephen could possibly be out of pain.

after about a half-hour the pain started to reemerge, which disappointed us all. but diane said that he responded *so well* to his initial treatment that she would be surprised if further treatments didn't help with more long-term relief. her clinic offers sliding scale payments (from $15-$35 a session); he'll definitely return for more.