I was infected with COVID-19 and diagnosed in mid-March, 2020. After two weeks of hard struggle [in quarantine], I finally passed the dangerous period. However, both lungs had been infected and it felt rather hard to recover. Every day I was very weak, often with chest tightness and difficult breathing; my back was especially painful. In the meantime, my friend recommended me to use Dr. Che’s Eight Acupoint prescription. I do not know anything about traditional Chinese medicine, and I know nothing about acupoints. So, I did not have any trust and confidence in this. On the other hand, during my difficult period of illness, I was willing to try anything. I thought that anyway just me doing the pressing should not make it worse. Even if I did not do it correctly, at least it will not make it worse. So I took a “try” attitude; every day I began to press the eight acupoints introduced by Dr.Che.
In the first two days, I mainly devoted my energy to finding the right locations of the acupoints. Once I felt that the location of the acupoints had been mastered, I pressed each one 200 times twice a day at 10:00am in the morning and about 3:00pm in the afternoon. I pressed on each acupoint, left side alternating to right side and vice versa for about forty minutes or so. Because I am basically a lazy person, I am rarely willing to spend time and energy on myself. But during this period of illness, I was so powerless to do other things that I could barely commit to pressing them twice a day. At the beginning of the pressing session, I could occasionally feel that the acupoints were connected. For example, when I pressed on the leg acupoints, I could feel the sense of soreness and distention on the foot acupoints. However, not all acupoints had the same feeling. Sometimes, according to the foot acupoints, I could feel a reaction in the stomach area. It felt comfortable, but sometimes there would be burping or flatulence. At the beginning of those days, although I did not know how much it would help my pneumonia recovery, at least I was beginning to feel good in the stomach and intestines. During the process of pressing, that acupoint part also started to feel comfortable. So, I just kept on pressing for more than a week, and I gradually got used to it. Later, one day, after taking care of my children for a while in the morning, I was very, very tired. I felt my chest becoming very tight and my breathing was not smooth. So I sat in a chair in the yard and wanted to take a break in the sun. Naturally, I used this moment to start pressing the acupoints. When I pressed the second acupoint, I immediately felt my chest open and relax. At that moment, I was a little surprised and was wondering if it happened by accident. However, there were a few more times in the next few days that as long as I pressed on these particular acupoints, my chest immediately opened again. As Dr. Che said, pressing these eight acupoints is equivalent to using a ventilator. I was skeptical at the time, but after these personal experiences and observations, I believed it. I began to marvel at what seemed “magical” about these Traditional Chinese Medicine acupoints. Although I do not understand the principles, this experience has aroused my desire to learn and understand.
This illness has made me deeply aware of the meaning of the words “Essence, Qi and Spirit”. When one has the spirit, one can’t feel it, because this is the norm of life. However, when one becomes weak in their body, vitality becomes weaker and weaker, and one can feel how very important “Essence, Qi and Spirit” really are. This time when I was ill, I felt as if my spirit was about to run out; there was a shortage of my body’s essence and Qi; even bowel movements and urination were difficult; this powerlessness resulted in both constipation and frequent urination.
Further, not to mention basic daily life, it was difficult for me to take care of myself. This time through the pressing of the Eight acupoints as part of the treatment of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I obviously felt that my body’s essence and spirit were becoming enough, even though it was only 80% better. I now have the strength to play along with my children. Also, I have the strength to argue with my husband. After being trapped at home for five weeks because of the illness, now I couldn’t help getting into the car and driving to the supermarket at the bottom of the mountain to buy a lot of food, and I couldn’t wait to get home. I actually did housework for the whole afternoon.
This is the most physical labor I have done since I was ill. I didn’t even have the strength to speak before, but now I can do so much more in one breath. I have to say that this recovery is already great! Now, with the exception of a little bit of back pain, other symptoms are basically not obvious. Last week, I had a second novel coronavirus test, the results are negative! Thanks to the Eight “magical” Acupoints recommended by Dr. Che, as well as the Chinese medical volunteers in my community who are silently contributing their time and service to the COVID-19 patients.
我在三月中感染上新冠肺炎，并确诊。经过两个星期的艰苦挣扎之后，终于度过了危险期。但是双肺感染后，恢复起来感觉相当吃力。每天都非常虚弱无力，经常还会胸闷，呼吸不畅，尤其是后背一直疼痛。
在这期间，朋友推荐我用车大夫的八个穴位按摩。我对中医方面并不了解，对穴位更是一窍不通，因此对此谈不上任何的信任和信心。但是在这病苦期间，什么方法都愿意去尝试。心想反正就是按按的事，即便按不好，至少也按不坏吧。于是我抱着试试看的态度，每天开始按车大夫介绍的那八个穴位。
头两天，我主要把精力花在找准穴位上。自己觉得对穴位的位置已经掌握的八九不离十了，然后每天上午十点和下午三点左右分别按两次。每个穴位按二百下，左右轮流一遍下来，差不多四十分钟左右。我是个比较懒的人，一般很少愿意把时间和精力花在这上面。但是在这生病期间，做其它事情也是有心无力，所以每天基本能坚持按两次。
刚开始按的时候，偶尔能感觉到穴位之间是联通的，比如按腿部穴位的时候，能感觉到酸麻感通到脚步穴位，但也不是按所有穴位都有这种感觉。有时按脚部穴位的时候能感觉到胃部有反应，觉得胃里舒服，有时会有打嗝或排气现象。
开始那些天，虽然不知道对我肺炎的恢复有多大的帮助，至少感觉是对肠胃有好处的。而且按摸的过程中，那个穴位部位也是觉得舒服的。所以，就这样坚持按了一个多星期，渐渐也就习惯按了。
后来，有一天，上午照顾了一会儿孩子，又累的不行，感觉胸很闷，呼吸不顺畅。于是坐在院子的椅子上，想晒着太阳歇会儿。这时我又习惯性的按穴位，刚按到第二个穴位的时候，感觉胸口立马就通透了。当时我小小吃了一惊，心想会不会是碰巧发生的。但是，后来几天又有几次，只要一按穴位，胸口立马通透。
车医生说过，按这八个穴位相当于用呼吸机。当时我还半信半疑的，但经过这几次验证之后，我信了。不得不惊叹中医穴位的神奇，虽然我不懂其间的原理，但是这勾起了想要了解和学习的欲望。
这次生病让我深切体会到精、气、神这三个字的意义，当你拥有精气神的时候，你感觉不到它们的存在，因为这是生命的常态。而当它们在你身体里渐渐变得薄弱时，生命力也就越来越虚弱了，这时你能体会到它们对你是多么的重要。这次生病，我感觉自己的精气神快要尽了，身体里的精、气不足，连大、小便都觉得困难、无力，所以会便秘、尿频。更不用说基本日常生活，自理都困难。这次通过八个穴位的按摩以及中药的治疗，这几天明显觉得精气神足了，有了精气神感觉病好像一下子就好了80%，有力气逗孩子玩了，也有力气和老公顶嘴吵架了。
因病在家被困了五个星期，现在有劲了，终于按奈不住，昨天我一个人开车去山下的超市买了一大堆食物，回家又按耐不住做了一下午的家务。这是生病以来，最大的一次体力劳动，之前连说话都没力气，现在能一口气做这么多，不得不说我这是已经好了！
现在除了背还疼之外，其它症状都基本不明显。上周做了第二次新冠测试，结果为：阴性！
感谢车大夫推荐的这八个神奇的穴位，以及默默为患者付出的医务工作者们。
Wunian Y.
April 28, 2020
