At the age of 40 Devin Dearth's life changed forever. Devin, a vital and active loving husband, father, champion body builder and successful businessman suffered a massive hemmorhagic stroke at 5 a.m. while working out at his gym in a small midwestern town. The stroke damaged his brainstem so extensively that he was not expected to live. While medicine in America excels at high tech emergency medicine, it fails miserably at supporting recovery and the restoration of normal function and does almost nothing to sustain and nourish health over the long term. Devin had to go to China to get proper care. The care he needed was denied to him at home.
Devin has insurance. Great. Emergency services covered. Hospital care covered. Not so great, the rehabilitative care that Devin needed then and continues to need now is not covered by his insurance plan. His insurance company refused to pay for the helicopter that airlifted Devin from his very small town to a hospital in Lexington, Kentucky equipped to save his life. His family received a bill for $20,000 for the air ambulance. Without air transport, Devin would have died before ever getting to the hospital. You can't get approval at 5 a.m. in the morning for special services, but that is what is required. Welcome to health care in America.
After three weeks in intensive care, uncertain if he would survive, he could finally breathe on his own. This one time champion body builder then started rehabilitative care, for a limited amount of time only. He was approved for only 20 days of therapy after suffering a massive brain stem stroke He was making good progress and then the insurance coverage ran out. Devin, still debilitated, unable to walk, sit up, speak, feed or bathe himself was sent home. His family was now in charge. His wife and kids had to lift him from bed to wheelchair. His doctors and therapists knew he was progressing well and that he needed continued therapy. The insurance company said no. Coverage is no longer available. Go home.
9000 Needles: A Story of Hope, Courage and One Family's Unconventional Journey Towards Stroke Recovery is an award winning documentary film made by Devin's brother, David Dearth who refused to accept that his brother was going to go without the care he needed.
David searched worldwide and discovered a renowned Acupuncture Treatment Program for Stroke Rehabilitation at First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University in China under the direction of Dr. Shi Xuemin. Devin's family has now been to China twice for several months at a time, where Devin has received exceptional care, daily acupuncture and physical therapy that allowed him to make dramatic progress. Stroke patients with the financial means to do so come here from all over the world. We watch as after only one acupuncture treatment Devin began to move his previously immobile leg on his own for the first time. After only weeks, he no longer drooled out of the side of his mouth. After several months he could sit up and was beginning to walk and to talk again.
According to the 2010 China Connection Global Health Report stroke patients receiving care at the Tianjin Hospital Program have better outcomes than patients treated with standard post stroke treatment in the U.S.
85 percent are able to walk without assistance (Only 51 percent of U.S. patients completing rehabilitatioin in the U.S. walk without assistance.)
95 percent regain almost complete knee flexion compared with 50 percent in the U.S.
98 percent return to live in their homes instead of long term care facilities while only 68 percent of U.S. stroke patients are able to live in their own homes.
According to Dr. Lee Schwamm, Vice Chairman of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Chairman of the American Stroke Association Program
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