For several years, Cambodian elderly woman Por Lon, who has been paralyzed after a stroke, has not been able to walk, but that changed when she received treatment using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
The 82-year-old mother of three children said she sought TCM treatments after hearing from other patients that a team of Chinese TCM experts provided TCM treatment to patients at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital's Chinese Medicine Clinic here in Phnom Penh.
Lon has had high blood pressure for 10 years and has fallen face down twice, which left her both legs unmovable, traveling in a wheelchair only.
"I previously could not walk unaided, but after I have come for acupuncture treatment several times, my legs have regained their strength, and I can walk again," she told Xinhua on Friday at the Chinese Medicine Clinic.
"Now, at home, I can walk unassisted from my children, and pain on my shoulders has also relieved," the woman said, adding that she has received acupuncture treatment at the clinic for six months.
She expressed her heartfelt gratitude to China for sending the TCM experts to help heal patients in Cambodia, saying that TCM is very efficacious to treat patients with chronic diseases.
"I'm elated that I have gradually recovered from my illness, and I hope other patients will also get better from their illnesses," Lon said.
Another 71-year-old patient, Som Chanthan, who has pelvic fractures, said her illness has improved after having received acupuncture treatment from the Chinese TCM specialists for several months.
"I used to fall down, leading to pelvic fractures, and I was in constant pain," she told Xinhua. "I have come to receive acupuncture treatment, and I feel much better and can move faster, and an X-ray shows the fractured bone has evolved for the better."
Chanthan said there was not any side effect from the TCM treatment, and she felt relieved after each treatment.
Keo Sorya, a 62-year-old mother of three children, said she had a persistent sore throat for years and had difficulty swallowing food, but her condition has improved after she received acupuncture treatment three times.
"Now, my throat is still a bit sore and has phlegm," she told Xinhua. "They (Chinese TCM experts) have provided good treatment, helping treat me, and I believe in them."
Yuan Geng, head of the Chinese Medical Team to Cambodia, which works at the Chinese Medicine Clinic, said his eight-member team from the Guang'anmen Hospital arrived in Phnom Penh in July 2023 for a one-year medical mission. They are the second batch of Chinese TCM experts dispatched to the Southeast Asian nation.
He said the experts came from eight medical units of emergency, geriatric disease, preventive health care, general diseases, orthopedics, infection control, acupuncture and moxibustion, as well as surgical nurse.
"We are now carrying out TCM diagnosis and treatment activities at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital," he told Xinhua.
"At present, we have carried out this kind of diagnosis and treatment activities for more than a month, and the weekly workload is now about 120 to 130 patients," he said.
Besides offering TCM diagnosis and treatment at the clinic, the team has also reached out to different places to provide patients with free clinics, Yuan said, adding that the team has so far carried out five such large-scale free clinic activities.