On her left forearm, five numerals are tattooed: 06470. The Newtown zipcode is a visual reminder to Newtown resident Jody Murray that she should not wait to do the things she has intended to do.

On June 7, Ms Murray, a licensed acupuncturist and athletic trainer, and owner of Acupuncture Therapy in Brookfield, returned from a two-week medical mission to Kodaikanal, India — something she had always intended to do, she said.

“After 12/14, I stepped up the pace [on accomplishing goals],” said Ms Murray, saying that as a volunteer writing thank you notes to the thousands who sent cards of sympathy to Newtown after the shootings, she had grasped the value of the present moment. She also hopes that stepping outside her comfort zone to help others, as best she can, sets an example for her niece and nephew, both recent college graduates.

Once she decided to make a medical mission a priority, she researched groups that host volunteers, and came across the Foundation for International Medical Relief for Children (FIMRC), headquartered out of Philadelphia.

“I liked what they stood for,” Ms Murray said. The FIMRC website notes that the organization works to help by “providing access to quality healthcare and educating community members on preventative measures. By tailoring our programs to the needs expressed by the families and local leaders, we continue to strive towards positive, sustainable change.”

FIMRC volunteers can also come and go on their own schedules, staying a few days or a few months, or arriving and leaving midweek, Ms Murray said. “The volunteers are always in flux,” she said, with stays overlapping. The flexibility in scheduling made it easier for her to plan her time away from her business.

She offered her skills and asked to be sent to whatever site the organization felt most appropriate, while thinking to herself that India was the last place she hoped to go. FIMRC recommended Kodaikanal, India, a hill town in the mountains of southwestern part of the country. Things happen for a reason, Ms Murray believes, and by accepting the mission to India, she trusted that needs there could be met by her specialized training.

Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles into specific sites on the body “to enable the body to use its own innate ability to heal itself,” Ms Murray explained. An athletic trainer evaluates injuries and treatment. “It’s very much a combination of a physical therapist, a physician’s assistant, and a paramedic,” she said.

The journey to Kodaikanal was long and challenged her level of ease, particularly in Indian airports, where signage was at a minimum, lines were long, and the weather was extremely hot. Having a suitcase filled with small vials of Aleve over-the-counter pain medicine and numerous acupuncture needles gave her some concern, as well, but she ran into no difficulties transporting it.

After 24 hours of travel, and her first hair-rising ride in a taxi, introducing her to the organized chaos of driving in India, Ms Murray joined five pre-med student volunteers in Kodaikanal, who were there to shadow doctors and learn how medical practice works in another part of the world. At the Pasam Trust (“Pasam” means “love,” Ms Murray learned) Hospital, she worked with Raja, the physical therapist there.

Making Do

“It was inspiring, frustrating, joyful. It was depressing — all in ten minutes a day. The facilities were poor, so I learned to make do with a lot less than I am used to,” she said. Twice as many acupuncture needles as she had packed would have been useful. “But many basic physical therapy items they just didn’t have. The frustration was in knowing I could do more for someone if they were [in the United States], and not being able to,” Ms Murray said. 

“But,” she said, “you have to let go of your American sensibilities [in a situation like this]. For example, just because someone came in barefoot — and this was not uncommon — and I might feel bad about it, it doesn’t mean that they [feel bad about it],” she said. “I never saw anyone who wasn’t happy, and smiling, and so grateful, despite the poverty.”

Kodaikanal is a city with both extremes of poverty and wealth, “And that might be just looking left to right,” she said. It is also a city of cows. Sitting outside the residence early in the morning, a cup of coffee in hand, she enjoyed watching the parade of cows in the road, and the people and cars wending their ways about the honored animals. A cow lying in the road? Just go around…

Tea time was another thing she learned was hallowed. At 11 am, all is dropped to gather for the brew of spiced black tea and hot raw milk, a concoction she continues to crave. “I would be working with a patient, and be abandoned by everyone else. It was tea time,” she chuckled. The midmorning ritual was about far more than drinking tea, however. It is a time, she said, of communion among people. “It was a genuine expression of humanity amid the chaos. It was a heartfelt gift... I know you love this and I have made it just for you,” she writes in her blog, acupunxtherapy.blogspot.com.

The clinic in which Ms Murray volunteered is a free clinic, and utilized by many who would not otherwise have any health care.

The Language Of Gratitude And Trust

The language barrier was an expected challenge. Ms Murray knew the few words of the local language, Tamil, that she had learned would not be adequate. “Most of the patients did not speak English. The site coordinator spoke English quite well, and the physical therapist’s English was okay. There was a fair amount of pantomiming and demonstrating,” laughed Ms Murray. What amazed her was how people responded to simply being listened to, even by a foreigner.

“They were so grateful. Even among the most grateful here in the US, it doesn’t come close. They were so grateful I just talked to them. We [Americans] get so caught up in our every little thing. They accepted me 100 percent on faith. I was there to help them and not hurt them. I got blessings several times,” said Ms Murray — including an elephant blessing.

On a day trip that involved an elephant ride, she experienced this special blessing. “Our elephant held her trunk just above my head and then blew gently on it,” she said.

The patients accepted the suggestion of acupuncture treatment when it seemed appropriate, even though for the most part none had heard of this ancient treatment.

“Patients just knew someone there had a method recommended to them to try,” she said. The clinic patients, she pointed out, are also living in a level of discomfort that would never be tolerated by most Americans. She recalled one man who came to see her. She was fairly certain his foot was broken. “The man walked a mile to get an x-ray, then walked back to the clinic with the x-ray. His foot was broken,” she said, and she provided him with a soft cast wrap.

Ms Murray’s reputation grew day by day, with more patients seeking treatment.

“I did a ton of acupuncture. I treated a lot of back and neck pain, headaches, and even a stroke victim,” she said, many of the same ailments for which she treats patients in her Brookfield practice. The Kodaikanal patients had often tried other, more conventional treatments; or treatments not so conventional, such as the tattoo therapy with peacock oil one had used to treat a knee injury — unsuccessfully. Acupuncture gave him much more relief, she said.

Because acupuncture is designed to be used frequently, Ms Murray saw several of her patients every day she was there, allowing her to build relationships. A migraine sufferer, on the other hand, achieved relief in just one treatment.

“I saw about 15 patients overall, each day, for acupuncture or whatever was needed,” she said. Therapeutic exercises were sometimes the answer, and she worked with Raja and the pre-med students to supply that, when appropriate.

Sharing Skills

Ms Murray shared her skills primarily with patients at Pasam Trust, but also with other “rural” clinics during the two weeks of volunteering. One rural clinic was attached to the residence in which she and other volunteers were housed. Open every day and staffed by a nurse, and a doctor only two evenings a week, extra help was appreciated. The other rural clinic was located about 20 minutes out in the country. Twice she sat in with the orthopedic surgeon there, Dr Arun Kolhatkar (“I called him ‘Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman,’” she quipped), marveling again at the power of listening skills.

“He would listen to a patient, and everything he did was manual. Tests require time, and travel, and money, all of which most of these people do not have. He was like an old-fashioned doctor, and it was inspiring to see him practice. It definitely reinvigorated my own listening skills and understanding that people just want to be heard, even if speaking different languages. Listening,” she said, “is probably as healing as anything else you can do.”

The second week, ten pre-med students joined the group, which made for an unusually large number of volunteers at one time. Many expressed interest in the practice of acupuncture, and Ms Murray was happy to demonstrate and teach them. She is pleased that the physical therapist and the pre-med students were very interested in learning more about acupuncture. “I think I did a lot of teaching while I was there, and I like to think I left them with some new ideas,” she said. Raja’s interest in acupuncture seemed great, and she is hopeful he will continue to pursue it, she said.

“All I could do was what I could do, while I was there,” said Ms Murray. Educating the patients on how injuries occur and ways to prevent them in the future was one of the biggest gifts she feels she left behind.

She also took away many gifts from her trip to India, which she lists in her blog:

1. Puppies don’t discriminate... we are all just playthings! RIP Angel.

2. Cats do discriminate... feed them and they will tolerate you.

3. People really and truly just want to be heard... even if you don’t speak the language.

4. Stopping everything at 11 am for chai...is about a lot more than tea.

5. An elephant blessing is about a lot more than snot in your hair.

6. It’s hard to tell the difference between a funeral procession and a temple celebration...both seem like a party.

7. I’m a much better Scrabble player than I thought... or am I?

8. I like the big mangos better than the small mangos... or is it the other way around?

9. I am much, much older than pre-med students... who don’t know who Dr Quinn is.

10. Sometimes you’re the Sensei, sometimes you’re the grasshopper. Be prepared for both!

11. One person can indeed make a difference.

12. There is nothing so wonderful as a glass of ice water!

13. There is no place like home.

The numbers on her arm are always a reminder of going beyond, and living in the here and now. The memories and lessons carried back from India are not as obvious to those who meet her, but have made an indelible imprint on who she is, and how she lives her life.

“I absolutely would go again,” Ms Murray said. “It was one of the most naturally beautiful places I’ve seen. I count the people I worked with for two weeks among my friends now. I don’t know if it will happen, but I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“Be the change,” she added, is her new motto. “Be the change, whether it is in Newtown, or India, or wherever.”