9000 Needles

Year: 2009
Country: USA, CHINA
Run Time: 83 minutes

One morning Devin Dearth went to the gym to work out, just like he did every morning. A few hours later he suffered a bleed in his brain stem – a stroke that is often fatal. After three weeks in an intensive care unit and 100 days in a rehabilitation center, his care is terminated due to insurance maximums. Even the doctor admits that patient goals are often driven by insurance coverage and an uninsured stay for in-patient care will cost $100,000-$150,000 per month for Devin. Formally a body builder and fitness freak, the condition Devin faces is unacceptable; not just to him, but also to his brother Doug (the film's director) who goes searching online to find other, more affordable treatment options. He discovers a Chinese stroke rehabilitation program based out of the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin at the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Following a series of fundraisers, Devin, wife Stacey, and Doug head to China to begin the treatment. After the first day of acupuncture treatments and medicinal herbal baths, he sees more improvement than in many weeks of treatment in the United States. The integration of eastern techniques, including the use of 9,157 acupuncture needles, and western techniques seems to be the ticket. 9,000 NEEDLES is a personal, riveting, and moving story of a family's powerful love and healing, and one man's journey back from the brink. – C.C.P.

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