Devin Dearth, the inspirational figure behind the , used to be a body builder, but not the kind that take so many steroids they end up looking like Watusi longhorn cattle. Rather, according to his doctor, “[Devin] took health to a level most individuals don’t even dream about.” In the footage taken of Devin before his stroke he is smiling and his family seems happy. After Devin’s stroke, everything changed. The Dearth family’s subsequent struggles are capture in the film “9000 Needles,” which won several best documentary at the 2010 Phoenix Film Festival.
Why then, is the title about a large number of needles? Because in what had to be a moment of desperation after finding out that Devin’s insurance would no longer cover rehab at their American hospital, Devin’s brother decides that the family should take Dearth to China for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment. TCM, as you may know, involves acupuncture.
from on .
I’ve written before about my disdain for Chinese which market miracle treatments for strokes and degenerative disease of the brain to Western patients easily charmed by their perceived exoticism of traditional Chinese medicine. So I shouldn’t need to point out a spoiler alert when I tell you that the treatment did not repair Dearth’s stroke-damaged brain and spinal chord (but I will point out that it did result in his ). But the movie’s value does not lie in its portrayal of one Chinese hospital profiting on its false promises. Instead the film’s focus on how the trip brings a broken family together is a reminder that many times the value of chasing miracles lies in the journey. Devin’s most successful treatments in China came during the period away from the dingy TCM offices.
About the Author
