Touting Doctor Chen

(Editor's Note: Due to Election Day coverage, we are running the Hey Y'all column this week on Wednesday, November 9.)

I met Dr. Jessica Chen when I was exploring acupuncture and massage for those old nagging aches and pains. You know the ones that we actually created in our youth, when we thought we were invincible.

You remember being young and doing those fancy dives at the swimming pool?  How about those times when you picked up 50 pounds as if it were five? Remember catching that pass playing football in the back yard? Playing basketball and even though you were only 5’5”, you thought you could slam dunk?  The only thing that was slammed dunked was you. Yeah, my back hurts thinking about it all, too.

I got a two for one deal with Dr. Chen. I found a great acupuncturist and massage therapist and a really good friend. Jessica Hong Chen fell in love with the Unites States, particularly Gwinnett County when she came to America as an English interpreter for a Mainland Chinese business that was interested in exploring the use of water towers. She returned to China, knowing that she would return to Georgia permanently.  As soon as she was eligible, Jessica proudly became a United States citizen.

Dr. Chen earned her degrees in acupuncture, acupressure, reflexology and massage therapy in the United States. She has more than 10 years of experience in massage therapy and more than nine years in the practice of acupuncture and herbal medicine. She is licensed in Georgia as a doctor of acupuncture and massage therapist.

I have seen acupuncturists in the past for migraines and other health issues as a compliment to  traditional medical treatments. Most of the time I have had to travel quite some distance to find someone who is state board certified. It certainly is nice to have a qualified therapist so nearby. Dr. Chen has a delightful personality and has proven to me through my experiences and relief that she knows her business.

Acupuncture encompasses a variety of health care therapies. Some of the commonly treated conditions are pain management, obesity, allergies, asthma, anxiety, depression, back, neck and joint pain, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, cough, bronchitis, fibromyalgia, headache, migraine, insomnia, stress, tension, high blood pressure, supportive treatment to aid recovery from radiation and chemotherapy, etc. She also offers Swedish and deep tissue massage, acupressure ad reflexology.

But here is the best part. Jessica Chen and I are friends.

We laugh so much when I am in treatment that I am not sure if it is  the laughter or the needles helping me. She has a beautiful voice and sometimes I make her sing to me. I met Jessica and her mother Qinghiu Wang for lunch last week at Atlantic Seafood. We stayed for THREE hours. We ate and talked, but mostly we laughed. 

Her Mom and I tried to teach each other native words.  She did a much better "Hey Y’all" than I ever did anything in her language.  Jessica’s family is from Naryang Oilfield. Her dad was head of planning and her mom worked there as well.  Jessica hopes her father will be able to visit next year. 

It was a neat experience to be with Jessica and her mom at the restaurant.  Our waitress was Chinese.  The three of them just talked away and I was thinking this is like being in China.  I had no clue as to what  was being said. I thought about Jessica’s mom traveling alone, in her late 70’s, changing flights several times and not speaking English.  She has "hello," "goodbye," and "thank you" down beautifully.

This was the first time that Jessica’s mom had been to the United States.  She came alone and has had a ball traveling.  Her favorite thing at Disney World was the carousel.  Jessica said she rode 12 times, each time on a different animal.  Qinghiu Wang loved "It’s a Small World," too.  I got serenaded at the restaurant. Trust me, even in Chinese the song will stay in your head all day!

53 Acupuncture and Massage is located at 2296 Henry Clower Blvd, Suite B (New London Shopping Center), Snellville. Reach them at 770-736-3121 or visit their website at www.drchenacupuncture.com.