Things were looking grim, but then a concerned friend took the 10-year-old to an acupuncturist, who treated her three times in half-hour sessions. "Almost immediately after the first treatment, Nelly's energy went from zero to 100," recalled that friend, Blair Washburn, who works as a community organizer in New York City. "But this was really unbelievable." Dr. Athena became more mobile, ate more and resumed regular bowel movements. "I'm not really into alternative therapies, that's not my thing," Washburn stressed.

Sign Up for MedicineNet Newsletters. Obama Picks Sebelius as Health Secretary Joint Replacement Soars as Number of Docs Falls Ancestors Put Best Foot Forward 1.5M Years Ago With 4 Legs They All Walk the Same, It Seems Obama Wants $634 Billion for Health Care Want More News. Leilani Alvarez, the veterinary acupuncturist who treated Nelly, confessed that even she was once a bit skeptical of what acupuncture could do for four-footed patients.

But Nelly, who lives with Washburn, is a frisky, fluffy bichon frise. But hundreds of successful cases later, "it's.

"She bounced back in a way that seemed miraculous," Washburn said It's a story that might be familiar to people who've benefited from the ancient healing technique.