East Meets West at Healing Practice

ST. PETERSBURG – As a surgical nurse in New Jersey, Gwen Thomas was witness to scores of patients undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

She started to notice that the women who made acupuncture and Chinese medicine part of their regimen seemed to heal and fare better than other patients.

"That is so cool, I want to do that" said Thomas, recalling her reaction.

"The women who were incorporating nutrition, acupuncture and herbal/food support did unbelievable," Thomas said with amazement. "Some of them even had hair on their head."

Witnessing the beneficial effects of acupuncture led Thomas to make some healing changes to her own life.

She moved back to her native Florida and started her journey to become an acupuncturist and specialist in natural healing.

Today, the St. Petersburg resident is doing what she passionately cares about and making a difference in other people's lives. She owns and operates Thomas Chinese Medicine, at 2011 1st Ave. North, St. Petersburg.

"Being from western medicine, I was learning things that I thought were crazy," Thomas remembers thinking when she started studying Chinese medicine.

"But when I started practicing, I thought: This is really real."

Thomas graduated from the East West College of Natural Medicine in Sarasota. She also studied at St. Pete College and the University of South Florida, where she earned a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Allied Health and a Masters of Oriental Medicine.

"I still continued to learn," Thomas said. "That's what I love about the field I'm in: It's infinite."

Although Thomas believes in natural healing, she doesn't rule out western medicine. She believes in working with a patient's medical doctor to achieve the highest quality of care and benefits.

"I've told people before 'I'm not going to treat you until you see your doctor.'" She says that she can recognize more serious conditions that need a the attention of a medical doctor.

"Most acupuncturists don't have the experience that I have with western medicine," she said.

One of Thomas' specialties is assisting patients in getting off of prescription drugs and helping them find a route to health, naturally. American epidemics like high blood pressure and diabetes can be helped through Chinese medicine, she said.

Thomas' own mother was inspiration for her after she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. She was prescribed several medications that made her unresponsive and listless. Thomas sought another route for her, and it worked.

"Sometimes my Mom will tell people 'I have Type 2 diabetes,' " Thomas said as she smiled. "And I'll look at her and tell her 'Not anymore, Mom.' "