The learning has been mutual, as Yurasek also had some "tricks up his sleeve" as a TCM specialist, Xue said.

He said he once experienced some sciatic pain, and Yurasek used acupuncture to help alleviate the pain. Other doctors at the center would also talk with the two US doctors and they often learned from each other.

Yurasek wrote in the thank-you note that his team had begun to use and research acupuncture-assisted anesthesia before, during and after mastectomy and lumpectomy operations, in the cardiac catheterization laboratory during the placement of pacemakers, heart oblation and other cardiac procedures, and had asked for permission to use and study acupuncture assisted anesthesia in the repair of fractured legs.

"We would have never received that level of training anywhere in the US, let alone anywhere else in the world," he said. "But it is the ripple effect here in Chicago, at our hospital, one of the oldest and largest hospitals in the US, that I want to make sure you understand what the training we received accomplished here."

None of the work would have been possible without the incredible training and the confidence they felt after being trained by Xue's staff, he said.

"We have a saying here at Cook County Stroger Hospital that goes back to our founding 135 years ago: 'See, Do, Teach.' It seems Gansu Provincial Hospital works the same way," he wrote.

"The difference the training has made to the quality of care we provide to our patients is clearly obvious and will continue to grow. We need to come back to continue to learn from the masters and bring more of our colleagues from the US and Canada along with us."

The exchanges and friendship have continued. In July 2019, Yurasek brought two colleagues to the center to learn the acupuncture techniques. In June, he gave a video speech at a conference in Gansu about the way his hospital has used acupuncture to reduce complications, prevent drug abuse, and treat diabetes.