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Meet Kristen Horner

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Women's Health and Infertility

Meet Kristen Horner

Meet Kristen Horner

I developed an interest in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) when I was twelve years old and a little old Chinese man who didn't speak a word of English used acupuncture and herbs to cure me of an ailment that two surgeries and physicians at the Mayo Clinic were not able to diagnose or treat. 

Throughout grade school and high school, science was my favorite subject and I particularly loved subjects like anatomy and physiology.  Both my parents are health care providers and I knew from an early age that I would choose a healthcare or science-related career for myself. 

I went on to complete a bachelor's degree in human nutrition and a master's degree in physiology.  During college and graduate school I spent innumerable hours at the medical school library studying scientific journals.  For two years I worked in a university laboratory where I collected data on the effect of diet and physical fitness on cardiovascular disease risk factors.  Eventually, data from my master's thesis was published in a scientific journal. 

But throughout this time, I maintained my interest in Chinese medicine.  I knew from personal experience that acupuncture and herbal medicine works, sometimes even when conventional means have failed.  TCM is a pre-scientific method that operates according to logic that is foreign to the Western mind.  In many cases it defies analysis under the scientific method.  But I began to wonder – with my background, might I serve as a bridge between these two very different worlds?

I spent the years of 1999 – 2003 studying at the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where I completed over 2800 hours of training and earned my second master's degree (Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine).  Many of my professors were doctors from China; some of them the eighth or tenth generation acupuncturist in their families.  When I completed my education, my husband and I moved to Waco for him to take a position on the Baylor faculty and for me to open my practice. 

Over the past seven years, my confidence in and fascination with TCM has grown.  I have seen patients relieved of chronic pain that had plagued them for years.  I have seen couples who were told that they were infertile conceive naturally and give birth to healthy babies.  I have seen people give up their allergy medication and make it through cedar season without their annual Christmas-season sinus infection.  I have seen my own kids and others recover in days instead of weeks from colds, ear infections, and bronchitis. 

I know first hand the challenge of chronic pain, but my own experience and that of many of my patients has convinced me that acupuncture and herbal medicine can make a life-changing difference.  I feel so privileged to get to know each one of my patients and be a part of their health care team.  I love the work that I do! 

People who are new to “alternative medicine” are comfortable as patients in my practice for a few reasons.  I have a high regard for physicians and whole-heartedly encourage my patients to remain under the care of their primary care and specialist doctors.  My office is located in a professional building less than a block from Providence Health Center.  I am open to questions – even skeptical and challenging ones (I am a skeptic at heart myself!) 

Please feel free to contact me via email or telephone if I can answer any questions or help you determine if acupuncture and/or Chinese herbal medicine is right for you.              

Rest in peace, baby Winston.
We will all miss you so much. 
April 28, 2009 - January 22, 2010