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My personal Chiropractic journey began when I was a
child. At a very young age I had horrible,
debilitating migraine headaches. The headaches were
so intense with feeling sick that it seemed there
was nothing I could do but lay in a dark room and
throw up. I would never know when the headaches
would hit - at school, playing at a friend’s house
or riding in the car. Dealing with these headaches
appeared to be something my family was going to have
to get used to without any hope in sight. After
considering treatment with several different drugs
(that was the only option, according to our medical
Dr.) my parents decided against it.
Finally, a friend of my mom’s told her about this
new doctor in our town and convinced her to give him
a try. This new doctor did an exam, took some
films, and then ‘adjusted’ my spine. The
adjustments didn’t hurt, they actually felt good.
The headaches went away, and I could act like a
little kid again. Oh, did I mention that this doctor
was a chiropractor? It worked so well for me, and I
was so impressed with the other ‘miracles’ I saw in
his office, that I eventually went to chiropractic
school myself. But, tell me, what if I just took
the medicine? You see, my parents were not content
with what traditional medicine had to offer
treatment wise with drugs revolving around symptoms
of sickness rather than care empowering our family
to be healthier.
The results with the headaches at the beginning of
my care were great, but truth be told the time in my
life where Chiropractic had the biggest impact on me
was when I was a teenager. This was a time in my
life where I got off track a bit and lost a certain
level of HEALTH. Growing up through the teenage
years can be a very difficult time in life and for
me this was no exception. Running track and cross
country was a very big part of my life at that time
and was a large part of who I was. I had lofty
goals set for myself and saw my running as my ticket
for success. Injury problems and other related
mishaps got things off track and limited my ability
to perform and do what I truly loved. As things got
off course accompanied with some less than great
decision making, girl troubles, friend troubles,
boredom- all these things coming together spiraling
the wrong direction made life seem pretty difficult.
Thankfully, I had people in my life lined up I knew
I could trust, that believed in me (probably more
than I did at this time) like my Chiropractor and
coaches I had. I always knew they had my best
interests at heart even at times it was hard to see
it that way. With that trust I was able to keep the
faith that things would work out and could embrace
the idea that by keeping up with the hard work it
would pay off. When opportunities did arise I was
able to make the most of them- the running turned
into a full scholarship to run track and cross
country at West Virginia University where I was
fortunate enough to be the Big East Conference
champion in the steeplechase and finish my career as
the WVU school record holder in that event.
Thinking back to this time the impact Chiropractic
had on me health wise, was the ability to stay
healthy mentally and emotionally, much more so than
it was physically as an athlete most of the time. I
realize now these lessons my parents were constantly
trying to teach me, but at that time in my life I
could only see and hear from somebody else. Today, I
am so thankful that I continue to have healthy
people around me to keep me on track.
Seeing first-hand the impact getting adjusted had on
my life, my entire family started under care,
including my older brother Greg. At that time Greg
appeared to be a very healthy super active kid. He
had always, however, been very pigeon toed and had
ongoing pains in his legs and hips. Prior treatment
recommendations of braces, orthopedic shoes to force
his legs straight, and such were of no help and
would not be worn by an active little boy. If the
problem did not resolve the recommendation had been
made to surgically reset his hips to straighten him
out. Needless to say this was not the path my
parents wanted to travel down. As Greg progressed
with his Chiropractic care he became healthier and
his legs actually started to balance out. This
increased level health impacted him in so many ways
giving him the confidence to take anything on.
Physically the impact was obvious to all as nothing
slowed him down now. The path these events set in
motion continue today. Following a High School
running career where he was State Champion multiple
times, to an All American runner at the University
of Washington to now being the head Track and Cross
Country coach at UW. Now he gets adjusted every
week to keep up with family, friends, and the
athletes he coaches.
Now for our son Gage, he is the cute little guy in
the photo on the home page. At just over
2-years-old now, he is growing and developing so
fast every day. Since he was a day old he has been
getting adjusted to keep him as healthy as possible
and to give him the best chance to take on life.
This may seem like a small thing, but it will make a
huge difference to him as it does with all the kids
we see every day in our office. We feel so strongly
that every child deserves to be healthy and that
chiropractic care, to ensure the nervous system is
functioning at it’s optimal, is a vital part of the
process.
You know, everyday, I’m so thankful to help families
be as healthy as possible. What we know about
health is what we have been shown and I am grateful
for the direction and courage my parents showed
me. Patients come to our office with varying
levels of health from infants to great grandparents
with conditions such as: attention deficit/
hyperactivity syndromes, autism, cerebral palsy,
colic, cancer, stomach and bowel problems, fatigue,
depression, menstrual problems, chronic pain, ear
infections, asthma, allergies, numbness in limbs,
athletic injuries, just to name a few. I often see
people who’ve come to me as a “last resort”.
“Healthy” families also come in to ensure they can
be at their very best and get even healthier. As a
chiropractor, and I do things differently. I’m not
going to give you medications to cover up symptoms.
My job is to get to the root cause of health
problems and work with that innate power inside each
and every one of us to express life and health at
the highest possible level- physically, mentally,
emotionally, and socially.
That’s the responsibility we feel we have to all of
our practice members, our community and to this
world around us. You can trust we are here for you
and your family, and others you refer into this
office, we won’t let you down.