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Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Why I Became a Chiropractor
I tell this story at our dinner workshops and in case you missed it, here it is again. Back in the 1970's
my mom was a Chiropractic patient. She had neck pain, and someone told her to go see a Chiropractor, so she did.
At that time, both my parents worked, and mom would come home from work and I could just see it in her face that she wasn't
always feeling her best. I was like 14 or 15 years old at the time, and I took it upon myself to start working on my
mom. I'd rub her neck, massage her shoulders, move her head around; anything I thought that might help. Mom said
to me "Boy, you got great hands! You should think about becoming a Chiropractor!" And I said "OK,
mom!" So I grew up and went to college and got a B.S. degree in Biology before applying to Chiropractic College.
Now at this point I back up and tell more about me as a kid. Growing up in NJ I was sick quite often. I remember
always having earaches and every winter coming down with a really bad sore throat and cold. So for some unknown reason,
my immune system was down. Then when I was 13 I got a really bad case of tonsilitis. My tonsils were so swollen
and so inflamed that one night I woke up and I was gasping for air. I could not breathe. And I panicked!
And because I never had any neck or back pain, it was never suggested to my mom that she should take me to a Chiropractor.
So mom took me to a medical doctor; and here's the medical doctor's exam: open your mouth and say "Ahh", he stuck
in that tongue depresser, shined that little flashlight and said "Oh yeah, those tonsils need to come out!"
So at age 13 I had surgery to get my tonsils removed. But you know something? I didn't make me any healthier!
You see you don't get healthy by pulling organs out of the body that God put there. Make sense? So I'm still getting
sick and 4 years later I'm in High School and I come down with mononucleosis. And I still have no neck pain or back
pain. So nobody says to my mom "Hey! your kid is sick, take him to the Chiropractor!" SO mom hauls me
off to the medical doctor again. This time he says "Well there's nothing we can do, he's going to have to get over
it on his own" And that's what happens. I eventually get well. But because Chiropractic had helped
my mom so much with her neck, she continued to push me in that direction. I think mom just wanted a Chiropractor in
the family is what it came down to. So I apply to 3 schools across the country and when I was accepted I had 2 choices:
cold, windy Chicago (brrrr!) or the sun, beaches, and bikinis of L.A. So for a young guy in his 20's it was a no-brainer!
So I move out to smog city. But remember, for some unknown reason my immune system is down. So what do you think
happens next? I get sick again! This time it's bronchitis and I still have no neck or back pain! Except
this time I'm in Chiropractic school and someone says to me, "Hey! You're sick, you need to be adjusted!"
And my response was "Really?" I had no idea, I'd never been to a Chiropractor. And I think about it
now like this "Well, a veterinarian doesn't necessarily go see a vet for care before deciding to become one."
So I went to the clinic and had my neck and my spine adjusted. And my initial reaction to the adjustment was life changing.
I was like "Whoa! What just happened!!" It was like someone turned on a light switch. And for
lack of a better explanation, I felt the life energy in my body flowing again. And on that day I knew I was in the right
profession because I felt like my body was going to get well, and I did get well and I quit getting sick all of the time!
And it was because of Chiropractic. And I tell you this story because there are those of you who come to see me for
care, and you've got kids at home who are sick. Or maybe you've got friends and family who are ill with some kid
of a disease. Maybe it's diabetes, or maybe it's asthma, or maybe it's Crohn's disease. And because these people
may or may not have any neck or back pain, in your mind you're saying to yourself "Well there's nothing a Chiropractor
can do for them!" Well I'm here today to tell you that maybe there is, maybe there is.
10:04 am edt
9:25 am edt
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