Why do I do what I do?
Because my life changed for the better once I connected with Chiropractic & Functional Medicine. Let me tell you the story of my journey...
In 1981, I was working as a registered nurse in an Intensive Care Unit of a large teaching hospital in Boston. Despite doing well in my position, I was becoming disillusioned with my role in health care. While many of my professional colleagues were honored and impressed to be working in a medical mecca, I began wondering what the outcome would be if more effort and resources were put toward prevention. Instead of caring for someone once they had open heart surgery, could I be more influential in helping someone prevent heart disease by addressing the various lifestyle habits and factors that can lead to dysfunction and loss of vitality. I began to investigate other areas within the field of nursing where I might be able to have a more meaningful impact.
Then, I had a cycling accident where I was thrown over the handlebars of my bike onto the road. Fortunately, nothing was broken, except for my pride and the front wheel that had gotten caught in the trolley tracks. However, about a week later, I woke one morning and couldn't lift my head off the pillow because of the pain and stiffness I was experiencing. I knew what was waiting for me if I went the medical route: medications for pain, muscle spasm and swelling and weeks of discomfort.
Luckily, a friend suggested that I see her chiropractor. I had never even heard of chiropractic before but for some reason (divine intervention?) I was compelled to go for it. Dr. Fields happened to have an opening in her clinic that day and the magic began. Not smoke and mirrors magic but transformational change that comes from authentic healing care. I walked out of Dr. Fields office knowing that I needed to become a chiropractor.
In 1983, while finishing the required pre-med courses needed to begin my chiropractic education, I had another health crisis/opportunity to learn from yet another chiropractor. It started with shortness of breath and wheezing, especially after hard exercise. I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma, given two inhalers and an oral medication and told to check back in 2 weeks. And, by the way, your dog and two cats have to go.
Even though I had received the standard of care in an excellent well-respected facility with a caring doctor, I was left with a lot of unanswered questions. Why? Why now? What else could I do to speed my recovery besides take medications? And, perhaps most important of all, "How do I make this an one-off event instead of a lifetime health issue?"
I found the answers to these questions and more from yet another chiropractor who guided me through the process of identifying the underlying cause of my respiratory problems and treated me for systemic candidias. As a result of his expertise in natural medicine and my commitment to my own healing, within a year I was literally breathing easy without medications of any kind and felt healthier and more vital then I had in years.
Were any of my health issues immediately life-threatening? Thankfully not.
Was the quality of my life improved as a result of the chiropractic and natural medicine influences in my life? Absolutely!