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#78 The Reformed Hypocrite OR Listening Too Late But Just In Time

4/2/2014

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            Many of you have heard portions of this tale of woe, and for you this may be a repeat, but perhaps not.  As a 51 year old at the time of writing this, I have had the dubious pleasure of experiencing many of the ails and tribulations that my patients have endured.  And I continue to use those experiences to draw understanding and empathy for you and to be able to care for you better and more completely.  And as with the reformed alcoholic the first step in any healing is to admit that you have a problem and that you need help with that problem.  Well, my ownership of my failing health began the day I collapsed while driving my family on a weekend vacation in 2000 at the age of 39.  At that time I had been a practicing chiropractor for 13 years and did virtually nothing that I told my patients to do.  I ate too much.  I drank too much.  I carried too much weight.  I did not exercise.  I did not drink water.  I did not take vitamins.  And the biggest failing…I did not get adjusted weekly, or even bi-weekly, only as-needed.  So my collapse and subsequent E.R. visit awakened me and enrolled me in the Hypocrites Anonymous Club.  Hi, my name is Dr. Rick and I am a hypocrite.  Today, these 11 years later, I continue my healing and payment for my sins.

            I thought I had a heart attack that day.  As a sedentary 240 pounder with borderline hypertension I was a prime candidate.  But God had a different plan for me than to take me home with Him.  He chose to pick me up, shake me down, and make an example of what not to do and then how to correct it.  As a result of that single event I have made the following changes and transformations in my life, but sadly, there are some permanent consequences to my previous behavior. 

            The changes that I have made and experienced since that day that I nearly killed my family (passing out while driving a car is not a healthy practice for any of the passengers) include losing 55 pounds, drinking plenty of water, eliminating alcohol, exercising regularly, taking vitamins/supplements, eating better quality, and getting adjusted on a weekly basis. 

            As a result I am thinner, I have more energy, my blood pressure last measured was 106/70, I feel better, great stamina, and have control of my back, hip, and leg pain.  This last item is my greatest regret, for the spinal joints, once damaged, can never heal.  They can only be managed.  As a result of ignoring my own spinal hygiene for the first 13 years of my career, I have three disc herniations in the lumbar spine, one of which is very large, the other two with disc tearing.  While these conditions are serious, it was not too late to control the damage.  I am pain-free.  I have been getting adjusted weekly or more since 2000.  With my chiropractors I am controlling the rate of degeneration.  I just wish I had taken my own advice sooner.  I hope you and your kids will.

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    Dr. Rick

    After writing an article per week for a year, I just kept going.  These are most of my collection.  They are written with my existing patients in mind, so some stuff may seem odd or unusual, but would make perfect sense to those who know chiropractic and who know me.  Enjoy and share!  For my personal blog visit: 

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What Our Patients Have To Say

Yolanda wrote:
     
     I used to suffer severe headaches and migraines on a daily basis, usually all day.  I managed to work in an office because I had to.  When I went home at the end of the day I would often close the shades and go to bed.  I could not plan weekend events because I simply never knew how I was going to feel tomorrow.  If there were a special event such as a birthday or wedding, I would begin to medicate myself two weeks in advance to give myself the best chance of making the event.
     Friends and fellow church-goers had been trying to get me to see Dr. Rick for some time before I finally gave in.  Looking back, I don’t know why I waited.  Within a month, I was headache free.  I couldn’t remember what it was like to not feel pain.  I could do whatever I wanted and not live in fear of the headache.  This was a miracle for me, but the story does not end here.
     An opportunity came up for us to adopt a newborn baby girl not long after I began chiropractic care.  This baby was particularly important to me and my husband because her mother is a relative.  Tragically, her mother was also a drug user and did drugs during her pregnancy.  If we could not adopt the baby she would have been put into the foster system since the biological mother was incapable of raising her.
     To keep a long story short, we did adopt her and she is doing fantastically.  There is no sign of any effect of the drugs on her as of yet, and with God’s help, there never will be.  We think that is because of the vast amounts of love and attention she gets from us, her real mommy and daddy.
     What does this have to do with chiropractic?  The reality is that without chiropractic, I would still be nearly an invalid with headaches.  I COULD NOT HAVE TAKEN CARE OF AN INFANT OR RAISED A YOUNG CHILD.  THEREFORE, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE ANY OF THE OPPORTUNITIES IN LIFE THAT MY HUSBAND AND I WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR HER.  MY DAUGHTER’S LIFE IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE SOMEBODY MADE ME GO TO A CHIROPRACTOR. 
     You need to tell everyone you know what you know about chiropractic.  Who knows who’s life you will change too.
Andrew's mother, Barbara, wrote:

     Hello, My name is Andrew and I am a happy, healthy one year old.  But I wasn’t so happy or healthy when I first met Dr. Rick a few months ago.  I had been having problems with my ears for four months, I couldn’t sleep at night and I was miserable.  We’d been to the doctor lots of times but nothing was helping.  In fact, all the medicines the doctor had tried seemed to make me worse instead of better!  Both the regular doctor and the Ear-Nose and Throat doctor said that if the antibiotics didn’t work, then they’d just have to put tubes in.  Now my Mom and dad weren’t about to let them do surgery on me, especially since they had been reading and learned that tubes can cause more problems than they solve.  My mom and dad did a lot of praying.  Then my mom heard that sometimes babies who have a traumatic birth like mine have ear trouble.  You see when I was born they used a vacuum extractor and forceps to pull me out.  I guess all that yanking on my head, hurt my neck.  She also heard that chiropractic care can be the answer.  Now she was skeptical because she couldn’t imagine a chiropractor helping ear infections!?!  But at that point she was willing to try anything!!  Happily, a few weeks of adjustments and my ears were all cleared up.  In addition, I no longer had a stiff neck or shoulders and my whole personality was happier.  I have to tell all babies who have ear troubles, don’t let them give you tubes until you at least try chiropractic care first.  After all, it can’t hurt and if you’re like me, you could be perfectly well with no drugs and no surgery.  In my family, we thank God for Dr. Rick, because I feel better, my mom and dad are happier and sometimes, I even sleep through the night.