Picked up a random poetry book From the crowded shelf. Quick easy hour read: Delight and wonder. Then, Found…
Finding Unexpected Blessings in Health Care
Yesterday, I took my youngest daughter to a consultation with a new chiropractor. Natalie has been having muscular pains in her chest and back. For months, we had kept going to her pediatrician, who unfortunately never figured out what was wrong. Natalie did not have any lung or heart problems. There seemed to be nothing wrong, but a mother knows when her child is suffering. My girl was not acting like her happy, energetic self.
Natalie would sit out at recess, instead of playing with her friends, because she knew that if she started playing soccer and other activities that required her to move fast, the pain would get worse.
Then one day, I just happened to be assigned, through my local magazine editor, an interview with a new Holistic Doctor and former chiropractor. Meeting and writing about this man proved serendipitous. I shared with him about Natalie’s problem. He agreed to see her and right away determined what her pediatrician had failed to see: Natalie’s left shoulder iss higher than her right, she has an enlarged space between two of her ribs, and her spine is curved out instead of in across from her shoulder blades.
We finally had an answer! I was ecstatic to know there truly was a see-able problem that could be fixed.
This man sent us to a well-known holistic pediatric chiropractor who ran further tests on Natalie. The tests looked at her heart rhythms, central nervous system, and her spine as a connected whole. Natalie’s body is definitely out of alignment. Even her acid reflux problems she struggles with is connected to the greater issue. All of it can be treated together.
“Embrace your blessings” Steve Maraboli
Here is what I learned: “It’s most important to understand that chiropractic is not a treatment for disease. Its purpose is to reduce spinal nerve stress, a serious and often painless condition most children (and adults) have in their bodies. Spinal nerve stress interferes with the proper functioning of the nervous system, can weaken internal organs and organ systems, lower resistance, reduce healing potential and set the stage for sickness and disorders of all kinds,” (Pathways Magazine).
The chiropractor further found that stress in Natalie’s ankle and knee. He explained that when most babies are born, they often have a strained neck on the right side due to the doctor being right-handed as he/she pulls the baby from the mother. It is worse when the doctor has to use a vacuüm or forceps.
From her right side of her neck down to her right ankle, Natalie has significant stress. However, with six months of treatment, she will be like new!
I need to investigate all of this information more.
I had seen a chiropractor as a teen, but that person just helped to adjust my symptoms, and did not find the cause of my neck pain. Physical therapy and regular exercise have helped, but still do not solve my ongoing discomfort. I later found out I have three fused discs in my neck. I have to keep moving each day to make the pain more bearable. This is another reason I love going for walks or working out on the elliptical at the gym. Exercise is key!
At the same time, I do not want Natalie living the rest of her life in pain. I am hopeful that treatments with this new chiropractor will help Natalie solve her issues for long-term.
What are your thoughts about finding unexpected blessings? Have you had any good success with holistic chiropractor or something similar? Please share!!!
Reference:
Pathways Magazine. (2004, December 1). “What Can Chiropractic Do for Your Child?”. Pathways Magazine, Chiropractic for Life. Retrieved from: http://icpa4kids.org/Wellness-Articles/what-can-chiropractic-do-for-your-child/All-Pages.html.