Well, That's a First!

So after 15 years and literally hundreds of thousands of adjustments, I had another first today. Why this surprises me, I do not know. I’m amazed at how interesting and exciting being a chiropractor continues to be for me, despite the fact that it has always been that way.

I remember the first little bitty baby I checked and the look in her mother’s eyes as she handed her over to my tender loving care. I also remember the first 90-yr-old I checked. I remember the first person with cancer, the first paraplegic, the first autistic child, the first person who didn’t speak English (and I don’t speak anything else with any fluency). I remember the first dog I checked (my own of course!)

I remember the first time I checked someone with a broken arm, the first broken leg, and the first broken heart. I remember the first person I saw just after cataract surgery, the first post-open heart surgery and the first post-breast enhancement surgery. I remember the first family I saw and the first time I saw 3 generations together and then when I saw 4 generations.

I remember the first time I checked someone following a car accident, the first after a mugging, and the first after a domestic violence attack. I remember checking my first bride and groom. I remember checking my first chiropractor and my first choir practor (I mean director). I remember the first time I was asked to visit a homebound practice member, a practice member in a nursing home, an expectant mom in a hospital. I remember the first time I learned that one of my dear practice members had died.

I remember the first time a practice member came back from vacation with a souvenir for me. I remember the first drunk that staggered into the office, the first pervert, and the first young kid who either didn’t realize he reeked of marijuana or didn’t think I'd know the difference. I remember the first priest I checked, the first jockey, and the first medical doctor.

I only did one thing for all these people; I checked the spine for vertebral subluxation and removed it wherever and whenever possible. I remember them all though because, in my mind, as I focus on removing that interference, I always think to myself how the adjustment might make a person a better expression of the life within them. I think about how their being better will improve their life and the lives of those around them. For the most part, I never really get to know that.

And yet today, after all this, I had another first. Today a man, who was back in the office along with his wife for their second visit, actually broke into song. I came into the room, he hugged me, and he just started singing, “Did you ever know that you’re my hero, you’re everything I wish I could be.” And don’t misunderstand; plenty of people feel better when their nerve systems are cleared of the interference caused by vertebral subluxation. I’d just never had anyone serenade me over it. What a delight!!!

A single, gentle adjustment that took a man on the edge back to a place of gratitude for his life (and took his chiropractor with him). The power of the wisdom within our bodies is astonishing. And no matter how grateful the people are, the pleasure is always mine.