People often ask me how I got into Chiropractic… Such a long story with a not so simple answer! I always wonder, do people really want to hear about it? Well, If you have ever felt helpless as a teen; like no one understands that you as a young kid can have such chronic pain; that you can’t imagine your future any other way… you should check this out.
I grew up as a competitive gymnast. When I say competitive, I mean I would make myself sick I would get so nervous for meets. I was a perfectionist and had a one track mind of being the best. Training wasn’t fun, it was my life. I was in the gym every day – spent 30 hours/week training. I was often injured and worked through a lot of nagging pain. I had a coach that was going to Palmer College to be a Chiropractor and I clearly remember him saying “Oh man, would I love to work on you someday”. It was obvious the pounding training was breaking me down. I competed at Level 10 (the next level up is Elite), which was when I made the decision to stop. My gymnastic background made for an easy transition to the diving board. I immediately fell in love with it and had aspirations to dive in college. I was a four time Illinois State Qualifier, but every year my back would get worse and worse and the pain was debilitating, both physically and mentally. Mentally, I would say I was near a depressive state. I would numb my back with large ice packs every single practice in between dives. Finally, one dive it just gave out… like an electric pain that radiated everywhere. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t feel my leg. At that moment I knew the letter of interest I’d received from the Northwestern diving coach was down the drain. I had a terrible feeling I would not recover from this.
We saw every specialist out there. They talked of injections and surgery and I had some major pain pills to numb the pain. At the time I thought they were pretty awesome because they would numb the mental pain, too. Finally, I took my MRI and xrays to my family chiropractor and he said the daunting words I will never forget…
“This is something you are going to have to take care of for the rest of your life”
I felt imprisoned and couldn’t imagine what my life was going to be like in 10 years. I cried the entire way home, but what I wasn’t recognizing at the time was that I started to get better. Slowly but surely, I started to pick up the pieces of my life and put them back together. I saw hope that I could heal. I envisioned a life that might NOT include chronic pain. I am thankful everyday for my chiropractor, Dr. Freeburn.
I didn’t dive in college. Still to this day, it breaks my heart. But I have three beautiful children that I birthed. (I remember the orthopedic surgeon telling me pregnancy might do a number on my lower back). I have stayed active and am probably in the best shape I have been in since high school, 20 years later.
I understand my case was a chronic back pain story. Maybe yours is different. Maybe it’s some other chronic issue that you believe you have to live with. Chronic headaches, chronic anxiety or depression, chronic sleep issues, to chronic fatigue. And most importantly – how these chronic issues affect your daily life and your relationships with loved ones.
I hear you.
We are listening and we can help. CLICK HERE to set up a time to talk about the challenges that you’re facing and how we can help.
