Some times you wonder why a person entered into the profession they chose. I would like to share my story with you to let you know why I chose to become a Doctor of Chiropractic. Several years ago I could not decide at all what I wanted to study in college, I had no idea "what I wanted to be when I grew up". I changed my major about 6 times and nothing seemed to really keep my attention for too long. So while taking a few classes here and there, I was working full time to provide for my small family at a greenhouse in Pocatello, Idaho. I had been married for about 2 1/2 years and our only child at the time was approaching 5 months. One day I started to get up from a sitting position and my low back "locked up" and I was unable to move. My mind ran through possible options of care 1: Go to the hospital- (didn't have insurance and the hospital costs a bunch of money) 2: Go to the University Student Health Center- (every time I had gone there in the past for other reasons I never felt my "condition" was resolved and I got the exact same type of prescription) 3: I had a church leader who was a Chiropractor who offered student discounts. I was nervous about going to a Chiropractor and had ALL of the typical stereotypes running through my head about Chiropractic but I knew that my leader was a very honest man and a very caring man and he would take good care of me. It took many visits to get my low back under control. But, I did notice at that time that I was able to breathe easier and that I had fewer headaches and they weren't as strong.
One day my wife woke up and she was really short of breath due to pain she was having on the left side in her chest that was traveling up into her neck and shoulder. We worried that she might be having the signs of a heart attack so we rushed her to the ER. They ran all of the different tests on her heart and came back with she has nothing more than unexplained angina pectoris (chest pain) and there was nothing they could do for her but the good news was that nothing was wrong with her heart. A little while later we were at my chiropractic appointment and the doctor could tell that we were upset or frustrated about something and we told him that she had the pain and no one could tell her what was causing it. He said I bet you have a rib out of place do you mind if I check you. My wife agreed and sure enough she had a rib out of place it was just over her heart and as soon as he adjusted it she got immediate relief and reduction in her pain and was able to breathe clearly again. Like with my back, it took a few visits to get the rib to stay in place but she definitely improved with each visit. I started to think that there must be something to this chiropractic stuff.
A little while later we were having some problems with our 5 month old daughter and ear infections. The pediatrician put her on one round of antibiotics we went through the 10 days and nothing happened she still had the infection. So he tried to run another round of different antibiotics. When that round was close to being up we went in to an appointment on Monday and he told us that he wanted to give it a few more days and if her ears hadn't cleared up by Wednesday that he was going to put tubes in her ears. On Tuesday, we went in for my Chiropractic appointment and he could tell we were distracted and asked what was going on. We told him the situation and he asked if he could check her out. He had done so well with my wife and I that we agreed to let him check her. He found that the top bone in her neck was out and when he barely touched it our daughter squirmed away in discomfort.
He asked for permission to adjust her and we let him. Without much force at all he adjusted that bone and she stopped squirming immediately and started to giggle and coo at him. That night she slept almost the whole night through and in the morning when we went to the pediatrician there was no sign of the infection at all. He said he had never seen a turnaround that quick before and he "was glad the antibiotics finally kicked in and cleared it up". We shared the good news with our Chiropractor who didn't take any credit for himself.
He shared with us an important insight/philosophy of Chiropractic: THE POWER THAT MADE THE BODY HAS THE POWER TO HEAL THE BODY! He also explained that this power could only function if the nervous system is communicating properly at all levels.
Well, I got really excited about the idea of being able to help people heal and function better without the use of drugs or surgery. I could be a healer by using my hands to detect and correct the misalignment's in the spine and then allow the body to heal itself. I started to ask more questions about the schooling required and from that time on I knew I was meant to be a Doctor of Chiropractic. Unlike my college experience in the past I now had direction and focus and I finished my prerequisites and went all the way through Chiropractic College.
---- A NOTE FROM DR. SHAW ----
I love being a Chiropractor; it is everything I hoped it would be and more! I love seeing the changes being made in the lives of other people and I look forward to helping many more!