Why Did I Choose To Be A Chiropractor?
Author: Dr. Jordan Jensen, D.C.
The first time I received a chiropractic adjustment was when I was nine years old. We were visiting family in Dallas, Texas, and I had been getting a number of headaches on this trip. There was an outstanding one. My mom was driving us around, likely grabbing some food, and I remember a headache that hurt so bad it brough me to screaming and tears. Mom knew what was going on and took a took a detour to see my uncle, one of four chiropractors in my family. I didn’t like the crack sound, but my headache immediately felt about 50% better. About an hour later, my headache was totally gone. Cool, back to kid stuff.
The second time I received chiropractic care, I was twenty years old and a junior at Auburn University. Every year, my high school alma mater invites the alumni to play the current varsity soccer team, which is always one of my favorite events each year. Alumni is up a goal, as I remember. There is a header coming my way, and I jump up to knock it up to our striker. One of the younger varsity guys, big strong fellow, charges me hitting me in mid-air. I flip over and land square on my back. Sure, my low back is hurting, but I’m able to walk off the field and substitute out. No biggie, right?
I wake up the next morning and cannot move my legs. Needless to say, I’m scared out of my mind. Literally crawling on my hands with legs dragging across the apartment floor in the worst pain I’ve ever felt, I get my phone and call my mom to tell her everything. She comes over, and any attempt to stand or move my legs exacerbates the pain immensely. Mom walks out to the car and rolls a wheelchair back; Mom comes prepared.
We get in the car, and we drive to the local chiropractor, funny enough. Mom rolls me into the clinic, we fill out some paperwork, and soon after see Dr. Harrington. I give the gist, Mom gives him all the details, and he does a few tests with my legs and feet. For the x-ray, they literally had to get a strong guy to help hold me up for each shot. Dr. Harrington determined I needed a low back adjustment.
It was a light adjustment, but my goodness, it was painful enough to make me scream in pain. After a minute to calm down, Dr. Harrington brought the table up, and I was astonished that I was standing all by myself without pain! Walking was a different story; I had to take baby steps to not aggravate the area. It took about three to four months of treatment until I was back to playing soccer again. Man, chiropractic is pretty cool.
The third time I received chiropractic care, I had just moved in with some family following an unsuccessful career pursuit into medicine. On top of that, my girlfriend had just broken up with me, and I was financially broke. I was immensely depressed, but thankful I could work with my uncle, another chiropractor, and other family in the area.
While at my first treatment, Dr. Jim looked at my x-ray then looked over at me and said, “Son, I can tell you are under much distress. You lost someone you loved, and you have met some defeats head on. I’m going to adjust you, but that won’t be enough. You need to remember how loved you are by both God, who gave His only Son for you, and your whole family. You are who you are by the grace of God, and that is enough. Keep these words close, repeat them to yourself, and do not forget how valuable you are.”
I cannot remember a time in my life where I cried so hard. As useless as I had felt, as hopeless as I felt, this was the moment that sparked that there is never a hopeless case. Something can always be done, even if it is small thing, and those words “You are who you are by the grace of God, and that is enough” ring true to my heart to this day.
He adjusted me, treated me, and regularly encouraged me for a full year. After that year, I had fully healed mentally, at least to the point where I enjoyed interacting with people again. In fact, I felt better than ever. This experience is what led me to apply to Palmer College of Chiropractic the next year. Chiropractic had taught me that people can heal, and I was going to give my life to finding how to help people take control of their health and healthcare decisions.
If you or someone you know is experiencing severe back pain, we would love to see if we can help. Upper Cervical Chiropractic care has shown tremendous success in helping patients get back to normal, without being burdened by back pain. At Blair Chiropractic Clinic, we want to fix the problem you’re having. Our motto is “Find it, fix it, then leave it alone”. Visit www.blairclinic.com or call (806) 747-2735 today to speak with a member of our staff about scheduling a screening.