I just finished seeing a new patient, who, in all respects, has run the full gammut of our traditional health care system. This young man had an accident a couple of years ago and since has been on a steady decline in health and has been ingesting a steady supply of pain killers just to function throughout the day. This gentleman, who has a young son, told me that he has been suffering for such a long, thoughts of taking drastic measures had even entered his mind in the past. He has been to doctors, many, many doctors, who haven’t been able to tell him why he is feeling so poorly or why he continues his steady decline. He has been referred from specialist to specialist, with no apparent end in sight. The final diagnosis from all of those doctor visits…Fibromyalgia.
He sat before me, broken, with no ideas on how to be corrected. I got the distinct impression that I was his last resort on this viscious cycle he had been riding for so long.
I performed my intial evaluation on this patient, sent him home and stayed late into the night evaluating his exam findings. I located a number of potential problem areas and felt deep inside that these dysfunctional areas where having a drastic impact on this man’s life. I couldn’t wait for him to come back into the office so that I could explain what my findings were and then lead this patient down the road to health. After I performed my first adjustment, this hopeless man all of a sudden looked alive again. The light shined in his eyes as if a veil had suddenly been lifted off. He told me that his pain just dropped in half following whatever I just did to him! For the first time in a long time, he felt relief, he felt hope.
Following my treatment, my patient felt immediate relief of his symptoms and then he began directing a barrage of questions towards me. The questions ranged from the whys to the hows. The main one though was the one I expected the most….”How come noone ever found this before with me?” I couldn’t really tell him why noone ever located his problems, but I explained to him that most physicians simply treat symptoms. They never really treat causes. I was different. I look at the the cause of dysfunction, not the end results. To see how this gentleman responded helped to reaffirm my decision to enter into this health care field. Chiropractic works. Such a simple statement, yet so powerful.
I told this patient that the road wasn’t always going to be easy, nor was it going to be quick, but we were on the right path now and we are going to continue moving forward towards his goal of getting healthy. He understood, he smiled, he thanked me. He thanked me for caring, he thanked me for explaining, he thanked me for giving him hope. It wasn’t gratitude I was looking for though, all I wanted was to be the one who could help this man.
After he left my office, I started thinking a bit more about the power of what I do, and a quote from B.J. Palmer floated to the top of my conciousness. It couldn’t have been more fitting, so I’ll end this post with it. The quote is entitled “The Big Idea”. and that is exactly what it is. It explains why I do exactly what I do ever single day with every single patient. The impacts I can have on people’s lives are endless. I truly love what I do.
Enjoy the following quote from B.J…..
B.J. Palmer, “THE BIG IDEA”
A slip on the snowy sidewalk, in winter, is a SMALL thing. It happens to millions. A fall from a ladder, in the summer, is a SMALL thing. That also happens to millions. The slip or fall produces a subluxation. The subluxation is a SMALL thing. The subluxation produces pressure on a nerve. That pressure is a SMALL thing. The pressure cuts off the flow of mental impulses. That decreased flowing is a SMALL thing. That decreased flowing produces a dis-eased body and brain. That is a BIG thing to that man. Multiply that sick man by a thousand, and you control the physical and mental welfare of a city. Multiply that man by a million and you shape the physical and mental destiny of a State. Multiply that man by one hundred thirty million, and you forecast and can prophesy the physical and mental status of a nation.
Now comes a man. Any one man is a SMALL thing. This man gives an adjustment. The adjustment is a SMALL thing. The adjustment replaces the subluxation. That is a SMALL thing. The adjusted subluxation releases pressure upon nerves. That is a SMALL thing. The released pressure restores health to a man. That is a BIG thing to that man. Multiply that well man by a thousand, and you step up physical and mental welfare of a city. Multiply that well man by a million, and you increase the efficiency of a State. Multiply that well man by one hundred thirty million, and you have produced a healthy, wealthy, and better race for posterity. So adjustment of the subluxation, to release pressure upon nerves, to restore mental impulse flow, to restore health, is BIG enough to rebuild thoughts and actions of the world.
The idea that knows cause, that can correct cause of dis-ease, is one of the biggest ideas known. Without it, nations fall; with it, nations rise.
The idea is the BIGGEST I know of.
~Dr. B.J. Palmer