Читать книгу Pearls of Wisdom - Pure & Powerful - Dr. Liz Anderson Peacock - Страница 6

Health exists when the normally constructed body properly performs its functions. Disease is a condition in which the organs or organism is abnormally related to internal or external influences, which relates to our welfare physically, mentally or spiritually. Disease is, therefore, a general term signifying any variation from the normal either in functions or tissue or both. An alteration of function cannot occur without a corresponding change in the structure of the tissue. It is possible, however, that the structural change in the functionary organ may be so slight as to remain undetected by the most precise method of differential diagnosis known by pathological investigators.

~ D.D. Palmer

I didn’t grow up wanting to be a Chiropractor; instead I wanted to be a pediatric neurosurgeon. Intuitively I knew I never wanted to stand in front of anyone telling them their child did not make it through the surgery. However, I was fascinated by the intricacies of the brain and the ability of it to control and coordinate the billions of functions and actions. How does it work? It was magical, powerful and had an essence all of its own. BUT, what happened when things went wrong? What happened when that communication was broken?

Lucky for me I was being lead in a different professional direction, and was fortunate enough to have experienced and witnessed some great things through Chiropractic. As a matter of fact, it changed my life – although I didn’t know it at the time.

I fell off of a bunk bed at the age of two and proceeded to develop allergies, and osteomyelitis (bacterial infection of the bone marrow) after falling off my bike. Then, at the onset of puberty I started to suffer from serious migraines and could not function for several days at a time. Well, I didn’t appear to have any serious ramifications in the eyes of the doctors, so I must have been okay, or so they said. What was happening to my immune system? My nervous system? And my ability to adapt to stress or foreign activity?

I remember as a young child lying awake at night thinking – this just can’t be right! Who would want to live like this? Thankfully my mother was an open-minded woman and listened to a friend of ours who worked for a Chiropractor. Her friend said a few other patients with headaches had great relief and suggested we give it a try.

I went to be adjusted and within a couple of months the migraines were diminishing both in frequency and intensity. I remember thinking how wonderful it was to have a change in symptoms without any medications, even when told by other doctors I would grow out of needing them.

In the case of my mother, she suffered for years with chronic lower back issues due to a compression injury. With this, she gave birth spontaneously at seven months gestation to her third child, a premature son (my brother). My mother had an emergency hysterectomy following his birth, and he spent most of his first year of life in the hospital with a re-occurring collapsed lung. A fluke, a coincidence? I think not!

My mother wore a back brace for many years following her injury and surgery until she tried Chiropractic. Could her injury have disempowered her nervous system function?

I look back in my life and wonder about these things. When I was in the fourth grade, a very close family friend’s son died of leukemia at the age of six. Apart from being so sad watching their family suffer, I remember again wondering what causes the body to become diseased? Why do some people just stop adapting and WHY can’t they overcome it? Does the attack of a foreign substance cause the body to have a complete melt down? Did something happen to this child when he was given his shots? Did he have trauma at birth? He wasn’t born that way! Why at the age of two? WHY-WHY-WHY? I cried myself to sleep feeling pain for his family, for our family, but mostly for him.

This boy was a very spiritual being; he knew things most people his age would never understand or know. He understood love; he understood relationships; and he understood pain. He knew he was put on earth to teach people to experience love, even for a brief moment, and to let go of our fears of living. I remember standing in the schoolyard when he went into the hospital for the last time. I stood thinking that it was now time to grow up. I had to be smart and I had to make something of myself. I felt his death wasn’t fair and it fueled me with desire to figure out why things like this occur.

Well, I still haven’t figured it out. But I do know these events in my life instilled a passion deep within me – a passion so strong, I don’t even fully comprehend it. These events put me on the quest to not only understand the human body, but the human mind and the relationship of the two. Why has been one of my favorite questions.

I can’t say for sure if just one thing made me want to become a Chiropractor, but I am certain I was being strongly pulled in its direction. For these reasons as well as many others along the way, I continue to be a very passionate Chiropractor. Admittedly, I sometimes lose my way, but always seem to be thrown back in the direction of vitalistic energy and purity. I know Chiropractic can’t help everything, but it certainly can’t hurt to try!

As a base, let’s recall Chiropractic Principle #4, The Triune of Life – “Life is a triunity having three necessary united factors, namely, Intelligence, Force and Matter.” I used to think Chiropractors could save the world, and the hardest lesson for me to learn was Chiropractic Principle #24, The Limits of Adaptation – “Innate Intelligence adapts forces and matter for the body as long as it can do so without breaking a Universal Law, or is limited by the limitations of matter.” I always wanted to believe that if the forces of intelligence were present, the matter could always improve. Instead, I realize I have to accept there are limits.

However, removing interferences in the body to relieve the nerve interference is paramount for proper function – no matter what. With this understanding in mind, the most amazing things have come before my eyes, most certainly because of my confidence in adjusting children and babies. My thanks and appreciation to Larry Webster my mentor – God rest his soul. Also, I know I had guidance from my little friend in heaven.

Changing One Life At A Time

An eighteen-month old child had not yet in his life slept through a night. A healthy sleep pattern for this age is about eleven hours of solid sleep at night, with two or three hours of napping during the days. He was sick about 80 percent of the time with colds, congestion and earaches. No one could figure out why he was always sick. Supposedly his birth was normal, though I was not there to witness it. He was nursed until the age of fourteen months. His family had a fairly good understanding of nutrition and made several different attempts to correct his issues with a modified diet. They didn’t want to use another course of antibiotics, because it did not resolve the problem.

Not by any means were they strung at their last hope, but the mother was literally exhausted and didn’t know where else to turn. Thus far, everything they had tried did not improve her infant’s condition. Alas, they were referred to our office by one of her close friends.

I remember seeing this child and thinking what a miserable existence he must have been enduring. He could not communicate what was wrong, could not begin to know how to fix it or how to even help himself in anyway. During his examination, I felt an incredible stress inside. Most likely because I placed myself in the shoes of his mother, wondering how she managed seeing him in his condition – and I had only been with him for forty-five minutes.

In the examination most everything appeared normal, except for a distended stomach, discomfort upon palpation of the lower left abdominal quadrant, and a diminished pupillary response reflex. Then, when I palpated the boys’ cervical spine, the lateral mass of C1 was extremely prominent to the left. I had never felt anything like it before in my life! It was palpable, and stuck out so far it felt like you could hang a hat on it. I will never forget the feeling – so unreal it made me nauseous. Without saying a word, I rechecked his pupillary responses, as I thought, “This poor child!”

I had adjusted children and newborns before, but I knew something was seriously wrong with this baby. I knew I needed to pull myself together in order to adjust this child. I excused myself from the exam room, went into my office and looked at my very favorite picture on pages 171 and 172 of the book The Subluxation Specific – The Adjustment Specific (Palmer). This picture served two purposes for me. One, to remind me of the devastating effects of subluxation; and two, to give me the guidance in adjusting this child to remove the nerve interference from his brainstem.

While my assistant held the boy, I escorted the parents to the report room to present a few charts explaining what I found to be going on with their son. I then proceeded to explain what I was going to do in light of the findings. I remember telling them, as far as I was concerned, the amount of stress being caused by this one vertebra was extremely overwhelming for their son, but I didn’t have any idea if removing it would help his condition. They were willing to give it a try; in fact, they were all for it.

We returned to the examination room, where he was fussing in the arms of my assistant. I was able to calm the child as taught by my mentor. I set up to adjust him, delivered one specific adjustment to correct the lateral atlas and left everything else alone. I told them he needed to be checked again the next day, and they went home.

That evening, I tried to reach the family to ask how everyone was doing. No answer, I was only able to reach their answering machine. I remember struggling through the night, hoping and praying he was okay with the adjustment. I would be lying if I didn’t admit I had concern with my own abilities as a Chiropractor. I settled my thoughts by imagining what my mentor would have done. Although this was not a devastating life or death situation, I think the severity of the subluxation caused me to question my abilities and the power of the body to heal.

The next morning, I was at my practice adjusting by 6:30 AM; they were scheduled to come in at 9:00 AM. However, they did not show! Our office procedure was to make calls about fifteen minutes after a missed appointment, but at 9:40 AM my staff came to me, pulling me aside to ask what they should do. Oddly enough, my staff did not want to call because they thought everyone might be sleeping. I suggested they wait and call around noon, crossing my fingers hoping they were right.

Just after 11:00 AM we received a phone call from the family apologizing for missing the appointment, and hoping to reschedule.

So, at noon they all walked in: mother, baby, along with Grandmother and Grandfather! Mom sat down in the consultation area, and when I walked in she lit up with the biggest smile on her face. She introduced me to her parents who just stared at me.

“What did you do to my child?” She said in excitement. “My son slept for twelve hours last night; and so I did! I think I just passed out. I ran into his bedroom this morning wondering if he was still alive. My husband must have snuck out of the house this morning, as he certainly didn’t want to wake either of us.” She went on explaining, “My son is a completely different child today. He had a nap yesterday afternoon as soon as we put him in the car seat after leaving your office. He was awake for about three hours, and then went to bed around 9:30 PM and slept right through the night – for the first time ever! We are so grateful to you!”

Of course when a patient speaks like this to you, the ego wants to take over and say, “You are welcome.” However, it is arrested by the words of the late Dr. Fred Barge, “Take no credit – Take no blame.”

That day, I felt in my heart my purpose was greater than I had even realized, and I would not have to look for guidance from anything other than my own skills and intuition. I still wanted to run and read more research. I wanted to find the real reasons, to know why this was not written in the literature. I wanted to know why this happened; and most importantly, I wanted to learn more about the brain, the nervous system, and the effects of subluxation on the body.

Another one of my patients asked me if I could look at her grandchild, as he had a big lump on the side of his head.

“The nurses said he did not really suffered any birth trauma because he was born via caesarean section.”

“I’m happy to check him out.” Inviting her to bring him to the office.

She asked, “Would a movie of his birth help you at all?”

I was excited she asked, as I had recently attended the International Pediatric Conference in Boston. At the conference, we watched several films and viewed many pictures of the birthing process, though none of anyone I knew personally.

The next day, the grandmother came in with a copy of the video, and booked an appointment for her grandchild the following day. Upon reviewing the video, I was shocked to see the child was handled like a wheel barrel whose wheel (head) was stuck in the mud. The delivery team held firmly on the handles (legs), trying to free the wheel. In order to bring this child out of the womb, they were twisting and turning the legs back and forth. Even though at seminars and through my studies I have seen videos and pictures, when I watched this particular one I just about threw-up. The baby was truly stuck, and this was their only solution for saving his life.

I thought, “What kind of damage could this cause? Could this have caused an intracranial bleed?”

The little six-week old child came into the office in the afternoon. There was a large hematoma (multi-colored, purple, blue and reddish) about the size of the babies fist. It protruded from the back of the head over to the left side just above the occiput. As the baby grew it wasn’t getting any smaller. In fact, the mother thought it may be even a little larger, but confirmed it had not decreased in size since it developed shortly after birth.

The mother looked at me and asked, “Do you think you can help?”

Well, I wasn’t really sure and I told her so, and also said, “I will examine him for nervous system interference in his body and let you know of my findings.”

Sure enough, on the left side of his six-week young little neck he had two areas of segmental dysfunction, a posterior-superior axis, and a lateral atlas subluxation.

I told the Mom, “I’m not sure this is the cause of the hematoma, but truly it is never a good idea to leave this kind of stress in the spine – especially while his body is trying to heal and grow. From the looks of the video, there is a very high probability that the mal-positioning of the top two vertebrae were caused by the wrenching of the neck during the birthing process. It also appeared as if there were not really any other options at the time.”

Within two weeks of checking and adjusting this child – axis first, as I was taught – the hematoma was completely gone. Once again, I was amazed by the healing ability of the body – how wonderful! I hope I am here to see the day parking lots are filled with mothers waiting in line to have their babies checked by Chiropractors as they are released from the hospital. In the mean time, I will continue wishing and trying to make this happen.

A very special note to the author of Well Adjusted Babies, by Dr. Jennifer Barham–Floreani; thanks to her, Chiropractors have an abundance of research and studies to read and gain confidence from, to teach and share with their patients and the parents of today’s children.

Imagine having had the following information at your fingertips – what this will do for your confidence as a practitioner, as well as for the future of children?

Gastaldo found, “Even after vaginal births, 4.6 percent of term babies suffer unexplained brain bleeds and up to 10 percent suffer brain inflammation. The pathologies may possibly be avoided by decreasing distortion of foetal skulls from (a mother’s) pelvic misalignments at delivery.”

Gutmann explains, “The trauma from the birth process remains an under-publicized, and therefore significantly under-treated problem.”

Abraham Towbin, A Harvard University pathologist, found evidence of common spinal injury as a result of the birthing process, including: intracranial hemorrhage, brain contusion, damage to the nerves that govern respiration and vertebral subluxation.

Twin thirteen-year-old pre-pubescent boys, both in remedial classes at school were brought to me by their mother. She had been treated in our office after suffering for many years from low back pain. The boys were suffering from delayed developmental social and intellectual growth. Thank God they had each other! The mother relayed to me there was trauma during their birth – both born with high forceps, a technique used during vaginal delivery when a baby’s head is not yet engaged. Their overall development had been delayed from the beginning: late to hold up their heads, slow to begin crawling, difficulty learning to walk and talk.

They were wonderful boys and they made me laugh. I loved their spirit and knew in my heart they were both very intelligent. I took x-rays of their necks that revealed a cervical kyphosis, a complete reversal of the normal lordotic curvature in both of the boy’s cervical spines. In addition, both had definite subluxation at the atlas-axis junction.

Within six months of adjusting them, they were integrated into the normal academic curriculum and graduated on to high school. No doubt they still had challenges with feeling as if they were different, however, their lives are changed forever from being adjusted. What if the mother had not asked me to take a look – would I have had the courage to tell her about Chiropractic and the ramifications of the damage caused during the birth?

The most recent blessing to appear in my office, a little eight-year-old boy who just did not know how to focus or behave. Full of frustration and anger, he simply could not control himself. A day didn’t go by that he wasn’t in trouble at school. The mother spent every single day of this child’s life trying to reason with him, console him, and teach him how to behave. Many people suggested for him to take medication, yet Mom knew in her heart medications were not the answer. Masking a problem was not within her system of beliefs. She thought their suggestion for the use of medication was merely their attempt to make dealing with him easier for themselves, rather than to truly help him.

As a relief, the boy’s teacher suggested to try a Chiropractor, and specifically recommended me. The mother was afraid, for many reasons. She heard ‘horror’ stories about Chiropractic, and truly did not know what to expect. She emailed our clinic and then came to talk with me in a consultation before feeling comfortable enough to bring him in for an examination. To both of our delight, we made a great connection and trust began to develop.

Upon his first visit, I couldn’t believe what I felt when I put my hands on his neck: tension at the top, stiffness throughout, and asymmetry with the occiput – as if it had been pushed inward. It took quite an effort for this little boy to even allow me touch him. I asked the mother about his birth.

She explained, “His birthing process was long. I was induced, and after twenty-four hours at an eight centimeter dilation, they decided to perform an emergency c-section. When he was born, the right side of his head was caved-in, and remained that way for the past eight years.” She paused, and then added, “He complains of having stomach aches almost every day; it’s been several years now. ”

We performed an sEMG and thermography, revealing significant lesions in the upper cervical and thoracic spine. The severity of his condition displayed in the imaging helped to communicate the significance of its affects on the child’s life. When I told the family of his prognosis and the recommended approach to his care, the boy listened and a glow of hope illuminated in his eyes with the realization that his life was about to improve.

A week and a half into the treatment he showed-up at my office with a Christmas stocking he made for me. He smiled and handed it to me, and it hung on my door for the three weeks leading up to Christmas.

After being adjusted, he is a very different person. He and I became very close since his first visit; all along he sensed I understood.

As an added bonus improvement for him, his stomachaches (that most thought were psychosomatic) were gone. I believe his body was compensating at T5-T6, the segmentally related area of the spine that supplies the stomach. His presentation was somatovisceral. Though most of his ailments are improved, he still has his moments of behavioral difficulty, particularly during a growth spurt. We make sure he is checked a little more frequently during those times.

Why Do We Check And Adjust Our Own Children,

Yet Not Always Offer The Same Service To Others?

I did not intend to write entirely on Chiropractic and children, but this area of practice has always tugged at my heartstrings. In 1997, with the help of the most amazing midwife, I gave birth at home to my beautiful daughter Mckenna. My midwife’s experience spans the delivery of over 2,000 babies.

Unlucky for us, during delivery Mckenna had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck three times. Until that moment, I had never seen anybody work so fast in my entire life; the midwife unraveled the cord from around Mckenna’s neck faster than the speed of love. A very dear colleague and friend adjusted Mckenna less than an hour after her birth.

I know I was given this child so I could take great care of her. I remember one day when she was about six weeks old, she was crying uncontrollably – way more intensely than any baby normally cries. I looked at my Mom and told her I was scared and I felt like I lost my confidence to check and adjust my own baby. What if it didn’t work?

My Mom so gently guided me and said, “Dear, close your eyes and pretend this is just another baby in your clinic, one that you have adjusted many times.”

I closed my eyes and adjusted Mckenna, and within minutes she started to settle down. Not a day passes without thinking about the truth of her being born to me, a Chiropractor. I often wonder what her life would be like if she was without a skillful midwife to deliver her, or if she was not checked for subluxation soon after birth. I know I am not only here to love and support her in life, but she is here for me to gain wisdom from. Adjusting a child throughout their stages of life helps knowing with certainty an adjustment corrects the body’s function. Additionally, watching them grow as they are being adjusted provides a passionate understanding and acknowledgement of the effectiveness an adjustment has on maintaining their body’s systems. If birth traumas remain untreated, it is difficult to predict the ramifications they may have on a child’s life.

Whether my young friend’s development of leukemia was due to a stress at birth, or a reaction to a medication or vaccine, I thoughtfully consider how Chiropractic might have influenced his outcome. What if he was adjusted at birth, or during the stages when leukemia took over his life? I don’t know Chiropractic would have undoubtedly changed his situation, yet I cannot say it would not have, either. I know of many people whose lives have been changed for the better because of just one adjustment. As for those that went without: maybe they could have lived a little longer; maybe they would not have developed cancer; maybe they would have been strong enough to treat their spouse a little nicer; or maybe they felt in harmony within themselves, reflecting a smile to brighten someone else’s day? We can only wonder.

Once upon a time, there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent-down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves. "It made a difference for that one!"

All day long as he wrote, the image of the young man haunted him. He tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in the afternoon he realized that he the scientist, he the poet, had missed out on the essential nature of the young man's actions. Because he realized that what the young man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe and make a difference. He was embarrassed.

That night he went to bed troubled. When the morning came he awoke knowing that he had to do something. So he got up, put on his clothes, went to the beach and found the young man. And with him he spent the rest of the morning throwing starfish into the ocean. You see, what that young man's actions represent is something that is special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can, like that young man, become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.

~ Re-told by Joel Barker, The Power of Vision, 1990. Originally written by Loren Eiseley (1907-1977), Unexpected Universe, 1969.

This story has lived inside of me for years – realizing that doing just one thing can make an amazing difference, and we will never truly understand the full impact of that one thing. Knowing there is a gift inside each of us, and finding it is part of our purpose on this earth. Honouring that gift is being truthful to one’s self.

So, what drives a person with an inner quest? What motivates a person to rise at 5:15 AM to take a newborn to the office after only four hours sleep? What causes a person to miss family dinners and their child’s dance recitals? My drive is sparked to answer the real question, “WHY?” For me, my passion to help children and people keeps my drive alive, and has for many years. I seek for the answers to why they might not be at their best in the first place, and create a path for betterment. This drive within helped me to be a better Mom, a better Chiropractor, a better coach, a better daughter, and hopefully a better person in general. I hope that this helps you find your why, or in the very least helps you to identify that you have one, and to search tirelessly for it within you.

Chiropractic is the best-kept secret, although keeping it secret is a sin! I am so thankful for the chance to share a little of my life’s journey.

One cannot lead a life that is truly excellent without feeling that one belongs to something greater and more permanent than oneself.

~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

•Health exists when the normally constructed body properly performs its functions.

•We do not need to fully understand our passion but to act on it.

•What drives you?

•Being strongly pulled in a direction.