February 26, 2011

In hoc tempore...

If you had talked to me about chiropractic three years ago, you probably would have met with a confused and bewildered screwing-up-of-the-face that often comes with having thought nothing about something that you would find interesting enough to interest me. It had never occurred to me that chiropractic would be in the forefront of my conscience -- I was already embroiled in studying St. Augustine, the entire Gospel of John, and dozens of thinkers in the ranks of the Angelic Doctor and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Teaching had been a strong possibility, as it is with being a theology major in general. (Having said that, my fellow majors have diversified into myriad fields -- business, nursing, canon law, grad school, and even a religious vocation or two -- so it is not as limited as one thinks.) After my 2009 Alternative Spring Break, however, I came to the conclusion that there were indeed more polished teachers out there who could do the job better than I and set far fewer fires than I would with my own anxiety and self-consciousness.

That was when I went back to what I thought was (and still is) my general purpose of living -- to help and to serve people in the best manner that I could. I thought and thought and thought -- if not teaching, then what else? A practice in medicine? Criminal law? Nutritional consultation? Playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl in the MLG (Major League Gaming) just to imply to others I beat that they should forge a better path for themselves?

Well, the one thing that was always on my mind beside my ultimate intent was to ensure that I do whatever I have sworn to do at the expense of no one innocent person. I’ll clarify what that means shortly. Even before Obama (henceforth the POTUS, Barry, B.O., etc.) took residence in the Oval Office, he had sworn to remove conscience protections for healthcare professionals, particularly MDs and nurses. (As POTUS is hot on the heels of the House for endeavoring to vote on the Protect Life Act, which aims to, well, protect the conscience protections among other things, he still holds true to his rash promise.) This fact would play a huge role in how and why I chose the path I’m following now, along with a visit by a friend of a friend to one of the aforementioned friend’s social gatherings.

In the spring of 2009, I was eating dinner with other guests when two sprightly young men came walking in. It was the first time that I had seen them, so I went and introduced myself to them. One of them seemed particularly interested in carrying on a conversation, so I asked him about his current state of affairs. He was going to a chiropractic college in the immediate area, and I was curious to know a little more about it. I didn’t know whether my actualized curiosity was a mistake waiting to happen or a fortuitous occurrence, because the chiropractic student was happy to oblige.

He started off by enlightening me on the basic principle of chiropractic – that is, the nervous system controls every single aspect of the human body right down to the cellular level through the many pathways the nerves take, from the brain to the extremities and everywhere in between. If there is a disconnect of any nerve at any place and time, the part of the body which the nerve touches would be affected in some way because the energy that is being transferred to and from the brain is cut off from that part. These disconnections happen most often at the spine, as almost all of the body’s nerves pass through the column and out of each of the individual vertebrae in pairs. Under this principle, if the cervical nerves were somehow impinged (whether painful or not), certain neck muscles would not work as efficiently as they could. If a thoracic vertebra were pinching something, the heart could be adversely affected (I’ll talk about this case more extensively in a future post). The chiropractic adjustment is there to remove these disconnections by realigning the vertebrae into their optimal position, where the nerves could freely transmit their energy to and from the central nervous system. In a sense, the adjustment aims to treat the cause of the symptoms, not the symptoms themselves.

After I had heard this, it started to make sense. What was more surprising to me was that the chiropractic adjustment was all it took to alleviate a lot of everyday sicknesses -- there were no drugs or surgery required (or permitted), it was quick and (relatively) painless, and it was literally cheaper by the dozen. Not only was it a more effective tool for such treatments than Ibuprofen and Vicks, it also meant that I wouldn’t have to face a catch-22 and procure an abortion under penalty of termination or certain spiritual death. I thought, “THIS is the way to go. This is everything that I’ve been hoping for all along!”

A year later, I applied for admission, got in without a hitch, and registered for those undergraduate sciences necessary for my complete admission into the DC program. I’m in the process of finishing them up right now. I’m also being adjusted by my intern, who happens to be the one who brought me here in the first place.

1 comment:

Brock B. said...
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