Today's Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul

[Guest guest]

Adding Life to Life

By Holland, D.C.

A gentleman came into my office who seemed otherwise like every other

fifty-year-old man with a sacroiliac problem. What made this man different were

the interesting questions he asked me about how much weight my adjusting tables

could bear and what was the heaviest patient I had ever treated. The answers

were 500 and 400 pounds, respectively.

These and many other questions, I learned, were originated by his wife, Janice.

Janice entered my life weighing 323 pounds. She was taking eleven prescription

medications and an average of thirty Advil® tablets a day to manage headaches.

She had undergone a number of surgeries in her lifetime including back surgery,

and was scheduled for neck surgery. Her hope in coming to my office was to

reduce her Advil® intake to ten a day or less to prepare for the impending

surgery.

Janice was and remains the most unique patient I have ever seen. One of her

unique features was her willingness to take personal responsibility for her

health. She took extensive notes and typed them up for me. Her notes were her

responses to the treatment I gave her and a record of other doctor visits and

her prescriptions.

At the time Janice entered my office, she had about a four-hour period of

function during the course of the day. Her husband and two teenage children

provided much of the assistance she needed. But in a very short time Janice

began to realize the possibilities that awaited her with treatment.

Within a week she achieved her original goal of reduced Advil® intake. Due to

her very positive response to adjustments, her goals quickly changed. Within

months of beginning treatment, she was completely off all but two prescriptions,

decided to cancel her surgery, and changed her diet and exercise habits.

The medical doctors who were managing her care told Janice that her life

expectancy was compromised and that she would need multiple surgeries to prolong

her life. Janice decided to make me, her chiropractor, her primary doctor. Even

though her insurance would not accept the change, she committed to follow my

counsel.

Janice lost more than 150 pounds, and she was able to function more than sixteen

hours a day every day. She was then diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Although traditional medicine recommended chemotherapy and radiation, she

elected to follow a more conservative approach through chiropractic, nutrition

and positive thinking. That was five years ago. Since then, Janice's health is

better than ever. In her own words, she is " healthier now than I have ever been

in my entire life. "

Chiropractic has dramatically changed her life. In Janice's own words

" Chiropractic has saved my life. "

Janice now has a life of good health and an expectancy of many years to grow old

with her children and unborn grandchildren.