By Mollie Gordon, HHC
Life
is full of unexpected surprises. Some are happy while others aren’t,
and we all experience both kinds. This summer, I had my full portion of
not-so-happy ones: a car accident and an incident in a public park. Both
of them tested my body’s resilience as well as my emotional resolve.
Both of them occurred within a month of each other. Both of them could
have really hurt me, but they didn’t. Why? I believe it's because I’m
under Upper Cervical Care as a life choice.
Four Years Ago
I
have spent the bulk of my life not using traditional medicine as my
go-to. Instead, I have used chiropractic care, quality nutrition
principles, and alternative health approaches like massage and bodywork.
Four years ago, I came under care at Dr. Chad’s because Upper Cervical
Care made sense when he explained it to me. Correct the misalignment at
the top of my spine, and my body will regain structural balance over
time. I had a great general chiropractor in Los Angeles, who kept me
well for 13 years, but I never understood why I needed my bones to be
cracked and twisted every time I went to see him. When I learned about
Upper Cervical Care and the relationship between the parts of my spine
and the top two bones in the neck, it finally made sense. I chose Upper
Cervical Care for overall health, and my spine corrected itself. The
natural curve returned to my lower and upper back, and my legs became
“equal length” again. Chronic pain left my body, and I felt the
healthiest I had in years. In fact, not only did my body regain
structural balance, but my life did, too. I found my calling as a
Holistic Health Coach, and now work part-time at Dr. Chad’s helping with
office operations and clinic marketing.
June 2015: The Car Accident
On
a Saturday in mid-June 2015, I was rear-ended while at a full-stop. My
immediate thought (after, “Wha-?!?!?!?) was “Thank God I’m under care at
Dr. Chad’s.” In the summer of 2003, I was also rear-ended while at a
full-stop, and I remember clearly how immediately following the
accident, I had radiating pain down my right arm. Following this recent
accident, I mindfully checked my body to see if I were again feeling
radiating pain. I was in shock, so it was particularly important that I
really be aware of how my body felt following the impact. Fortunately,
this time I didn’t have that kind of pain. I felt both feet on the
ground equally (no need for a “kickstand”), and I felt much more
structurally balanced than the time in 2003. I knew I had whiplash, but
it was whiplash following a proper alignment instead of whiplash
following a weakened structural balance.
I came into Dr. Chad’s the Monday
following the accident, and by that time, my pain had significantly
increased. I asked for new X-rays because I knew this was a new injury,
and while it was similar, it was new. He corrected my misalignment, and
the knot of pain that had formed in the base of my neck was instantly
relieved. I had nausea and sickness as a result of the trauma and the
correction, but by going home and not working that day, I was able to
rest and heal more quickly than if I’d addressed my whiplash with
medicine. When I awoke from my long nap, I felt much better, and the
nausea was gone.
Later
that week, I met with a sports medicine doctor at Urgent Care to
confirm that no bones had been broken. I was still experiencing pain in
my mid-back, and he determined that my pain was simply my muscles
healing from the trauma and that it was a natural muscular response. He
referred me to an Osteopath in the event that my hips continued to hurt,
but he also seemed rather confident that I would heal well. We agreed
that my approach to health was a good one.
Since
the car accident, I have continued to be checked by Dr. Chad on a
consistent basis. I know well enough how the body works, and following a
trauma as severe as my whiplash, my body and muscles will need time and
maintenance to keep my upper cervical bones in place. Again, each day
that I wake up not feeling my best, I say to myself, “Thank God I’m
under Upper Cervical Care.”
July 2015: The Park Incident
The
Friday before the month-mark of my car accident held an unexpected
event that I will long remember. For the past 3 years, I have worked
with individuals with Special Needs, specializing in Autism. This
particular Friday, I was excited about continuing to heal from the car
accident and to begin a more intensive walking schedule than I had been
observing. Unexpectedly, my plan isn’t what happened. Instead, the
individual with whom I was working had a biological event and became
severely aggressive while we were on a walk in the park. I am unable to
give details of the event for legal reasons, but the end result was my
being attacked 7 separate times, including being knocked to the ground.
This scared me to my core, but even as I was being evaluated by the
EMTs, “Thank God I’m under Upper Cervical Care” played in the background
of our conversation.
Because
this incident was so shocking and intense, I found myself in yet
another Urgent Care facility. I was again evaluated for physical injury,
and luckily all I sustained was muscle sprain and some bruises.
Emotionally, I was also injured, but I have been under the appropriate
care for that. As I told Dr. Chad about it during one of our talks, I
began crying because suddenly I really understood how close I’d been to
greater injury had I not been in structural balance before these events
had happened, a choice I made four years prior. In a new way, I came to
believe even more strongly about how valuable it is to be under Upper
Cervical Care in all its forms: initial acute injury, ongoing
maintenance, and the unexpected acute injury. It was then that I also
realized I had saved myself from the hospital not once but twice this
summer because of how I choose to take care of myself.
Conclusion
I
am still healing from both incidents in different ways, but I am
confident that I am doing everything I can to avoid long-term
complications from these events. I will be under Upper Cervical Care for
the rest of my life because I know that while I can hold a correction
for several months, my alignment has been compromised by this car
accident, and I will need the maintenance plan that Dr. Chad and other
UCC doctors offer. I don’t want to be a woman with serious lower back
problems or other health complications later in life because I didn’t
properly address the real injury: whiplash and brainstem subluxation.
Yes, life will happen, but I’m thankful that I have this natural
approach available where I live. This summer’s events only strengthened
my belief in Upper Cervical Care. It works.
Mollie is a Holistic Health Coach. Please visit her website at www.sacredbodyhealth.com for more information. In addition, Mollie is the Marketing and Business Coach at Triad Upper Cervical Clinic.
