It was a morning just like most every other morning. My son and I were busy seeing
patients and enjoying our moments with them. We were “in the zone”.
Then it happened. A new patient came by for a consultation and from the moment I met
her, I realized that she was different. She was middle-aged and appeared very
apprehensive about being here. I came to find out that the reason for her
apprehensiveness was due to the fact that she had been to many chiropractors before
with varying results. But since she had moved to our area, trying to find one who would
do what “I want done” had been hard. RED FLAG!
She told me about her myriad of problems stemming from bad accidents, illnesses, and
bad genes. She had two daughters, one suffering with Turner’s Syndrome and the
other, Asperger’s Syndrome. She herself had some rare, strange disease which left her
joints very hypermobile and painful. She just plain hurt everywhere. Another RED
FLAG!
After educating her on what chiropractic really was and what I would like to do, she
finally agreed (“you mean you’re not going to adjust my shoulders, elbows, knees, and
hands? They really need it”) to let me give her something totally new and
different…actual specific, scientific, chiropractic care.
I asked her for patience and to give the power within her a chance to do some healing
once the interference was removed. She said sadly, “I don’t know how much patience I
have left in me.”
About a month later, she came in one day while my son was with me, observing. After
her adjustment, she sat up, looked at him and said, “I want you to know that this was my
last stop.” We weren’t sure what she meant by that. I was thinking that we were her last
try at chiropractic, but that is not what she meant.
“I was hurting so bad, had tried all other methods of treatment with very limited results
and your dad’s adjustments literally saved my life. I mean this was my LAST stop. I just
couldn’t take the pain anymore. So don’t ever give up on your patients. You never know
which ones will be like me.” What a teaching moment!
Doctor, there are no accidents in life or in your practice and I truly believe that every
patient that comes to see you is there because God wants them there and has created
a path for them to come. And for that reason, a very nice lady is alive today and once
again being productive in society.
The lesson here…never prejudge your patients. You haven’t walked in their shoes. You
can’t really measure their pain. You simply don’t know. What you do know is this… if
they’re alive and have nerve interference, they’ve got to be better without nerve
interference.
Stay humble.
About the Author
Dr. Rick is a passionate and driven Chiropractor on a mission of
sharing the principles of Chiropractic success philosophy to as
many people as possible.
For more information, check out his
website:http://52weeks2pfs.com.