Tag Archives: chiropractic

Taking personal responsibility…and potty talk

Posted by beautifullystrong in Eat Well, Move Well and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

I have been asked on numerous accounts why I am doing the candida diet. The number one (and probably ONLY reason) I started the candida diet is because (I’m going to get REALLY honest with you right now…) I have had digestive issues since college…

My senior year of college, shit hit the fan in my life (family, school, relationship,friendships, not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, etc, etc…you know, the normal stuff!) and my poor body could only handle the stress I was going through by deciding to seize all function of my digestive system. I was in and out of specialists for a year (my lowest low was having an “examination” (digestive system…take a gander at where that exam was taken…) by a 70 year old man…lowwww low). I was drugged up, knocked out, and had the pleasure (*puke*) of experiencing my first ever colonoscopy at the ripe age of 22. The final diagnosis was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). What’s a girl to do with that information??!   I was terrified to eat ANYTHING; I was constantly full of fear. It got to a bad point where I was only eating about 500 calories a day (not on purpose…just because everything was making me sick!). That 500 calories usually came in the form of a Smart One (the broccoli and cheddar potatoes :-p).

I was CONSTANTLY on the lookout for some MAGIC PILL that would get rid of my digestive issues.

*In walks Nicholas Araza*

Through Nick I learned all about the Paleo diet, and it completely changed my world. I started exercising…uh duh, I think we know how that affected my world. I started getting adjusted. All three of these things have COMPLETELY changed my world for the better…including my digestive issues. I no longer FEAR eating (I am actually quite OBSESSED with it, thank you!) and I haven’t had an “episode” in a couple years. Phew! :)

So why the candida diet… well…while my guts are much happier, they are not 100% better. I have messed up my guts for the majority of my life…and while changing my diet, exercising and getting adjusted has stopped it from getting worse I’m sure…I have lost a LOT of integrity of my gut lining. In laymen’s terms: my guts are screwed. Presently :-p I was hoping that the candida diet would clean up the last of those bad bugs because since adding exercise to my life, my bad guts have posed a WHOLE other kind of problem…

If I, or anyone, is unable to keep their abs tight while doing Crossfit…you are essentially efffffffffffffed. There is WEIGHT you’re lifting, weird positions you’re getting into, high repetition of exercises, BURPEES, full extension of exercises…etc, etc. If you are unable to protect your spine during these exercises, you are GOING to get hurt…period. WELL…unfortunately, when you have inflamed guts due to something you ate, or bad bugs that are taking over your guts…you cannot properly protect your spine, and you get yourself in the predicament I have been putting myself in for the last year and a half…which is constantly hurting myself, over and over again. 

back pain

Here’s where some venting comes in: people constantly ASSUME that since I am married to a chiropractor I don’t EVER have back pain, that I have a BEAUTIFUL spine, and la da da…well, not exactly. I met Nick in 2009, and I was diagnosed with a Phase 1 subluxation…borderline phase 2. My spine was as straight as a rod…and I have a congenital scoliosis in my mid-back. Not the “ideal chiropractor’s wife spine”…sorry to disappoint. We have made AMAZING changes so far (I literally started crying when I saw my most recent progress x-rays, I was so happy)…but as magical as my husband (or ANY chiropractor for that matter) is…he’s not a magician…and in order for him to do his job the best he can, I NEED to stop hurting myself!!!! Which in short means (because after many, many discussions, we both believe is mainly related to my irritated guts)…I need to stop messing up my guts, and I need to KEEP working on PERFECTING my form in the gym (and in life for that matter!).

I started the candida diet on June 25th, and then decided to have some homemade coconut ice cream this past Saturday (that would be TOTALLY okay if I were not doing the candida) that was topped with homemade whipped cream (this would NOT be okay even if I WASN’T doing the candida) and let me tell you…that whipped cream EFFED me. I have been feeling it since Saturday. Yesterday was a workout with burpees and pull-ups (my two biggest offenders)…so last night I was laying in bed, complaining and whimpering because my back was in so much pain. I’m frustrated. I feel like I should be stronger, I feel like I should be able to go faster, I feel like I should be able to do MORE reps; it’s hard to do that when you start progressing, then jack yourself, you know?

Let me tell you THIS much…I am SO grateful that I AM married to a chiropractor…I can’t imagine doing this, and learning this journey without my sweet, sweet husband to clean up after me. Tip, however: do not use your chiropractor as a custodian for your injuries and then wonder why you’re not getting the results you want. Clean up your own messes, prevent messes, and do what your chiropractor says! :)

Anyway, the point of this post was a vent, mostly. I needed to be honest and “out” myself…I DON’T, yet, have a perfect spine…I don’t, yet, do the movements perfectly…and I still hurt myself…kind of often :-\ I, too, am working on my health everyday. I, too, am on this journey with you.

With love,

Jen

Oh Heyyyyy ;)

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts and tagged with , , , , , ,

Oh where, oh where has this little gal gone?!!

Before you stone me, let me explain!! Since moving to SB, we have been up to our eyeballs in sheet rock dust and my ass covered in lululemon. What the heck does that mean?! When I have not been working at lulu, I have been working for Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic, trying to get it open! One thing I realized, however, that my life was missing DRAMATICALLY (I’m not dramatic, am I?) is…dun da da DAH!!!! BLOGGING!

For the Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic site, I wrote a post today about gratitude, annndddd it seems super fitting for this blog too…because strength and beauty are far more than aesthetics alone.

Before I share my post with you, however, I wanted to let you know…

I have been BACK at it with Crossfitting, AND ran my second ever 5k the other night (and plan on doing it every Wednesday for the remainder of summer!!). I feel like I’m getting my muscles back, my body back, my MIND back…and it feels SUUUUPERB :) Bringin’ sexy back..uhhhh :)

Okay…onward…

…Here it is :)   (You can read it HERE) or here…

How often do you hear someone say, “I wish I had more time in my day!”. Guys, lets get right to it, time is the one great equalizer…we all have the same 1,440 minutes in a day. Not all of us are born with long legs, or excel in math…but we ALL have 1,440 minutes, no matter how you slice or dice it!

Well, I have discovered a way to ADD minutes to your day! Yes, I have! Are you ready?…

Slow your minutes down.

SAY WHAT?! How have I even gotten this far into reading this? Slow my minutes down??

Yes…slow your minutes down.

Do you remember those summer days when you were a kid, walking barefoot across the hot tar with a book in your hand and a glass of cold lemonade? Do you remember taking time to pick the prettiest daisys for your mom to put on display at your kitchen table in her best vase? What about the winters when you would play outside in the snow, come in with bright red cheeks and sweat matted hair, to strip yourself of your snowsuit and sit at the table with a hot cup of cocoa?

Why do you remember those moments?

Because you were fully present in them…you were fully living in the moment.

As adults, I feel like we so often go through one day after another, checking off our to-do lists, killing time (ahhh!! the horror!) playing online scrabble at work, complaining about housework and our jobs…only to live for the weekend (hey I know I am guilty as charged at times!). What if we lived in a world where we took notice of every moment, were grateful for each moments gifts, and were fully present at all times?

My sweet friend Alexis came to visit Nick and I this past weekend here in California. Alexis is the QUEEN of journaling, and as I picked her brain about it, I noticed a book on the ground that caught my attention. I picked it up and read the back…love…I want to read this book! “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp, I write it down. On the way to the bus station, I hear Alexis in the back seat scribbling something down, but I think nothing of it. As we turn the corner, she hands me a book wrapped in twine (beautiful too!)…”One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp. She was so thrilled that I had been so interested in reading it, since she had already purchased it for me before she even arrived in California!! :)

I have been since reading this book like a mad-woman…and I am just truly in love. As soon as I need to put down the book, I’m excited for the next time I get to pick it up again. The basis of this book is all about gratitude…and fully living in the moment, wherever you are. So often we feel our lives would be better if only I could this, or if I could only that… What if we stopped if onlying, and started just doing…right now? She was given a love dare to find 1000 gifts in her daily life…and so she did. She kept a gratitude journal open on her table, and in her purse when she left the house…and whenever one of life’s gifts popped up (which they do, and often), she wrote it down…

Why do I need to write it down?

The beauty of writing it down is this: “In naming that which is right before me, that which I’d otherwise miss, the invisible becomes visible”

How TRUE is that?!

How often do you say thank you for the smell of delicious (paleo) cookies baking in the oven, the way the sun feels on your face while you lay in the grass, the way a delicious peach is nourishing your body, seeing an elderly couple holding hands and smiling at each other in love…when was the last time you said thank you for those “everyday” things? What if you looked at them as gifts? Do you think that may change the way you look at them? And if you feel differently about those things, don’t you think you’ll start looking at EVERYTHING a little differently?

We can all learn to be grateful. Learning takes practice, and practice takes action. Can you start a list of all life’s gifts with me? Let’s start slowing those minutes down and really seeing how much each minute in our day has to offer :)

Thank you Alexis for the beautiful gift…

In gratitude,

Jen

I miss you all, and plan on getting a little vid-action out to you soon :)

Love much,

T-Minus 11520 Minutes

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

 

Lifes a journey, not a destination

 

I am sitting in probably the only clutter-free spot in our house right now; on our sunshine-yellow couch that will soon be taken away by a stranger. Looking around are boxes full of “must-haves”, the few things we have found important enough to us that they earned a coveted spot in the back of the Expedition for the trip west; the rest will go. It’s beginning to feel a little sad in here.

Only seven short days from now we will be having our going away party with all the people we love here in Beverly, and the following morning, heading west…well south, THEN west :) Since I’ve shared so much of myself in the last year, I want to share a little about Jen BC (Before Crossfit)…

Over the last six years, I have had MANY conversations with my parents about moving to California. It’s a little odd thinking back on it, considering I had never visited California until March of 2010! I just had a feeling that I was supposed to live there; and I’m not talking LA, I’m talking a small-ish coastal beach town where I could learn to surf and be “crunchy”, haha. I am not really either of those things, but really secretly (well maybe not so secretly) want to be, hehe.

So anyway, over and over I would have conversations about moving to Calfornia, all of which NO ONE took seriously. Why not?? Well, I had a litttttttle problem with commiting to goals that I had. I would start a workout regiment, done after a month. I would try a new crazy diet, done after a month. I would talk about moving to California, changed my mind after a couple of months. I wanted to do this for a career, or that for a career, then I would get distracted on to something else. Not super appealing, but I did a lot of it. So, summer of 2009 one of my close friends got transferred from his company here in Massachusetts to the west coast branch in San Luis Obispo, CA. I had a renewed interest in moving out, and thought, HERES MY CHANCE! I’ll know someone, it’s a small beach town, this will be GREAT! Then, I got accepted to a program that I had applied to here in New Hampshire for health education (at least that was consistent, my interest in health!) and decided to stay for that. Just six short days after I was SUPPOSED to pack up and go out west, I met Nick at the Salem Culture Festival. Whoa BABY I would NOT have been happy if I had missed out on THAT one! On our second date, Nick mentioned (not to get ahead of himself of course) that he wanted to eventually go back to California, and asked me if that was something I would be interested in….um, yes PLEASE!

So after much thought, I decided not to do the health ed program (THANK GOD) and decided to stay here, join Crossfit and start eating like a caveman. Yep…those were the best choices I have ever made…and more importantly, STUCK TO!  :) I have learned more about health in the last year than I would have EVER learned in that program, and the two versions of health (the one the school would have taught me, and the one I’ve learned for free here) couldn’t BE more different!

So here I am, a year and a half later, heading for California anyway…a place that I truly have always felt is where I belong…don’t ask me why! Things are really starting to fall into place for our future practice, right down to the font on our logo! Last week I spent three days in the office with Nick and got to see the office, how it flows, how it thrives and how it functions! It was INCREDIBLE! I have struggled a bit with being “just a C.A.” for a little bit now…and for you C.A.’s (chiropractic assistants) out there reading this, please don’t take offense…I knew nothing! See, I was a receptionist for the last three years, and I had no interest in moving across the country to continue doing that…and I was constantly hearing comments like “oh so you’re going to be Nick’s receptionist?” While I felt that it was going to be more than that, I really didn’t have the information to say otherwise. Well guess what…one of probably the most valuable things I learned while I was in the office with Nick was that it is NOT a receptionist job…wow! Honestly, the C.A. is like a conductor for an orchestra, or a stage manager for a play…Nick MAY be the star of the show, but the conductor or stage manager is JUST as important in making sure everything goes smoothly and stays on course. There were so many little tiny details that the girls covered that the doctors never even had to think about, so that all of their energy could go toward giving the best possible care to their patients. To top it all off, I get to be the ambassador of first impressions for all our future patients! :-D ..and get to play with the kids and hold babies…just another perk :)

I am SO excited to start this important career.

So, starting next week, I will keep you all posted on our journey, with the cool things we do and see along the way, and of course a few handstand pictures as well :) :) I love and appreciate you ALL, and hope you had the best holiday yet :)

Much love,

Jen

Daisy Dukes, Bikinis On Top!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts and tagged with , , , , , ,

Hello! I AM in fact alive, everything is okay, and I still intend to write in my blog :) Just to clear up a few things :-p

Now that we have that out of the way, let me fill you in a little on why it is I have been…well…sparse!

Some of you know this, and some of you may not…but there is going to be a LOT to write about in a month…and the reason for that is…

…Nick and I are moving to California! Santa Barbara to be exact! HOLY SCHNIKES!!! Soooo, as you can imagine, things have been a little crazy! I officially have 10 full work days left after today, and then I am on to the next chapter of my/our story :) So why are we moving?!! Well…as you guys know, Nick is a chiropractor, so we are heading west to start our very own practice, Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic. We will not only be offering chiropractic, but education on how to eat, move and think well to gain optimal health! I am so freakin nervous, scared, excited, sad, thrilled, etc etc etc…but what keeps me sane is knowing that I have all the faith in the world with Nick’s ability as a doctor, and our combined ability to rock people’s lives as a team!

This is major.

Not only are we moving, but we’re selling EVERYTHING we own, and driving out with whatever fits in the back of the Expedition (mainly clothes and books!).

We’re taking a 15 day road trip to get out there, heading all the way south to Hotlanta, and all the way west across the southern border to Santa Barbara. We plan on doing handstands in every state, and hitting up as many Crossfits as possible along the way. Once I have our exact route, I’ll post it and maybe you guys can give me some ideas for things to do along the way/Crossfits to visit! January 5th is our date of departure :)

Since Oprah lives there, I’m planning on making her our client :) Don’t laugh… :) Global marketing!

Okay, on a different topic, I need to fill you in on some things that have happened, are happening since I last spoke with you!

1) I GOT MY FIRST UNASSISTED KIPPING PULLUP!!! I have only gotten it that once…but whatEVER, I got one! I didn’t even realize I did one! Much like the first pushup on my toes I got, haha.

2) I am going to be doing my FIRST EVER Crossfit team competition tomorrow!! Holy JEEZ! If you want to check out the three workouts we are going to be doing as a team tomorrow, here is the link! HERE! I’m not even going to go through the negative self talk on this one…in the past I would have. I KNOW I am less experienced than the majority of people in the competition, maybe even all, but I also know that I am going there for me…for the experience…and to push myself harder than I have before. That much I know I can do.

So…I’m glad to have finally bit the bullet and faced the incredibly daunting task of writing this post after waiting a month to do it! and I’m looking forward to crushing any fears of what tomorrow will be like, by taking the moment by the horns and just having at it! Woot!! BRING. IT. ON!!

 

Current reining champions! Crosbie, Alicia and JP!

 

 

Maine Weekends

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , , ,

This past weekend Nicholas and I ventured north to the great Maine woods. My family has a cabin on Long Lake (which is in the town of Madawaska) at the very tippy top of Maine. 

If it appears that Madawaska is actually in Canada...it is because it's DANG close! :)

 

The goal was to have a weekend of rest and relaxation, see my family, and enjoy nature. How did we do? We passed with flying colors! :-D  

We left here at 1pm on Friday, and arrived in Caribou, Maine at 10 something. We made a pit stop in Portland, Maine’s Whole Foods for groceries for the cabin, and dining on their yummy salad bar/buffet. Once we got to Caribou, it was straight to bed so we could wake up early the next morning. 6am rise and 7am we hit the road, going through town so we could OF COURSE get coffee. Nick rode up with my dad, and I rode with my mom so we could have a little mom and daughter time :)  

After the oppressive heat/humidity we have been having here in the Boston area, the 65ish degree weather was actually reallllllly nice. Jeans and long sleeve shirts in the shade, tank tops and no shirts (for Nicholas :-p) in the sun. Once my parents headed back, after a very thorough run-thru of anything we may EVER need to know about the camp, we were alone. It was soooo peaceful. Saturday consisted of laying around on the beach, laying in the hammock, making delicious HEALTHY food, watching movies and heading to the Northern Maine Fairgrounds to watch my dad and uncles rock out! :-D  

yup! Thats my dad on lead vocals :)

 

After hitting up the beer garden (for my first time EVER) with Nick and my brother (I was beyond amazed!!!!! Beers there were $2 a piece!!!! WOAH!!!), we headed back home with mom. After being warned countless times by my dad to watch for moose on the drive back to the camp (I know dad, you saw 14 moose one time just heading home from the camp :) ), we popped in some Dane Cook to keep us awake and alive! :)   We got back to the camp around 10 something, and headed down to the dock in the dark. After living in Massachusetts for far too long (:-p) you forget what the stars REALLY look like. Laying on our backs we stared up at the sky for probably 1/2 hour. The stars were so bright and clear that you could easily see the milky way. It was gorgeous :)  

Sunday started perfectly, continued to be perfect, and ended perfectly. After making a DELICIOUS and HEALTHY breakfast again (chicken sausage, brussels, and an assortment of other veggies all tossed together in a bowl) with a hot pot of black coffee (I have OFFICIALLY kicked that dairy habit!), we sat down by the lake in the morning sun, eating, drinking and having a great talk. 

view from our spot

 

After the whole pot of coffee, we grabbed the canoe, and headed out on a 4 mile canoe excursion. It was our first time canoeing together, and after a little bit of initial communication…we were golden! Great team :) Once we got back, half of my family had arrived, with more to follow. I felt sooooo special. About 20-25 of some of my favorite people in the whole world came up to the camp on Sunday to see Nick and I, and spend some quality family time together :)  

Nick, my dad, and my cousins Taylor and Jason

 

My cousin Jamie and I :) :) <3

 

Me, my brother and all my cousins :-D

 

Gram Nadeau and Gram St.Peter :)

 

I love my Ashley :)

 

About 3/4 of the whole gang! :)

 

Me and my babe :)

 

Nicholas and my goob brother :-p can you TELL we're related?? :-p

 

 After everyone headed out around 7pm, again, Nick and I were alone. I cooked up some brussels while Nick started a fire in the fire pit. With wine and food in hand, we pulled the swing right up to the fire pit and settled in :) After food, chatting, and  just one glass of wine, both of us fell asleep :-p 

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed Monday. Maybe it was due to the fact that I wasn’t ready to come back, or due to the fact that I hadn’t exercised a TON that weekend…either way…I was grumpy :-p Nick wanted to run a few miles, and was encouraging me to do the same (he knows me too well :-p) but I wasn’t having it. I drove him out 3 miles, and drove the car back, changed into running clothes and took off running anyway. I ended up running 2 miles unbroken, which I’m PUMPED about! I know it doesn’t seem like a lot…but I think thats’ the most I’ve ever run unbroken before! I have run 5 miles before, but I did it in intervals…broken up. So that was DEFINITELY an accomplishment for me, and I was in a better mood after (it didnt’ COMPLETELY go away, I still had to come back to work the next day, but it was a LOT better :-p). 

So I had an incredible weekend, and I’m ready to get back on the Crossfit train this week! I will be attending tonight’s workout (5 rounds of 7 muscle-ups and 21 burpees) and I can’t WAIT! 

Also!!! Last night Nick adjusted me, and took a new posture picture, and re-weighed me (to test if I carry my weight evenly from side to side. Our body leans AWAY from nerve irritation in the spine…so the first day I ever met Nicholas, he put me on those scales at the Salem Culture Festival, and I was carrying 25 lbs more on my left side than my right! This means that I had nerve irritation in my spine, on the right, so my body was leaning on the left to take pressure off of that irritation in my spine. WOWZA!!! Talk about a lot of irritation!!!). Last night when he weighed me, I was carrying 4 (!!!!!!!!) lbs more on my left side than my right!! From 25 pounds to 4!!!!! Chiropractic is freakin’ AMAZING!!!!!! How cool is that?! :) You could tell too from the pictures that my shoulders were EXPONENTIALLY more even in height than they were when I started a year ago. I am soooooooo excited!!! :)  

Well I think that is enough blabbering on for one day :) I hope you have a FANTASTIC Wednesday! :-D  

xoxo, 

Jen 

Big Effing Tire-1: Jen-0

Posted by beautifullystrong in Crossfit Workouts and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Let me be clear:

Big effing tire that weighs approximately 275 pounds- 1: Jen-0

This Saturday the workout at Crossfit was: “Pet Rocks”. We were put into teams of two, had to accomplish a list of absurdity, all the while holding your “pet rock”, that of which was a 25# weight for me…. One person works at a time, the other hold their 25# pet rock.

“Pet Rocks”

800m run

150 wallballs

80 pullups

60 pushups

30 burpees

20 handstand pushups

5 rope climbs

3 tire flips

800m run

The gym was counted off into groups of two, and guess who my partner was?! Mr. Araza himself. How we managed that I don’t know…we were no where near each other :)

We took off on our 800m run, and decided to get the burpees out of the way first since they’re pretty friggin’ tiring. 15 burpees each…next!

Handstand pushups, rope climbs…

…then we headed outside for the tire flips.

Now, I’ve never done a tire flip before. It looks pretty fun, I wanted to at least see if I stood a chance. Nick did two flips; made it look way too easy. So, for those of you that know me (or for those of you that do not, I’ll fill you in…) I am a littttle competitive. Being competitive has its pros and plenty of cons for me. When you are in Crossfit, and you work out with a large number of EXTREMELY capable athletes (when I say capable, I mean JACKED…SHREDDED…STRONG AS WHAT!!), and you “lose” repeatedly (this is when Nick would, once again, tell me it’s not a competition, and not to compare myself…but my very point here is that I tend to do that…often), that is when being competitive isn’t so awesome. So anyway…I wanted to AT LEAST TRRRRRRYYYYYY to flip the 275 pound tire….I mean, it’s not like I was push pressing the thing…just flipping it….

So I get down on my knees, into proper position to flip this sucker…

try #1- didn’t even budge

try #2- I think it came about an inch off the ground

try #3- I got it off the ground about a foot, then it slipped and dropped

try #4- same as #3

try #5- Danny decided to help me, and I got it up and over!

HA. HA! Take that huge flippin’ TIRE!!! Then, I go to stand up…ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Not good batman…I felt like one of those cartoons where someone bends over and then tries to stand up and is still stuck in the bent over position….

I straighten up and head inside to do Wallballs and continue down the laundry list of exercises with my partner :) . When we have done all of the reps for all of the exercises, we head out to do our final 800m run. The last 400m I am DEAD TIRED! Nick thinks we should pick it up the last 200m (that is where you make the most gains). We do. When we get to the end, I immediately squat down, head between my knees and start that lip quiver, eyes watering…realllly want to cry. I start to…then realize….suck it up Nadeau. Deep breath, I’m over it. I walk inside.

At this point in the day, or even ten minutes into the awesome free yoga class we had following the workout, I was NOT over it… my back was killing me. I really hurt my back….again.

So here I am again, only a month after the LAST time I hurt my back…BUT, at least I can say I hurt it because I was trying to flip a TRACTOR TIRE!!! haha! Seriously…who AM I? :-p

Once again, I am realllly glad I have a boyfriend who is a chiropractor! I spent the majority of Saturday being adjusted, laying on ice packs, or walking around the block to get some movement into my spine. While I was grumpy about some of this at the time, I am really glad Nick made me do them. Thanks to him, I was able to drive up to Portsmouth, NH on Sunday and walk around town for a few hours with my friend Lauren…that of which I would NOT have been able to do if I had just taken a nap on Saturday like I wanted to. Thank you Chiropractic, and thank you Nick :)

My Mom’s Big “AH HAAA” Moment!

Posted by beautifullystrong in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , ,

Good morning! I hope you all had an amazing weekend!

My parents were in town for the weekend to visit me from northern Maine. I was so excited for them to get here on Saturday, and I was very sad to see them go this morning. We had a lot of good times, made some great memories, and I can honestly say that this weekend changed my mother’s life. Sounds dramatic doesn’t it? Well…to tell you the truth, it was dramatic.

My parents pulled in the yard at around 2pm on Saturday. My dad came bobbing down the path to our steps, chipper as usual; my mother still getting some things in the car. The weather was ridiculous, in the 70′s, and the sun was shining! Perfect! Finally, my mother comes limping down the path. “What’s going on with you?” I ask. The 7 hour trek from northern Maine to Beverly really took a toll on her back. Now, as long as I can remember, my mother has had problems with her back. When I was 11 she had a surgery on her back and it hasn’t been right since. So, needless to say, I wasn’t excited (obviously!), but definitely not surprised by this response. Since learning more about what chiropractic does for a person, I have been bugging her to see one, and hard! So being a smart-ass I say, “You think it’s about time you see a chiropractor?” Nothing.

So we take a walk down to the beach, my mother slowing down more and more as we go (our house is only 2 blocks from the beach). Once we get to the beach, she stays standing up, her face contorted in pain. It’s quickly getting worse.

As the night progresses my mother’s back starts bothering her more and more, her face expressing more and more pain; till at one point she just started crying and couldn’t walk at all. This is when Nick stepped in. He offered to check her spine. Now would you believe me if I told you that my mother is a NURSE, has been in the healthcare system for 30+ years, and no one has EVER shown her what her spine looks like? Well believe it. So, to make a long story short, Nick did an exam on her, found multiple areas of subluxation (what is subluxation?), and told her that he would like to adjust her. She was petrified. She was so worried that an adjustment would put her in more pain than she was already in. I told her that I would be there with her, and promised her it wouldn’t be scary. So, after looking back and forth between Nick, my dad and myself, she hesitantly agreed.

Nick was AMAZING with her. He very slowly eased her into it, and I began to see her relax. He talked her through every little thing that he was doing, and performed her first adjustment. I think from that moment, till about an hour later, I had a CONSTANT lump in my throat. When I went to Franson to become a patient, I didn’t have any symptoms that pushed me to go, but I had some symptoms that I didn’t know (because I wasn’t educated) were related to my spine. So, when I received my first adjustment, it felt good, but it was not such a CLEAR illustration of what chiropractic can do for a person as it was with my mother.  Her relief was almost immediate (I’m not saying it was GONE or that one adjustment is going to “fix” her…I’m saying her ridiculous pain was relieved some), and DRAMATIC! Her face softened, she was smiling and laughing, and WALKING! After her adjustment, she was instructed to walk for 15 minutes around the building, so I joined her. She kept talking about how much SENSE Chiropractic made (she had never been educated about that either, and Nick did such a great job of educating before even showing her what her spine looked like, so that she knew what she was LOOKING at!), and how she definitely wanted to begin chiropractic care once she got home. This made my world!! I know that Nick does this for his profession, and that he does this every single day…but to know what my mother has gone through my whole life (and my dad even was talking about events with her back from when they first got married…) and that she feels HOPE for the first time; hope that she’ll be able to become more active, hope that she’ll be able to chase after her grandkids someday and even just pick them UP, hope that she’s not going to have to feel this way, or WORSE, for the rest of her life! Hearing her talk this way made me SO proud. I was so proud of HER for doing something that was so outside of her comfort zone, something that she was so afraid of. I was so proud of Nick because not only did he show her WHY her back has been this way (which no one ever gave her THAT answer), but made her feel safe and comforted, and unlike some of the chiropractors back home (which have scared her away from chiropractic from stories she has heard), really got her excited about what chiropractic could do for her to be the healthiest person she can be!

It was such a beautiful weekend…I feel SO grateful for these amazing people in my life :) Have a beautiful day!