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18 months old and 18 lbs

by Shelley Quinlan

Every year we look forward to having a booth at the wonderful fredkid Fair, so that we can communicate to as many families as we can the benefits of chiropractic for kids. At first, many parents are surprised to hear that we adjust lots of kids at our clinic. But kids have spines and nervous systems just like adults do, right?

Here’s a wonderful story written by my colleague Dr. Jason Fortier about the tremendous impact chiropractic has had on one precious little girls life in just a short period of time. Enjoy!

(PS – stop in to see us at the fredkid Fair on Saturday May 5 from 9-4)

18 months old and 18 lbs: Kaelyn's Chiropractic Story written by:
Dr. Jason Fortier

No sympathetic human being can stand to see a child suffer. Parents that are caring for an unhealthy child can often feel helpless and guilty (even when it's not the parent's fault) and that is a deep burden on the whole family. When your child is sick, Medical care can be life saving in a crisis situation, but what happens when that same Medical system steps beyond crisis care and tries to intervene in Chronic illness cases with drugs and surgery before exhausting all the safe and natural 'alternatives' that are a more rational 1st step? I believe it's ironic that 'alternative' care (such as Chiropractic, Naturopathy, etc) is the last hope or option for many when it's clearly the safest place to start with non-emergency health concerns. Drugs and surgery should be the alternative and last resort in such cases if we follow the oath which many health care professionals swear to: first, do no harm.

Here's an amazing story about one of my patients - little Miss Kaelyn. Kaelyn's mother contacted me in March of this year, she wrote:

My daughter has been suffering from chronic constipation for over a year now. I've seen a Naturopath, a massage therapist and a pediatrician all of whom provided some help or temporary relief but Kaelyn continues to suffer from cronic constipation. The massage therapist I saw did say she was really tight along the spine. Can you help her??? She is now 18mths and I'm so tired of watching her suffer:( She vomits when she has a bowel movement and she has yet to go over 18lbs...She is small but I need help!
Thanks in advance,
Elizabeth

Now before you think this is a story about how other health professions failed, think again. This is a story about how Chiropractic should be high on the list of safe and effective options to improve overall health. Chiropractic doesn't claim to cure diseases, but rather Chiropractic improves the body's own ability to heal and regulate. For more information on Chiropractic check out our clinic's website: www.frederictonfamilychiropractic.ca

When I first met Kaelyn, although she was as sweet and as cute as could be, I knew that she was very unhealthy. She was very pale and very skinny and just lacked that 'fire' that a healthy 18 month old should have, although I could see a 'spark' in her eyes. I knew she was a survivor. When I assessed her spine and nervous system I was shocked to feel how poorly her spine was functioning - it literally felt like the spine of a geriatric patient, a very stiff and immobile spine with very rigid musculature. I knew right then that I could help improve the quality of this young girl's life. I started gently adjusting her (Chiropractic technique - see website for details) 4 days per week for 3 weeks (which is much more frequent than I would adjust a relatively healthy child) because I knew how poorly her spine and nervous system were functioning. Kaelyn stared to improve immediately!

Before starting Chiropractic care Kaelyn had seen a number of specialists and professions, and had been on loads of laxatives to help this young girl do what most kids and their parents take for granted - eat and poop! Nothing was helping her thrive! After her first adjustment Elizabeth contacted me that night and told me that Kaelyn was doing amazingly well - like a completely different child, she was happy and full of life! Since that first adjustment, there were some up and downs along the way, which is normal. The more I learn about the human body the more I realize that short term health improvements are rarely linear (they rarely improve consistently over the course of time). If we look more long-term, in Kaelyn's case - 1 month later - she is doing amazingly well! Her appetite was better, her GI tract started to functioning well, she started gaining weight and she was a happy girl!

Her parents wrote me a few weeks after starting care:

The weekend started off rough with Kaelyn being awake with belly pains most of Friday night into Saturday. Saturday after a suppository she had a huge poop!!! But today, today she pooped all by herself!!!!! It was the first time she's done that in over a year!!!! Limited crying, no vomiting, no holding her while she screamed! We are so happy:) We all clapped at her afterwards and she was so proud:) She's been eating like a champ which is also making us feel great about her starting to finally gain weight.

A few weeks later they wrote:

...a big thank you for giving me my daughter back!!! It's so nice to see her happy and laughing, it's priceless to both Eric and I and for that we are eternally grateful:)

An amazing story, right? The question that you might be asking yourself is: how does a child get so sick and have such a poorly functioning spine and nervous system? The short answer is that there was an accidental chemical stress to her body while she was in the womb, which was very unfortunate and was through no fault of the parents. That is a story in itself and you can click here for Kaelyn's mother's account of that experience. The great news is that Kaelyn has been given the gift of being a normal child. Her parents joke and say that I ‘over-fixed her’, because now she is so happy, energetic and functioning so well that they (the parents) can’t keep up with her!

I just want to end by saying that: Chiropractic is safe, gentle, scientific health care for kids and parents alike at all levels of health - just ask our patients. Chiropractic adjustments improve and maintain wellness and quality of life for so many people. So, when's your next adjustment?

The New Year Starts Today

by Shelley Quinlan

We are only weeks away from 2012 and I have a feeling that this will be a year to remember for those who are committed to making lifestyle changes when it comes to the food we eat, the amount of exercise we perform, the stress relief activities that we engage in, and the allocation of time for self-reflection. The reason I have decided to compose this blog post for all of you today is because the NEW YEAR starts RIGHT NOW! What I often find is that people tell themselves they are going to begin a “diet” in the New Year, start working out in the New Year, become more conscious with their family in the New Year, create a business in the New Year, seek help for an addiction or disorder in the New Year, and the list goes on and on. I am sure that every single person who is reading this blog post can relate with the concept of making a change in the New Year that never actually takes place. The result is just another year of unfulfilled goals, debilitated dreams, and a person who is no different this year than the last. But if you are truly committed, and your WHY is more substantial than your HOW, then the time is here to start the New Year Resolution process.

As a culture, we often put things off until “tomorrow” because just the thought of taking action on something that happens to be plaguing our existence is a task that we would rather address at a later date. The problem which arises is that “tomorrow” never comes because we consistently tell ourselves that we will start the process on the tomorrow after tomorrow. What you must realize is that once you think about something that needs to change, there is NO BETTER TIME to begin the implementation method then at that point. This is the same for your New Year Resolutions because we feel the pressure to proclaim what we are going to do differently this year once the clock strikes midnight, only to awake the next morning without the insatiable desire which is necessary to have a change like this take place. I do not believe that this is a universal dilemma, but I do believe that it is as close as you can possibly get to negatively impacting the lives of everyone. Whether the tasks we need to accomplish are petty and mundane, or the goals that we set are critical to the way we live our lives, ACTION must be taken, rather than PROCRASTINATION, to affect a change.

These next few weeks will provide you with a foundation to grow from during 2012 and beyond. If you doubt this strategy, or you do not intend on following it because you believe that “this year will be different,” I encourage you to answer this question…

HOW COULD IT HURT TO START THE PROCESS EARLY?

If what you have done in the past has not provided you with the results you were looking to accomplish, then it is time to change what you do in the present so that your future will be drastically different. My goal with this blog post, like all blog posts, is to educate, inspire, and then compel you to take action so that your life can transform into what you have always desired for it to be. We have seen amazing changes take place at our practice when it comes to the health of each individual that we work with because we become your accountability partner and CHANGE is the only byproduct that we will accept. Therefore, maybe your resolutions have to do with your relationships, your lack of diet or exercise, the amount of time you spend with your children, breaking a disorder or addiction, starting a business, writing book, etc.; regardless of what they are, I want you to understand the NEW YEAR STARTS RIGHT NOW!

Therefore, I would like to wish you a HAPPY RIGHT NOW NEW YEAR!