This whole last trimester and the curent one I'm in now I have had the absolute amazing experience to work in the Moline, IL Palmer Clinic. I work with 4 other interns under our Staff or Attending Doctor Brown. She is awesome! She is a caring doctor who does her best for the patients and the interns. I have had the opportunity to see a myriad of cases. This outpatient/community clinic is very different then the student clinic I worked in 2 Trimesters ago. These people have real issues ranging from minor to sever and they want our help. Thus far I have had such a range of experiences and emotions while serving these people. I think most people think that as chiropractors all I see is back pain or neck pain...they couldn't be more wrong. In fact when I'm helping a patient one of the last things I will ask them is how their back or neck is. Chiropractic is a full body approach and we are not back or neck doctors we are nervous system doctors. And because of that we deal with a variety of issues some such as severe neurological issues as well. Recently I have been treating a young man with many problems although he has not been diagnosed with autism but for an easier way to write and communicate his condition I will state he has many symptoms of this. He does not talk and communication is almost difficult at times he also has had some trouble walking and has been known to "scoot" an awkward kneeling scooting motion to get around. He has been under chiropractic care for many years but I have been seeing him for about 5 months. During his last appointment his care taker told me that he had not been scooting since we last saw him a week ago. This is a remarkable improvement in this young mans life and I'm so happy to first have the chance to witness it and second to see chiropractic work in such an awesome way. I have another patient with "foot drop" her foot as she raises her leg drops instead of flexing and creating a normal step. This is due to a herniated lumbar disc. In the past 3 months of care her foot drop has diminished by 65% and continues to get better. Understand her option was chiropractic care or a very invasive back surgery with a small success percent. As I look forward to the end of my Palmer education in June most of the time all I can do is look back and be thankful for getting through it and all the help I had from many people. Recently I had a 9 month old baby come in and was suffering from a sever case of gastroesophageal reflux her mother was worried she would have to stop breast feeding and that her child would not get the proper nutrition. With two adjustments within 3 days the child stopped having the reflux and to top it off (no pun intended) her cradle cap also diminished. Its times like these and many more when I'm able to be so ecstatic to do what I do. I'm thankful to have been led into such a profession to see people get better and to offer a choice in their health. Some of my favorite lyrics are "There's a fire starting in my heart, reaching a fevered pitch and it's bringing me out of the dark" This really describes the way I feel when working in the clinic and taking care of patients. The dark is the Medical world I once put all my faith in as many do. And hoping I can teach my patients the truth about the dark they live in as well. Im hopeful for lots more learning opportunities soon to come as I continue to serve these patients.

KOSAMA

Since starting school and such a demanding school over the past 3 to 4 years it has been hard to stay in shape and in fact I had totally lost it for a while there. But as the time here ends and I have a bit more time on my hands and a lot more motivation I have decided to get back in shape and change my lifestyle. And to help me do that I joined a very special kind of gym called KOSAMA "Complete Body Transformation". I randomlly discovered this gym by noticing a new building along my daily route. I went home and looked it up and loved what I saw. KOSAMA is a 8 week 6 day a week one hour a day of grueling non-stop exercise course. Each day of the week is different there is Plyometrics, Upperbody, Kickboxing, Kettlebells, Lowerbody and Yoga and soon to come Circuit workouts. Mon-Sat I'm at 4:00am and at the gym by 4:45am to stretch and warm up for what is some of the hardest workouts I have ever done. Some might think an hour isn't so bad but all we get are 10 second breaks after 3 or 4 exercises. We have 5 coaches one up front and 4 walking around making sure you are pushing yourself and staying safe. It is similar to a boot camp work out. But all the coaches are very encouraging and fun to be around. In the first 10 minutes im already drenched and wondering why I'm doing this but as the time goes on I start to love it. It takes everything I have both mentally and physically to make it through each day but afterwards im pumped and excited and have so much more energy. I have completed one week and am starting on my second week the workouts are getting even harder and longer without breaks. Its my goal to use KOSAMA as a boost in the right direction and who knows maybe even continue after 8 weeks.
Also funny thing after checking out what it was I discovered it was created by a Palmer Graduate...so cool.
If you get a chance check out your local KOSAMA Gym and see if you can Handle it..................