"I Dare You to Move"

This journey started a while ago. I guess you could say that it started back when I was playing baseball. I had been pitching for many years, and the art of pitching put a large strain on my body. The fundamentals needed put a significant amount of that strain on my back. It is a repetitive motion with no room for error or tweaking to shift the pain. As I would release from the middle of my wind up, a sharp pain would shoot through my back and would interfere with the delivery of the ball to the plate. It would also hinder my ability to last in later innings. This was a problem if I were to continue. My mom suggested I see her chiropractor who happened to be my best friends' dad at the time. He was able to work with me to help the pain subside without changing my windup or delivery. This was all done through chiropractic adjustments and specific stretches to increase my muscles to support my back in the needed motions of pitching. This was a problem on and off the field. Shortly after I stopped playing baseball (and stopped my chiropractic visits) my pain came back. My wife Liz had countless opportunities to watch as my back would seize up without notice and I would fall to my knees. Also, my diaphragm would flex expelling all my air for a few moments. I would have to slowly stretch out and wait for the muscles to loosen up so I could walk and stand upright again.

This is what has driven me to want to come to Palmer College of Chiropractic. I started out looking at the requirements to attend such a school and they looked hefty. At that time I only had a few junior college credits, and didn't have such a direction in a career. I quickly decided that the schooling just to get there was too hard and not meant for me. As time went on and I got married, I realized I needed to settle down and pick something, but pick something I loved and wanted to do and that would provide both monetary means and time with my family.

Liz had the opportunity to work for a chiropractor in Utah, and I had expressed to him that I once looked into being a chiropractor, but got scared away by the schooling and prospects of success in the career. He explained as long as I was driven to complete it I would get through the school and success would come with work put into the business. This motivated me to look into attending a chiropractic school once again. I was currently attending UVSC and noticed that many chiropractic schools had dates to come a give presentations at the school. So my friend Marc and I attended these, and I knew from the beginning of the meeting with Palmer College of Chiropractic that this was the school I wanted to attend. The philosophy and fundamentals were aligned with what I wanted to do. The fact that they are known as the "Harvard" of chiropractic schools didn't harm my decision either. I figured if I was going to do this I might as well go to the best school. I found out what I had to do and the prerequisites needed to enter the program. Both Liz and I prayed and felt this was the right decision. So we packed up and moved to "nowhere" Davenport Iowa, the birth place of chiropractic. I can remember as we rolled into town and saw our "site unseen" apartment. We both questioned what we had done, but as time has gone on we have been reassured time and time again that this was the right choice.

So, I started my journey of the prerequisites: 2biology classes, 2 chemistry classes, 2 organic chemistry classes and 2 physics classes along with another 36 credits of bachelors classes at Palmer.

I now have completed my Bachelors of Science degree and am preparing to start grad school. This is a funny thought if you knew me in high school. I couldn't care less about my grades in high school. This is obvious if you look at my graduating accumulative GPA of 1.95( I didn't even have a 2.0 is that even possible?) All I cared about was sports, music, and other stupid stuff. It's funny what joining the church, getting married, and making new friends will do to you(it has changed my life 180 degrees).

And now the time has come. So many hours of study, and so many stressful nights before exams and to think the hard stuff hasn't even begun, I can only sit back and laugh. I've been told that this school will be the hardest thing I have ever done, but in the end will have a great reward. Considering the first year and half mimics med. school minus the pharmacology classes, and each trimester will be an average of 30 credits and 9 to 10 classes compared to my usual 15 credits is hard to swallow also. I am sure if Liz is by my side, and I do the things that I am supposed to, mentally, physically, and spiritually, I will make it through and enjoy the time spent here.

I decided to create this blog because I wanted to document my journey through Chiropractic school, and considering my handwriting looks like a 3rd grader and I can't even read it, I figured I better type, and what better way then by blogging. So this blog is my experiences and knowledge gained of the miracle of chiropractic as I excel, stumble, fall and pick myself back up again through Palmer College of Chiropractic. Here's to the future.....

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."
-- Lance Armstrong