Two Different Stories. One Very Different Chiropractic Office.

It Was a Chiropractor Who Got Her Back to Her Life

"The medical field kind of wrote me off."

When I was in ninth grade, I broke my neck snowboarding.

I did all the sports. Soccer and gymnastics when I was really young. Basketball, volleyball, track, football — American football — and water polo in high school.

I was doing two to three hours a day just because that's who I was.

The medical field kind of wrote me off. It was a chiropractor who helped me get back to my life.

She was a female chiropractor. Her name is Dr. Christy. She was my mom's chiropractor.

I kind of wanted to be a chiropractor after that. Back in ninth grade. But throughout my years I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do.

So I ended up going to nursing school. While I was in nursing school, I also worked as a chiropractic assistant for multiple chiropractors. I became a nurse and worked in a small town hospital. Got to see a lot of different things. I fell in love with being in the room when babies were born. I knew I wanted to serve moms and newborns.

Twenty Students Per School. Eighty in the Country.

"I didn't have a 4.0. That's what it took."

So I applied to become a midwife.

In Canada, midwifery is incredibly competitive. They take about twenty students a year per school. There are about eighty spots in the entire country. I'd already been through nursing school and I didn't have a 4.0 GPA. That's what it took.

I didn't get in.

I was really disappointed and sad.

He Could See I Was Upset

"Oh, don't be upset. You're going to be a chiropractor anyway."

I was working at Dr. Christy's front desk. I remember it was a Saturday morning. I used to work the Saturday shift. Her husband came in. He could see I was upset.

He looked at me and said: "Oh, don't be upset. You're going to be a chiropractor anyway."

I was like — you know what, he's right. I can be a chiropractor and I can still see pregnant women and babies. Just on a different side.

I'd worked as a chiropractic assistant for multiple chiropractors while I was in nursing school, so the world wasn't new to me. But that conversation was the moment it clicked.

I left Canada and went to Life Chiropractic College West in Hayward, California. I graduated in March 2020. During school I met my husband and became President of the Pediatric Club.

The mission trips changed me.

Before I went to chiropractic school, Dr. Christy had gone on a mission to Uganda with the same doctor who runs the mission program. When he came back, he told my mom: "The best thing you can do for your daughter is help her get on one of these trips. She's going to get her hands on so many people and be able to help and serve." Dr. Christy told me the same thing — that I would learn more on a mission trip than I would in three years of school.

They were right.

I went to Ghana first. A lot more people spoke English there compared to India. The people trusted us before we even arrived. They were already waiting outside the gates before we even drove in the first day. They didn't care as much about the explanation — they just wanted help. It was really good for us to learn how to communicate on a third-grade level about people's health. That's the most important thing.

That lesson stuck with me. I still communicate that way with every patient — simple, clear, no jargon.

Educating the patient is super important, no matter what age. If you can't explain it so someone understands, you haven't done your job.

Then I went to India. We had our own translator with each doctor. They were either medical students or people who had been on the mission before and knew what was happening. I could explain things in English so they understood how to translate it. Long days of teaching, learning, and adjusting people who had never experienced chiropractic care.

Does This Feel Tight to You?

"I bring awareness to their body so they can feel what I'm feeling."

I don't just see a back. I see a person. I look at the body as a whole — muscles, ligaments, not just the joint. You can adjust something as many times as you want, but if you're not figuring out what's actually causing the problem, you're doing a disservice to that patient. And if I can't help you, I need to send you to someone who can.

I talk a lot during first visits. I explain absolutely everything I'm doing. Before I do anything, I'll say, hey, I'm going to touch your hips here. And then I touch. I'll say, does this feel tight to you? And I bring awareness to their body so they can feel what I'm feeling. People are in a vulnerable state when they're laying face down on a table and they don't know what's happening. So I make them participate in the appointment rather than just lay down and let me do my job.

I Don't Know If It Was What You Did, But He Slept Through the Night

"He just recently brought the baby in on his own without mom."

I had a dad once — first-time parent, skeptical. His wife was the one who wanted to bring the baby in because he was having colic. They were exhausted. You can usually tell how comfortable people are based on how much they hover, how close they stand. For that dad, I said — why don't you lay on the table and let me put baby on top of you, tummy to tummy. He felt more a part of the process that way.

He came back the next visit and said, well, I don't know if it was what you did, but he slept through the night. He was still skeptical for a while. But he just recently brought the baby in on his own without mom. He was like, hey, can you see him? He's spitting up again.

I love those patients. The ones who aren't sure at first and then just kind of come around.

I'm a mom. I've felt what chiropractic does during pregnancy and labor in my own body. That changes everything about how I care for the moms who come through our door.

From Serving on a Mission to Representing Her Country

"January 15, 2010. The day after my eighteenth birthday."

Before chiropractic school, I went on my very first mission trip to Uganda. When I got back and checked my email, there was a notification — I'd been approved to be an Olympic torch bearer.

Back in high school there had been a challenge online where you logged your active minutes. I was playing so many sports I was doing two to three hours a day without even trying. When you apply, you don't really know where you're going to be or what day. They try to get you close to home. I had three days to get all my paperwork in because I obviously wasn't checking email while I was in Uganda.

January 15, 2010. The day after my eighteenth birthday. I carried the Olympic torch for the Vancouver Games.

My dad is an avid runner. I went running with him to prepare because I had no idea how long I'd have to carry it or how far I'd go. The torch weighs about fifteen pounds. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

I went from serving on a mission trip to representing my country — just by being active and doing the stuff I loved.

Most people don't know I'm Canadian. Both of my parents are twins — I always throw that out as an icebreaker. And when we found out about our surprise baby, we definitely thought it was going to be twins. Just as a cruel little joke — going from three to five kids. Thankfully just one little firecracker.

Couches. A Dining Room Table. No Posters.

"You can talk to people and they'll understand a lot more."

My first office — Life Within Chiropractic — I catered towards moms and families. I had couches. I had a dining room table that I'd sit at with patients for their first appointment. One big open space so moms could see their kids playing while they got adjusted. That comfort vibe. When we took over this office, I really wanted to keep that going. Nice comfortable chairs. No stiff waiting room chairs. No posters on the walls that nobody reads. You can talk to people and they'll understand a lot more than reading off a poster.

When I'm not adjusting, I'm playing softball, rock climbing, running, or at my kids' sports. I was a super athletic kid and now I get to be on the other side as the parent watching them grow and learn and develop. That's how I recharge.