Two Stories of Healing If you have been reading the local news or know me or my family then you know about my daughter Lexi. Lexi was born normal but suffered a brain injury due to newborn jaundice that was never tested or treated. We have studied and explored countless traditional and alternative modes of treatment over the past seven years. Some have helped; many were dead ends. This past week Lexi had her first of two surgeries that we hope will have an impact on her physical abilities. Brain surgery is a very invasive and dangerous path. We have spent countless hours and much money to improve Lexi’s life and at this point we feel that not doing anything would be worse than the risks of this procedure that has not been well documented for children let alone a person with her specific condition. The outcome looks very good on paper but no one really knows how much improvement is possible. Whether this procedure doesn’t help or helps a lot, we won’t stop looking for ways to improve Lexi’s function and we will explore every option to its fullest. We are people who never give up. Our pursuit for Lexi’s best therapeutic options has made me think a lot about my own patients. Who improves and who doesn’t? I have a patient who is an assistant for another doctor who practices similar techniques as I. She comes to me because I do chiropractic and am much closer to home. On a recent visit she told me that her doctor had seen one of my old patients and he said I hadn’t helped him. This is always disturbing when I hear that someone didn’t get better. I always want to go back and see what happened. I looked up this person’s file and found that he never actually had any treatment. He had some pretty serious problems. He came in for examination, heard my recommendations and purchased one of the five nutrients that I prescribed. I had also recommended structural, detox and allergy elimination treatments. I never saw or heard from him again. In Lexi’s case, that would be akin to us getting through Lexi’s surgery but never turning on the stimulators that the surgeon implanted. How can one say that a procedure or technique wasn’t helpful if they didn’t follow through with the treatment? In Lexi’s case and this patient’s case and most of my patient’s cases, simply showing up for appointments isn’t good enough. Most of my patients come to me when other interventions haven’t worked. In other words, they have problems for which there is not an easy or immediate answer. In general, as I analyze my past patients I realize that those who come to see me and don’t follow through with recommendations or follow all of the necessary lifestyle changes get poor or no results. Others follow my recommendations meticulously and get everything from marginal to miraculous results. Sometimes I am the answer and sometimes part of the answer and maybe even sometimes not the answer, but unless you meticulously follow through with your treatment plan, you will never know if what I have to offer works for your particular situation or not. Until the magic wand is perfected you have to do what is necessary given the current technology if you want the outcome you desire. For those of you still seeking the right path to healing, keep in mind this quote. It has helped guide our family as we relentlessly pursue Lexi’s best treatments: “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” Mahatma Gandhi. Thank you so much for all of your thoughts, prayers and notes as we work through our latest path with Lexi. They have meant a lot to my family. I look forward to helping you on your healing path as well.