My rude awakening - follow-up

Last summer I posted the blog "My rude awakening". I decided to post a follow-up blog, just as an update.

In December, Christmas Eve specifically, the pain I described in the aforementioned blog became a common occurance. Over the Christmas break I lost three complete days at the mercy of this pain. I decided to visit a new chiropractor on the recommendation of a friend. She said he would do the initial exam free of charge and gave me one of her appointment cards with his information. I called at about 8:00 a.m. and was able to get in at about 9:30 a.m. that day. I desperately needed the quick service because I was in a great deal of pain.

The exam included physical observation of how my body moves and bends, x-rays and a nerve test. I had never had a nerve test but this was the greatest tool for me to see and understand how my spine being misaligned was really affecting my body. I was able to see on paper how much my nerves were being impacted, and it wasn't good. He did not want to give me an adjustment that day until he had a chance to look over the x-rays and analyze the nerve test. I went home frustrated, but grateful that he wanted to make sure that he would not give me any further damage, and he didn't want me to waste money by starting treatment without being able to afford continuing.

I started trying to figure out how to pay for the treatment and determined the best way would be to make a hardship withdrawl from my 401(k). During this time Dr. Peterson called to follow-up with me and find out how I was doing. He wrote a letter to help me get the withdrawl and even looked at my insurance provider list to see if there was a provider that he could recommend that might save me some money. In the end, we would only save about $200 by going to a provider because he gives a 20% discount if you pay for the entire recommended treatment upfront. Since I had the withdrawl money it was the best option for me anyway. We felt that the service he had already given me was worth the extra money we would spend, rather than going to a new doctor and having to do the intake process all over.

Since then I have had a re-examination. He said I am 40% better and I we decreased my visit frequency. I can feel the difference in the strength of my spine and actually find my posture better naturally, especially right after an adjustment. I can tell that it is time to go back because today I realized I was starting to slouch again. The exercises I received to help strengthen the muscles also really help.

Now...we just need to figure out how to afford to get Steve going on a regular basis as well!