Navy SEAL to Physical Therapist to Chiropractor

My first exposure to holistic health was during my childhood. My mother taught me that to be healthy, your spiritual and mental well being were the best prevention against sickness. A strong mind produces a strong body. As a result, I was a healthy child who never required medications or antibiotics. I know that this early influence was a strong reason for my decision to become a chiropractor later on in life.

After high school, however, my desire to pursue a career as a diver took me in a different direction. That desire lead me to join the Navy. This allowed me the opportunity to become a member of the Navy’s elite special warfare unit, SEAL TEAM. One of the most important things I learned as a Navy SEAL was the power of a disciplined and determined mind. If the body wanted to work but the mind didn’t, you would not be successful. But if the mind was focused and determined, it was amazing to see what one could accomplish. This philosophy helped me to endure and overcome many challenges both physically and mentally including one of the most challenging situations of my life. During a training mission, while flying over the Gulf of Mexico, a cable inside the aircraft broke and hit me across the face resulting in severe damage to my right eye. After one month in the hospital, three surgeries and permanent blindness to the right eye, I was left contemplating a career move. I knew that the health and fitness field was the direction in which I wanted to go and I started assessing my options. Exercise and training was a way of life for me and I wanted to help others realize the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. I enrolled at Temple University to get my degree in physical therapy. I thoroughly enjoyed the learning environment and I graduated Magnum Cum Laude in 1987. I worked as physical therapist for the next four years in both hospital and private practice settings.

During my time as a therapist I began to notice an interesting correlation between “hands-on” care and patient response to treatment. Patients responded better when manual therapies were applied such as joint mobilizations, soft tissue mobilizations (therapeutic massage) and myofascial work. At this point I could see the benefits of working with the spine with regards to the patients overall health and well-being. A good friend who is a chiropractor encouraged me to pursue a career in the chiropractic profession. During chiropractic college I finally learned the true philosophy of the chiropractic profession. It was an exciting time for me because it confirmed the true meaning of health and well-being. Chiropractic teaches that health and well-being are the normal state of the body and, when allowed, the body will always strive to maintain this state. With proper care the body can easily perform this task. But if there is interference in the body, if there is a break down in body communication, coordination and functioning, then the result is DIS-EASE or lack of ease in the body. Sickness and ill-health are the result. Disease is a sign/symptom of this interference. To attack the signs or symptoms will not get to the root of the problem. This concept is the opposite from conventional healthcare. Traditional thinking in healthcare relies on the belief that what is required to “control” a disease is to control or eliminate the signs and symptoms. Get rid of the signs and symptoms and the disease will be “gone”. Let’s take a fever for example. Conventional healthcare views a fever as a dysfunction of the body and endeavors to “control” it through drugs and medications. But from a holistic point of view, the fever is viewed as a properly coordinated function of the body. The fever, due to the increase in temperature in the body, creates a hostile environment for the “bug” to live and survive. This means the organism is not as strong in your body, rendering it less effective. The increase in temperature also increases the number and activity of immune system cells. This is like increasing the number of soldiers in your army and also makes them more active to seek and destroy the invading “bug”.

One of my biggest goals is to teach people about health and healthcare misconceptions. The dictionary says that health is a condition in which all functions of the body and mind are normally active. It is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and or infirmity.

There is more to health than just “feeling good”. My goal is to help educate people who are interested in and want to take responsibility for their health care needs. My goal is to help remove any interference in the body that that would hinder anyone from realizing their full health potential.