My path to becoming a chiropractor is not one that is very direct. I was introduced to chiropractic by my mother who worked for a chiropractor as an x-ray tech. I was 10 years old when I received my first adjustment. I suffered from headaches that would cause me to stop everything and would only find relief from aspirin and sleep. My mother shared with her boss what was happening to me and I entered the world of chiropractic as a patient. I really didn’t know what was going on nor understand why I had to come back for repeat care, but my headaches diminished and that was all that mattered to me.
This was not the defining moment in my life that caused me to pursue a career in chiropractic. I had decided to enter the family business and acquired enough credits to go to mortuary school and become a funeral director. I went to mortuary school in Chicago and the entire time I was there I knew it was not what I was going to do for the rest of my life, I just didn’t know what that was going to be.
After graduation, I returned home and worked with my father as a funeral director, later taking a position with a larger funeral home. It was during this time I knew I was not meant to be a funeral director. My personality did not fit the mold of being in the funeral business. I knew I enjoyed helping people but wanted to do more than help them through their time of grief. Back to school I went!
I re-entered school as a pre-med major and was excited about the future until one day during biology lab my laboratory teaching assistant burst my bubble of becoming a medical doctor by telling me she couldn’t see me as a medical doctor. It was her next comment that caused the spark that pointed me toward the path of becoming a chiropractor. She told me she could see me as a chiropractor. After thinking about it I decided it was the career path for me.
I completed my chiropractic education in1996, graduating from Cleveland College of Chiropractic and headed back to my home town in South Dakota to begin my career. I worked with an office that was very much like our offices here at Total Health Systems of Macomb County.
I moved to Michigan in 2007 with my son and since moving to here I have had the opportunity to work for two other offices before starting with Total Health Systems. Joining the team at Total Health Systems renewed my love of chiropractic. My first day felt like I was home and I could not imagine working with a greater group of health care providers. I do not have that one patient success story to share that sticks out as a defining moment in my career. There are too many to mention, but all of them make being a chiropractor very rewarding.
