Dear Doctor,
I received an email from Dr. Jeff Ptak of Los Angeles CA, a dedicated
chiropractor who serves the profession world-wide by forwarding pertinent
information to his network, connecting patients and doctors, and spreading
relevant messages of news, inspiration and the chiropractic lifestyle.
His recent posting was disturbing in that it points out a frailty so many of us
suffer, with distressing consequences. It seems that a colleague, Dr. Mark
Davis, had a family bring their sick child to him, and the response was dramatic
and profound. The family was traveling a distance to get there, didn’t have much
in the way of financial resources, and though he examined them and offered them
a hardship rate for them to all begin care, their pride made them unwilling to
accept, and they brought their kid in for months to get well, while they didn’t
get chiropractic care for themselves.
Yes, he did tell the story … yes, he did scan them with a subluxation station
and make a full report to them … yes, he did offer them a reasonable deal to get
under care. But once those plays were made, he resigned himself to caring for
the child only, who did remarkably well, a real chiropractic miracle.
But this anecdote doesn’t have the happy ending you’d expect. The family
relocated, Dr. Davis found them a chiropractor in their new neighborhood, and
wouldn’t you know it, shortly thereafter the mother experienced some back pain,
and came in to start care. Doing his due diligence, the DC noticed some clinical
signs that didn’t look right, and the diagnosis – lymphoma. This lady probably
had this condition developing throughout the time that she was bringing her son
to Mark’s office, and while it is unknown if properly applied chiropractic care
may have had a positive impact, what do you think?
It’s not like Dr. Davis was negligent in any way, nor would his approach be
regarded by any outside observer as anything but ethical, appropriate, and
thorough – but by his own admission, he stopped short of the goal line, and the
outcome wasn’t good, often the case when we don’t follow through.
I don’t expect you to hit people over the head with our philosophy, but
subluxation often has no symptoms, like a heart problem or diabetes, until there
is serious disease. Open your mouth and tell people what they need to know –
with rapport and respect, with diplomacy and love, with resiliency and tact and
gentleness and certainty, but please, I’m begging you, tell them over and over.
You can’t force someone to begin care, but you can be a consistent, congruent,
patient and passionate advocate, and based on your efforts, maybe a few more
families won’t lose their mom prematurely.
Is it your responsibility to coerce everyone who comes in your door to become a
patient? No, but you know and understand something that most people do not, and
the uncomfortable reality is, it may well be killing them. Please remember that
when you’re deciding whether or not to take one more try at educating a family
that may be a bit resistant. Get and keep a good connection with those you touch
and serve, and speak your truth, as elegantly as possible, but say what has to
be said, because people’s lives literally depend on it. If you can’t, who can?
If you don’t, who will?
Dr. Dennis Perman, for The Masters Circle
PS Last chance to catch Michael Gerber presenting the finer points of business
and prosperity for chiropractors – if you want to get to the next level and you
could use some help, please join us in Chicago, June 6-7, for “Solving the
Puzzle of Profitability,” which includes special information on designing and
building a chiropractic wellness business -- you can accelerate your success,
ethically and honestly! For info or to register, please call 800-451-4514 or go
to www.themasterscircle.com.
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