- Maci’s mom
“When Maci was 7.5 months old, she had a tumor removed from the right side of her brain that ended up affecting the left side of her body. It caused a lot of asymmetries in her muscles and her left foot turned in a lot. Before starting care at CLC, Maci was struggling with coordination, strength, and alignment. It seemed like her body was working really hard to do simple things like walking.
Before starting our journey at CLC, Maci was working hard at OT and PT. She was definitely getting stronger, and we were noticing progress. At the same time, I realized this is just the way Maci is now, and I wanted to do everything in my power to help her excel and reach her full potential. Chiropractic was one of the things we hadn’t tried yet.
The scans that you did at CLC were nothing like we’d ever seen before. Everything that I was telling you, was showing up on those scans. We could actually SEE the asymmetries in how Maci’s energy was distributed throughout her body. We could see how EXHAUSTED one side of her body was. We’d seen the tumor, we’d seen the MRIs, but I’d never seen a map of how her body was actually FUNCTIONING before.
Within the first few months of care, we were already noticing BIG changes. For the first time, Maci could jump with her feet together!! Before, it was always like a gallop. She couldn’t coordinate both her feet moving together at the same time. Her right foot would lead and her left would always lag behind. That was HUGE and something we were all super excited about.
The improvements didn’t stop there. After almost a year of being under care, we are continuing to see progress in how Maci can coordinate movements between the left and right side of her body.
We were recently at the Apple orchard, and Maci was running towards me with her feet so much more aligned, her body wasn’t completely kinked and rigid. It made me think back to a video we have of Maci running at the orchard at the same time last year before starting care, and her left foot was just so turned in. I’m just so excited to see how much more CONFIDENT and AWARE of her body she is becoming!
I started coming recently as well and have realized how much better my body feels, it made me think – it can only be working so awesome for her body too!!”
- Tristan’s mom
“We originally started care at CLC for my son Tristan. Tristan suffered a traumatic brain injury at 10 weeks of age. He has cerebral palsy, cortical visual impairment (legally blind), seizure disorder, spastic quadriplegia, hip dysplasia, and was experiencing chronic constipation. He was so incredibly tight and only having bowel movements every 3 days. We also decided to start my son Armando who is on the autism spectrum and has a moderate intellectual disability. With the autism diagnosis came increasing behaviors and aggression because of his frustration from his sensory issues. I decided to jump on board too and start care as I’ve had back issues for a long time and was getting ready to begin PT again.
Since starting care we have reached many milestones! Tristian is now having MULTIPLE bowel movements a DAY which is amazing!! He is also vocalizing more and just appears happier! At his last neurology appointment, Tristan was able to detect LIGHT for the FIRST TIME EVER!! Since a month before school let out this year, Armando has not had to use his meds for his aggression!! We have also recently cut one of his other meds in half for the summer. Armando is very excited to come get adjusted regularly and he loves Dr. Mike! You can find him relaxing in room 3 the minute we are told we can go in! SO relaxed that he fell asleep one day! For me, my back pain is less and I’m just feeling pretty good overall! It feels wonderful to be getting adjusted on a regular basis!
The entire team at Congruent Life Chiropractic are amazing. We truly feel like family. Dr. Mike is amazing with the boys and he takes time to talk to them and have conversations with them. The whole team is amazing with the boys and answers Armando’s never ending line of questions! Dr. Mike does give me a little grief about my Lularoe addiction, but I suppose I deserve that. We are blessed to be a part of the Congruent Life family and thank God for connecting me with Jen who told me about this amazing place!”
- Cody
“Our son Cody, at almost 10 years old, has faced more hurdles than most people do in a lifetime. We thought he was a healthy thriving baby until he seized in my arms for the first time at 8 weeks old. We saw a specialist immediately and he was admitted on continuous EEG monitoring. Our tiny, innocent baby was pumped full of medications to try and halt these episodes. Almost immediately he quit having obvious seizures but his EEG was showing non convulsive status. Meaning his brain was seizing non-stop but we couldn’t clinically see it. He became so sedated that he didn’t wake to eat and was put through a multitude of tests, lumbar punctures and brain scans. He was moved to intensive care and placed in a medically induced coma in hopes of resetting his seizing brain while more meds were added. Each time they tried to wean him from the coma the seizures returned. It was a devastating bleak situation and his future was not guaranteed. Doctors reached out to other doctors across the country to try and find a diagnosis and effective treatment. While still in the coma he was transferred by fixed wing jet to a different children’s hospital out of state to try an epilepsy drug that wasn’t FDA approved. Neurosurgeons there eventually removed the front left lobe of his brain. We were told that even though this area was the main driver, his seizures were multifocal and he would continue to deal with epilepsy. Not only were they right, but he also developed hydrocephalus as a result of the resection surgery causing even more damage to his already struggling young brain.
He has had 4 brain surgeries to date, mostly to treat hydrocephalus. We’ve tried many anti-epileptic drugs, ketogenic diet, CBD oil, he has a vagus nerve stimulator implanted in his chest and he still seizes nearly every day. He was eventually diagnosed with a rare multisystem genetic disease called Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and has many other manifestations of the disease as well. Life has been very much an uphill battle for him. We’ve done therapy at three different children’s therapy centers in addition to AEA services in our home and at school. We’ve taken him to children’s hospitals in four states seeking opinions from some of the best. While we have met amazing people and have gained something valuable from every therapy he has done. Many inch-stones have come and gone and he is still very much dependent on us for everything. Things he was successfully doing in his younger years; potty training, self-feeding and walking in a gait trainer for example have become harder as his brain and body have continued to fight against each other. In addition his spastic muscles have put tension on his bones and joints creating orthopedic problems that leave him facing a very real likely hood of major surgical intervention in his lifetime.
Like many parents of special children we have spent a lot of time and energy searching the web for resources. Finding hope in new treatments and connecting with other families keeps us moving forward. We found Dr. Mike through a video on Facebook that I randomly watched not even realizing it was about to connect us to someone that would be able to provide a very important missing piece in our journey. Cody’s body has been stuck in fight or flight mode literally all his life. He was born by c-section after a pregnancy that included a large subchorionic hematoma at 13 weeks and a head on motor vehicle accident at 32 weeks gestation. His body was likely stressed before his genetic condition even revealed itself. It’s so hard for any of us to function and grow when our brain and bodies aren’t working together and communicating like they need to.
We are only 5 months into his journey with Congruent Life but couldn’t feel happier with our decision to move forward with treatment. Cody is not verbal and is visually impaired but when he hears Dr. Mike’s voice he completely lights up. He trusts Dr. Mike and knows that he is helping him feel better. Just in the past month we have noticed an increase in his desire to communicate. His yes/no gesture is often times clearer and he’s showing more interest in his communication system. Though we still have discomfort issues, his legs and hips tend to be more relaxed than before. His core was so shut down that he was progressively developing scoliosis. The upper right section of his back was becoming humped and his posture was being affected. His scans have been showing that his core is reengaging, the hump is nearly gone and his spine is obviously straighter. Congruent Life has not made any unrealistic guarantees to heal or cure him of anything. However they have offered hope. Hope that balancing his nervous system will bring changes to his life. We trust and have seen that these changes make a difference in his quality of life. Our family feels so blessed to have added a doctor that genuinely wants to help our sweet boy and couldn’t ask for more!”
- Bella
“I love taking Bella to CLC. Since we started her chiropractic care, Bella has changed so many things for good. Bella is now open to try new foods, her immune system has gotten stronger, plus she seems to be more relaxed about different situations that would have altered her previously. Because of her Cerebral Palsy she would get very scared with loud noises like the flushing of the toilet and the hand dryers. Now she doesn’t make a big deal about them! Our latest improvement is the weaning of her reflux medicine, which we have tried for so long.
I could go on and on. This is a great place, love everything there.”