- Arturo’s mom
We started bringing Arturo to CLC years ago and saw amazing changes in his immune function, his sleep, his digestion, and his comfort. We were preparing to have another baby and Arturo had a hip surgery coming up, life got hectic and we had to stop coming for adjustments for a bit. Within the first month of Arturo not getting his adjustments, we started to notice he was starting to fight sleep again, he was getting really tense, and overall just more uncomfortable. He had his hip surgery and while everything went really well, it was really hard on his body. The week after his surgery, we almost lost him because his pain was so bad. He was on so many pain killers, it was making him so sleepy, he couldn’t eat, and he was getting dehydrated.
He was casted for 6 weeks and then he had to get fitted for a brace. He spent the first 24 hrs crying in pain and we had to go into the ER. The following day we had to get him recasted for another 5 weeks because things were taking longer than expected to heal. He was starting to heal after the 2nd round of casts, but he was still in a constant state of crying. The only time he would not cry was when he was asleep. He was only able to get a couple hours of sleep at a time before the pain would wake him again. From December to April, we dealt with no sleep, constantly waking up through the night crying in pain, immediate crying if you tried to reposition him or touch his hips or back. He was so tight in a frog legged position, we couldn’t get him to extend and release his legs at all. His hands were always clenched in fists because it was just so painful. We couldn’t do anything but just stay at home with him and try to keep him as comfortable as possible. This was our reality for 5-6 months. We knew at that point we needed to get him back under consistent chiropractic care at CLC.
After his first adjustment back, he had this huge sigh of relief, and so did I! After his 2nd adjustment, he slept the entire night from when we got home at 5 pm until 6 am the next day (13 hours!!). That’s the first time he slept for more than a couple hours in over 6 months. After a week of adjustments, Arturo was able to fully extend and relax his legs for the first time. His clenched fists started to open up. He was happier and wasn’t crying out in pain constantly. We were able to re-position him without causing him severe pain. I felt like “we can do this again, we’re living again”. Arturo is no longer on any pain killers!
Even though we’ve seen how well Arturo responds to adjustments in the past, I still almost couldn’t believe it. It’s amazing to see that first initial scan and how much stress he had in his body, to where he’s at now! Before we started bringing Arturo to CLC 5 years ago, he would be in the ER every WEEK with an illness. While under weekly chiropractic care, he went a full year without any illness or hospital stays! Life got busy and we had to take a 3 month break from getting adjusted, and in that 3 months without chiropractic, he had 2 hospital stays for illnesses. When we came back for a long stretch of time and began getting Arturo adjusted weekly again, sure enough he didn’t have any hospital visits while under care for 2+ years!
I feel like we are no longer living life minute to minute, having to worry about what the next few hours is going to look like, we have something to look forward to now! Care at CLC has changed Arturo’s life in such a positive way that it is so hard not to tell everyone about it. I don’t know where we would be if we wouldn’t have come back in April. Coming to CLC for us is like a little kid opening his present on Christmas morning. We love everyone here and all you’ve done for our family. Arturo is flourishing!
- Brooks’ mom
“We felt like Brooks was always sick prior to coming to CLC. He had been to the doctor 26 times in his 8-month life, not including a 5-day hospitalization for RSV at 4 months and his routine well-child checks. After Brooks’ hospitalization, we felt like he was always fighting illness. It wasn’t until 2 ear infections in 22 days at 8 months that we finally decided we needed to advocate for Brooks and seek out other options.
As his parents and advocates, we were emotionally exhausted from constant visits to doctors’ offices and seeing our baby boy in constant pain/illness. As his mom, I walked out of many doctors’ appointments in tears feeling helpless and knowing that he didn’t feel well.
It wouldn’t be authentic if we didn’t talk about the skepticism we had prior to bringing Brooks to CLC. Neither my husband nor I sought chiropractic care, and the thought of someone messing with my baby’s spine and nervous system was frightening. However, we had a “last-resort” type of attitude. There were a few family and friends who had mentioned chiropractic care to us, and so we asked around and CLC was recommended.
I will never forget our first appointment at CLC. It was an appointment that had been scheduled for the evening after work. However, not abnormal for that time, Brooks had a fever and slept horrible the night before – tugging at his ears. I took the day off work and brought him to the pediatrician that morning. We were told he had some redness and fluid, but no infection, and to watch for progression. This was another time I left the office in tears. I called my husband and he suggested I see if I could get Brooks into CLC sooner. The staff at CLC worked to get Brooks in so we could get “initial testing” done right away. As a mom who had just left the doctor’s office in tears, after holding her baby down on the table so they could drain his ears to get a “better look”, I was a little triggered. I soon learned there was no reason to be concerned.
I remember leaving our first appointment with CLC and telling my husband what a different experience taking Brooks to CLC was in comparison to the doctor’s office. All the staff at CLC treat you like old friends. I truly feel they are on Brooks’ team and will do whatever they can to ensure our baby boy is happy and healthy. They are patient with our now busy 10-month-old, and empathetic when Mom and Dad come with concerns that have nothing to do with the care he’s receiving that day – they truly care about the wellbeing of their patients.
I can’t remember the exact timeline, but it was probably about 2 weeks after our initial visit with CLC that we started to notice Brooks was finally sleeping at daycare for more than 30 minutes at a time. We could take him somewhere out of his normal routine (a visit to grandma and grandpa’s, a ballgame, etc.), and he wouldn’t come home sick. We were starting to step outside of our home without anxiety or guilt of bringing our baby into an environment that was inevitably going to make him sick.
We have now been with CLC a little over 2 months, and as parents, we feel like we’ve finally done something right for our sweet boy. Brooks is an on-the-go 10-month-old who has been to the doctor once in the past 2 months – for a routine well-child check. Our lives are less stressful, and we no longer hold the guilt and desperation we had on the first day walking into CLC.
Joining the CLC Tribe has been a big commitment for our family – the clinic is a 25-minute drive from our home, and we are a family of Daddy who is head coach and Mommy who is a commuter for work. However, we would do it again in a heartbeat, and if we had the chance to do it over, we would visit Dr. Mike & Dr. Nikki sooner. Our son’s health is worth every second we spend traveling back-and-forth, and our extended tribe reminds us how blessed we are every time we walk in CLC’s doors.”
- Liam
“Liam was diagnosed at 5 years old with an IGA deficiency which is an immunity condition. He battled chronic ear infections for which he has had two sets of tubes for. When he was 3 years old he had walking pneumonia 3 times over the course of the winter. The year before we started Chiropractic care he had strep throat 4-5 times in the span of 6 months. When he would get strep he would be down and out. Not just the typical “mom I have a sore throat” and fever, he would just physically get sick and be very fatigued, not want to eat and just out of it for a day or two before his antibiotics would kick in.
We felt so frustrated that we couldn’t keep him healthy. If anyone was sick around him, he would catch it right away. We felt helpless watching him suffer through illness after illness as well as two surgeries for tubes.
We had heard about CLC from some friends and how they really focus on correcting the root cause vs putting a bandaid on it. They aren’t your typical adjust the area that is hurting, they make sure your body as a whole is in alignment which helps in so many more ways than just relieving pain. We really love what CLC stands for and how they work with their patients.
Liam started kindergarten this year right around the time we started him at CLC. We thought for sure he would be sick all winter long going to school with a lot more kids. This winter has been the best winter he has had sickness wise! He got strep throat earlier this year and we had no idea. He was running around, eating just fine, but happened to mention his throat was hurting a few times. His tonsils didn’t look as bad as they would have usually gotten, but we decided to take him in just to be sure given his history. Sure enough he had strep but the way his body handled it was a complete 180 from what we had experienced in the past! He didn’t get physically sick, he was happy, had energy and was bouncing around like nothing was wrong!
We are so thankful for everyone at CLC. Not only is our 5 year old seeing some awesome benefits but so are my husband and I! All of us have been healthy and we feel great! We look forward to our weekly adjustments, and know they are a great addition to our health and well being!”
- Cal
“Before CLC, Cal was constantly getting sick. We had him in day care and it was one thing after another; it seemed like he was home sick with us every 2 weeks. Constant colds and ear infections, he would get over one and a week later he’d get another; he was miserable and I was miserable seeing him miserable.
I personally follow a more natural health approach so when we were on Cal’s 4th round of antibiotics, I was like “What am I doing? How did I get here?” That’s when I decided I needed to make a change for him and seek out other options.
Cal was always sick and it was starting to have a huge effect on our lifestyle. We were having to keep him home from daycare all the time, while still trying to work from home. It was getting to a point where it was becoming unmanageable. We ultimately ended up pulling him out of day care to try and keep him healthy, and we even had to cancel a family trip to Arizona because he kept getting ear infections.
Antibiotics were just a band-aid for Cal’s underlying health issues. If we wouldn’t have found CLC, we probably would have continued down that cycle of constant sickness and antibiotic use followed by a week of diarrhea and diaper rash, and then repeated a few weeks later. I came here wanting more of a root cause fix, and that’s what we got.
We started Cal at CLC in March (the week we had to cancel our trip to Arizona) when he was 11 months old and we haven’t looked back! It’s been about 5 months since we started getting Cal adjusted, and he hasn’t had a cold or ear infection since!! He has since started at an in-home daycare and we haven’t had to pull him out once. Our daycare provider just told us there was strep throat going around, but Cal didn’t get it! He’s a completely new, healthy and happy boy!
Now that we have a happy baby, there’s no more stress over him constantly being sick, we aren’t having to juggle working from home while simultaneously tending to a sick baby, we haven’t had to miss out on any activities; we’ve just had a great spring and summer with him, it’s completely changed our lives.”
- Jess A
“We started care at Congruent Life because I was experiencing chronic neck pain and my son was experiencing chronic ear infections and sickness. He had had 5 ear infections and over 30 sick visits to his primary doctor in less than 2 years! I had tried other chiropractors and hadn’t felt any progress in my pain. We had also tried chiropractic care and western medicine for my son with little relief for him.
What Congruent Life had to offer was so different. When we got scanned, we were able to see WHY we were struggling. Dr. Mike prepared a care plan to show us exactly what it would take to get to the root of our issues. We had never been that consistent with our chiropractic care before, and that made all the difference for us. Dr. Mike is also very focused on helping with the whole body/life wellness.
In February of 2017 we welcomed our 2nd child who has been adjusted by Dr. Mike since birth. On his 1st birthday I was reflecting on his first year and how we had visited his primary doctor ZERO times for sick visits. I then went back and counted my older son’s sick visits and was astonished to see he had 30 sick visits and a 4 day hospital stay in the two years before we started care at Congruent Life.
Now, almost 3 years later I am feeling so much better and I am now much more active doing CrossFit 4x a week without pain! My kids have not been to see their primary doctor outside of their yearly well visits and we have put $0 towards our deductible! Our family is so much healthier now! Wellness and preventative care has changed our lives!”
- Ella
“My baby daughter was just 6 months old when she got her first ear infection following a cold she caught at daycare. We visited her primary care doctor and she was given antibiotics to kill the infection. As fall turned into winter and colds continued at daycare, my baby was continually sick and on antibiotics for ear infections; five in total. The ear infections caused her pain and misery, and I hated the never ending cycle of antibiotics. When the doctor said she wanted to discuss surgery for tubes to be inserted, I was worried and concerned as she was only 10 months old.
Because of my concerns, I decided to reach out to Congruent Life Chiropractic to see if they could help. Dr. Mike listened to my concerns and discussed his own childhood history of ear infections, so I knew he understood what was happening. When my daughter had her first cold after starting the chiropractic treatment plan it was a heavy one, producing lots of mucus which would have previously caused infection. This time the chiropractic adjustments prevented an infection and my daughter was able to recover from the cold/virus without pain, infection or antibiotics. Starting care for my daughter at CLC means we have no surgery scheduled for ear tubes and no risk of general anesthesia for such a young child!”
- Preslee
“Preslee had many many ear infections. She had burst ear drums, tubes in her ears… and her body just wasn’t fighting infection well. She was also complaining of back pain, which was really concerning. I just didn’t want my 2 year old to be in pain anymore. I felt like I was failing, and it was so frustrating. What was I missing?
When thinking of who to call, you guys were the clear choice. I had been seeing you guys on social media, and the fact that you were so focused on helping children made me wonder if you might be the missing link for Press. So I finally just bit the bullet, and called to start care for both of us.
Since being under care she hasn’t had any more back pain, and she is much more calm over all. Transitions are better, and it’s easier to calm her down. She’s better able to cope with her emotions, which means we can go do more without worrying about big meltdowns. She hasn’t had ANY ear infections and she’s only had ONE cold this winter that her body easily fought; she’s just not sick anymore like she was before!!”
- Gage’s Mom
I starting bringing Gage to CLC at the age of 3 for constipation and anxiety. Looking back, he was definitely sick more often before beginning care. He spent 6 nights in the hospital for RSV when he was 2 and had been on several different antibiotics when he was younger. He doesn’t see his pediatrician anymore except for his annual physical for school because he doesn’t get sick like he used to! His doctor even commented that over the last 3 years he had only been there 3 times for his physicals and how incredible that was.
When we started, he was eating really well and drinking plenty of water but still was struggling with constipation because it would hurt to go. I didn’t want to resort to using long term miralax. Anything I could do to help him be able to listen to his body and allow it to function better was my goal when I was seeking chiropractic care. Shortly after starting, I noticed Gage was having more regular bowel movements without the pain and anxiety associated with it. After chiropractic, he was struggling less in general. His anxiety is nothing like it was when we started. His ability to socialize also started to improve! He is able to do things more independently now and I’ve seen his confidence grow over time. Gage used to complain about neck pain and he doesn’t have that problem any more either. When he started to get relief, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. As a mom, it makes you feel good when your kids can start to handle some of the day to day things more independently.
The scans that you do here show that as we have continued with care, his nervous system is a lot less stressed than it used to be. Both of my kids love coming to the chiropractor. As soon as I tell them we are coming, they fight over who gets to go first. To me that says they notice a difference too!
Gage is growing great and is doing amazing in school, especially behaviorally which is something we have struggled with in the past. He rarely gets sick and no longer struggles with constipation and anxiety. I truly believe everything we are doing preventatively for Gage with chiropractic care has been a crucial component to that.
As a mom, learning about how I have been in a perpetual state of fight or flight, I wanted to be able to help my kids be able to calm and regulate that. It was important to me to find a chiropractor that approaches the body and healing in a holistic way, and that’s what you do at CLC! I also began care at CLC during my 2nd pregnancy to help prepare my body for a drug free delivery, and it made all the difference!
- Leah
“We were drawn to Dr.Mike’s office in the hopes that he could help our oldest son with some anxiety and sleep issues. While he didn’t have what I would call “severe” anxiety, it did interfere with his ability to relax. He was chewing his nails down, I hadn’t trimmed his nails in almost a year. He was having some behavioral outbursts if things went off schedule even a little bit. We also were having trouble with him sleeping independently. He once had, but one illness threw all of that out the window and he was at a point in his development that he just needed to sleep with us.
After seeing Dr. Mike for a couple of months, his anxiety has drastically reduced. I have trimmed his nails twice! And even more amazing to me, is that he can just relax, if something goes differently than he expects, he handles it so well. He also has been able to sleep independently (on our floor) which I attribute to the ability to relax. I learned a lot about how subluxation can cause the body to stay stuck in fight or flight, and he was. Now he is not – and while he’s always been a very happy boy, he just seems so much more at ease. Since our oldest was going, we also decided to have our youngest seen (what could it hurt?!). We have noticed that he has been sleeping better too – if he wakes up in the night he is much easier to put down. He also has been sick one time since starting with Dr. Mike, and I truly think that it was much less severe than other colds he has had in the past – shorter, symptoms not as intense. Also, if he ever got a runny nose before he would automatically get an ear infection. That cold he had a runny nose but he did not get an ear infection! Both boys are definitely benefitting. Our issues were not intense to some standards, but it was affecting our daily lives. Improving their overall health has been my main goal and I honestly believe that with Dr. Mike’s help the boys are on the right track.
Since I was taking the boys to Dr. Mike, after a couple of weeks I decided to be seen for some ongoing back pain that I had experienced since being pregnant with my youngest. I also hoped that I could improve my health and lessen my anxiety. What surprised me the most is the improvement in other areas that I didn’t even really realize were a problem, because I just had dealt with them for so long! I have always had sinus issues and after a couple of adjustments I was breathing clearer than I have since I can remember. After a couple of months I have noticed my anxiety has lessened, but more importantly I feel like I have more patience. I don’t “pop my top” as quickly as I was. I was also stuck in fight or flight, and now I’m starting to feel the difference of coming out of that. My back pain has reduced dramatically. If I would do a hard workout before, I would have to take a few days off of exercising to let the back pain subside. I can do whatever workouts I want now without having that back pain immediately follow. And my favorite part is that my sleeping has improved. I didn’t realize how poorly I was sleeping – after all I have two young children! But I fall asleep so much easier now, fall into a deeper sleep, and if I wake up in the night I can fall right back to sleep instead of being up for an hour thinking of all the stuff I have to do. It is a blessing. Thanks Dr. Mike!
I wanted to share our story because I truly think that Dr. Mike can help such a wide range of people. Whatever end of the spectrum you are on, I would highly suggest giving Dr. Mike the opportunity to help you. We are a happier, healthier, more relaxed family thanks to Dr. Mike. We love going to the office, Dr. Mike is kind and empathetic, but the environment as a whole there is so family friendly! Mady, Victoria and Jen are so caring, it never feels like going to another appointment when we go. We love it. THANKS CONGRUENT LIFE!”