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.”