Meet Dr. Don Harte (DC)
Chiropractor
I was just beginning pre-med in college, working as a hospital orderly. I hurt my back, lifting a patient. So… I went to see my hero, the orthopedist. (Since I was a little kid, I dreamed of becoming a medical doctor. By then, I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon.) He barely examined me, but he did X-ray me. Turned out that I had spondylolisthesis, a condition where a lumbar vertebra is in two pieces, instead of one, with the body of the vertebra (the front, solid part) hanging down and forward from its usual position. BUT IN MY CASE, it was the last three vertebrae, with the last one almost totally hanging off in space. Very unstable! (In case you’re wondering, this was from a very rough childhood.)
The orthopedist put me on some strong painkillers. He told me that he couldn’t do anything for me then, to wait until it got worse, probably by the time I was 30 or 40, and come back for a TOTAL lumbar fusion. Of course, I said “Yes, Doctor.”
The episodes would come and go. I finished college and went on to med school. Home after my second year, it all “hit the fan.” I wasn’t 30. I wasn’t 40. I was only 23 years old. Excruciating back pain, running down both legs, bent over, beginning to lose control of my bladder. I was scared out of my mind. I knew that it was time for that awful surgery.
But I lucked out. I was taking folk guitar lessons. (It was the early 70s.) My instructor said that I should go to a chiropractor. I said, “What are you kidding? I’m a medical student. Those guys are quacks!” He said that he goes. I told him, “You’re an artist. You’re supposed to be strange.” Then he told me that he takes his wife and kids to the chiropractor. I was shocked! (Albert Einstein said: “It’s harder to crack a prejudice than an atom”.) Finally, though, he got me to go.
I went to this chiropractor the very next day. Right away the office seemed weird because they were actually friendly and warm. The chiropractor actually listened and cared. He did THE most thorough examination that I ever had, X-rayed me, and showed me what was wrong. He explained what chiropractic was all about, how it worked, and what he was going to do. He put me on the table. I was so scared that I almost jumped off and ran for my life. But he calmed me down and gave me my first chiropractic adjustment. I got off the table and stood up straight and pain-free for the first time in months. So, I forgot about med school and enrolled in chiropractic college.