The Big Thank You!

A local radio station is doing "The Big Thank You" again this year. The goal is to write enough letters to send to the troops who are deployed, so they each get a letter on Thanksgiving. My dad is currently deployed, and I am thankful I will get to spend Thanksgiving with him...but many will have to go through the holiday season without their soldier. I encourage you..and your friends, family, co-workers and even students to take 5 minutes and write a hand written letter!

Please visit this link to the Big Thank You's webpage for more information: Big Thank You 2012

Chiro Missions: Dominican Republic

I am back from the Dominican Republic and wanted to thank you for all of your support and prayers. The trip was an eye-opening experience, but well worth it. We stayed in the city of Cabarete and went to various places in the community each day.

This little boy was chowing on a mango one morning..this is what the city looks like

The first day of adjusting we were at a school where in the morning is primarily elementary students, about 700 students attend in the morning, and in the afternoon 900 students attend (a mix of high school/middle school and kindergarten). This day I probably adjusted 150-175 students. They were so grateful for our care, and it was really amazing to see how their face would light up after the adjustment. 

We adjusted the students in this classroom for the morning session

These are the cutest little girls who would bounce between my table and another girl Kristen's table. They were so sweet.

More kiddos that we adjusted the first day and in the afternoon the second day

The lobby we adjusted the students in during the afternoon

The second day I was in a school/community center. We saw a mix of students and adults. This is the day I saw MANY things I would probably never see. My first patient was a teenage girl who fractured her skull when she was a baby, with the injury she developed bacterial meningitis. She was a very rigid and spastic patient. I adjusted her, and it helped her a bit...but I was really nervous to adjust her. I also saw a man who had 8 surgeries on his feet, because his feet were in the shape of an S- that's how his bones were formed. He also could not hold anything in his left hand because of an injury to the nerves in his neck. I adjusted him, and gave him some exercises to do to help him with his muscle strength. It was a very interesting day, I was forced to think like a doctor--well, be the doctor. The afternoon we went back to the school we were at on the first day.

This is a community center/school that we were at in the morning

These boys were around the entire morning at the school, and would help other kids getting on and off the table

The third day was an adventure- we were lost for 2 hours. In the Dominican, people will give you directions even if they have NO idea where the place is. When we finally arrived, we were at a catholic church. This was probably my favorite day because of 2 specific cases. One was a 90 year old man who was in so much pain, he could not lift his right leg. To walk he would drag his right leg. I adjusted his neck, another girl adjusted the rest of his spine. He was still in so much pain, at my doctor I was paired with adjusted him. Afterward he felt so good he stood up and started dancing. He gave Dr. Rauch and the other girl a hug, and then came and hugged me...for like 10 minutes. After the hug, I went to help him down from the stage, and he jumped off like a little kid. 

After him, there was a mom and son who I called over to my chair. I thought the kid had cerebral palsy based on his body position. Instead, when he was one he fell and developed a traumatic brain injury. His body was in the shape of a V, with the "point of the V" being his ribcage. His ribcage was flat, so he could not take a deep breath. He can't walk, or talk. He can smile, wave his arms, and make moaning sounds. His body is so rigid, it was like holding a board. Dr. Rauch put him on the table, his legs made the shape of a triangle with his feet pointing to the ceiling. He did some slow, soft manipulation to his neck and it calmed him down a little bit. I ended up holding him while his mom was adjusted; He was so peaceful- he held my hands and just laid there. But you could see the sparkle in his eyes, that even though he will never be able to fully live, he is able to express love and happiness. 

This particular kid really hit home the point that I want to work with kids- healthy kids, kids on the spectrum, brain injuries, vaccine injuries..etc. 

This trip really reinforced that I am in the right profession. Even though the food was terrible, and you can't drink the water..I plan on going back. There was a lot to learn from these people. The Dominicans are poor. The majority of the houses are 4 walls made of blocks with cut outs for windows, and a roof. Chickens are all over the place, dogs are all over the place and the people have very little. They have enough to make their basic needs met, and they are the happiest people I have ever met in my life. Even though we couldn't communicate with each other, a simple smile and hug was exactly what these people needed. Overall, it was a very humbling experience. I met many awesome doctors and future doctors.

I plan on going back next September to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. 

Our Fall Bucket List

I found this little ditty on Pinterest (go figure) and sent it to Rob one morning...during class.

I totally expected him to respond "you're ridiculous" because that is his normal response.

Instead, his response was "let's do it, but it's missing 2 things- we need to add watch Gameday and College Football every Saturday."

Fall has officially started...it's time for us to get bucket-listing!

Spine Time Monday

A few weeks ago I was doing squats in the gym, heavy loading my legs..probably not using the best form..probably too much weight (145lbs)...and I did "something" to my back.
Side note: Ever since high school and having to do my fair share of lines, holding passing position for minutes at a time, shuffles, and shuffles under a loose net (yes, picture a 5'10" girl doing shuffles for 2 minutes under a 3 ft net). I'm not resentful about it at all...but since then I've had quite the struggle with my back. I've always told myself, when and if I ever coach there are certain drills I will NEVER do, and shuffles under a loose net is one of those.


After my workout I went back to class, and realized I could barely sit down and had the hardest time getting out of my chair. I knew something was wrong. I am a chiropractic student, so I assumed the worst: a herniated disc. Trying to be rationale, I thought strained muscle--until I sneezed and then screamed because of the pain. Anything that increases pressure in your body (sneezing, coughing, laughing...etc) can cause a patient horrific pain in their lower back if there is a disc injury. That's when I  knew this situation was no bueno. About a week later (after resting, icing, heating) I tried to do a light cardio sesh, and that was an epic fail. I was right back to square one, and on my way to my chiropractor. Through various orthopedic tests and muscle tests and confirmation that every time I would sneeze, cough or laugh I was in excruciating pain, he determined lateral disc protrustion. I also have shooting pain into my left leg, if I lean to the right or sit to the right it feels better. In addition to all of this I have crazy muscle cramps in my feet and legs.
Side note: Yes, you do need an MRI to confirm disc protrusion, but since 1. I'm a student and 2. All signs were pointing to disc protrusion, there was no need to order an MRI unless my symptoms got worse. This is MY chiropractor's opinion...your chiropractor may think differently, and that is ok!


I am now week 2 after the diagnosis, and doing leaps and bound better. Hopefully I can start swimming for exercise next week....hopefully light weights in 2 more weeks. But point of the story--don't rush a disc injury. It's hard for all of us to limit activity. I've had to adjust patients will a protruded disc, and it was extremely hard and painful.

Here's what you can do if you have a low back injury, or low back pain after activity:

1. Rest

2. Ice (Ice to decrease inflammation (swelling))

3. Heat (if you wish--this is good for the muscles)

4. Water--lots and LOTS of water. With a disc injury, depending on severity it's still possible to rehydrate the disc.

5. Chiropractor

Here's what you can do after the injury is better:

1. Core Stabilization exercises- like planks (body resistance stabilization)..not 1,000,000 sit-ups
side note: we think "sit-ups" for core stabilization= in reality, those work our hip flexors more instead of our abs.

2. The Posture Pod; I call it "Spine Time": I've included the picture below. An instructor of mine created this routine, it helps A LOT with posture--and good posture does wonders for the body. I challenge you to do this 2x a day for 1 week and let me know how you feel after a week. I guarantee you will notice results..

Until then...have a great week. Don't lift heavy things.. and do the posture pod :)

Northern Michigan Trip

Our trip so far up to Rob's parents place!

DIY Jewelry Board

During class, to pass the (sometimes dreadful) time,  I browse various blogs and Pinterest. I've been looking for an inexpensive way to organize my jewelry. I have quite a bit of jewelry, and with my latest hobby of Stella & Dot...I've acquired even more jewelry.
Last week the "crafting bug" hit me, and I decided to create my own jewelry organizer. It's Pinterest inspired, but an Erica original.

I started by stapling cork board to the front of the canvas. Then I cut a piece of burlap big enough to fit around the frame and be stapled to the back.
(canvas, cork board, staple gun all bought at Hobby Lobby)

Here's the finished product of the canvas.
To hold the jewelry, I used an assortment of hooks and stick pins
(depending on how heavy the piece was)

Finished product on the wall

Up close version

Bangles on a smaller board

Hooks and stick pins together

This whole little project was inexpensive. It was around $20 with the cost of the frames, staple gun, cork board and burlap. I also googled coupons for Hobby Lobby and printed them out. The canvas was already on sale. I think 2 board (16X20) was like $5.00 or something.

The project took very little time, maybe and hour and a half total. The hardest part for me was the staple gun. It takes a lot of power to use the manual gun AND make sure the staple goes in perfectly flush to the frame. I couldn't grip anything the next day...

Summer break is in 2.5 weeks (yay!...finally)
This break for me will be lots of traveling- first stop: Lincoln, NE, second stop: Hillman, MI, third stop: Savannah, GA.
I am so excited to go home, excited to go to Michigan....well, just excited to get out of Georgia.

This break will be a "working" break--a break that is going to start the snowball of decisions that need to be made. December 2013 is my projected graduation date, September 2013 is when I extern in an office--add boards on top of that. Basically, the last 9 months of my education is loaded with big exams.
But, I'm not the only one that has decisions...the boy has his career we have to take into consideration. He's the money maker, I'm the bank breaker. Seriously. At the end all my school shenanigans we will take on a loan payment that is as much as a house {a little intimidating}. Yes, I know it will be worth it in the end--and I will be doing something I love doing; it was just a bit expensive.

So...we're at the cross roads right now.
Michigan...Nebraska? Somewhere in between?

We have our "plan," but as we all know life is full of twists, turns and somersaults.
At the end of the day all we can do is pray. Pray that the decisions that need to be made become more clear.