Looking back fondly on work memories

With so much attention today on Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, it is great to be able to look back, reminisce and remember. We all have those special memories in many areas of our lives, whether business or personal. Memories are not just about the good old days, but they are a way of reflecting how far you have come in your life. There were many situations and people that made it a very interesting and fun profession to be in, and I appreciate having those experiences.

In August 1973, my second patient was a tall gentleman who came in with back problems. As you can imagine, I was trying to do things right. I had my own x-ray machine and took x-rays before proceeding with care. I had set him up into position and moved behind my protective lead screen. While I was taking the exposure I suddenly heard a scream, “My fingers” – his face was contorted with pain. I rushed toward him, at the same time thinking, here I go, I’ll get sued by my second patient. I found the source of his pain. He had wrapped his finger around the mechanism that held the x-ray cassette. There is a moving part called a grid that moves and it caught his fingers. I managed to pry them loose and he was relieved. Luckily, his fingers weren’t broken and he did come back to see me again.

The third patient was a mother who had considerable experience with chiropractors. The first thing that she said to me was, “I am only coming for one visit, so fix me”. I told her that I needed to assess her problem and see what I needed to do. She repeated, “I only want to come once”. Well, two days later, she called me back and told me that she wasn’t fixed and wanted to come back. When I sold the practice seven years later, she was still a patient along with her husband and children, and they referred many patients to me.

In the 1990s, in my Perth practice, I alternated adjusting patients between two rooms. There was a French woman who was waiting for me in one of the rooms with the door closed while I attended to someone else. When I was ready to see the woman, I got her file, opened the door and there to my shock, she was lying on my adjusting table starkers. She was quite nonchalant about it. I told her it wasn’t necessary to totally disrobe, but her response was that she always undressed to see a chiropractor. She came in a few times over a number of years, but it was no longer a shock – I knew what to expect.

More recently, in 2010 we had a severe supercell storm that hit Perth with hail. Our office building was in bullseye of the storm. The windows at the back of the office were smashed by golf ball-sized hail which bounced down the hallway of my office. It was the first time that I had to dodge hailstones in my practice.

There are many other stories that I could relate and one day I may publish a memoir of my time in practice as a chiropractor. Cherish the memories! Share you own stories.

Do you have fond memories from your work too? Tell us below.