What’s All the Fuss About?  

From the eBook Indifference

The Problem: My concern is that there are too many kids suffering from preventable chronic dis-ease, and to me, that is NOT acceptable. Furthermore, too many of these children are given medication to cover up their symptoms.

Chronic: Persisting for a long time or constantly recurring. A condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects and often times seen as incurable.

Here are some examples of the problem. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention):

• ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder): In 2011, 1 in 10 children were diagnosed with ADHD (11% of all children in the U.S. or 6.4 million kids age 4-17).
  • In 2011 alone, more than three million children were medicated (6%).
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): The numbers are rising for diagnoses of ASD, and as of today the rate is 1 in 68.
• Developmental disabilities: 1 in 6 suffer from developmental disabilities, ranging from mild developmental disabilities such as speech and language impairments to serious developmental disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy and autism.
• Asthma: 1 in 10 suffer.
• Allergies: 1 in 25 suffer.
• Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD): According to multiple studies, as many as 1 in 6 could be affected by SPD at some level.
• Depression and bipolar disorder: According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health), as many as 1 in 10 children suffer from depression, and bipolar disorder in children is on the rise.
• Anxiety: One of the most common mental disorders seen in children, the NIH estimates that 25% of children are suffering from anxiety.
• Sinus/ear infections: Rates of both infections are on the rise, and the use of antibiotics is also at an all-time high, which is contributing to the increase in bacterial-resistant infections.

Additional dis-eases: The following list of chronic dis-eases are  also commonly seen in children:

• Colic
• Torticollis
• Insomnia
• Bed wetting/enuresis
• Acid reflux
• Headaches
• Behavioral issues
• Seizures
• OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
• Constipation
• GI (gastrointestinal) issues

My father always told me that numbers don’t lie, and that is why I threw out some statistics on chronic childhood dis-ease. Unfortunately, even with the best intentions, statistics can be manipulated in many ways, so please remember to always do your own research.

From my point of view, it is not the exact number or percentage that is my concern—it is the overall rise and the way we are attempting to remedy the situation which is most alarming.

What I do know, without a shadow of a doubt is that chronic childhood conditions are becoming more prevalent, and more children than ever before are being put on medication.

Here is a great overview from IMS (Intercontinental Marketing Services) Health that looks at the total number of prescription or refills dispensed to CHILDREN and TEENS in 2009. You have to believe that these numbers have only gotten worse in the last five years.

Bottom line: children are sick and drugs are not the answer. Conscious parents are starting to demand a drug-free, natural approach that works.

MY MISSION: My mission is to improve the safety, health and happiness of my community, especially for children.

MY VALUES: My values are based on the following principles (or beliefs) on how to behave or act based on what is truly important:

• Principle 1: Safety Comes First. When making decisions for your family and your children, the first question that needs to be asked is if it is SAFE. Ask questions, do your research and only trust in a person or an organization who is congruent with your values, and who has earned your trust. When a situation or our environment is not safe or it is harmful and stressful physically, chemically or emotionally, that experience will cause imbalance and tension on the body, leading to chronic dis-ease.

• Principle 2: A Healthy Child is a Happy Child. In order to truly have health, the body needs to be in a state of physical, mental and emotional well-being. If a child has been harmed or overstressed physically, chemically or emotionally, then the health of the child has been compromised.

When the health has been affected and the child is in a state of imbalance and dis-ease, the child cannot truly be HAPPY.

So, to have a HAPPY child, you have to keep the child SAFE and HEALTHY and in that order. I have found that many parents skip the first or second steps and they focus only on the happiness of the child. They use immediate gratification from medication to unhealthy food to iPads to give the child short-term fulfillment. Unfortunately, these quick fixes have a long-term impact on the safety, health and overall happiness of their children.

Define your values: I ask that each and every one of you takes some time to define your values and belief system on how to care for and allow your family and children to be HAPPY. I am not here to judge or to hate on anyone’s values or on the values of any group or organization. All I ask is that your ACTIONS are truly congruent with your values. To say it another way: if you value a certain way of life, then the way you live should correspond to those values.

Contradiction of your values will lead to chronic dis-ease.

We all want our children and families to be HAPPY. The question is: how do we get there? In this day and age, to find true happiness takes effort. My values are based on two principles above, which will allow for a child to meet their full potential and truly be happy (keep in mind, a chronic condition limits potential and a child’s quality of life and will affect their overall happiness)

This world is stressful; this world is tough; this world is not perfect, and if we think that this life is easy and we can just go with the flow, then we have another thing coming. We need to be more proactive, more aware and more conscious of the environment that we live in in order to adapt and to gain an advantage for the development and the progression of our children. It is crucial for their growth and for their overall well-being.

Healing is a process and NOT an event.

Now that you know where I am coming from and what my values are, I would like to help you to be congruent with your values, which most likely are very similar to my own. After all, we all want our children to be HAPPY.

The question is: how can I relate and why do I care so much?

I am a parent of three young children. My first suffered from colic and constipation after a very traumatic birth. She was also diagnosed with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) when she was less than a year old. I didn’t do everything right. I wasn’t being as congruent with my values as I should have been. I needed to be better for my child’s sake.  Because I was challenged with my daughter and now have two more children, I want the very best for them.

I am still learning and I will not stop trying to be a better parent and husband. I also see so many children who had to suffer like my daughter, and I will do everything in my power to prevent her scenario from happening to others, and to care for every child that needs my help, just like they are my own. I care to damn much.

Even though at times I am challenging and testing your parenting approach up to this point, remember, I have been in your shoes. So, there is no need to become defensive. We all need to be challenged in order to be the best that we can be.  Unfortunately, most of what I will be sharing with you, you were never taught. So, it’s not your fault. How we decide to move forward from here is the key. Always remember: I am on your side. I want to help. I have been there. Don’t get me wrong, sickness is easy; health is hard.

Bringing it ALL together: Growing up, I suffered with anxiety, depression, lack of focus, sporadic behavior and severe migraine headaches. I had no idea that chiropractic could play any part in helping with chronic dis-ease. My mom and I only saw it as a quick fix for neck pain and back pain and because of that perception, we never pursued it as an option.

I am here to tell you that there is much more to chiropractic than we have been taught.

“Look well to the spine for the cause of dis-ease.”

~ Hippocrates

To be honest, I am sick and tired of people, especially children, being sick and tired. You see, children don’t have a choice, so we as parents better make the best choices for them. The only way we can do that is by becoming aware and understanding what a child needs to meet his or her full potential and to be happy. Life is all about love and quality. You will never be comfortable, confident, at ease and meeting your full potential when chemicals, needless intervention (medicine, food, education, spirituality, etc.) and drugs are involved. It’s time to move away from what is not working and it’s time to work with the innate inborn intelligence of the body and allow the body to heal from the inside out.

I’ve spent many years as a pediatric chiropractor caring for children, caring for parents, caring for families, and helping them find
ease and balance in their lives. It is all about bringing back the love and the excitement, educating, inspiring and allowing them to sense, perceive and express their selves the way that they were meant to.

I have a story to tell. The question I am always asking myself is: how would life have been different if my mom knew what I know now? What if we found chiropractic when I was two years old or even seven? What if chiropractic wasn’t my last resort, but my first? I hear those questions every day in practice. Moms are always asking, why didn’t someone tell me, OR why don’t I know about this? I am here to answer these questions before your child has to go down the same path I went down.

I was the example so your child doesn’t have to be.  

Much Love and Good Vibes~

Dr Derek

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