Burnside, I hardly knew ye...

I don't have any pictures to dazzle anyone with today. I just thought I would write a small (yeah, right) tribute to a little piece of Will Green HIStory. This is for posterity, so those uninterested are free to go elsewhere.

While completing my fourth academic year here at good ol' Western States Chiropractic College, I had the distinct honor of spending 13 well-rounded weeks at our Burnside Clinic. This clinic, located on Burnside street - hence the name, is a hole-in-the-wall free chiropractic clinic to those who qualify. How do you qualify? Well, you have to have a gross income of less than 200% of the federal poverty level and a way to get to the clinic itself. Who does this encompass? Well, the guy living under the viaduct... yeah, he'll come in. The man pushing the stolen shopping cart with all his belongings inside... he qualifies. You get an idea of the kind of people for whom we catered.

It was a bittersweet experience being there. I hate to admit it, but initially I most certainly felt "better" than the people who came in there. I thought that my spending time there was a waste and that I would be better off back in the out patient clinic on campus. That was before my first shift there.

I met a man who was suffering from back pain. He had steel rods surgically implanted along his spine to straighten his scoliosis. He was wasting away. Over the 13 weeks I treated him he was obviously losing weight because he had no money for food. He had chronic neck pain from being dragged by the head down some stairs by police officers arresting him. He would moan and moan while on the table because of the pain. Beyond the physical help, I think the visit was a psychological help to him.

I also met a family. A mom, dad, and a son (jonah). They walked in with the dirtiest of clothes. The matted unkempt hair. The smell of not showering for days. But after taking all of that in, I noticed their smiles. Big toothy grins. They smiled as they spoke to each other and they kept their heads high. It was obvious that they had run into a spot of bad luck. But they remained a family and I could sense the strength in that. The mom was suffering from a lumbar disc herniation and though the pain was exquisite she would assume a less painful position (kneeling on the floor while lying her body along the chair) and wait patiently for her turn. I had a chance to speak to Jonah while his mom was being treated. He held two Star Wars Stormtrooper action figures - his birthday present two years ago. These figures were in pristine condition and he went on and on about them and how excited he was to get them and how he never lets them out of his sight. He reluctantly let me hold one with the promise to be gentle as he didn't want them to get ruined. The mom was able to walk out of the clinic painfree for the first time in a long time.
That was in the first day.

I went there every Tuesday afternoon from 1:30 to 6:00.

I met a lady who had been dealing with low back pain for over 30 years. She came into the clinic basically on a dare from a friend. She is ~5' 8", 350 lbs, and very boisterous. The intern that treated her initially (the one I took over for) was about 5' 2", 102 lbs and very soft spoken. The first time I met this patient she said, (to be spoken in a eubonics type speech) "You know that other intern? I didn't think there was nothin' she could do for me. But I tell you what, after she finished with me I didn't have no back pain at all! I tell you, I've suffered for 30 years with this back pain and this little bitty girl come in her like, 'ok, I'm going to adjust you now' and I'm thinking, 'YOU!?! Adjust me!?!' But you know what? She did it, bless her heart, she fixed my back. I feel better than I've felt in 30 years because of her and my mama she tell me that I aint never looked this good... or this happy. I told her its all cause of you guys." And she went on like that for several minutes.

Sometimes it was hard to treat people. I must admit that on occasion I would get a patient who is in pain because of stupid life decisions and I almost didn't want to treat them. I had several patients who were involved in drunk driving accidents. They were the drunk ones. Many drug addicts.

There was one guy who I treated. He came in for shoulder and neck pain. The shoulder pain was because he held his arm up in attempt to ward off attackers trying to beat him with a pipe. He was hit in the face with a 2x4 and broke his dentures. He was tortured with hot pokers. He just wanted his shoulder better so he could get a job holding the "slow" and "stop" signs in construction zones. He just wanted a break. We found a possible malignant melanoma on the top of his head.

One man was an aspiring rapper who was waiting for his big break. He was an 18 month recovered heroin addict. He turned his life around and was now volunteering at the rehab facility that helped him.

One man had severe psychological disorders (schizo-afferent disease). That was interesting.

My last day at Burnside I had a 79 year old little southern black lady. She is osteoporotic, diabetic, hypertensive and could barely walk. She was also quite hilarious. She had pain in her tailbone that she had been dealing with for over 10 years. "I hear all the other women [in the nursing home] complaining about pain. What are you complaining for? We're all in pain, just deal with it and stop whining!" She would say in a southern accent/eubonics combo. She came in as a referral from her MD. "He told me to come in, so I came in, though I doubt there's anything you can do for me." I smiled. I love it when patients tell me that. "Well, let's see what we can do." "All right, I been livin' with this for a long time now, but you do what you gotta do." We finished the exam and treatment and she stood up. "You know what? I feel better." Her look went from a confused kind of grimace to a big loose-skin, toothy grin. "I feel really good!" She was very complimentary.

As of last tuesday my time at Burnside is over. I'm glad I had the opportunity to do something like that. I learned many things. I learned that as a physician it is not my place to judge people and their life choices. It is my job to get them back to health - physically and mentally. I learned the power of the chiropractic care. I learned to listen. I learned that we all feel pain, and we all have ups and downs. I learned that I, for sure, have been lead to the right career choice for me. I love what I do. I love helping people. I love actually seeing people getting better after laying my hands on them. I love that there is hope to those who have been putting up with pain for 30 years or so.

I guess mostly I had a rather rude awakening to the fact that we are all human beings. We've all been dealt different hands in this life and we all deal with that differently. By the time my 13 weeks was over, I didn't want to go. I will miss it there.