Lily’s asthma

Years ago I had a patient who was eight years old and suffered from severe asthma attacks. The family was desperate. Lily was the only child of a couple who had married later in life and faced challenges with conception. His was a classic story from poverty to wealth. Both came from families without a college degree and had worked hard to forge a new identity and a comfortable life in Atlanta. Lily was his one and only.

My wife puts Lily’s mother on the swim team. Hearing the story of her constant struggle with Lily’s asthma, an intense campaign of persuasion began that eventually convinced her to come and bring Lily to my office.

Life before this reunion hadn’t been entirely carefree for Lily. Emergency room visits, dental problems caused by antibiotics, inhalers, strong medications, and constant fear were part of Lily’s daily reality. This was affecting not only his family, but also his education and his ability to participate in the sports he loved so much … swimming and soccer.

Lily’s experience in my office is one that many of my patients have in common with her.

At first, she and her family weren’t entirely sure that they should pursue this option of seeking asthma help from a chiropractor. This point was reiterated when, after the fourth treatment, Lily’s mother attributed Lily’s general improvement to the fact that it was summer and not to my treatments. The fact that more than three weeks had passed without an ER visit had to be pointed out to her mother to convince her to continue with another four treatments for Lily.

In total, Lily received eight treatments over an eight-week period. During this time she had no incidents that returned her to the emergency room. Lily’s asthma completely disappeared at the end of the course of treatment and for the following year her doctor was able to completely remove her from all the inhalers and medications she had become dependent on. All of this was accomplished without manipulation, but with gentle energy healing techniques.

Since then, Lily and her family have followed a routine of yearly check-ups and have used me as their main “go to” when health problems arise. This does not happen often. Today, I suspect that the family has forgotten what it can be like to live with a life-threatening illness.

In truth, even I had forgotten about Lily’s recovery from asthma back then. I was reminded of her initial condition when I received a notice from Lily’s parents that she had graduated from high school and was awarded a full tuition scholarship to college in swimming. This would never have been possible if her asthma problems had not been resolved.