THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD THAT LEADS ME HERE - OR WHAT A LONG, STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN
By Dr. Kathleen Higgins DC, Nd, Cert. Acu

There I was, barely 18 years old, standing with arms outstretched in the middle of a particularly awe inspiring landscape near Scottsdale AZ, looking skyward as if the heavens would break open anytime and shoot an arrow wrapped with the answer to my burning question. I just wanted to know one thing. What would I DO for my life's work? In my core I always knew I'd have a career, IF never entered my mind. But WHAT was another story, I had so many interests. The answer didn't come ringing down from the heavens, but life did keep moving on and after traveling and living for a year with a nurse, I was inspired. The Vo-Tech Nursing program was education for people under 21, so I became a Nationally Certified Respiratory Therapist. From Redwood Falls Hospital to the U of M’s five hospitals and St. Johns, I learned a lot about people, medicine and myself.

I learned there were 2 groups of patients; one seemed interested in their health and bodies and wanted to be proactive and the other group didn’t want to know their diagnosis or any details. They just wanted the Doctor to make them better.

I learned that although hospitals and medicine can be excellent for trauma and emergency procedures, I saw first-hand their down side. Too many times I watched patients come in with breathing problems which would eventually resolve with drugs, but then they found themselves stuck in the hospital due to complications and different symptoms from the hospital medications and treatments. The luckier ones found themselves simply too dizzy to be able to walk to the bathroom. JAMA April 15, 1998 reported "the incidence of serious and fatal adverse drug reactions in U. S. Hospitals to be extremely high … estimated in 1994 overall 2,216,000 serious adverse drug reactions and 106,000 had fatal adverse drug reactions representing between the 4th and 6th leading cause of death." After seeing enough bloopers, my faith in the system was shaken. I remember telling my parents, "if I ever get sick, make sure you don’t take me here," referring to the hospitals I worked at.

I learned most about myself. I found I had a preference for working with proactive people, treating, educating and comforting them to help improve their various conditions. I was told I was very good at ICU/CCu work but inside I felt my intestines twisting and tying up my stomach into a huge knot every time I heard the Code Blue announcement signaling either a cardiac or respiratory arrest, which meant I would need to think, move, and act, both very accurately and fast, since the hospital had cut the night shift staff to only one Respiratory Therapist for the entire hospital. It never made much sense (though it probably made cents), when I thought about the statistic that most arrests occur about 5 a.m. After four years I had learned enough about myself to know it was time to move on and after talking to a couple of people who had been greatly helped by Chiropractic, decided I would head back to school.

Having had no previous chiropractic experience, I was unaware of it’s underdog status in some parts of the medical community until I started happily announcing to nurses (supportive in general) of my plans and an MD happened to hear the word Chiropractic and went on a verbal tirade about my prospective field. In that moment my eyes were opened quickly to a possible conflict between the two professions. That was in 1982 and one would’ve thought by now the chasm of misunderstanding would be significantly reduced in this era of New Millennium World Wide Web and information access society we live in.

Fast forward to my living room TV the evening of Wed. June 5th on TPT, "the educational station", as I stopped at a show called Frontiers. Host Alan Alda watched various Chiropractors explaining and doing procedures immediately followed by a MD telling Alda why each technique and associated explanation by the Chiropractor was tricky, fraudulent lies, placebo at best and traumatizing and dangerous at worst. Each time, Alda summarized by reiterating what the MD said as if it were from the Bible. Finally they played the "trump card" which medical public relations people have inaccurately but effectively used for years to scare the living daylights out of our prospective and current chiropractic patients. With all the high drama they could muster they said "Chiropractors cause strokes". My response is, of course almost ANYTHING is possible, but the truth is strokes related to chiropractic are extremely rare because we are highly trained in what to look for and what tests to do which determine if the patient is a candidate for safe, gentle, chiropractic adjustments. The person who would have a stoke in our office would be the same one who'd have one in the process of putting their head back while changing a light bulb, painting a ceiling or lying back in a hairstylist chair to get washed. To find the truth, one need only compare the skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates to chiropractic malpractice insurance rates. Thankfully, malpractice insurance underwriters use actual statistics, not baseless rhetoric to determine these things.

Despite the untruths and blatant posturing of the medical community's marketing, including that which was seen on "Frontiers" (which also assailed other alternative healing methods, including energy healing and even summarized acupuncture as a "placebo effect most of the time"), is that the fallout from shows of this nature do a lot of harm and are the reason Chiropractors won the Wilks vs. AMA lawsuit several years ago. On Friday morning alone, my first day seeing patients since the show aired, nearly 50% of my patients told me unsolicited they had seen the Frontiers show. Most said they were appalled that a show like that was on the air in this day and age and especially upset it ran on a TV station with a reputation for education. Patient here she probably wouldn’t have ever come in after seeing Frontier.

In June of 2000, the World Health Organization reported to the Assoc. Press that "despite spending more on healthcare than any other country in the world, the United States ranks only 37th in the world healthcare". Clearly the wheels of beaurocratic change are moving slow. This appears to make no sense (but it does make cents) when one understands the AMA has one of the top funded Lobbying Organizations in Washington, DC.

Enough of the frustrations that can accompany those who choose a road less traveled. I have been blessed to have found my career which is to be a perennial student of life, love, science, natural health, nutrition and healing. I have learned there is not one right way to health and healing. In continuing to learn and teach what is possible, I honor those who choose holistic practitioners and natural health care in their quest for optimal health despite the obstacles of having to pay out of pocket and be subjected to negative comments by mostly well-meaning family and friends who judge because there's an underlying feeling that it can't be good if they haven't done it themselves. I heard once "People are down on what they are not up on." I have a Bachelors Degree in Human Biology, a Chiropractic Degree, am a Board Certified Naturopathic Physician, Cert. Acupuncturist and am currently completing my requirements to be a Master Practitioner/Teacher of Chinese Energetic Medicine.

That girl in the field who just wanted to know what she would DO when she grew up, now stands yearly at the shores of the awe-inspiring green-blue ocean in Mexico, her arms spread wide-open to welcome the upcoming sun, quietly singing and sending forth prayers of gratefulness for everything that is and all the steps and life experiences that led her to where she is today that keeps her passion for learning, teaching, and life alive.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON CHRONIC CHILDHOOD EAR INFECTIONS
By: Kathleen Higgins, DC

IT’S THE MOST DREADED curse of many parents --- waking up in the middle of the night to your baby's piercing, pain-filled screams. You know that scream. The one that insists that you take it seriously and reminds you in the space of a millisecond how helpless being a parent can feel. Unfortunately, some parents have had to deal too often with very sick children, repeatedly suffering from chronic ear infections. The fact that many families in our country fall into the "two working parents" category compounds the problem. One or both parents endure an enormous amount of sleepless nights as well as time away from work taking their kids to doctors and staying home from work and day care with them. I recently worked with Suzy (not her real name), a 28 month old girl whose parents were referred to my natural health clinic as a last ditch effort by a concerned relative and previous patient. Suzy’s parents reported she had suffered 18 ear infections over the previous 18 months. Her father said every trip to the doctor for her ears ended with at least one antibiotic prescription and sometimes more. In her short life, Suzy had already been treated with more antibiotics than her parents could count, including more recently being on multiples of three antibiotics at once. Suzy had also undergone surgery to place ear tubes and now Suzy's medical doctors were recommending a second surgery.

Countering Frustrating, Renewing Hope

During their initial visit, Suzy's mom said she was frustrated after all the previous months of stress dealing with her daughter's problem and appeared doubtful of the relief natural health car offered, so I recommended a book by Dr. Michael Schmidt titled CHILDHOOD EAR INFECTIONS. I believe Dr. Schmidt is one of the of the leading authorities in the nation regarding this condition and his book thoroughly covers causes, standard medical therapy, and multiple current alternative treatment options. She had almost finished it by our next meeting and was pleasantly surprised her daughter seemed to be improving with the chiropractic care, dietary changes, nutrients, and homeopathic remedy I had recommended.

Since she started treatment in our health center three months ago, Suzy has had two flare- ups both treated with chiropractic and homeopathy. Her parents reported one flare-up followed closely behind some dietary indiscretion during the holidays. Because of her previous history of chronic illnesses and multiple antibiotics, I believe her immune system as well as digestive tract and spinal structure are compromised and it will take some time to rebuild her constitution. Although natural health solutions may not always be the "quick fix" Americans are used to seeking when something goes wrong, the rewards are priceless. Suzy's glowing smile and attentive to behold. Her parents say they definitely notice a difference in her for the best and are grateful for their relative’s referral allowing them to explore a different path.

Ear Infections Sometimes Structural Problems

In my own practice, I find one of the main causes of ear infections is sublimation or slight misalignment of the neck vertebrae. Nerves function by sending messages to and from the brain to specific areas. The nerves that go to the ears have to thread in between the neck bones. Misalignment can affect the ears function by irritating those nerves. Sometimes a child has a rough ride down the birth canal or other incident after birth that can interfere with proper neck alignment. If it is a structural solution it will not respond to antibiotic therapy.

In addition to treating structural cause, other possible contributing factors that may need to be addressed during treatment include airborne allergies, food sensitivities, and poor dietary habits. Sugar for instance, inhibits our body's immune system by decreasing our white blood cell activity by 60 percent for a time after ingestion. Sometimes zinc, nutrients, and good bacteria are helpful to strengthen the body's immune system or essential fatty acids may be helpful to reduce the inflammatory response. IF food sensitivities are found, dietary changes may be recommended.

Every child's case is unique and needs to be evaluated by a licensed healthcare professional. Referrals are made if the problem is not structural and needs to be medically attended. If you or someone you know is at their wits end because of a child’s chronic ear problem, remember the saying "If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got." There may be other ways to solve this problem. Sometimes it means thinking out side of the box.