Our Mikah, now almost 7, cried quite a bit when he was a newborn. It wasn’t constant, so while we felt he might be in pain, we didn’t know for sure. We did see right away that he couldn’t hold his head up straight, nor could he turn his head all the way to one side.
Our initial visits to a convential pediatrician resulted in a “wait and see” diagnosis of possible torticollis. She said that she wasn’t sure he had it, but over time we’d know for certain.
Our midwife, Jacque, who had been with us for our home births of Naomi and Mikah, checked in with us regularly to see how we were doing. Thank the Lord for her! We mentioned Mikah’s issues — limited neck movement, crying and the pediatrician’s thoughts. Jacque suggested we visit a chiropractor — Dr. Hoopes of Fresno, California (we lived there then). He would see newborn patients for free because of his belief that newborns often, if not always, need to be adjusted after traveling through the confining birth canal.
Dr. Hoopes accepted Mikah as a patient within a day. Mikah was 2-1/2 months old, and much of his life until then he’d spent crying and in pain. I ache to think of it.
The doctor checked Mikah’s pain level by testing his gag reflex. How deep a finger can slide in a child’s mouth reveals the level of pain. The deeper the finger can go, the lesser the pain, and vice versa. Mikah gagged almost right away when Dr. Hoopes put his finger to Mikah’s mouth. Dr. Hoopes said, “This boy is in pain.” He tested one other area to assess a pain level, but I don’t remember where that was.
He then inspected Mikah. He saw that Mikah’s head was misshapen. He probed the head and neck. He figured out the source of the neck pain and limited movement and went to work quickly. After applying a small amount of pressure to a place behind one of Mikah’s ears, Dr. Hoopes reported the release of the nerve that was being pinched. He didn’t say much else, except that he believed Mikah’s head would return to a fairly normal shape (although probably never be perfect, and this turned out to be true). He told us that he expected Mikah to start getting better right away and asked us to come back for a probably unnecessary follow-up visit. Then he sent us home.
Here’s the miracle. Within 24 hours, Mikah could hold his head up straight, he could turn his head all around, and he finally learned to roll over. What an amazing 24 hours.
What if our midwife hadn’t mentioned taking him to Dr. Hoopes…
What if I’d canceled the chiropractic appointment, as our pediatrician advised me to do…
What if we’d taken him to the chiropractor later in life, when quite possibly, his nerve could have been permanently damaged by being pinched off…
Thankfully our God is not a God of “what ifs” — He’s a good God and He is very good to us.
Thanks for sharing. That was very moving (and informative)!
What a great story!!! My hubby and I own a chiropractic clinic (hubby is the chiro, I do the non-adjusting stuff) and ever since we had children, we have offered free mom and newborn checks. Just like your son’s chiro many years ago, we too feel like it is just too important for money to stand in the way. We really love our patients and it is always wonderful to hear these stories from chiropractic patients. There is so much bad press, and in truth, there are so many different kinds of chiropractors, that any good words are appreciated. I hope you find relief for your immediate problems, but don’t forget to ask if your chiro has a preventative care plan that might suit you, or even if he offers family plans so that all of you can be regularly adjusted.
My second oldest daughter, now 10 cried *A LOT* as a baby. She did have a somewhat traumatic birth; her shoulder got stuck and they had to push and pull her out, leaving me with a fourth degree tear-ouch! It makes me sad to think, with your experience, that she probably was in pain, herself. The ped just said she was grumpy and she’d grow out of it.
Pain never crossed my mind; we just thought she was a fussy baby. She was better by six months, but those were a TRYING first six months! I will keep this story tucked away in my brain and ready to mention when I speak with a momma with a fussy baby.
BTW, she’s the sweetest thing now, hardly ever grumpy! She blogs at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/girlofgod
Thanks!
Momma
I also brought children to Dr Hoopes. After a second baby had trouble nursing, our lactation consultant sent us to see the Dr. Her jaw was misaligned from birthing and he adjusted it. Then we brought the 1st child in that had trouble also. She was about 3 1/2yrs but was not saying anything. She understood, but couldn’t form words. He adjusted her jaw and in a couple of weeks she had an expanding vocabulary. She LOVED to go and see him. I think she knew how much he helped her. He helped all of us out so much, we are so grateful. Thank you for sharing your story and I’m so glad he was able to help your son.
Wow! Thank you for sharing your experience with Dr. Hoopes. I am so happy he could help your children. His ministry to newborns is remarkable and something for which we will be thankful for many years to come!
Love, Wardeh