We get more when we give. It’s such a simple concept yet it feels so out of touch with what is going on in our society today. One of the most important life lessons we learn becomes skipped over in our fast-paced, me-centered lives. Easily forgotten is that no matter how tough you think your life is, there’s always someone who must face challenges that are even tougher than yours.
No one feels that drowning weight of despair more than a parent with a sick child. When a child is chronically ill, the whole family feels the pain and the parents carry the worst of it. Regardless if the disease is emotional or a physical disability the whole family suffers. Mothers and fathers experience guilt, anger and sheer exhaustion. Other siblings in the house may feel neglected.
Which is exactly why facilities like Oklahaven Children’s Chiropractic Center is so vital to families with chronically ill children. The majority of children who are seen at the center have been through every measure of traditional medicine. Their families are burdened with insurmountable medical debt on top of losing any hope that their child will live a quality life.
Oklahaven was started 56 years ago to provide a service to chronically ill children that was lacking in the field of traditional medicine. When the center first began in 1962, most of the children treated were paralyzed, in braces and wheelchair bound. As the children improved with each adjustment, restoring their health through the natural recuperative powers of the body, parents began to see miracles happen. Families who were once hopeless could experience their children achieving meaningful lives.
Since its beginning, chiropractic is based on the scientific fact that the nervous system controls the function of every cell, tissue, organ and system of your body. The spinal cord, which allows the brain to communicate with every part of the body, is covered by 24 moving vertebrae. This movement, although beneficial, creates vulnerability to the nervous system. When the vertebral bones lose their normal motion, or position, they disrupt the function of nerves that travel to tissues or organs within the body. In chiropractic, this is called a Vertebral Subluxation.
The chiropractic theory is that sub-lux-ations are due to stress, trauma and poisons within the body causing function to diminish to the areas where the nervous system is compromised. Once subluxations are treated the body, can reach its optimal wellness. The nervous system is a life source for the body but when diminished, it creates negative patterns of response. With each chiropractic adjustment the life force returns and health of the child are restored.
Oklahaven Children’s Chiropractic Center provides families who once lost all hope, a chance at a happier, healthier, drug-free lifestyle. Their success stories show that when people learn the chiropractic premise of subluxations, they can fully understand the benefits of natural health care and the body’s recuperative power. Their mission is to help sick and disabled children back to health naturally through chiropractic care. The center has found success treating neurologically disorganized children with nursing difficulties, colic, ear aches, failure to thrive, developmental delays, asthma, arthritis, ADD, ADHD through the autistic spectrum and cerebral palsy.
Parents come to Oklahaven as a last hope, therefore, the founders chose to provide chiropractic care through a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. They rely on the generosity of the private sector who share their vision of natural drug-free health care as well as chiropractic colleges to donate their services. Oklahaven operates through private donations without federal, state or United Way funding. Therefore, the Have a Heart Donation Campaign we are hosting in our office is vital for these children. Now until February 14, we are asking our patients and friends to donate to Oklahaven. All who donate will be entered to win a Valentine’s Day Prize pack that includes a $20 gift card to Edison’s Entertainment Complex and a tour/sampling for 10 to Mastermind Vodka Distillery.
Giving back is where you give, and then nothing happens. No benefits for you, no recognition, nothing tangible gets sent your way. Your biggest and sole reward is the realization that you’ve made a significant change in someone’s life. And if not “significant” then a positive change nevertheless.
By: Liz Loy, Chiropractic Assistant