My Journal

I had quite an educational experience last Friday being my first visit to a chiropractor. I must admit I have been feeling some pain in my right hip for the last couple of months. There are times that I scream in pain at a turn in a position in bed or when lunging to a standing position from my seat in the office or in the lounge. I always thought it was just my hip expanding and adjusting, giving way to the baby’s growth and eventually childbirth. Boy, was I wrong?!

On Friday, after feeling a lot of swelling and pain for half the day, I decided to ring around for an appointment with a chiropractor around my area.  After the 5^th phone number – bingo – I was given an appointment within one hour at First Choice Chiropractor.  Dr Kent, the chiropractor who saw me was very friendly, talkative and interactive. Normally, they would have their patients undergo the Xray to check the condition of the spine but because I’m pregnant this was not advisable.  I was instead put through some nerve impulse scan which determines the nervous stress surrounding my spine. I thought I wouldn’t have much problem except for the hip area where I’ve been feeling a lot of pain because I always thought I’ve always been conscious of my posture whether I’m standing, sitting or lying. My scan read that I had 4 severe stresses along my spine - just above my neck, shoulder blade, mid-back and hips/pelvic area. What this means as explained by Dr K is that each spinal disc has a nerve. When the disc misaligns from the spine, called subluxation, the nerve affiliated with that disc gets stressed which gives off very high nervous impulses. The stress gets delivered to the organ or part of the body which that particular nerve connects to, thus, causing some discomfort and/or pain in that area. Now I don’t wonder why sometimes I have migraines, shoulder stiffness, diarrhoea, gastro, heartburn and period pains (back during my non-pregnant days) – it was because these are the body parts affected by my stressed nerve due to the misalignment of the spine. Another big thing was that when I bent forward, Dr K noticed that my left hip joint moved correctly where as my right hip joint was locked in movement with my spine which causes the sometimes excruciating pain because it was pinching the nerve. After this diagnosis, Dr K gave my first spinal adjustment. I heard 5 wonderful loud, cracks which gave immediate relief from my head to my feet. Oh what a feeling?! After that he advised me to go for a 6 week chiropractic care, 2x a week to ensure that my adjustments will work and my spine will go into its proper place to express the natural healing power of my spine and the body itself.  He warned me that my first adjustment is not the permanent cure to my woes. Because my brain and body has been accustomed to the ‘subluxed’ spine, my brain will want to go back to it from the proper position that the adjustment has caused. That’s why constant chiropractic care of adjustments will be necessary for my body and brain to accept what’s correct. After a few days of having had the adjustments, I can sleep better, I don’t have anymore headaches, and I have no more heartburns or gastro problems. More work has to be done on my hips though. I guess I just have to be a good girl and follow through my adjustments so I can enjoy the full benefits of having a perfect spine – if there’s such a thing. I strongly recommend to others to have their spine checked with a chiropractor. It’s educational, drug-free and releases the innate healing power of your body through understanding and correcting your spine (which is one of the first crucial body parts that develops as a human being). You never know what you will discover and what relief you may experience. After all, your health is your wealth.

2005 has been a blast for me!  These are my life’s major events and reflections on the year that was:

Relationships galore!

After a long distance preparation of our Catholic wedding/renewal of vows, we finally made it down the very long aisle of Basilica Immaculada Concepcion (Manila Cathedral) on a sunny Tuesday, 25 January 2005, followed by a joyous banquet at Wack Wack Golf & Country Club.  That day marked another beginning in our relationship as I treasure the blessings we received from the Holy Church.  I felt that in 2005 our marriage was truly strengthened, deepened and enriched.  Four couples who are all my friends have also tied the knot this year.  I wish them all the best!

Career

After some discernment on where I wanted to take my career, I finally decided to take the plunge and go for my 2^nd attack of job application and interviews after 7 years. In no time at all, I was successful in gaining a position which is where I really wanted to be career-wise.  I now work with great and fun colleagues who are professional and fun at the same time. 

Baby boom!

Alas! God gave us a miracle.  This year my husband and I fell pregnant and currently expecting the birth of our first-born on May 2006.  Nothing compares to the feeling of carrying another life in your body.  What’s more is that our marriage as husband and wife and future parents have given us a bond so strong, so fortified and so loving.  It’s in this I can conclude that a truly loving relationship is elevated when it bears fruit.  We are so looking forward to parenthood – the joys and pains it will bring.  Many of my friends fell pregnant this year as well.

Friendships

As they say friends come and go. It was in this year that I realised who my true friends are.  Friendships are also like loving relationships in which you want what’s best for the one you love.  From turns of events in my life throughout 2005, I have been able to pick who are those people whom I truly love and without a requited demeanour, those who love me and my family as well.   

Faith

It is in this year that I have gained deeper understanding of my faith. It sounds ironic doesn’t it because faith is a belief of what’s unknown yet I was able to understand it?  It was in this year that I was able to do a lot of self-study and research about my faith as a Catholic Christian.  I was able to learn about other faiths as well especially other Christian denominations.  This I believe, has strengthened my faith in the Church, especially that of the Catholic church.

I believe that all things happen for a reason and we also have the gift of free will.  Whatever happens in our life, whether good or bad, it is because God wants for us to learn and to reflect on these based on the results of our actions.  I believe that God is good and all He wants for us is to experience this goodness.  Yet we ourselves sometimes turn away from this goodness because of our own human weakness.  This is a whole new topic which I will discuss in my other blogs.  Ever since I found out I was becoming a mother, my devotion to our Holy Mother Mary has also been more profound.  My grandmother once told me that I have to believe as if the baby inside me is the same Jesus that Mary carried in her womb.  Thus, she said to reflect on the mysteries of the rosary.  If there’s any correlation, she ended up having 8 obedient children (including my father) who are all doing very well for themselves, have great careers, close-knit families and well-ingrained values.  Now that I’m spending more time on His word and on the words of the rosary, I believe that there is so much more to be done in order to truly fathom the wonders of the mystery of our Christian faith – again another topic of discussion. 

Overall, 2005 has been a truly blessed year with heaps of eye-opening experiences which has made me a better person. I thank our Lord for allowing me to lead a borrowed life and that I am able to share His blessings with others.  I’m already thankful for the blessings that He has prepared for me in 2006.  May God be praised always!