I was a competitive athlete and my main sport was football, which I played for 15 years, including 3 years
at the university level.
I also had a serious car accident at 15 years old, where I suffered a whiplash-type injury. From my late teens to early 20’s I had about a 7-8 year period of chronic pain. Ongoing daily neck pain, upper back pain, radiating arm pain, and numbness in both of my hands. It progressed to include low back pain, sciatic pain, and unstable shoulders.
Every 3-4 months I would have a severe episode where I would not be able to move my neck or do much of anything for days or sometimes weeks. I saw
many different health professionals and I liked all of the natural therapies (massage therapy, physio,
naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and chiropractic) but nothing I tried offered more than temporary relief.
I did not let anything stop me as I was training at a high level, playing football, studying as a full-time student and even working as a cook on the weekends. My problems were often dismissed by medical professionals as a product of my training and the stresses of being a student. It wasn’t until my 3rd year in university that I finally had x-rays taken and my spine properly assessed by a very thorough chiropractor (the fact that no other doctor recommended x-rays up until that point still boggles my mind). I had a complete loss of the normal curve in my neck and degenerative changes (arthritis) in all three regions of my spine (in my early 20’s). This particular doctor created a lightbulb moment for me. I
started to see that many of my health problems were caused by mechanical issues that were impacting the delicate nerves in my spine.
These problems had developed as a result of the traumas and stresses I had experienced in my life. I finally had HOPE and an Intelligent Gameplan to correct and stabilize my spine. I started to do specific work to correct my spinal structure and function. Very quickly I began to see significant symptomatic improvement.
This was enough evidence for me (a Kinesiology student at the time) that I “HAD TO” become a chiropractor to learn more, fully correct my spine, and one day help other people find hope and intelligent solutions for their health challenges. I am happy to say that I have maintained my improved/corrected spinal structure and function now for over 20 years. I use my personal health experience, my clinical experience, and current scientific evidence to determine the best possible approach for each patient. I have been in full-time practice since 2005, working first in Ontario and then in BC. Myself, my wife Tina and my daughters Gabriella and Claire have called the Okanagan home since 2016.