Chiropractors Unite to Help One of Their Own

When Asheville Chiropractor Dr. Dru Aguilar suffered a serious injury to his right hand, chiropractors all across the region united to help him and his patients.

It is a chiropractors worst fear to lose the use of his or her hands. Last November,Dr. Dru Aguilar of Asheville was doing some work around the house when a stubborn board became caught in a table saw. When Dr. Dru attempted to nudge the board free, his hand landed on the spinning blade, severing tendons, nerves and amputating several fingers.

Many hours of painstaking surgery ensued in an attempt to save Dr. Dru's fingers and spare the use of his hand. Though parts of two fingers were lost, all the nerves and tendons were reattached and the difficult rehabilitation ensued.

Dr. Dru is known and respected by many local chiropractors. Those of us who don't know him personally, do know his reputation as a great doctor. Doctors often know each other through their patients. I have met many of Dr. Dru's patients during my years of practice in WNC and have come to respect his excellent reputation through their reports of his care.

As Dr. Dru convalesced, he and his wife thought first of the needs of his patients. Jasmine, Dr. Dru's wife began making arrangements for the patients to keep receiving their much needed care. Chiropractors all across the western part of the state closed their own offices for a day or shift at a time and volunteered to take up shifts at Dr. Dru's office ensuring that their care continued.

Dr. Dru is a fighter, and he is making a strong recovery. But can a chiropractor continue delivering quality care after such an injury? You might be surprised by my answer!

Many years ago, Dr. Clarence Selmer Gonstead was one of our professions most influential contributors. He was the founder of an adjusting technique as well as numerous X-Ray innovations still taught in every major chiropractic college. 40 years ago, Dr. Gonstead's practice was the largest chiropractic office in the world (see picture on the right). So large in fact that it required its own air strip and hotel for the patients who wished to be treated by him. They came from all over the world. But what many don't know is that Dr. Gonstead had long been afflicted by severe rheumatoid arthritis which some report had nearly crippled both of his hands. It was his effort to overcome this disability that led him to the discovery of the Gonstead technique and is ultimately the reason for his phenomenal professional success. Sometimes what man perceives as an obstacle is God's way of providing an opportunity.

My heart and my prayers go out to Dr. Dru and his family. I look forward to hearing of his continued successful recovery, and I am proud of my chiropractic colleagues who have given selflessly to come to the aid of Dr. Dru's patients and family.

Dr. Dru should be able to begin adjusting patients in February.

A benefit will be held for Dr. Dru on January 28th at the Grey Eagle tavern.
View Benefit Brochure
Learn more at: www.DrDruAguilar.blogspot.com
Dr. Dru's office website: www.visitdrdru.com

Dr. Richards Re-Elected President NCCA-WD

Dr. Richards was re-elected to a second term as President of the North Carolina Chiropractic Association's western district, a region which represents approximately 20% of the practicing chiropractors in this state.

The North Carolina Chiropractic Association serves as the official voice for chiropractic in the state of North Carolina -- a collective voice of and for its members -- a voice that will promote chiropractic today and into the future.

The NCCA is the only statewide professional chiropractic organization dedicated to promoting chiropractic through education and public awareness, securing equal access for doctors of chiropractic, and improving the overall wellness of North Carolina citizens through chiropractic care. The NCCA has been active for over 90 years.

Chuck Hill of WHKP Adjusted on Live Radio

Chuck Hill, Host of Hendersonville's "Chuck in the Afternoon Show"
Click Play Button to Listen to Chuck's Adjustment on WHKP! (3:50)

A funny thing happened one Friday morning at the office!
Dr. Richards was finishing up a treatment with a patient and exited the adjusting room to discover Chuck Hill, broadcasting live on WHKP right from the waiting room. All of a sudden Dr. Richards, his assistant Wendy, and his patient were all being interviewed on the radio - Live. What a surprise!

First Chuck asked the patient "So, how do you feel after a treatment from Dr. Richards?" The patient answered "Oh! I feel soooo much better!". Then Chuck turned to Dr. Richards for a brief interview.

Later that afternoon, Chuck returned to be adjusted on live radio by Dr. Richards. After a brief off-air consult and exam, Dr. Richards shirked the pressure of performing before an audience of thousands of listeners and gave Chuck his cervical spine adjustment with a microphone in the air, live on WHKP! It was great fun and really helped launch our open house event... and Chuck had some instant relief of his neck pain.

A special thanks goes out to Pain Solutions for inviting WHKP to come to our office in the midst of their grand opening event. Thanks also to Chuck Hill and WHKP for all the fun and cheer they brought to our clinic.

By the way, in addition to being Hendersonville's most recognizable radio personality, Chuck is also an accomplished professional photographer. Take a look at his webpage: www.ChuckHillPhotography.com

Wendy Completes CA Certification

Very few Chiropractic Assistants go the extra mile to become officially certified by the North Carolina Chiropractic Association. Wendy has done just that.

Just as we celebrated her 4th year at Richards Family Chiropractic, she completed her course work and passed her final exams. She is now a Certified Chiropractic Assistant.

We are proud of her and grateful to have her with us!

Dr. Richards Speaks to Surgical Group in Asheville

Dr. Richards was invited to speak to a group of surgeons in Asheville. Rep. Bruce Goforth was also in attendance.

Mountain Neurology and Spine Center hosted a meeting of the North Carolina Chiropractic Association last Thursday (3/14/08). Approximately 40 doctors were present to enjoy a presentation by Dr. Jon Sherman about the latest technology used in Neurosurgery today and a presentation by NCCA-western district president, Dr. David Richards, about commonly used chiropractic techniques. Rep. Bruce Goforth also addressed the group to discuss political issues of importance to the patients we see.

Meetings of this nature are always exciting. After so many decades of consternation between the chiropractic and medical profession, this kind of inter-professional engagement is historic and encouraging. There is a developing spirit of cooperation between the chiropractic and medical professions. Imagine, only a few decades ago, chiropractors were being imprisoned for practicing their art. Now, just a few years later, the most prestigious medical centers are exploring its benefits and encouraging patients to utilize chiropractic care.

Dr. Richards has been committed to creating this kind of inter-professional dialog and helping to create a better medical climate for chiropractic patients, both now and in the future. Dr. Richards has also spoken at Pardee Health Center, Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care, Mountain Area Health Education Center, Blue Ridge Community College, and more.

Wendy's Son Brandon - Player of The Week

Many of you know my assistant Wendy. She handles our insurance billing and is a friendly smiling face around the office. But there is a side of Wendy that you may not yet know: the wrestling-mom, who cheers herself hoarse in the bleachers for her son and wrestling champ, Brandon!

Due to Brandon's phenomenal performance in last weeks Falcon Frenzy tournament Brandon was chosen this week as the Edward Jones/Times-News Prep Player of the Week!

According to West coach Jeff Smith, "Brandon's best attribute is that he is absolutely relentless for six minutes on the mat. He only has one gear: wide open. Other guys have pauses and that's where he catches people".

Brandon gets a chiropractic adjustment before his matches to make sure that his nervous system is operating at its peak and his body is in optimum balance. Like many great athletes, Brandon has found that Chiropractic care can give an athlete an edge over the competition.

He has racked up quite a record of success and we are all very proud to see him achieve!


Related Articles

Read the Times-News Online Article

Read Brandon's July article in Spine~Mail

Read what celebrities and athletes say about Chiropractic

Make a Note of These Changes To Our Practice

2007 has been a great year. We have made a number of improvements to our practice.
Here are a few things that have changed or are changing:

New Hours:
We have expanded our hours a bit. We have added an additional hour for patients who wish to come during the lunch hour. We have had to cut a half hour from our early morning hours to do this.

Our new hours are
Mon -Thurs 9-1 and 3-6
Friday 9-1

New Digital Foot Scanner:
Due to the increasing popularity of custom made shoe orthotics we added some new technology to the practice earlier this year. In previous years we were making molds of patients feet and mailing the molds to our custom orthotics center (Foot Levelers). We are now able to make a digital foot scan instead. This scan is sent electronically and the creation of your custom orthotic begins within minutes. This has dramatically reduced the amount of time it takes for us to receive your custom orthotics in the mail. Additionally the scan is fascinating to see. If you haven't had your feet scanned and wish to, ask our front desk to schedule a scan at no charge!



New Website:
The new website has really taken off. It is now averaging about 685 hits per day. In the last month the site has had visitors from 17 countries!

New Email Newsletter:
Our email newsletter has been a huge success. You may be surprised to know that every time you see one of our email news updates, that same update is being read by subscribers on 4 continents! All of our newsletters are written for the benefit of our patients and the majority of our subscribers are right here in Western North Carolina. But many non-patients have subscribed through the website. We now have subscribers in places like Russia, China and Iran!

New Remodeling:
We are almost finished with our renovation of the back room. We have patched holes, painted walls, replaced blinds, tore out the old cabinets and put in a new floor. Soon we will have our new cabinets. This will give us more space for new patients as it will function as an extra exam room.

New Maintenance Plans:
This one is still in the works. We are currently developing several maintenance "packages" that will provide significant discounts to patients who wish to maintain their spinal health through periodic maintenance adjustments. These will become available in January. We will keep you posted!

Of course, amidst all these changes there are some things that we'll never change:
We will always put our patients first. We'll always give our patients all the attention and care they need and deserve! We love helping you and we hope to one day be able to do the same for all of your friends and family!

Dr. Richards Elected to Serve as President in 2008

On August 2nd, Dr. Richards was elected President of the North Carolina Chiropractic Association's Western District by the chiropractors of Western North Carolina.

The NCCA is the organization that represents the interests of chiropractic patients and chiropractors in the state of North Carolina. Dr. Richards has served the association as treasurer for 2 consecutive terms and will begin his term as president this fall.

Dr. Richards said "I am excited about the opportunity to make North Carolina a healthier state and a better place for chiropractic patients. Also, I sincerely appreciate all of the doctors who practice in WNC for their vote of confidence in me."

Assistant Wendy's son in Times-News

Congratulations to Wendy's son Brandon!

He has achieved so much so quickly. Brandon has used chiropractic care as his "secret weapon" to keep himself in better balance than the competition. He was recently featured in the Hendersonville Times News, read their story below:

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Harrison finishes fourth in the nation

By Jeremy Darnell Times-News
Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Harrison finishes fourth in the nation
By Jeremy Darnell Times-News Staff Writer

Brandon Harrison lives to wrestle.

If his performance June 16-19 at the National High School Coaches Association Open in Myrtle Beach, S.C., is any indication, then life is pretty good.

The 15-year-old Harrison finished fourth in a 44-person bracket in the 119-pound classification to earn All-American honors. He also claimed All-American honors last year.

"I didn't expect to do as well as I did," Harrison said. "It was a goal to be an All-American and finish in the top eight, though."

Harrison put together a 37-7 record as a freshman this past season while at East Henderson. He was the Western Athletic Conference champion, finished second in the 112-pound division at the 1-A/2-A Western Regionals and finished seventh at the state tournament.

Harrison plans on attending West Henderson in 2007-08 as a sophomore, adding another outstanding wrestler to the defending WAC champions' fold.
Harrison, who wrestles with the Strong and Courageous club team, captured his first national championship in April of 2006 at the AAU Youth Nationals.

He credits his club coach, Norman Osteen, for much of his success. Harrison says he leans on Osteen to maximize his accomplishments.

"My coach has always been such a big help," he said.
Osteen himself credits Harrison with a newly acquired fire that has transformed him into a formidable competitor.

"Lately he has really got serious about the sport," Osteen said.

"He has improved more in the last three months than he had in the last two years."
And how far can Harrison's career go?

"I think he can wrestle in college as long as he continues his maturity both physically and mentally," Osteen said. "If he stays humble and hungry, he can wrestle and be successful in college."

reprinted from: http://www.hendersonvillenews.com/article/20070704/NEWS/707040349&SearchID=73287038847540