Doctor Melody

For the past few weeks, Dixie has just been an one big foul mood. At the slightest provocation, she is either enraged or hysterical. She isn't sleeping well and often turns her head from side to side, complaining that it aches.

Two weeks ago, we were sitting in church and she was snuggled up in my lap. I started rubbing on the back of her neck. She sighed, declaring, "That feels good" and so I continued to rub her neck until she fell asleep in my lap.

Dixie NEVER naps. It's been at least 18 months.

While rubbing her tiny neck, I noticed that her bones are not remotely in a straight line, but figured that it was likely due to the position she was lying in. After she awoke, I had her stand straight and felt again. Still curved. I checked again the next day, then mentioned it to my chiropractor.

Until I started working the second job, the girls often took turns going to the chiropractor with me in the morning. They loved it. They knew where the small toy basket was, where the coloring supplies were and enjoyed pretending to fix my back while I awaited my turn.

When I brought her in, she was already at home. The x-rays made her pause, but her nerves were eased as soon as she realized that the first one didn't hurt. We waited for the results and they confirmed that I was not imagining things--the top of her spine curved to the right and the bottom curved to the left.

My chiropractor has kids my kids' age and is great with the little ones. She laid down on the table and he started the adjustment and I could tell that she was so excited to be so grown-up and like Mommy. He started off very gently, then did something a bit stronger. Her eyes brightened and she exclaimed, "I heard popcorn in my neck!" So now, he looks for more popcorn each time that she goes.

With a five-year-old, it is really hard to tell if something is helping because she'll answer what she thinks you want to hear. She is sleeping longer and more deeply, though, and the hair trigger has been tamed. After four adjustments, there are no more headaches.

He's supposed to see her six more times, then take x-rays. If things are back, then we're good to go. If not, it may be a sign of something structurally wrong that he can't fix and it will be time to go see her pediatrician. Either way, I'm really glad I caught it.

Now, every time we go, she hops onto the table and lays face down. Doctor Melody treats her first. When the chiropractor is ready for Dixie, Melody comes to hold my hand while I lay on the spinal decompression table. The appointments come between my two jobs and I love that I get to see them at some point before bedtime, even if brief.