I’m sure you’ve seen our social media posts and emails about a special we’re running called Doctor’s With a Heart. It’s important for us to give back to the community that we serve. We have at least 3 events each year in which we donate to a charity. Past recipients have been Open Doors for Youth, CAER food shelf, and Feed My Starving Children just to name a few. We have been running the Doctor’s With a Heart program for the past 10 years. We offer new patients a great deal on their first visit, and since 2012, we have donated their payment to a charity that hits close to home for us, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Specifically, for Team Dylan.
Dylan Mertz is our twenty year old patient who has been living with cystic fibrosis (CF) his entire life. Dr. Jeremy has had the pleasure of being his chiropractor since Dylan was 8 years old. He has overcome so much, as he complies with all that is asked of him to keep him healthy. He takes nearly 60 pills a day, does an hour of chest physiotherapy (using a vest), and has to take inhaled medications as well. He has always stayed active and wants to be sure he stays healthy for when a cure comes.
One of the ways he stays healthy is with regular chiropractic care. Most people think of chiropractors as back and neck doctors, but really we’re concerned with how your nervous system is working. We just use your back and neck to access your nervous system. Your nerves control everything in your body from your muscles to your organs & glands to your blood vessels. So, if your nerves aren’t functioning right, the rest of you won’t work right. It is especially important for someone like Dylan, dealing with a genetic disorder, to have an optimally functioning spine and nervous system. That will allow his body to really focus in on fighting CF.
Dylan was recruited to play Division II NCAA lacrosse in Georgia and is currently a sophomore, studying public policy, so he can give back by advocating in some way for a career. The most recent good news is that he is able to take advantage of a new medication that stops the progression of the disease by addressing the protein defect in the CF gene. He has gained weight and has an overall sense of improved well-being. Dylan’s mom said, “We are truly blessed by this drug as a family, but we are not finished yet. It is not a cure, and 10% of the patient population is not eligible for this great drug.” We are honored to help this amazing family! Please visit https://www.cff.org/ for more information about cystic fibrosis and the great work being done to find treatments and cures.