I want to share with you a story. Now, stories either fall into 1 of 2 categories, fiction or non-fiction. The story I am going to share with you is true, and I know this for certain because I was there, in the drivers seat. This is the story of the single event that changed the course of my life, and it happened when I was 16.
Let me set the scene for you. It was a Wednesday evening in Spring. I had only had my drivers license a few months at this point and was LOVING IT. I loved to drive. To me, it meant freedom and control, the ability to go where I needed and more importantly wanted to go. Every teenager longs for this opportunity, and when it finally happens the excitement and joy are limitless.
On this particular evening my cousin, who is just a few months older than me, invited me to check out the new home his parents had just purchased. Obviously any excuse to drive was good enough for me so I met him at this home up in the hills of our town. After a very detailed tour of the home we decided it was getting late and began our walk back to our cars. He led the way down to get back to the main road. As we approached the red light, I pulled up next to him, looked over and rev’d my engine. He looked over and the challenge was on!
Sine we were traveling downhill, speed jumped up quickly. It was a two lane road with a separated bike lane on the right. As we barreled down the road I pulled out in front into the left lane. I ran over a storm drain that caused the car to bounce right, then left. I regained control only to hit another storm drain. Again, right then left. I looked up only to find a giant bend in the road. Boy I must have missed that warning. I pulled the wheel as hard as I could to the right thinking I could make the turn. In doing this, the car shut down, stalled. Power steering, brakes, gas…everything. It was at this moment that time stood still. Everything became very dark, lights became elongated, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I managed to make out a shape right in front of me, an old Oak tree. With all my strength I willed the car to the right, missing this Oak by inches. Unfortunately, the next object in my path was unavoidable. I slammed into the front porch of a home at 50 mph.
Thankfully, no one in the home was hurt. No pedestrians were hurt. No cars in the four lanes of traffic I screamed across were hurt. I wasn’t hurt … well at least that is what they told me.
In the months that followed I began to notice changes from that accident. Now, these weren’t outwardly apparent and because of that I did my best to keep them to myself. I began to have difficulty remembering names of people I met, difficulty with articulation, trouble with memory in general. I think the biggest two changes though were the brain fog and a loss of emotion. Now, I don’t mean depression or anger, what I began to feel was nothing, no emotions at all. As a result, I learned to become a chameleon, blending into social situations and acting as if. I thought that in time these symptoms would dissipate and I’d return to the guy I was before but it never really happened. I lived this way the rest of high school, as I received my B.S. in Exercise Physiology, and even halfway through my doctorate program. I became an expert in fitting in.
It was while completing my general chiropractic education that I learned that there was a procedure that may be able to offer me the hope I so desperately was looking for. This procedure focused exclusively on the top bone in the neck, called the Atlas. In Greek mythology, Atlas is the name of the Titan who holds the world on his back. I didn’t realize at the time but that was a very fitting name for this top bone in the neck, as it plays a critical role in holding the brain in place.
It was after receiving my first adjustment that everything changed. It felt like someone had pulled the plug out of the sink drain and fluid could finally drain properly. It was from this point on that my brain began to heal. Even after 8 years of symptoms, my body began to heal.
The reason why I share this here today is two fold. First, it is therapeutic to get this off my chest, I have not shared this story before. In fact I tried to bury and pretend it every even happened. Second, I don’t want others who have suffered a head injury to wait 8 years to receive help. I WISH I knew about this sooner. That is my objective, to empower my community to make smart choices relative to their health.
I’ll leave you with this, your current state of health does NOT dictate your future…Just because you are dealing with the affects of head trauma does not mean you cannot get better again. There is HOPE to heal.

About Atlas Chiropractic of Boulder
At Atlas Chiropractic of Boulder we are not only concerned about your symptoms, but also you as a person and what is important to you. We know that not everyone’s the same and not everyone has the same goals. It is important to us that we present a chiropractic care plan that works for you and is tailored to you and your health concerns.

We’re a specialty Boulder Chiropractor focused on back pain, neck pain, vertigo, and migraine headaches. Our patients visit our Boulder office from all over Northern Colorado, including, Longmont, Erie, Superior, Lafayette, Niwot, Louisville, Broomfield, and Denver, Colorado.

Contact Atlas Chiropractic of Boulder today to schedule a free evaluation. Specialized upper cervical chiropractic care is by no means a “hail Mary” solution, but if you haven’t yet seen Dr. Bremner, you’re nowhere close to running out of options.