By Danielle Webster This year Larisa Bogle, Amanda Waters and I represented the McTimoney chapter at the 37th World Congress of Chiropractic Students Annual General Meeting, hosted by Life University in Atlanta from 3-10 April 2015. Finally the wait was over and the day arrived for my very first WCCS AGM. At the opening ceremony Larisa and Amanda, having represented Mctimoney at previous WCCS events, moved effortlessly through the excitable crowd of chiropractic students. As we moved amongst the delegates and introduced ourselves it became clear that this was not as scary as I had imagined it was a big family and we shared a common belief. My initial anxiety soon disappeared as each and every new person I met welcomed me with a big smile and open arms. The main purpose of the day was to get to know each other, gain trust and build relationships. Everyone took part in team building games in the grounds followed by a tour of the ‘Life U’ campus. The campus is incredible. As well as cutting edge classrooms and facilities Life University has over 5 miles of running paths cutting their way through beautiful scenery, a top class rugby field and a state champion rugby league team. Life University really is a vitalistic powerhouse within the chiropractic world. The entrance is dominated by the Dr Sid Williams monument, huge hands in position for a toggle adjustment. Originally modelled on Dr Sid’s hands the bronze cast is 5.5 metres high and 3.5 metres wide. Behind this is the 14 metre tall bell tower that contains a flaming torch. The burning flame represents the spirit of chiropractic and remembrance of Chiropractors that were persecuted. In the evening Life U hosted a Cowboy themed BBQ. WCCS alumni were invited to attend the first few days of congress; in return they delivered workshops providing detail of their experiences once they had graduated. It was really interesting and enlightening to hear how being part of WCCS had also helped them in beyond their college days. A great evening spent further developing networks and friendships. The first day of congress started with debating the proposals that had been put forward by different Universities for this year. Roberts rules are used to ‘manage’ the debate. A great tool but took a little bit of getting used to and so the first proposal took up the whole morning! This was followed by a presentation from Dr Guy Riekeman, president of Life University and a second generation chiropractor with over 40 years experience. Dr Riekeman talked about the correlation of the rise of Chiropractic with the introduction of Wolves back to Yellowstone National Park. (Youtube, How wolves change rivers) The afternoon was taken up with delegation and group photographs. The photographs show just how small I am in comparison to the hands! Billet night followed. Life University WCCS members host a small group of delegates at their house providing food and entertainment for the evening. This was a great way of getting to know each other, sharing ideas on philosophy and Chiropractic. Day three started in a similar vain to day two, another early morning at congress working our way through proposals and resolutions followed on by a Chiropractor presentation. Dr Roy W. Sweat was born in 1927 and graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1946, he is now 88 years old and having practiced chiropractic for over 60 years still shows little signs of slowing down, popping in to talk to us during his lunchbreak! Dr Sweat’s talk was primarily focused on his tool and technique of atlas adjustment using an ‘atlas orthogonal adjuster’. The evenings event was held at The Georgia State Aquarium, the second largest aquarium in the world. After dinner Dr Gilles LaMarche talked us through his Chiropractic story and how having regular Chiropractic treatment has improved his life. Dr Jeanne Ohm an international lecturer (and Chiropractor) kicked off day four, providing an insight into her views on Chiropractic for paediatric and family wellness. Dr.Ohm is the CEO for the International Chiropractic Paediatric Association (ICPA) as well as a published author and researcher of pregnancy, birth, children and chiropractic. Dr Ron Kirk a lecturer at Life U has developed the world recognised ‘Straighten Up America’ program to educate children on maintaining their own spinal health. This program is a series of simple exercises for a healthy posture. Within WCCS there are a number of Committees to support the work of the WCCS and promote unity and development of Chiropractic. One of the largest committees is the Chiropractic Humanitarian Assistance Programme (CHAP). During the current year CHAP has raised funds and awareness for Water Aid and World Spine Care. At each AGM the CHAP committee organises a community project for all of the delegates to get involved in. This year we promoted the ‘Straighten Up America’ exercises learned from Dr Kirk to the supporters coming into watch the Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball game. Members of the CHAP committee were also invited to go courtside for the players warm up. Dr. Jay Komerak, a family wellness chiropractor who also works with animals was our speaker for day 5. A practitioner for 35 years, Dr Komerak talked us through the work he does with horses to improve their behaviour and wellbeing. We spent the afternoon listening to the proposals and plans for the regional events planned for the coming year. That evening we all had the privilege of being invited to the Carrick Brain Institute. Dr. Carrick told us about how he had became disenchanted with drug and surgery treatments for serious ailments and brain injuries. He believed there to be a less invasive and drug-centric solution. Following years of research and development the Carrick Brain Institute provides a mix of functional neurology and chiropractic to support and rehabilitate people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. Neurologists and Chiropractic doctor’s gave us a tour of the clinic and explained how the equipment is used in practice. People come from around the world for an intensive week of treatment. One example given of what is achieved at the Institute is a wheelchair bound patient being able to walk a few steps at the end of the intensive week of treatment. The Carrick Institute is world class, from its personnel to its equipment. one piece of equipment used is an ‘Off Vertical Axis Rotational Device’. – A piece of kit also used by NASA to prepare astronauts! The chair rotates in a precisely-controlled way, depending on the patients motion profile, in order to stimulate the vestibular system. After a long, exciting, and sometimes heated week of congress, things were coming to an end. On the last day a new board of directors were selected, the destination for 2017 AGM was confirmed and the batton for the next AGM was handed to IFEC (France) with that congress business was complete. There was just one more event to attend; the evening gala dinner. A fantastic French themed evening, a nod for the venue of next years AGM, spent eating, dancing and cementing what are bound to be lifelong friendships. I would have to say that my time in America and attending this AGM was breath taking, often lost for words and constantly in awe of where I was, what I was doing and my role in the advancement of chiropractic. I met amazing people from across the world, many of whom I call my friends and all of whom I call my family.
Every day I learnt something new, I was constantly inspired and impressed, my eyes were opened and yours can be to. If you would like to be a part of the delegation for Paris in 2016 get involved with WCCS now. Check out the website: http://mccwccs.weebly.com or email: [email protected] |