Why I love Dr. Jack…

 

It is no secret to anyone who reads my blog or my Facebook page, that I absolutely love Dr. Jack,     partnertohealth.com.  Have you ever met someone and immediately knew in your heart that you and the other person shared some kind of connection?  I have met only two people in life where that happened to me, and Dr. Jack is one of them. He is always telling me that I should write a book!

I should write a book…. About HIM!

When you are trying to decide if you should work with him, you don’t really know him.  So if you came here from another site, I thought I would tell you more about him, not about his credentials, but more about him as a person.

From the very first time he called me to discuss working with me, I just knew that there was something different about this man, something different about his approach. And from the second we spoke, my heart knew I could totally trust him.

To understand that all better, read My Story and our first conversation.   What struck me right in the beginning was that he was a very genuine person.  He told me all about how he got into functional medicine because he wanted to help his patients.  You see, Dr. Jack is actually a chiropractor, and he had patients who needed to lose weight to help with muscle and skeletal issues.  He decided to continue his studies and became certified in functional medicine as a way of helping those people.   And what he learned was that if he just helped people to get really healthy, then their weight came off naturally.

What I especially liked about him right from that first day was the way he talked to me. He listened to everything I told him, and then he said he knew he could help me.  The conversation went on with him explaining how he had a proven track record of helping people with difficult situations, and how Hashimoto’s and thyroid disease is no mystery to him.

As if all that is not great enough, he promised me that he would never give up on me, that we were a team and we were going to work together.  Was I scared??  Definitely! If you had failed as many times as I had you would be scared too.  But I trusted him, my heart knew to trust him.

Since that day, in the four months I have worked with him, I have come to realize what a true gift Dr. Jack is to my life.  I have worked with many doctors where I felt like a number.  That has been hard on me.   My primary care physician treats me like a person, and so does Dr.Jack. But I have sat through plenty of appointments where they called me by the wrong name, and I doubted they heard a single word I said, as all they did was write me a prescription and wish me well.  Ask me sometime about my misdiagnosis of fibromyalgia, and my primary was the one who said, “You don’t have that!”

That’s how Dr. Jack is, he treats me like a person, not a number on a chart, he makes me feel like I am his only patient. My success is as important to him as well as me, and when I stumble, or when I get discouraged, he is right there, with answers and solutions, with kind words, with positive reinforcement, with education and understanding, with positive conversation and never criticism.  He explains things in terminology I can understand, and when I succeed, he cheers the loudest for me and modestly takes no credit for my success, despite that it is all about what he is doing.

The truth is, that Dr. Jack saved me.  It wasn’t an easy task.  In the months we have worked together, he saved me, one little piece at a time.  He cured so much of what was wrong, not just body but in spirit, and taught me things I could never learn by reading a book.  He is someone I talk about constantly to anyone who will listen to me.  And people are always asking me questions about him.

You only worked with him online?  How personal could that be?

– Dr. Jack knows more about me, than some of my closest friends. We have discussed all kinds of issues related to my weight loss journey.  We have sorted through past experiences and I have learned to lose certain thoughts and ideas.

He knows where I work, about the people in my life, what my children’s names are, what I like to do in my free time.  Our relationship is doctor/patient and friend/friend.    No, we had never met until January,and that was only because I just wanted to talk to his face.  But personal? It is all about personal.

I have shared some of my deepest secrets, things I never share, that have impacted my life, and my ability to lose weight.    And he has been kind enough to listen, to care, and offered much needed guidance.  He is the most caring man you will ever meet.  He is not judgemental at all.  He simply accepts you where you are and helps you grow from there.  He is all about health as a whole person, not just diet.

Isn’t it expensive? It’s not covered by insurance.

– I shudder to think of the money I have invested in things that didn’t  work.  I have a library of dieting materials that proved useless. Books, programs, exercise videos, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Paleo, AIP, Spark people, hypnosis videos, medications!!  Has any of that helped? Did I lose anything? Did I cure my symptoms?   This program has been the only thing that cured everything. And trust me,  if one of us got the shorter end of the deal it is him!

I was determined I was going to soak up every bit of knowledge I could from this man.  He is always kind, tells me all the time, I don’t care how many questions you ask me.  Ha ha!  He lost in that story a long time ago,  because I ask thousands!  I thirst for the knowledge he shares.  For the education alone? He is worth ten times what I paid.

I invested a lot of money in things over my lifetime…. My house…..my car….my kids….their health.  Am I not worthy of the same small investment?  I rarely do anything for myself, but this is totally about me and totally for me,  and I am proud of myself for being brave enough to do it.

He tells you that you can’t eat certain things.

– Dr. Jack has never asked me to do anything that he has not explained to me in detail and nothing he hasn’t done himself.   And even after he explained it, he puts the decision back on me.  I am the one who ultimately decides what I am doing.  All he does is provide knowledge. I can still hear him in my head, “No one can tell you what to do, you have to decide that for yourself.”

For me, I was so desperate for help that if he had told me to stand on my head for an hour, I would have done it.  I was desperate for relief.  I have learned though, to just carefully listen and process what he saying.  When he is done, you follow his recommendation not because he told you to, but because you understand why he says that, why it is so important.

Don’t believe me?  Do your own research on sugar. See what you read.  Decide for yourself.

Is he one of those doctors who preaches at you?

Ha ha!  That one makes me laugh.  Dr. Jack has the unique ability to talk to every person on a level that makes you see that he respects you. He never preaches. He doesn’t have to.  He gives facts. And hands down, he is the best at pushing you forward so that you feel like you can just keep going.  Critical? Never!!  Encouraging? Always.  Truthful? Completely.

Others I have worked with:  Push yourself away from the table. You are eating way too much!

Dr. Jack: You don’t eat enough, we need to look at this. You are under nourished.

Others: You didn’t lose any weight. What are you doing wrong?

Dr. Jack: You didn’t lose any weight because your muscle mass increased. How awesome is that?

Others: You eat far too much.

Dr. Jack: Are you hungry? Then eat something.  Eating helps to keep your metabolism going and increased weight loss.

Others:  You are the problem.

Dr. Jack: You are not the problem.  The problem is at a cellular level. We have to fix that problem.

Others: Another plateau? You are doing things wrong.

Dr. Jack: This is all part of the weight loss cycle.  Do you want me to explain to you why this is going on and what we can do?

Others: You only lost twenty pounds so far.

Dr. Jack: You lost twenty pounds! That’s awesome!!   You are rocking this!!   Look at how great you are feeling and guess what? It’s only going to get better!

Others: You need more exercise. Get a gym membership.

Dr. Jack: The last thing you need right now is to cause your body more stress.  Go ahead and take a walk but don’t overdo.  We will incorporate things when I see that it’s a good time.

Others: You lie about what you eat.

Dr. Jack: I believe everything you are saying to me. The weight will go, you have to trust me.

Others: You obviously don’t do what you are told to do, that’s why you fail.

Dr. Jack: You have done everything I asked you to try.  You are a pleasure to work with.

I could go on for days….. I couldn’t lose ten pounds no matter what I did….. With him? 61 pounds and going strong.  Cured…..

In body…. Every day I feel stronger, symptoms of disease gone! Losing weight!  More energy!

In mind….  No more feeling like a failure! Pieces of my self esteem super glued back in place by him.  Feeling as though so much is still in store for me! Optimistic! Happy! Feel like I accomplished something!

In heart….I am so worth this!  It wasn’t what I was doing wrong!  I take great care of my own heart now!  I don’t have to feel bad about anything.  I so much deserve this!

And in soul…. It is time to let go of the past, to put down all the stuff!  To open myself up to new things! To look at the future as if I am standing at the top of the highest mountain, arms open wide, ready to take it all in!  The sky is the limit for me now!

Like I said, I love Dr. Jack…. Now that’s a topic I could write a book about!