For almost 45 years, members of the Christian Chiropractors Association (CCA) have brought chiropractic care to people living in remote areas of the world. For many of those people, the hands-on care they receive is their first experience with chiropractic.
Working in foreign lands, while interesting, can be perilous, but the chiropractors of the CCA have served safely in over 60 countries.
Bruce Kniegge, DC, is accustomed to life in other countries. He is a 20-year member of the CCA, and has spent the last four years in Honduras. Bruce brings chiropractic to people at a mission station near the small town of Siguatepeque.
From time to time, other DCs come down and join Bruce at the mission station, treating the local people with the valued assistance of a medical doctor and a dentist. This is chiropractic on the front lines.
On January 22, 1998, Bruce set off for a 2 1/2 drive from the mission station to the airport in San Pedro Sula to pick up a Honduran teen-ager returning from the U.S. after undergoing corrective foot surgery. Accompanying Bruce on the trip were the returning boy's parents, the mission dentist, and Philip Yoo, DC, from Illinois, who had come down to spend some time at the mission.
The plane was late in arriving, and it was dark by the time Dr. Kniegge and his five passengers left the airport. As they moved away from the city, they turned off the main highway onto the secondary road that leads back to Siguatepeque.
It was then that Dr. Kniegge noticed a car behind them. The car soon closed the distance and began to tailgate. Bruce slowed and moved over to allow the car to pass. The car started to pass, but suddenly cut them off and forced Dr. Kniegge off the road and to a stop. Three men jumped out; two of them were waving guns. One of the armed men approached the car, raised the weapon and fired into the car. Dr. Kniegge started to turn his head away from the line of fire, but was struck in the left temporal area by the shot. The bullet went through his eye socket and lodged in the nasal cavity.
As Dr. Kniegge sat bleeding at the wheel, the pistoleros demanded money, emptying everyone's wallets of the few dollars they contained. Having "taken care" of the driver, all three thugs moved to the car's trunk and began rifling through the luggage. The gamberros became very animated when they discovering some 75 pounds of pills, which las idiotas assumed were drogas, but which were in reality vitamins just in from the U.S.
Though bleeding profusely, and believing he might die, Bruce's attention was to his five passengers. He must try to save them before the asesinos turned their guns on them. Bruce floored the car and sped off, leaving the astonished banditos with four of the seven pieces of luggage.
Somehow Bruce was able to drive for 10 miles and to apparent safety before turning over the wheel to another passenger.
Arriving at the Evangelical Christian Hospital in Siguatepeque, where the mission is headquartered, he received first-aid, and friends notified his wife, Katherine, who was away in Florida.
In Fort Collins, Colorado, Bruce's son, Kurt, arranged for his father to be flown to Houston the next morning for surgery.
The bullet, which was lodged near Bruce's brain, was successfully removed, but the left eye was lost. The eye socket, however, could be rebuilt, and the muscles of the orbit were still intact, which will allow an artificial eye to move in synchronization with the right eye.
Bruce Kniegge was happy to be alive. He was safe, with wife Katie by his side in Houston, and recovering nicely.
Bruce Kniegge is not a man easily intimidated. When he is fully recovered, he intends to return to his post at the mission station. It is his calling.
Our prayers for a successful recovery are with Bruce, but he needs our help. The expenses of emergency air travel and the high deductible on his health insurance have exacted a toll. This is where his mission becomes our mission.
If you feel strongly that chiropractic care should continue to be shared in the remotest parts of the world, please send a donation to the CCA to help cover the expenses of his horrifying ordeal. You can send your donations to:
Christian Chiropractors Association
P.O. Box 9715
Fort Collins, CA 80525-0500
You might want to send a letter of encouragement to Bruce and Katie. His situation is obviously difficult, but it's easier when you know you have a profession that supports you.
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