Working with Disabled Athletes is Dr. Heagy's Tribute to a Lost Friend
Dr. Danita Thomas Heagy, a 1982 Life graduate, finds inspiration in working with disabled athletes. Her experiences with her best friend from high school, Sandy Brubaker, steered her toward caring for disabled athletes. Sandy, a track athlete and cheerleader, lost her left arm to cancer, but returned to both activities. Sandy competed in the Seoul Paralympics, setting an American Paralympics discus record. She qualified for the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, but died of cancer in 1993.
"My (working with disabled athletes) is a tribute to her," said Dr. Heagy. Presenting the seminar, "The Disabled and Challenged Athlete" during Life's Homecoming, she said her experiences treating disabled athletes was a joy.
Dr. Heagy's affinity for sports led her to participate on the volunteer team that went to the Goodwill Games in Moscow in 1986. She and Dr. Nell Williams were the only female DCs on the treating team.
Dr. Heagy, who is the past president of Life's Alumni Association, was named ICA's "Sports Chiropractor of the Year" in March, and an ICA Fellow in April. She was appointed to the Florida State Board of Examiners last year by Florida Governor Lawton Chiles.
Dr. Charles Register (l) traveled from Moscow (the one in Russia, not the namesakes in Idaho or Pennsylvania) to attend Life College's Homecoming festivities. He was happy to renew old acquaintances with Dr. Sid Williams, Life's founder and president.
Life President Dr. Sid Williams (r) congratulates Dr. Alan Brady on his speech and his daughter's graduation.
Alan Brady, DC, a chiropractor for 30 years and president of the Chiropractic Society of Australia, gave the commencement speech to 345 graduating students, including his daughter, Sheridan, at ceremonies at Life College on June 14.
Dr. Brady asserted that the profession is "becoming philosophically impotent, scientifically sterile, and artistically promiscuous."
On Jan. 24 1978, the New Zealand governor-general referred to a Commission of Inquiry an investigation to determine the desirability of providing for reimbursement of chiropractic benefits under the New Zealand Social Security Act and the New Zealand Accident Compensation Act. The commision's findings would impact chiropractic worldwide for decades to come.
As chiropractors, we observe signs and symptoms as colors on an artist’s palette, melding them together to determine how they affect the speed, fluency, quality, and ease of activities of daily living. We communicate this vision to our patients in a report of findings. However, converting that vision into the International Classification of Diseases Clinical Modification (ICD-CM) coding language presents challenges.
After more than 12 years of effort, the Pro Baseball Chiropractic Society (PBCS) has member DCs serving every team in MLB. Working as part of the health care teams with athletic trainers and medical physicians, these highly skilled chiropractors help keep their players on the field and in optimal health.
