Because they have yet to pass national legislation protecting the chiropractic profession, Japanese DCs are in a similar situation that U.S. DCs faced. We were fortunate enough to be able to pass chiropractic licensure state by state. The DCs in Japan must accomplish this nationally, which has proved to be an extremely difficult task. And in spite of their efforts, Japanese DCs are currently faced with two chiropractic professions.
A Moment of Silence -- George Fleischmann, D.C.
George Fleischmann, D.C., born in 1913, passed away on October 17, 1990, at age 78.
Dr. Fleischmann practiced chiropractic for more than 40 years. George's father, Johann, was a chiropractor, as was his brother, Karl.
I had the unique pleasure of working with George for almost two years. In that period of time I was continuously amazed at the love he gave, the things he knew, and the specificity and precision of his adjustments. His knowledge of innate diagnosis would have put even the best medical diagnosticians to shame, but to George that meant little. His forte was "palpate, locate, and adjust." Thanks to him, thousands of people, many of them new to American soil and not versed in our language, were helped. I will never forget the time he showed me lumbar x-rays of what appeared to be a complete fusion of the lumbar spine, only to later admit that they were his x-rays and that the adjustments and movement that I felt when adjusting him seemed independent of the x-ray finding.
Unknown to many, this doctor helped develop many of the osseous techniques that are presently utilized by many field doctors. George had practiced in Manhattan, but mostly in Ridgewood, New York. Dr. Fleischmann was a 1950 graduate of the New York Institute where he later taught neurology. He also held a degree in music and was an artist prior to his music and chiropractic careers. George practiced actively until March 1990, when an accident caused him to break his hip and fracture three lumbar vertebrae. George always said that he would die with his hands on a patient, and if it were not for the broken hip, he probably would have.
George, to the thousands of people that you helped, we love you and thank you.
Thomas Tumbarello, D.C.
Levittown, New York