I’m Burlington’s Pan Am Community Torchbearer!

4 Comments March 30, 2015 drworobec

Um….. I WAS VOTED BURLINGTON’S PAN AM COMMUNITY TORCHBEARER! I have held in this secret for two very loooooong months. I found out about this result soon after voting closed in late January, but I wasn’t able to share the news with anyone until the Pan Am Games made their official announcement, which they did last week.

Believe me, this was a hard secret to keep.

The torch will pass through Burlington on Friday, June 19th, although I don’t know many more details than that. This is what I do know:

Where: Spencer Smith Park; this also happens to be the Sound of Music Festival weekend.
Length of run: 200m (and here I was hoping for a 5k! Ha!)
And: Burlington is listed as one of Pan Am’s “Major Celebration cities.”

So to you, my readers, my patients, my family, my friends: I thank you for granting me this incredible opportunity. And to you, Marnie, my friend, my neighbour, my nominator, thank you for igniting the spark for all of this to happen.

Mark June 19th on your calendars.

And come join me along the torch route as we celebrate the Pan Am spirit of community and sport.

C’mon, tell me you don’t have THIS song running through your head right now.

A Moving Story about Moving Bowels

Leave a comment December 23, 2014 drworobec

December 23rd.

You might be thinking that I’m going to post a blog about Christmas. And in years past, you’d be right (‘Merry Christmas‘, ‘I’ll be Home for Christmas‘). But I received some great news yesterday and I’m going to write about that. I’ll even call it a Christmas miracle, in keeping with the festive spirit.

constipation

This is a story about my newest 3-year-old patient, let’s call him M. M is a happy, feisty, curious little boy who brings a storm of energy with him wherever he goes. On his first visit, M’s mom explained to me that he had an anal fissure at 18 months of age, making subsequent bowel movements very painful. As is often the case with young children, M then became scared to move his bowels, and has suffered with extreme constipation ever since. M’s mother has tried everything; from medication to diet changes to supplements and more, with no success. Little M has been battling severe constipation, impacted stool, and obvious discomfort for nearly two years. She brought M to see me as a last resort.

A wonderful whirlwind of movement and inquisition, M built towers, rode on the hydraulic table, and played with the desk bell and the hand weights, all while being assessed and treated. Interesting, fun, and quick- that’s my m.o. when I work with children.

I saw M again yesterday, two visits later. Guess what? He had three large bowel movements over the weekend. Three! None in the more than 18 months prior, and he had three this weekend.

Now, if you’re a parent reading this, you will understand that talking about bowel movements is perfectly normal conversation. In fact, if you’re a parent of young children, I challenge you to not talk about bowel movements for the next 24 hours. Seemingly impossible. And for me, as a mother, a blogger, and a chiropractor who works with children, not talking about M’s bowel movements is most definitely impossible.

I’m an evidence-based practitioner. I love research, I love science, I love proof. But I love powerful outcomes like this the most.

PS- M’s mom admitted to me that her husband didn’t initially believe in taking M to a chiropractor. I’m so glad she convinced him.

One click. One vote. One torch.

Leave a comment December 19, 2014 drworobec

I usually publish my blog posts on Tuesdays. But, you see, this is not a usual week.

I was just notified that I’m one of twelve finalists nominated to carry the Pan Am torch as it makes its run through Burlington this Summer, en route to Toronto for the 2015 Pan Am Games. I can’t think of a cooler opportunity. My friend and neighbour, Marnie, sent in a nomination unbeknownst to me, and here I am, excited about the impossible becoming possible.

Pan Am news is everywhere in the GTA. Commercials abound, billboards are popping up, and the buzz is growing. This is kind of a big deal. Toronto 2015 is only the third time in 85 years that these International Games have been held on Canadian soil. Right in our own backyard.

And it’s exactly the type of thing I love. I’ve been to the World Track & Field Championships, three World Junior Hockey Championships, and a College Bowl game. I’ve cheered at more NHL, CFL, MLB, NBA, NLL, and MLS games than I can count. I plan family outings around sporting events, I time my holidays around races, and I nearly knocked over Mike Weir on the fairway of a PGA event (true story). I am a sports-based chiropractor, I married a Phys Ed teacher, and my kids know that fitness is a part of life. I believe that grassroots minor sports are windows of opportunity, growth, and dreams. I live and breathe this stuff, it’s what makes me tick, it’s what makes me me. Passion? Nope. It’s more than that.

Sport is community. Sport is health. Sport is important life lessons all rolled up and condensed onto a playing field.

I’m a fan. I’m an athlete. I’m a mom raising fans and athletes.

So I am turning to you, my community. I am hoping for your support, asking for your help, tugging at your heart strings, requesting your vote. One click. One vote. One torch.

Please VOTE here: http://cms.burlington.ca/Page14733.aspx#.VJN5nrgYU

With my humble thanks,

Ashley