From My Family’s Struggles to Hope for Yours

If you’re a parent who has ever felt exhausted, overwhelmed, or judged while searching for answers for your child—you’re not alone. I know what that feels like, because I grew up watching my mom live it.

Her story—and my brother’s story—is the reason I do what I do today.

A Rocky Beginning

I grew up in a very medically oriented family. Doctor visits, prescriptions, hospital stays—that was normal for us. Chiropractic? It wasn’t even something we knew existed.

When my mom was pregnant with my younger brother, the last few weeks of her pregnancy became terrifying. She got so sick that the doctors weren’t even sure if she or the baby would survive.

After spending days in the hospital, they ended up rushing her into a C-section. My brother was born with pneumonia and fluid in his lungs and spent the first 15 days of his life in the NICU.

From the very beginning, his little body was fighting uphill. And my mom carried that weight with her every single day.

Sleepless Nights and Endless Worry

The struggles started right away.

Breastfeeding didn’t work—“he didn’t like it,” the doctors said—so she tried formula. But one after another made him sick. Reflux. Projectile vomiting. Colic. Pain. Nights filled with crying and no rest.

I still remember the creak of the car seat as my mom rocked it back and forth all day, desperate to soothe him for just a little while. That was her survival routine: strapping him in and rocking him until he fell asleep.

But as he grew, the struggles didn’t stop. They only changed.

Asthma. Infections. Stomach issues. Constant illnesses. And then, when he started school, new challenges came crashing in.

The Meltdowns, the Tantrums, the Judgment

Kindergarten should have been a fun, exciting new chapter. Instead, it became another battlefield.

He couldn’t sit still. He had trouble following directions. He was disruptive in class, sometimes even aggressive. Meltdowns and tantrums seemed to erupt out of nowhere.

And the judgment was brutal.

“You can’t control your kid.”

“He just needs more discipline.”

“Maybe you’re too soft.”

I’ll never forget the day we were in the grocery store. My brother threw himself on the ground, screaming. People stopped and stared. People staring and whispering, “She can’t even control her kid.” My mom’s face turned red with exhaustion and heartbreak. She knew it wasn’t just bad behavior, but no one else could see that.

But my mom knew it wasn’t that simple. She knew something deeper was going on. And she did what every parent does when their child is hurting—she searched for answers.

The Weight My Mom Carried

That search turned into years of appointments and labels.

Pediatricians. Psychologists. Psychiatrists. Gastroenterologists. Endocrinologists. Tutors. Occupational therapists.

ADD. ADHD. Dyslexia. Dysgraphia. Oppositional defiant disorder. Gastritis. Asthma.

Medication after medication—headaches, side effects, more disappointment when nothing seemed to really help.

I can still see it:

Sitting in the car while we waited for his tutoring session to finish, watching my mom put her head in her hands after another long day of phone calls, doctor visits, and behavioral reports from school. Tears in her eyes as she whispered questions to herself: “What am I doing wrong? Why can’t I help him? Why isn’t anything working?”

As a child, I couldn’t help her. But I’ll never forget the helplessness in her eyes. That moment still fuels me today.

No matter how hard she tried, no matter how many specialists or therapies, nothing truly brought the answers or the peace she was looking for.

What We Didn’t Know Then

Looking back, I can see what my mom couldn’t have known at the time.

• Those sleepless nights of colic and reflux weren’t her fault—they were signs of a stressed nervous system.

• Those tantrums and meltdowns in public weren’t bad behavior—they were my brother’s body screaming, “I can’t regulate.”

• His struggles with learning, focus, and behavior weren’t because he was lazy or she was failing—they were part of the bigger picture of a nervous system that had been under stress since pregnancy and birth.

• A difficult birth or NICU stay doesn’t just affect those first weeks — it can shape how the nervous system develops.

But no one told her that. No one helped her see the connections.

Instead, she was left with labels, medications, and the heavy burden of self-doubt.

The Turning Point for Me

It wasn’t until years later, in college, that I stumbled into chiropractic. At first, it was curiosity. But quickly—it became passion.

I still remember sitting in class, learning about the nervous system and how the body works. In that moment, my brother’s entire childhood finally made sense. His colic, his tantrums, his constant struggles—they weren’t random. They were signs of nervous system stress. And I thought: “If only my mom had known this years ago…” Through chiropractic, I learned how deeply the nervous system affects everything: feeding, digestion, sleep, behavior, focus, and emotional regulation.

For the first time, I saw my brother’s story not as a list of disconnected struggles, but as one whole picture.

And in that picture, I realized:

• My mom didn’t fail as a parent.

• My brother wasn’t broken.

• What was missing was someone who could guide them with a different lens.

Why I Understand Parents Today

That’s why, when I sit with parents in my office now, I get it.

When a mom tells me her child has daily meltdowns, I can still see my brother in the grocery store aisle.

When a parent confesses they cry after bedtime because they don’t know what else to do, I remember my mom’s tears in the car.

When someone whispers, “I feel like I’ve tried everything, and I don’t know what’s left,” I hear my mom’s voice all over again.

And I want those parents to feel what she never did: understood, supported, and given real answers.

Because the truth is—parents aren’t failing. Kids aren’t broken. They just need someone to look deeper, to see the nervous system stress underneath, and to help the body heal and regulate the way it was designed to.

The Message I Wish My Mom Had Heard

If I could go back in time and whisper something to my mom in those moments of tears, it would be this:

“You are not alone. You haven’t failed. You are doing everything you can. And there are answers—there is hope.”

That’s the message I now get to give to parents every day in my office.

From My Family’s Story to Yours

I share all of this because I know there are so many families today living what my family lived—constant meltdowns, sleepless nights, endless doctor visits, the judgment of others, and the silent tears of wondering if you’ll ever find the right help.

My family’s journey is why I became a pediatric & perinatal chiropractor. It’s why I’m so passionate about helping families find answers, hope, and healing—not with another label, not with another medication, but with care that gets to the root.

If any part of my family’s story sounds like your story, please know this: you are not alone, you have not failed, and there is hope. At Soma Chiropractic, I get to give families the support and answers my mom never had. I would be honored to walk alongside your family, just as I wish someone had walked with mine.