(7/14/73) When I awoke this morning, I had severe pain in the lumbar area and hips, I took two Tylenols and a shower to try to get relief and also laid on the exerciser and used the vibrator. As I was fixing breakfast, a shift took place, relieving the hip pains; but the movement brought on severe dizziness and a weird feeling in the head.

I felt so badly that I had to postpone my 9 a.m. appointment to 11 a.m. to give me time to get over the reaction to this big shift.

The ride to his office seemed to put a severe pull on the spine; and by the time I got to the office, my entire body was in a tremor.

Again, as so many, many times before, Dr. Toman removed the tension bringing relief within minutes. Each time I go through a bad time and then experience this miraculous relief, I am so thankful for it. I almost cry when I think about other people who are suffering so; and they do not know of this knowledge and have no one who can remove the tension for them and relieve their suffering.

(8/19/73) How I wish I could soon be well again. It is so terrible having people say and talk like I am imagining the whole thing. I hope I am never helpless again.

Jeanne is such a dear child. When I get in a blue mood, she works to cheer me up. I call her my personal cheerleader.

Overall, I have not felt well this summer. I haven't been able to garden very much this year. At this time, though, my "good feeling" is coming more frequently again. It is a beautiful, wonderful, feeling; and I need it very much. After going through a period of being very low and tired, and then the feeling comes suddenly, it seems so tremendous to me. But I am sure it is a relative thing; and the sudden contrast makes it seem so great.

(8/31/73) Been having that nonfunctioning brain feeling today. This morning I've been going through my exercises, using the vibrator, taking a shower and Tylenols to see if I could get it relieved. After doing all these remedies, I finally felt a pain at the base of the skull on the left side for a minute or two as though the atlas lifted off the axis a little. My nonfunctioning brain feeling was immediately replaced with my beautiful, wonderful, "good feeling." With the return of my "good feeling" after not having it for most of the summer (except for hints and short intervals), I immediately started some very badly needed house cleaning. I am so happy to be feeling well again.

(9/1/73) Dr. Toman told me that a great degree of relaxation had taken place in the neck. He did not do a neck adjustment today.

In June, I had a large movement and following it I told you of the dramatic improvement in the dermatitis. Since that time the dermatitis has run a zig-zag course- being better and then flaring up again. Before this last big movement, it had again become quite red and bad. Now, it is improving more dramatically than before.

I am so anxious to get travelling again. In the past, our family has taken many long and exciting trips. During the first two years of this illness, I did more travelling than I have these last two.

Riding in a car puts a pull on my spine and this brings on the symptoms quicker and more severely. I simply relate this to the fact that, at this time, the spine is in a far more flexible condition. While bad symptoms come more easily, so does relief. I am an expert now at recognizing the early signs of certain symptoms and can quickly go to work on whatever exercise or home remedy I need to alleviate them.

When I have my "good feeling," there is a definite change in my mental attitude, a feeling of happiness in me, a feeling of energy flowing through my body, and an increased and stronger heartbeat.

After going through days and sometimes weeks of feeling tired and lying around quite a bit, it is a welcomed experience. When it comes, I immediately get busy with some big jobs around the house.

My nonfunctioning brain feeling continues to come at intervals, but I am able to relieve it quite easily at this time with my home remedies. The improvement in my dermatitis does not always correspond with the times when I have a "good feeling." However, at this time, I am experiencing both.

(9/8/73) The tension has shifted to high in the neck. When I lie on the exerciser and use the vibrator, the clicks come from that area, but they are not on the right side of the neck as they have been in the past. They are now coming from the anterior part of the vertebras. Seems odd to have clicks coming from just right of the esophagus.

I have been slightly dizzy today, some mild nonfunctioning brain feeling, and ringing in the left ear.

I rate my vibrator, shower, and exerciser next to Dr. Toman. I do not believe that I could make it without them. This combination of home remedies has developed slowly over the years as I have searched for ways to give myself relief.

I also have learned that riding in the car creates a pull on the spine, and this many times will produce relieving clicks. (This sometimes works in the reverse too.)

My symptoms have become very familiar to me; and I now know when I need to go for a ride in the car, when I need to lie upon the exerciser in an extended position with the vibrator on the low spine, when I need a shower, when I need Tylenols, when I need a particular exercise, when I need to lie on the exerciser in a flexed position on the right side, etc.

My most frequent way to get relief is to lie on the exerciser on my abdomen. This puts a good arch on the spine. This accents the spot that is pulling in the neck. By putting the vibrator on the lumbar area, turning my head to the left and giving a sudden jerk on the muscles on the right side of the neck, I can obtain the much needed relieving click.

I do not write this to indicate that the average patient should do these home remedies. As I have written earlier, in the beginning I started studying the spine, how my symptoms related to the tension; and I have been able to gain this understanding how to relieve myself. It should be understood that I cannot make the spine click unless there is a great deal of tension to begin with.

One of the easiest ways that I gain relief is by simply standing upright and walking about. I can easily feel the spine shifting. I then can do a stretch and arch the spine to produce the needed relieving clicks. I learned long ago when I went out to the garden to work that sometimes I felt so tired that it seemed impossible to do any work. However, if I just kept going and standing upright, after a while the spine would shift, the nerve supplies would open up, and a burst of energy would come. I could then work most of the day. There is no doubt in my mind that the body functions in a much healthier way when it is in an upright position.

I observed this when I was working at the hospital, too. However, at that time, I had no idea what the reason was for it. I certainly knew nothing about the effects of body structure then. Many times I would get up with a headache or feel dizzy. I would go to work anyway; because after a bit, I would feel better. Now, I know that being in an upright position took the pressure off the nerves and gave me relief.

(10/3/73) Had another tremendous movement high in the neck day before yesterday. Had very little adverse reaction to it. There was slight shakiness and a feeling of what seemed to be numbness in the head. I cannot pinpoint with words the exact type of relief that was obtained; but I had a great sense of relief in my head and neck. When I do my head rotation exercise, there is an increased freedom of movement that was not there before.

Sometimes after large changes, I feel very pleasantly relaxed and lie around quite a bit. The day after this movement I had that pleasant feeling of relaxation and spent about three hours in bed.

The teeth on the left side have not hurt for a few weeks. I have found it fascinating how the condition of the spine has affected them. I still have not taken a trip to the dentist because each time I have made an appointment, I have had to cancel it due to some complaint.

(10/8/73)) The nonfunctioning brain feeling continues to come back. Will it ever go away to stay??? I am glad that I can relieve it most of the time. However, there are times when for days and days nothing seems to give me relief. Even though there is no other actual symptom, I feel that it is almost unbearable.

Today, while sitting on the couch, two small clicks took place very high in the back of the neck; and this horrible feeling left immediately.

My next adjustment after this episode was made very firmly on the thoracic area. It seemed to me that the atlas was really shoved upwards a great deal. It ached in that area for a while afterwards. I started feeling very well almost immediately after the adjustment.

(11/1/73) The nonfunctioning brain feeling has greatly diminished. Only rarely have I felt it in the last two weeks. When I do, it is very mild and can be relieved with little effort.

(12/1/73) My symptoms are very mild at this time. Except for a few episodes of very mild nonfunctioning brain feelings, it seems to have left. Needless to say, I have shed no tears at its departure. My eyes are getting better all the time. It has been some time now since they have felt severely spastic.

A little new symptom has developed lately. A spot a couple of inches below the left elbow on the front of the arm has a sharp pain in it at intervals.

(12/14/73) Today I had a movement in my left knee!!! It came when I set my foot upon the bathtub. It was a movement similar to the ones I get in the spine. There was no pain; but for a couple of days afterwards, I had a very slight soreness in the knee.

My left knee has, for as long as I can remember, had a slight weakness in it. It was mostly noticed when I stooped or when using the brakes on a bicycle.

(12/27/73) Took a trip to Illinois for Christmas. Had an adjustment the morning before the trip. Felt fairly well most of the time. My eyes bothered me less on this trip than ever before.

About 1/2 hour before we started back to Ohio, I bent over to pick up something off the floor. This caused a shift to take place that brought on my nonfunctioning brain feeling; and I started feeling quite badly.