How I got here.
Like many I didn’t begin to take a critical look at my health until there was a problem.
At the age of 16 I was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. A condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, the leading cause of sudden death in athletes under 35. For fear of collapsing during physical exertion I was recommended to no longer play exertive competitive sport.
The adjustment process was tough as a significant portion of my time and energy was invested in sport. That changed overnight. I was now faced with the reality of my physical issues and what others could do to help improve them.
I quickly found mainline medical did not have options to improve the condition. Some regarded as the most qualified in the US told me there was no treatment for it. No way to get rid of it. It was difficult to feel anything other than stuck. I asked what could have caused it but there was no definitive answer, no consensus.
Questions that stuck out and remained were “if the cause is said to be unknown, and no known way to treat it, what do I do? Where do I go for help? Do I simply accept there’s nothing that can be done to help?” My parents were supportive and I thank my them for their help, particularly my father for not accepting this. There’s always something that can be done. You don’t just quit. Giving up is not an option. I thank my dad for his willingness to fight for me.
The few things that were presented by medical professions didn’t make sense. The first was to begin taking beta-blockers; a class of drug commonly given to those with high blood pressure. I didn’t have high blood pressure. Next was exploratory open-heart surgery. Rather invasive given the admission it could injure me further and there was no guarantee of any positive outcome.
I began to learn then my expectations of what others could do for me and for my health needed to change. I needed to look for information in places I wasn’t used to looking.
Where to start… or restart:
Chiropractics was the first health alternative I tried; it was a good first step.
I witnessed people actively trying to treat disease states. Topics of nutrition, food quality (Organic, Non-GMO) and supplementation were new concepts to learn and the process of understanding was important as I considered how to apply the resources and information being presented. What I was being shown wasn’t taught in my schooling. I was starting to see how much I actually didn’t know and how much of what I thought I knew needed re-evaluated. A restart for sure. I needed it.
Topics that were new but made sense were things like food quality. I began to understand that not all food products were the same even if the name on the label was. For example, not every “apple” has the same nutrition based on how it was grown and harvested, as well as the type and variety of seed being used. Not all things that look alike are the same. Similarly, farming practices make a difference in the final outcome for what is produced. What is put into the soil, and the level of care put into tending for the plant significantly influence the quality of crop produced. The fruits of your labour. You get back what you put in.
It also addressed my physical body which I innately knew was crucial. I knew if I didn’t feel physical changes, the therapy wasn’t working.
They were proactive and that’s what I appreciated most. My ears needed to hear that it wasn’t a lost cause, and there were changes I could make. Planting the mental seed of being proactive was important to reinstall a bit of hope.
Chiropractic work was helpful, but at age 18 my focus went to having fun at college and the new health focuses were largely put on the back burner. I noticed regressions with my physical and mental state. Poor diet, casual drinking and a workaholic schedule produced symptoms difficult to ignore.
I never seemed to have enough energy to complete work and tasks; tough to remember being anything other than tired and irritable. I rarely felt better except for when I laid down. Migraine headaches and brain fog were common. It took me forever to concentrate. My brain was scattered, everywhere except where I asked it to be. I got used to chronic neck and low back pain. I was headstrong and forced my way through because well…that’s what I’d always done. That’s how I got through most things.
Regularly scheduled MRI testing of my heart showed a 4mm increase in atrium size; verifiable proof my body was getting worse. Time wouldn’t fix this; I needed a solution. There were many times I thought this is just how my life is going to be. It wasn’t right. My outcomes didn’t make sense. I’d done everything I thought I’d been told to do yet this was my reality. How could this be?
First Impressions last
At this time, I was introduced to SOS Survival Operating System® through my brother Jason Chiero following the coursework he received from Todd Swaine, creator of SOS Survival Operating System® manual therapy.
When I first received an SOS treatment, I felt so good. For the first time in a long time, I had nothing to bitch and complain about. I had no pain. My body finally felt calm and could catch up on much needed rest.
It was the work my body was needing; it just couldn’t be heard over the voice in my head telling it to always do more. I needed more of the relief it provided so I sought more SOS treatment and information. I began taking coursework to apply SOS foundational health principles to myself. This is when I met Todd. I am very thankful to Jason for our introduction.
SOS
Hearing Todd speak and teach was a breath of fresh air that helped give practical context to the structure and function of the human body and brain and how the health of both are impacted. He spoke to the depths of physical and mental concepts better than I had ever heard and still have ever heard. The practicality of SOS is what I respected most because the concepts are proven through SOS hands on technique. You see and feel the result of the SOS information through the hands-on work taught and practiced. There’s no guess work. Everything was explained with a detailed understanding of why and how and then it is applied.
Through SOS course-work is where I learned what could be implemented to improve my health. The more I applied what I had learned in SOS courses, the more improvement in symptoms I experienced. I began to have less and less chronic pain the more I applied SOS breathing and health philosophies. There came a point where I just didn’t have pain anymore. The systemic pain was gone. The pain I came to just accept was always going to be there, wasn’t in my body anymore.
My energy started to come back the more I took care of myself through applying SOS. I felt physically and mentally more able and more like myself again. I was really only just beginning as well. My thoughts about my health turned from thinking about how poorly I felt to just how much I can improve. This is where Todd and SOS helped me challenge the idea that I had to live with poor health and prior diagnosis. I endeavored to get rid of all my ailments including the previously stated heart condition. Why not?
Results
In May of 2015, three years after beginning SOS treatments and implementing its principled self-care practices, I underwent more testing on my heart. Ultrasound revealed vast improvements to the areas of enlargement.
The portion of my heart that was most enlarged; once measured at 27mm thick, was now 14mm.
Other sections, which were 13mm were found to be in “normal” range measuring 11mm.
I asked the Dr. to analyze the test separate from the ones I had previous. I asked, “with no knowledge of my previous history, describe this test?”
He answered, “there is no significant thickness, this is largely a normal Echocardiogram.”
I asked him about specifics of what he saw as reviewed the test. He used terms like “unremarkable” and “unimpressive” … terms that are used to describe results that are equivalent to what is considered “normal” or average. Heart disease that I was told was most likely inherited from birth and nothing could be done to treat was testably not there. This marker served as confirmation to how SOS was helping me. It was a nice progress report.
The way I felt as I progressed through SOS treatments made me confident that I could expect an improved result like this. It came as little surprise because as I was applying SOS principles, I could measure my physical improvements. I could measure the improvement to my physical energy / work output. I could point to the improved quantity and quality sleep I was getting. I could point to the fact I was sleeping all the way through the night again. I can point to the fact I no longer experienced symptoms from previous sport-related head trauma. My migraine headaches were gone. My chronic neck and back pain due to poor mechanics in golf; gone as well.
It’s tough to know something until you experience it. How else do you explain to someone that you don’t have any pain anymore after living with it for years? The proof that SOS works is through applying it. I don’t expect anyone to just believe me, however I won’t deny my experience and the proof of it.
Gratitude
I have to express my gratitude to Todd Swaine. He changed my life. Thank you Todd for sharing what you’ve created with me.
You helped me understand things that cannot be measured with a ruler or any other measuring stick. You taught me things no one else could. You taught me concepts of true value and significance that made the physical changes I needed possible.
This is why I continue to train with Todd and other SOS practitioners namely SOS Manual Technologist Chris Bond. Through close work and practice with them I can continue my growth as a practitioner to provide the best service for those that I see as well as better apply SOS principles to myself. The process doesn’t stop through recovery and health.
I am happy to be here to apply the SOS Manual Therapy Service level I have learned.
SOS is the necessary service to offer true corrective and preventative measures for health & longevity, and I am glad to be here to offer this to those looking. Thanks for reading.
Caleb Chiero
Leave a Reply