Pastor Chad Whaley hobbled his way into Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s West Branch, Iowa, clinic, clutching a 7-iron in one hand and a 9-iron in another.
Not for fun, mind you, rather for balance.
Minutes before, following lunch, Whaley could not raise himself from his chair. It was all he could do to get into his car and reach the Rock Valley office, using the two golf clubs as assisted-walking devices.
Days earlier, the energetic and engaging pastor from West Branch’s Bethany Lutheran Church, was playing pickleball inside the local elementary school. When a return shot went over his head, he gave chase in hopes of a winning return, all while attempting to navigate the gymnasium bleachers that were fast approaching.
While reaching for the shot and just shy of the bleachers, Whaley felt his back – balky at times through the years – give way. The pain nearly dropped him to his knees.
“I knew there was trouble,’’ said Whaley, who along with his wife, Amanda, and their two children, have made West Branch their home for a dozen years. “I tried to play a couple more points, but it wasn’t happening. I was done.’’
Slowly, Whaley went about business, hoping his back issue would return to normal. He held worship the next day and went to work on Monday.
But…
“The twinge was growing,’’ Whaley said of his back. “It hit a peak when I could not get out of the chair after lunch. I knew I had to call Alex.’’
“Alex’’ is Alex Dragon, PT, DPT, CEAS, Clinic Manager at Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s West Branch outlet. Whaley had turned to Dragon and Rock Valley before to address a pesky disc issue in his back.
This, though, was worse.
Dragon knew immediately what was causing Whaley such serious discomfort.
“You could tell there was a spine shift and there were issues with his gait,’’ Dragon said of Whaley. “By the way Chad was bent over there were issues with posture and a disc bulge pinching a nerve. We went straight at relieving pressure on the nerve and creating some mobility and working on posture.’’
Together, the two would – through a series of exercises and stretches – work tirelessly to relieve pressure on the nerves in Whaley’s back.
“There was relief after my first visit with Alex,’’ Whaley said. “But I knew there was work ahead to make things right. Alex was prepared to get me back to doing the things I need to do.’’
Two weeks after his initial incident, Whaley sneezed at work, suffering a setback. It caused enough of an issue to keep Whaley from work the following day. From there, it was back to Dragon and Rock Valley.
Twice weekly for the next four weeks – six weeks in all – the two worked together to strengthen the affected area and bring Whaley back to 100 percent.
“Alex does a great job, he was there for me,’’ Whaley said. “Actually he is there for the entire community. This (Rock Valley Physical Therapy) is a plus for West Branch on so many fronts, especially with Alex taking care of people and (front office lead) Connie (VanGinkel) handling things up front. I cannot say enough good things about Alex.’’
Whaley said he is back to playing pickleball and finally got the chance to use the seven and nine irons for what they are intended for.
“I’m good thanks to Alex and Rock Valley,’’ said Whaley. “Much better than my golf game.’’
And that one exercise?
Skipping…
“We had reached a point with the strength work and the stretching that Alex implemented a skipping type of exercise,’’ said Whaley, a Marshalltown, Iowa, native, who has returned to playing pickleball and to playing golf. “I hadn’t tried skipping in years. All that aside, Alex is amazing and I’m grateful we have someone in West Branch to turn to.’’
By: Johnny Marx, Storyteller