The 3-day walk was an experience that will not be easily forgotten. Our team at the walk helped hundreds of people over those three days. Some walkers traveled long distances to meet with friends in San Francisco to take part in the walk, others were local, but all had a requirement of raising a minimum of $1300 before they could participate. The walkers were pushed to, and in some cases, beyond their physical limits, but all did so willingly in an effort to honor, support or remember a loved one. We treated people for a variety of conditions; some people who trained hard for the walk came in simply for help stretching a specific muscle or just for an adjustment. Some others came in with severe pain, usually the knee, less often the ankle, hip or low back, hoping we could do anything for them that would take away some of their pain so that they could walk at least a few more miles that day, or the next day. For most of the walkers, no amount of pain which could abolish their desire to walk the final 1.2 miles from the last pit stop across the finish line.
The crew was divided into teams, each was in charge of a specific task, such as lunch, road hydration, pit stop crews, traffic safety, and so forth, but each person was more than willing to help wherever help was needed. We were the crew titled “Sports Medicine”; we had a total of a dozen or so chiropractors and chiropractic interns and one physical therapist. She, like some of the other practicing DCs, did not have experience or training in sports medicine like we get at Palmer West, so they eagerly observed a variety tape jobs, reviewed some common sports/walking related conditions, had a quick tutorial on Graston technique, and jumped right in without missing a beat.
We started treating patients as early as 6:30am, treated them before they left for the walk, we had teams out on the course at some of the pit stops and at lunch, we were also very busy from the time the walkers started arriving in the early afternoon until 10:00pm. We had a quick meeting about the day, then exhausted we pulled out or personal gear and fell into bed, many people sleeping on the portable adjusting tables or some cots we borrowed for the medical tent. Sleeping each night for only a few hours, out in the cold, with the blowing hard against the tent and the traffic nearby waking you up or keeping you awake was a trying factor. There was hardly a moment when nothing needed done, finding time to eat or get a cup of coffee sometimes proved difficult.
I got to know a few other crew members who had walked in the past and had also been crew members at other events, they said that they prefer crew because you get to feel the passion, excitement and dedication of the walkers and they are so grateful and deserving of support and encouragement. This will not be my last 3-day event, maybe I will walk some, but I will definitely be part of the crew again. I am grateful that we chiropractic interns got the opportunity to make a difference for so many; the comfort we sacrificed for a few days does not compare to what we were able to accomplish.
By Roseann Berg
