A Chiropractor in Shipyard

-
  

  She has intense blue eyes and a confident walk with masculine strength in her arms, she does. If Shipyard weren't so far away I would return every week, yes sir, I certainly would.
  It was a cloudy day with heavy gusts of wind which brought the rich odor of several hundred pigs across the road directly into our nostrils and all the way into our toes it seemed. My relative commented that the smell of pigs is the smell of money. True, raising pigs is quite a profitable business in Belize but unfortunately we were here for a massage not to soak in the wealthy odor of the hogs down the road. Like it or not, we were forced to smell those thousands of dollars wallowing in mud for another 30 minutes while we waited for Mrs. Klassen to arrive. Shipyard has no zoning laws.
  I don't know what I expected but it certainly wasn't the slender short lady with bright blue eyes. Initially I doubted she would have the strength and expertise needed to deal with my injured spine and dislocated thigh not to mention my left heel which is suffering from acute plantar fasciitis as well as a bone on my neck which is causing me pain. How wrong I was.
  Without wasting words she instructed me to remove clothing, then grabbed me in a powerful chokehold, using a knee (or her hand?) to press against my lower spine while pulling my head and chest backwards. Then I  was dumped on the bed and received a complete back treatment from the crown of my head down to my tailbone. No such thing as gentle hands. My legs were next after which she carefully worked on my heels. I drifted into dreamland the minute she began with my left heel and had to be waked up. I praised her, maybe too lavishly but I genuinely meant it especially after limping and groaning for several days and taking ibuprofen. However being from the Old Colony Mennonites she appeared shy and embarassed at my compliments.
  The price she charged me was ridiculously low compared to the prices in Spanish Lookout where chiropracters charge $50 to $60. I offered her far more than what she billed me for which she gladly accepted. I pointed out that in my opinion she certainly deserved to raise her prices but she merely shrugged.
  While she greatly relieved my discomfort, she also pointed out the all too obvious cause of pain. A slipped disc on my lower spine which was pinching the nerve and creating inflammation. She urged me to receive an MRI scanning before it was too late and shared her own experience with a sciatic nerve which became so bad it required surgery.

The Klassen's home


The family buggy and workshop

















                      A. Mendoza

Popular posts from this blog

Mennonite Foods

-
Image
         The Old Colony, Kleine Gemeinde, and Old Order have a diet which mainly consists of homemade bread, cottage cheese, noodles, pork, potatoes, and stewed beans. Milk is used in many of their meals, such as casseroles and faspa foods. Some dishes from the Plautdietsch groups are:   nuddelsuppe:  noodle soup made with home-made noodles    werenaki:  (perogies see picture above ) made of pockets of flour with  glums  (cottage cheese) filling,  schmaunfat  (white gravy made of flour, milk and black pepper), and  formavorscht  (pork sausage). The perogies are then boiled and served. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try out Plautdietsch foods although I prefer the fried ones.  Cheesy or creamy casseroles: often it will contain meat and cream with potatoes or macaroni   borscht:  a vegetable soup with bits of meat sometimes added to it    Clops: patties from either ground m...
Read more

Mennonite Houses

-
Image
 Mennonites in Belize have become famous for their custom-built wooden "Mennonite houses". The two main  house builders in the country,  Plett's Home Builders and Linda Vista Lumberyard , both located in Spanish Lookout, have become reknowned for their prefabricated houses which are built in Spanish Lookout and shipped countrywide. Houses are built from lumber or colored sheet metal and prices will vary of course based on the amount of details a customer wants. A small house with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom and kitchen may cost you an estimated US$12,000 to US$15,000. (Check directly with the company for up-to-date pricing and delivery fees.)    A "Mennonite house", custom built by Plett's Home Builder's; photo via Facebook   Plett's Home Builders offers both metal and wood siding with a variety of porch and window designs. Linda Vista, which is just down the road from Plett's, also offers excellent building options. Also inside Spanish Lookout i...
Read more

Mennonites and Music

-
   Music, the comfort of the soul, the way of sin to some, a sign of true worship to others.   Within the Mennonite family in Belize music to some degree is used or listened to, with each branch viewing it based on their understanding of the Bible.                          The Kleine Gemeinde   Used to consider any musical instrument as wrong. But after acapella recorded music was approved, it introduced a need for tape recorders, then slowly over the years other instruments were approved. Church singing is still acapella, and radio and TV are still not accepted. However, instruments such as violins (which is often played by KG youth girls) and guitars are used during youth singing, community concerts, and personal entertainment or family singing. The organ is also used sometimes in such events.       The Beachy and Conservative Mennonites     Also sing acapella style dur...
Read more