SERVICE: ALIVE AND WELL IN MEXICO
by: William G. Henry, D.C.

"In the early 1970's, Dr. Alvin Dettloff, an upper-cervical chiropractor from Orange, Calif., met Jennie Castillon, the founder of an organization call Corazon, which had been providing food, clothing and spiritual care to the very poor in various areas of northern Mexico. Soon after they met, this remarkable pair began delivering survival and chiropractic care to these people.

During the next 10 years, Dr. Dettloff dedicated at least one Saturday every four to six weeks to adjusting men, women and children of all ages and in all stages of dis-ease and disease. His primary goal was simple and straightforward -- to give these people a fighting chance for improved health by adjusting the atlas. Then he'd get out of the way and let Innate balance the body.

Once the atlas was adjusted, he'd address the rest of the body. He worked with great dedication and determination, often adjusting between 200 and 300 people in a single day. Dettloff always returned to the luxury of southern California living, feeling rejuvenated by the knowledge that he'd been able to give the gift of life-saving adjustments. He enjoyed a wondrous feeling of satisfaction knowing he had received more in blessings than he could ever possibly return.

The conditions he worked in were the conditions the people lived in: dark, crowded 10' x 12' houses where a family of four to 10 or more lived; by the side of a road with the stench of raw sewage filling his nostrils; in the garbage dump (where the poorest of the poor lived in cardboard shacks) as trucks loaded with refuse raised dust and smoke from burning debris filled the air; and in the poor-but-clean neighborhoods, where the more fortunate families dwelled.

Side-by-side with the volunteers from Corazon, who distributed much-needed food and clothing, Dettloff -- supported by his wife, Billie -- introduced the life-giving power of chiropractic adjustments to thousands of people.

Corazon also has a house-building project with all volunteer labor. The Dettloff's contributed the necessary funds for the materials (about $2,500) for the construction of one of these homes. Other volunteers, including several chiropractors (Drs. Barbara Sanoudis, Darlene Hall, Kim Valentine, Michelle Binkowski and Bill Henry) joined Dettloff and his family for a rousing day of shack-razing and new-home building.

In addition to working on the outskirts of Tijuana, Dettloff provided adjustments to the prisoners incarcerated in Ensenada. Corazon's efforts in the prison ended when their volunteers arrived on the day a riot was in progress. As fate would have it, other needy families were discovered in the Ensenada area, and the prison work, which naturally was very confining, came to an end, and the work continued in greater expanse outside Tijuana.

During the mid-1980's, Dettloff began taking other chiropractors and chiropractic interns to Mexico to further the volunteer work. I was one of these fortunate individuals.

Now a chiropractor doing Blair upper-cervical work in Temecula, Calif., I caught the spiritual and chiropractic vison of my mentor, and I never missed an opportunity to join Dr. Dettloff in Mexico. I pressed him to do more and more chiropractic south of the border. Finally, due to restraints of a very busy practice, Dr. Dettloff reluctantly passed his leadership on to me.

I have never made a secret of my feelings for Dr. Dettloff. He's probably one of the most influential chiropractors in my life. He taught me much about the power of adjusting and Innate Intelligence. He literally provided me with an example that changed my life, altered my focus and opened my consciousness to the truth of "Above-Down, Inside-Out." Like so many unsung heroes of "trench chiropractors", he helped change the world -- one person at a time through adjusting. The only way I knew how to repay him was to continue his work.

During an organizational discussion with the leaders of the Corazon work in Ensenada, my constant companion, Dr. Barbara Sanoudis, and I were given the opportunity to introduce chiropractic to the Oaxaca Indians. These people had migrated to Ensenada from the state of Oaxaca, south of Mexico City, in search of a better life.

At first, the Indians were very hesitant, partially because they didn't understand what we were doing. I'm sure my 6 foot 2 inch frame didn't help. I solved that probem by lying on the table and letting 5 foot 2 inch Dr. Sanoudis skillfully demonstrate chiropractic adjusting.

The children were the first to venture forth, then the women, and finally the men. 'It was such a thrill to watch their faces, especially the children, when they experienced chiropractic for the first time,' commented Dr. Sanoudis, who currently practices in Red Bank, NJ. Today, approximately 400 to 500 families receive periodic chiropractic care in the Ensenada area.

There is so much work to do, so many poor people in the world whose lives can be changed by being adjusted by the hands of a chiropractor. It doesn't matter what kind of work you do in your office or at home, when you are doing volunteer work, you have the real opportunity to adjust all aspects of the body.

The threadbare philosophical arguments of straight vs. mixer, which may be very important in 'normal' life, have no basis when you are standing in three inches of dirt and garbage with the aroma of raw sewage wafting through the air. At that moment, you just do what you originally set out to do -- adjust vertebral subluxations. The very experience fills your heart with joy.

I hope all doctors will look into their hearts and find a way to give of themselves, to share their talents with those who are needy. They might find the opportunity close at hand, or they may have to travel, but having the opportunity to provide chiropractic services in this manner will change their lives.

Right now, Dr. Murray Galbrath of Temecula, Calif., and I are negotiating with the Indian Council of the Pechanga Indian Reservation to provide free chiropractic service. You can do the same. For further information or to make a donation to Corazon, contact Dr. William G. Henry at Galbraith Chiropractic Life Center, 29645 Rancho Calif. Rd., Ste, 205, Temecula, CA 92591, 1-714-676-6464.

In addition to those mentioned in the article, many other doctors contributed their time and services in Mexico. Included are: Drs. Scott Conklin, Louis Cofrancesco, Kathleen Hauser, Michele Douchette, Ken Dupuis, Bonnie Berger, David Cohen, Howard Cohen, Jon Harmon, Harry Kirkpatrick, Crispin Nestler, Craig Maurer, Richard Palmer, Robin Slotnick, and Jeffrey Wallace. The World Chiropractic Alliance salutes them and urges other D.C.s to find ways to share their gift of healing with the world."

This article appeared in THE CHIROPRACTIC JOURNAL, September 1991 and has been reproduced here in its entirity minus the photographs. Dr. Bill Henry and Dr. Barbara Sanoudis are now husband and wife and practice together in Ocean, NJ.