Chiropractic Mission Trip to Dominican Republic

Dear friends, family, and colleagues,

This June I’ll be joining a team of Doctors of Chiropractic, medical professionals, and Doctors of Chiropractic in Training for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. We will be serving residents and Haitian refugees in Puerto Plata seeing hundreds of patients in a critically underserved area. Our nervous system impacts every cell, tissue, and organ in the body, and any amount of interference to that can have devastating effects. My passion for this work has grown exponentially as I have met patients and heard countless stories from practitioners of outcomes that most can only describe as miracles. When our bodies receive gentle, specific adjustments to remove vertebral subluxation, communication from the brain to every part of our body and from every part of our body to our brain is restored enabling healing and fuller expression of health. Doctors of Chiropractic are trained in the detection, analysis, and removal of vertebral subluxations, and I could not be more blessed to have found this work that marries my love for science, helping those in need of hope and healing, and holistic modalities.

This work is personal to me; losing both of my parents at young ages to chronic illnesses made me acutely aware that health is something we must actively participate in. The World Health Organization defines health as, “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” My life’s purpose is to make this world a better place by helping to connect people to their source, to bring light where there is darkness, to leave people better than I found them, to inspire those that come after me, and to give back in service. We are called to be the light, and I am eternally grateful that this profession works to be a beacon of hope and restoration for those who desperately need it.

I became an emancipated minor when I was a student in high school. I vividly remember the feeling of responsibility that it was on my shoulders to be the one to make sure I woke up each day at 5am to drive myself across town to school. I worked 30 (or more) hours a week at a part time job after school to help support myself to pay for rent, groceries, gas, textbooks, and other needs. At times, it felt impossibly hard as I was trying to learn to how to pay my own bills and live alone in high school after my mother’s passing, I was also deeply grieving the life I thought I should have had, the emotional support I craved, and was trying my best to keep up with my peers in AP and honors classes. That fight was visceral. I worked each day to open doors of opportunities for myself and was convinced that I would still somehow find a way to advance my education and keep my head on straight. Through small wins that added together, I was able to do so. I was blessed to have teachers that truly cared, friends’ parents who were kind to me, and peers that pushed me to continue to better myself. I earned my EMT certification in high school and worked hard to earn a merit based scholarship and get accepted to college. That feeling of reading an acceptance letter to college is one that will never leave me; I felt hopeful that maybe my life would be one of meaning and that the hard work and lonely times would lead me somewhere. From then on, I never stop persisting to keep trying my best to make each moment and opportunity count. Those moments of perseverance continued to build, and I finally graduated with my undergraduate degree in Public Health with a Pre-Clinical concentration. Now, I’m in a position I never dreamed I would achieve working toward my doctorate and feeling as grateful as ever that the Universe and God have been conspiring in my favor all along. There are countless people to thank who have believed in me, sent encouragement when my strength wavered, and who have prayed for me quietly. I want to take time to acknowledge how thankful I am for each of you, and I look forward to my opportunity to give back and serve.

This mission trip to the Dominican Republic is one of my chances to do this, and I thank you for considering investing in me and my team. Previous missions trips to this area have reported incredible patient outcomes with life changing improvements including better hearing, better vision, decreases in dangerously high blood pressure, decreased migraines, increased mobility, relief from chronic pain, and of course, removal of nerve interference. We will also be connecting residents in need to food resources. The team I will be traveling with will be led by a Doctor of Chiropractic with decades of experience who is highly trained in the Knee Chest Upper Cervical technique that focuses on the brain stem and our sensitive spinal health and will be joined by a team of dedicated soon to be doctors. Any and all donations will go towards the cost of international travel and lodging for 8 days of service. Thank you for considering joining forces to bring this mission trip to fruition and connecting care to those who are in need. Thank you also for praying over this group for safe travels, safety while we’re there, and connecting the right people with an opportunity to heal.

All my best,

Julie Ludovici Ward