April Peracchi’s Road to Recovery

Q: What was your life like before you met Dr. Blakely?

A: I suffered for years from chronic pain and severe tendinitis. I've been a homemaker for about 20 years I think my injuries were due to repetitive tasks. Anyone who has had tendinitis knows how excruciating it can be. Eventually, one of my arms completely froze up and became useless. Until you lose the functionality of one of your limbs, you don’t really realize everything you need two hands and arms for, like eating, picking up a gallon of milk, doing your hair, showering and everything else.

Q: What steps did you take to get your health back?

A: I ended up going to physical therapy to get movement back in my arm and also started seeing my first chiropractor. I got a pretty good amount of success and wanted to progress but when I didn’t after a couple of years, I started seeing Dr. Blakely.

Q: How was Dr. Blakely different from your first chiropractor?

A: I went in and had an interview with her and she taught me a lot about supplements, vitamins and minerals. I was extremely skeptical and had previous issues with vitamins bothering my stomach. I had tried everything else and had been suffering for about ten years with pain in my back, shoulder, neck and tendinitis. So, I started taking the supplements that targeted the inflammation I had in my body, which was causing a lot of my pain. She also asked me to change my diet pretty drastically and sure enough, I started feeling relief almost immediately in all areas of my body!

Q: What were the biggest changes that you received and how long did they take to achieve?

A: Well, I started to notice a decrease in pain pretty much right away. Before Dr. Blakely, my pain was about an eight, on a scale from 1-10. I would say my pain now is probably at about a two, if I even experience it. She’s basically allowed me to be pain free.

Q: So what kinds of activities are you now able to do that you couldn’t do before?

A: Mainly just living life in general. I can do all kinds of stuff every day like housework, yard work and running errands with the kids. I take care of my 91 year old grandmother and that requires a lot of lifting and I’m able to do all that fairly comfortably and be happier doing it. My success with Dr. Blakely is still an ongoing process and it takes dedication to the program she set up for me to maintain a healthy spine and lifestyle.

Editor’s notes: Dr. Beth Blakely is a chiropractor that specializes in holistic health care practices. She can be reached at (916) 944-1444.