This turned me into a puddle

Alright so I’m a Pisces. Admittedly, watery demonstrations of joy, sadness and release aren’t all that difficult for me to express. Still, my reaction totally caught me off guard.

A little background…

Nearly four decades ago I was blessed to be introduced to Dr. Angelo Rose, a local (New Jersey) chiropractor, who opened my eyes and heart to a whole new way of life. Dr. Rose truly was the earth angel to whom I credit with setting me on this path to wellness I was destined to walk and to offer to others who desired the same.

Nutrition wasn’t a big focus in our family growing up. For mom and dad, it was more about putting enough food on the table to feed seven growing children, and I often wondered how they did it. Through hard work and a lot of grace, we managed to get by, instilled with an appreciation for all that we’d been given: a roof over our head, clothes to wear, food to eat and parents that loved us as best they could, despite being spread quite thin.

I’d been struggling with severe eczema on and off since early childhood and, despite many trips to different doctors, mainstream medicine didn’t offer any solutions. The best they could do was to give me prescriptions for creams, salves and steroids to help with the intense itching, pain and infections that came from tearing my skin off even while I slept.

I was in my mid-twenties when Maureen, my neighbor, told me about a chiropractor who used simple unconventional nutritional wisdom and over-the-counter products to support the body in healing itself. Why the hell not, I figured. Nothing else has worked, and I was all in!

Dr. Rose was “old school.” First, he had me fill out a food diary for a week to give him some clues about what my nutrition (and I use that word loosely) was like. I remember that appointment quite clearly because what he said really surprised me. He looked me straight in the eyes and said “I’m going to teach you how to eat.” Those were his exact words and they really caught me off guard. I didn’t realize that all my life I didn’t know how to eat. But they don’t call the Standard American Diet “SAD” for nothing.

I left that appointment with a very short list of permissible foods. Pears and zucchini were prominently featured and processed foods were definitely a no-no. There was no warning about what I later determined to be a healing reaction, as the toxins began to leave my body and I felt like crap. My spouse (at the time) seemed to be fine, which left me totally perplexed as he continued his own lifestyle of unhealthy choices. As is often the case, those choices eventually caught up with him. But I digress.

We’d moved from New Jersey to Rochester, NY and I eventually lost contact with Dr. Rose. He’d taught me well and empowered me in ways that enabled me to take what I’d learned and continue to build upon it and I remain forever grateful.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I received a text from a sweet young woman I’ve been mentoring. She lives in New Jersey and I’d shared stories with her about my own mentor, Dr. Rose. So she decided to look him up even though I’d indicated that I was pretty sure he’d moved on from his earthly existence by now. Her text message simply asked “is this him?” and it was accompanied by photos of the front and back cover of a recently-published book called “A Legacy of Healing” written by none other than Dr. Angelo C. Rose and Dr. Christopher J. Amoruso. The photograph on the back of the book was unmistakeable and, upon seeing it, I became pretty emotional as I was filled with gratitude and memories of this great teacher. Even now as I write this I am getting teary-eyed thinking about him.

There were many times when I would tell the good doctor that he needed to write a book, although I didn’t get the impression that it would actually happen. I’m sure many of his patients gave him a similar message, but I wasn’t taking any chances and began writing down his protocols and suggestions as he shared them with me.

Of course I ordered the new book immediately and learned that this great man, who touched the lives of so many, had indeed begun writing a book prior to his death in 2007. His son, Christopher, had become a chiropractor, studied nutrition, and had the privilege of working alongside his father and of being the one who was handed the baton. Ten years later, he finished the book his father had started. While, at this stage of my life, my diet is plant-based, there is plenty of wisdom throughout its pages that beckons to me to share it with you. You can take a look and order it here if it speaks to you.

Dr. Rose did not treat children, although not because he couldn’t. He’d raised six of his own and knew exactly what he was doing (even assuring me that he could “flip” my unborn daughter in the womb since she was breach one week prior to birth; thankfully this wasn’t necessary because my little rebel got in position on her own), but he was always willing to advise me upon request if my child wasn’t feeling well. Above is a photograph of the original recipe book I used to record his pearls of wisdom. Although these entries aren’t dated, they were written sometime around 1990 when my daughter was two years old.

I choose to honor the memory of this great man by paying it forward and declaring from my heart that you don’t have to become a statistic like so many friends and family members who are ill and suffering. Nutrition is powerful medicine. Let me teach you how to eat.

Much love,

Madeline