Coffee with: Good to be back
For Ladner's Shawna Fiske, there's no place like home. The owner of Fiskco Health and Performance has opened a brand new chiropractic clinic in the heart of Ladner, where she was born and raised.
"This is where my roots are," says Shawna, adding she's delighted to be back in her hometown where people wave to her and friendly smiles are shared by passersby.
Shawna spent the past four years at Toronto's Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto, finishing 10 years of post-secondary education that includes a kinesiology degree from the University of the Fraser Valley and a Sports Science diploma from Douglas College. Not that being in Toronto was a bad thing.
It's where she met her best friend and new colleague, Danielle Miller, whose bubbly personality seems to complement Shawna's more laid-back B.C. style perfectly.
"We just have fun every day here," says Danielle, who was lured into the opportunity by Shawna.
Both women got into chiropractic care to help others. Shawna's father was a Ladner fisherman who lost his left arm below his elbow when she was a child.
With his arm gone he used to experience what's known as phantom limb pain, where a person's brain thinks the arm hurts even when it's no longer there.
But after going to a chiropractor for treatment he was able to control that feeling. It inspired his daughter to learn the science for herself.
After decades of fighting skepticism about chiropractic care, these medically-trained doctors are getting their due.
Danielle has used her talents in impoverished countries in Africa, like Gambia, Liberia, and Namibia, to provide desperately needed help.
"These are places where you can see the instant impact of your treatment," she says. "It just makes you feel good."
Shawna is half-native, from the Heiltsuk Nation in Bella Bella. She feels it's important to help First Nations communities who can't regularly afford chiropractor services. She donates her time every Monday in the Sts'ailes Nation in Harrison Hot Springs.
"Realistically, there's a lot of money for health care for aboriginal populations, but without the programs or people in place the money just stagnates somewhere else," says Shawna, adding she'd like to do something similar for the Tsawwassen First Nation.
Fiskco is about more than spinal adjustments. They plan to offer regular chiropractic services, as well as naturopathic medicine and massage therapy.
Shawna says their philosophy is to look at a person's health as a whole, including diet, in order to make responsible and informed recommendations to their clients.
The new Fiskco clinic is located at 7-5078 47A Ave. in Ladner, just at the corner of 51st St.
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