If you’re experiencing discomfort like back pain, groin pain, headaches, foot/ankle cramping, or poor balance and coordination — Dr. Brandie Elizabeth Keates wants to help you. She created Bloom around the idea that women should enjoy every aspect of pregnancy, and should always be able to receive the proper care they deserve.

More than a business owner, Dr. Brandie is an important member of the Main Line community. Her clients rave about her technique and skill, so much so she recently won the Main Line Parent 2015 LOVE Award for Best Chiropractor. However, Dr. Brandie’s professional journey did not begin as a chiropractor. Her family went through an incredible, life-altering event.

As a child, Dr. Brandie had aspirations to be a pediatrician and was inspired by her own entrepreneurial parents — she even “worked” with her mom at her adult day care. Later on she went to college and eventually became a paramedic in Lancaster. She loved helping people and getting into people’s lives and making them feel great. In paramedic school, it was a requirement to assist in the delivery of 10 babies, which she found amazing and life-changing.

“When mamas present to my office in the early stages of labor on their way to their birth center or hospital to make sure their pelvis is aligned— I don’t get freaked out at all because I know what to do— I’m so excited for them,” she says. “I just love caring for people because I naturally do. I genuinely care and want to advocate for the best for that person. I have the most amazing practice members in the world!”

In the middle of her successful career as a paramedic, Dr. Brandie’s one-year-old daughter, Alexandra, broke her leg in an accident. When the cast was eventually removed, her daughter was limping for months afterwards. Not knowing what to do, Dr. Brandie started looking for help.

After taking her daughter to five different doctors, someone recommended a chiropractor to her, and she called them crazy (ironic, right?). She knew of chiropractors, but had never considered that an option for her baby daughter’s leg. But with limited options, they decided to try it. She went into the first appointment terrified, not knowing what to expect, but determined to find an answer. And finally, she found one.

“That experience shaped how I am today, because many times someone will come in and I can see that look on their face because of the unknown or things that they have heard about chiropractors. I know how they feel. I get it because I had to bring my most precious person to a chiropractor and trust the experience. And I try my best to ease their worries and go over everything with them step by step.”

When Dr. Brandie discovered that working with a chiropractor could give their daughter the ability to walk again without a limp, they made a life-altering decision. She quit her job at the hospital, packed up her belongings, and moved 20 hours away to Kansas City, MO, to start chiropractic school. She felt it was something she needed to do to help others find solutions and was so grateful to chiropractic for restoring her daughter.

“Chiropractic over and over again changes people’s lives in a very quiet way and needs more attention. It’s so gratifying helping someone get back to being able to work, care for their kids, go on a romantic bonding walk with their spouse without horrible pain, or to get people to run without pain. Life is about connecting people to what they love. The simple acts that makes someone’s life and allows for them to enjoy the moment without suffering or limping is priceless. There is no better job.”

Four months after the chiropractor restored their daughter’s gait in one visit, Dr. Brandie went back to school — to become a chiropractor. She was awarded the top honor at her school of Clinical Excellence, graduating in 2002.

After graduation, she worked at Gold’s and Bally’s gyms in King of Prussia as their chiropractor, and discovered that you can treat, and truly help, any joint in your body. She grew appreciation for the human body, and it allowed her to once again be a part of peoples lives, and use her skill set to help people feel their best.

In 2003 Dr. Brandie, started Experience Chiropractic (formerly known as King of Prussia Family Wellness), and later developed the division Bloom Main Line. Her experiences and education have made her a desirable choice for any patient seeking chiropractic care.

The office is excited to be relocating to a fabulous new office in October that will allow them to grow and expand. The new space, which is more than 4,700 square feet in size, will have ample room for a nursing/baby changing lounge, kid-friendly activity centers, a large gym area, educational workshops, and a ‘How To Stay Young’ class.

If you’re interested in learning more about what Bloom Main Line and Experience Chiropractic can do to for you, visit bloommainline.com. If you are not pregnant, they still can help you at experiencechiropractic.com.

Want to learn more about what sets Bloom apart? Check out the first article in this series, Ease the Pains of Pregnancy With Bloom Main Line.