The following are excerpts from an interview I did with Dr. John Goodfellow. Enjoy!
Dr. Brandon Harshe: Can you tell us about your training with Dr. E.L. “Bud” Crowder?
Dr. John Goodfellow: “I first saw Dr. Crowder during my second trimester. I was taking the last Erhardt Radiology seminar and Dr. Crowder often attended. When he entered the room, I noticed something different. He was one of those men that people immediately noticed when he walked in the room. I then became acquainted with Dr. Crowder Interns through the student clinic and found myself on his Sunday Session list and his intern list. I didn’t enter his intern program until my seventh trimester. So, I had exactly one year in his office.
Dr. Crowder taught us to be an extension of him in the process of checking a patient. We learned how to record patient findings in their file. We then learned Chirometer followed by Spinal Balance Checking. After we checked out on supine leg checks, we graduated on to NCGH readings. Following NCGH readings, we were taught to set the patient up in the posture constant chair. If we were allowed to stay long enough, we had the opportunity to set patients up for an adjustment and assist with spinographs.
He did not directly teach us toggle recoil or x-ray analysis or anything clinically about upper cervical. All that we learned came from his questions and watching him. I was further educated by Dr. Crowder following his death.
In 2002, I was asked to help in his office. I had the opportunity to review hundreds and hundreds of files. I witnessed how Dr. Crowder made choices in patient care. I followed his x-ray analysis. I followed graphs and when adjustments were made and more importantly, when they were not.
Although I learned so much while Dr. Crowder was alive, my Chiropractic Mentality was such that I learned significantly more after his passing.”
“I graduated from Palmer February 1998. I assumed a small practice from another Palmer Graduate who had been out for one year in September 1998. It was an interesting experience converting people from full spine to upper cervical specific. It also gave me a great perspective about the power of upper cervical chiropractic.
I left that office space approximately one year later entering another to then leave that one about a year later to enter a third space. After a few months, I entered another space and then one year after that I took on Dr. John Whaley’s office. He retired after 45 years in practice.
One year after that, Dr. Crowder took ill and passed. I was asked to come and help in his office. That was August 2002. December 18, 2008 we closed Dr. Crowder’s office. I estimate I added 10 years of clinical experience after my first year seeing Dr. Crowder’s patients. I poured over 100’s of files. I looked at more x-rays then you can imagine. I took my knowledge and determined how Dr. Crowder did his analysis.
You may recall, he didn’t teach us anything directly. I’ve had the opportunity to care for people sixty or more years under Specific Chiropractic Care. The majority of my ongoing patients have been under care for a minimum of 15 years and many more than that. I’ve been described as the youngest Chiropractic dinosaur in practice.”
