I have had the privilege of watching a lot of people heal over the years. But there are a handful of stories that are in a category of their own, and Dr. Max Gooing's is one of them.
I first met Max at the California Chiropractic Association conference in San Diego in 2016. He was there with his dad, Dr. Tim Gooing, who is a dear friend and an incredible chiropractor in Orange County. I did a quick leg check on Max at the hotel and could tell immediately that something was going on in his upper cervical spine. I said, "Come on in. We'll take some imaging and see what we're working with."
What we were working with turned out to be the source of a year and a half of suffering that had quietly taken over his life.
A Year and a Half of Losing Himself
Before Max ever walked into my office, he had been living with chronic dizziness that had spiraled into depression and anxiety he couldn't control. He couldn't go outside comfortably. He couldn't stand for extended periods of time. He felt like he was having constant panic attacks. Going to class was hard. Being with friends and family was hard. He had essentially lost the ability to just be himself in the world.
And here's the part that makes this story even more layered: Max grew up in a chiropractic household. His dad is a chiropractor. He had access to care. He was being cared for. But the style of chiropractic he had been receiving wasn't reaching the root of what was happening in his neck. It took his dad recognizing that and saying, "I think Dr. Hoefer can help my son" for Max to find his way to Blair upper cervical care.
That kind of professional humility, knowing when the skills you have don't match what your patient needs, is something I have enormous respect for. Dr. Tim Gooing is not only a wonderful chiropractor, he's a wonderful father.
The Moment on the Table
I had warned Max before his first correction that he might feel dizzy, tired, or heavy afterward. His body was about to shift into a healing state and that first response can be significant.
He did feel extremely tired. But that wasn't the thing he remembered most.
What he remembered was that the moment the correction was made, he felt his stability return. The sense of groundedness he had lost a year and a half earlier came back instantly, right there on the table. He went to the resting room afterward and started crying, because he had genuinely believed he might never feel that way again.
I didn't know that until he told me on this podcast. And honestly, it stopped me in my tracks. Because that is exactly why I do this work.
By the time we recorded this episode, Max had held that first correction for nearly five years.
What Retracing Taught Him
Max went through significant retracing in the months and years after his correction, periods where old symptoms would resurface as his body worked through layers of healing. He mentioned that my ability to predict those windows in advance was one of the things that shaped him as a future clinician.
When a patient knows what's coming, the fear goes away. When the fear goes away, they stop fighting the process and start listening to their body instead. They learn to read the signals: today is not a day for heavy lifting. Today is a rest day. And then three days later, they're back at full capacity.
That is not weakness. That is wisdom. And it is one of the most valuable things a patient can develop over the course of care.
From the Treatment Table to Chiropractic School
After his correction, Max was finishing his undergraduate degree and weighing his options. He'd considered multiple healthcare paths. But the more he witnessed what chiropractic, specifically Blair upper cervical chiropractic, could do for a person, the clearer his direction became.
He put it simply: "My life changed with a non-medical approach in a way I could have never imagined. And I decided that if I could provide similar relief to other people, I would be living my life with purpose."
So he went to chiropractic school. And I had the privilege of walking alongside him for that entire journey: through the coursework, through the challenges, through his official year-long internship at Well Connected. I wrote his letter of recommendation. I watched him go from someone who cried on my treatment table because his stability came back, to someone who was about to help other people find theirs.
By the time we recorded this episode, he was on the brink of passing his licensing exam and opening his own practice right down the road from me.
I cannot overstate how proud I am of him.
A Word on Inter-Professional Unity
One thing Max said in this conversation that I want to highlight, because it reflects something I feel deeply: chiropractic doesn't have to be a divided profession.
There are many ways to practice. Many techniques. Many philosophies. And too often, chiropractors spend energy drawing lines between themselves rather than focusing on the person on the table who needs help.
Max and I talked about making a commitment, one relationship at a time, to change that. If I decide to show up differently in a conversation with a colleague, I'm responsible for that shift. I don't need them to change first. I just need to choose it myself.
The bottom line is always the patient. And if we can remember that, the rest tends to sort itself out.
Sewing Into the Future
I said something on this podcast that I want to close with, because I meant it completely.
Someday, my great-grandchildren are going to need a Blair chiropractor. By pouring into Max, by walking him through school and into practice, I am quite literally investing in the future health of my own family.
That is not an exaggeration. It is why mentorship in this profession matters so much to me. Every doctor I train, every student I encourage, every colleague I support, they all carry this work forward into communities and families I will never meet.
That is the vision. And Dr. Max Gooing is a living, breathing, fully-licensed part of it.
Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Max Gooing on the Well Connected Podcast: Live Your Life in Alignment. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Have questions about Blair upper cervical chiropractic? Visit us at wellconnectedchiro.com.
