by Gina T. Ogorzaly
Otter was a woman who joined me early one morning on the produce run for the Minneapolis Co-op where I was only the second woman to hold the job of produce buyer. She was on a diet of persimmons and wanted to see where they were coming from—mostly China–so we were only headed to a warehouse. If I asked her why she was doing a diet solely of persimmons, I no longer remember her answer.
What I do remember is that she had recently moved from Detroit to Minneapolis to study to become a Doctor of Chiropractic. I had never heard of it, but learned from her that it was a type of hands-on medicine primarily for adjusting the spine. In college, I had devoured The Massage Book and been so bold as to set up classes to teach other women massage in rural Wisconsin. I was intrigued. I needed to know more. Produce buyer was a job, not a passion.
Otter moved into a community house down the street from my community household and would call me to be a body on which she could practice her newly acquired skills. By this time, I had changed jobs and was lugging around an awkward, too long toolbox. At home, I was chopping wood and trying to heat the house through a Minnesota winter on wood heat alone. You guessed it. I injured my back. As Otter treated me, I was expecting help with my back. What blew my mind was the improvement around my menstrual cycle which had been an issue for me since puberty.
Allopathic doctors could suggest only birth control or tell me, “It’ll get better when you get married.” No help at all for my pain and suffering. I never had any thought of being a doctor, but once Otter came into my life, my trajectory was altered from a series of short-term jobs into a life-long career. She mothered the nascent energy in my hands into a full blown passion for healing. Otter represents balanced female energy and, looking back, I recognize and honor her as a mirror to my scientific mind and compassionate heart. Since the pandemic and the rise of divisive politics, I see so many folks overwhelmed by worry. Otter reminds us to play.
Dr. Gina T. Ogorzaly is a Chiropractor practicing in Albuquerque, NM, who enjoys a creative life of writing and mixed media in visual journals and altered books.