As fortune would have it, the Padres went on a seven-game winning tear which ended only after an Atlanta Braves' victory (a no-hitter no less). On September 16, Jeff had to lace up his walking shoes and hit the road.
As it turned out, chiropractic care allowed him to keep his promise and finish the trek.
Jeff had walked only seven miles when he announced over the radio that he needed some help. His leg was hurting; he asked if there were someone out there who could give him some medical advice on what to do. His partner Jer said, "Jeff has an owie," and started taking calls from his radio audience about what they could do to help Jeff with his problem.
A massage therapist called and offered Jeff a full body massage after he was done with the walk. Jer said that it was a nice offer, but Jeff needed the help right now or he wouldn't be able to finish. The second caller was a female chiropractor who offered him some advice on how to stretch the legs and give cross friction massage.
Steve Johnson D.C., of Santee was the third caller. During the "screening" call Dr. Johnson explained that he was a chiropractor with a portable table and was willing to meet Jeff on the road to help him continue his walk. The station's people were excited, and immediately put Dr. Johnson on the air to talk with Jeff, who was speaking from a cellular phone. Jeff was happy to hear that he was willing to help.
As Dr. Johnson was driving to Jeff's location, he heard Jeff say several times on the air, "Is that chiropractor coming?"
Jer would answer, "He's on his way."
When Dr. Johnson finally caught up with Jeff and the rest of the radio crew, they announced on the air, "The chiropractor is here." Dr. Johnson set up his portable table, and just as Jeff was getting on it the Channel 8 television news crew arrived and started filming.
"My first impression of Jeff's problem was leg cramps," Dr. Johnson noted. "I used acupressure to relax the knotted muscles and found that once I began working on him, that his sacral base was posterior and adjusted easily."
"Aaahh, that felt great," Jeff exclaimed to his radio audience.
Jeff asked him to explain what he was doing, and Dr. Johnson happily did so. At one point Jeff asked Dr. Johnson if he was married. Dr. Johnson affirmed he was.
"That's a shame," mused Jeff, "I was just going to propose -- I really loved your chiropractic adjustment."
Then Dr. Johnson volunteered his beeper number, and told Jeff to page him if he needed any further help along his route. They shook hands and Jeff was off again.
Approximately ten miles down the road, Dr. Johnson received a call for help by way of his pager. Jeff was in trouble again. Dr. Johnson found Jeff walking along the road with a large group of people cheering him on and taking pictures.
Dr. Johnson observed: "As Jeff approached I noticed that he had changed shoes and was favoring his right leg. He seemed exhausted."
Seeing Dr. Johnson, Jeff smiled. "Dr. Steve, I really appreciate you coming out again, I really need you!"
Dr. Johnson had Jeff lie down on the table and started acupressure on his lower back, legs, and feet. Within minutes, he was up and rejuvenated.
Jeff autographed two pictures for Dr. Johnson: one that said, "You really saved me Dr. Steve;" on the other Jeff wrote, "You're a life saver Dr. Johnson."
Jeff gave Dr. Johnson two tickets to the baseball game at Murphy stadium to witness the DJ's apology to the Padres. When the DJ finally made it to the the stadium, he ran across the field in front of 20,000 fans.
The following day, Jeff and Jer talked about Jeff's arduous trip a number of times during their show and spoke of the chiropractor that came to help.
The local newspaper, the Daily Californian ran a front page story on Jeff's journey, and interviewed Dr. Johnson for the piece. The article noted that Jeff "really loved his (chiropractic) adjustment."
Dynamic Chiropractic editorial staff members research, investigate and write articles for the publication on an ongoing basis. To contact the Editorial Department or submit an article of your own for consideration, email
.