Dr. Glen Reed: I don’t think I chose to be a chiropractor. I think it was just something that I assumed I was always going to be.

Dr. Jessica Reed: My dad’s best friend was a chiropractor and I was visiting his office when I was 12. And he put his hands on my shoulders and he said, “Jess, have you ever thought about being a chiropractor?” I thought. “Yeah.” And so, everything I did after that was to fulfill the dream of becoming a chiropractor.

Dr. Glen Reed: I like to joke that I was forced into it. I was going to get kicked out of the family if I wasn’t. My whole family are chiropractors.

Dr. Jessica Reed: I had kept an anatomy lab jacket from Queens, my University. And I carried it with me to Chiropractic College where I left it in the Anatomy Lab.

Dr. Glen Reed: I was too poor to own my jacket so I would share Jessica’s.

Dr. Jessica Reed: I would use it for one lab and he would use it for the next.

Dr. Glen Reed: And, I remember one time I just forgot my keys in her jacket so I had to go in and kind of, cuddle her a little bit to get my keys out. So, I was pretty slick.

Dr. Jessica Reed: I felt a hand reach into the pocket and I turned around and it was Glen. And, that was kind of it.

Dr. Glen Reed: From that point on, we said we had our first date in the Anatomy Lab.

Dr. Jessica Reed: It became so obvious that the right choice was to practice together and to open up our own business. And so, once those wheels were set in motion, it just became our path to open Reed Family Wellness Center.

Dr. Glen Reed: I love the benefit that we can offer our patients through chiropractic. But, to really get people healthy and well, you have to have them talking to nutritionists. The impact of acupuncture, clinical counseling, all that really comes together. And the more approaches you can, kind of, adopt in your health, that’s when you’re really gonna experience true health and wellness.

Dr. Jessica Reed: I think it’s really fantastic that we offer all these services so that people can be efficient with their time.

Dr. Glen Reed: So that’s what we wanted to have all under one roof. So that the people could come to Reed Family Wellness Center, and experience that true health and wellness concept.

Dr. Jessica Reed: I love Nanaimo. I love living here because it is so easy to get around. Within two minutes, you can be hiking in the bush with your kids.

Dr. Glen Reed: It’s a ten minute drive up to Mount Benson. It’s a two minute drive down to the waterfront to hop into your kayak. We’re so blessed with the amount of different healthy activities that we can get into in Nanaimo.

Dr. Jessica Reed: Kids need movement. Adults need movement.

Dr. Glen Reed: That’s what I try to get through to my patients, is that it’s not a choice. It’s just like having to eat, having to drink all day. Exercising and being active is part of what our bodies need. So we’re always trying to do that with our kids. And make them understand that it’s not a choice. It can certainly be fun. Can certainly be enjoyable. But it is something that we all have to do.

Dr. Jessica Reed: A lot of people come to us when they’ve hit rock bottom. And it is so satisfying, seeing people get healthier and happier.

Dr. Glen Reed: My favorite saying is from my forestry days. The best time to plant a tree was 80 years ago. The second best time is now. So it’s never too late to start incorporating more health and wellness concepts into your life. Obviously, the earlier we start, the better it is. But we have lots of different strategies, in terms of how to make those good changes in their life.

Dr. Jessica Reed: To help to guide them towards their maximum health and well-being is just, is so completely inspiring. I am inspired daily by my patients.

Dr. Glen Reed: It’s such a joy to go in, and be able to relate with patients on many different levels. Sometimes, more of a difficult level, if you’re going through some struggles. Or we can really celebrate all of the wins. Especially those family wins that they’re having.

Dr. Jessica Reed: We really envisioned Reed Family Wellness Center to be the hub for Nanaimo families. When we say family is our middle name, we really mean it. And to me, that means that healthy families really make society, as a whole, much healthier.

Dr. Glen Reed: When we’re focused on pain and sickness, and we only do anything for our health when we’re in one of those states, we only get back half of our health. There’s so much more to health and wellness. There’s so much more to life than just not being in a painful state. And when we can get more and more of our community into those health and wellness concepts, especially at a young age, then we’ll start to see Nanaimo flourish. And everybody’s gonna be a little bit healthier. A little bit more well. And the entire community will start to rise up.