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Please click here for an overview of my professional accomplishments, which is the next page in this series, or you can continue reading this page for additional information about my personal-professional healthcare background.
I began my professional studies at Texas Chiropractic College near my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. While a student there, I excelled academically and was a frequent member of the Dean's List, and I simultaneously attended Phoenix School of Holistic Massage to gain an even broader base of information and skills in the areas of physical medicine and patient care. While at Texas Chiropractic College, I became fascinated by learning, research, and especially nutrition. I read everything I could get my hands on, and I began attending post-graduate and continuing education seminars.
One day, very serendipitously, I was invited by my nutrition professor to attend a lecture on botanical medicine by a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. I did not know anything about either botanical medicine or Naturopathic Medicine (since we do not have Naturopathic Medicine in Texas), but I was willing to attend at my professor's recommendation. The presentation was by Dr. John Brown, a naturopathic physician and noted expert in botanical medicine.
I was awestruck by the information on botanical medicine. I knew that I had to learn more about botanical medicine and Naturopathic Medicine, and that to do this I would have to move to a location where I could immerse myself in such information and surround myself with experts in this field. Soon thereafter, for a host of reasons, I decided to move to Portland, Oregon to attend the well-respected Western States Chiropractic College and to be closer to Bastyr University, which has been the most respected and certainly the largest school of Naturopathic Medicine in the United States. I moved to Portland later that same year.
I worked very hard while at Western States Chiropractic College, and I attended post-graduate continuing education seminars and worked hard to learn as much as I could. I also began writing my own research articles. By the time I graduated from chiropractic college, I had published seven articles in magazines and professional journals and had written an article which was later accepted by the prestigious medical journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. Such a large quantity of published work from a student is virtually unheard of. In fact, I do not know of any other student in my school who has ever accomplished this. I was also regularly giving slide presentation "mini-seminars" to my fellow students and my teachers--this was also virtually unheard of for a student.
It was also during these years of intense work that I pushed myself a bit too hard and a bit too fast. I had not yet learned to temper my enthusiasm and excitement for learning with the need to take care of myself. By the middle of 1995, I was over-worked and had moved into an area of genuine suffering and learning--Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Seeking relief and cure, I eventually saw 17 doctors in 2 states--none of whom understood Chronic Fatigue, none of whom could help me. It is true that stress probably made me susceptible to getting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but I would need much more than rest to regain my health. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, as I would later learn by experience, is a very complex disorder.
I graduated from Western States in 1996 and immediately moved to Seattle for a summer of "rest and research" (notice the contradiction) before beginning at Bastyr University in September of the same year. I volunteered regularly with the non-profit organization Seattle M.E.N. and in 1997 was elected to the Board of Directors and became Health Editor for MEN Magazine, for which I wrote articles on men's health issues.
I had still not learned to temper my enthusiasm and excitement for learning and involvement with the need to take care of myself. 1997 was a hard year for me. But it was also during 1997 that I would come to profound realizations about myself that would enable me to heal my life, to understand why I was the way I was. In the end, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome turned out to be simply a manifestation of other more amorphous and complex phenomena, and it was in many ways a "wake-up call" for me to begin to give attention to different aspects of my life that had previously remained hidden from my view. My true learning had begun.
The second half of 1997 marked the beginning of a time of rapid learning. My experience with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome forced me to expand my awareness of the interconnectedness of different aspects of the human experience in general, my own experience in particular. I emerged with a much deeper "felt understanding" or "knowing" than I could have ever obtained through books or a solely "intellectual" approach.
In many ways my experience with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome served as a catalyst for my growth and development--both personally and professionally. Personally, for example, it helped me to understand the nature of human suffering in a way that I had not known before, and it helped me understand the helpless feelings that can result from having an illness that very few doctors can understand, let alone treat effectively. Professionally, in order to cure myself of this condition and its origins, I had to learn a great deal about nutrition, botanical medicine, and human psychology and physiology so that I could gain a perspective on the causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and use this information to cure the condition, in myself and others. For a while it seemed that my very own survival depended on whether or not I could understand this condition. For me, the desire to create a healthy life--for myself and others who need help--was and continues to be a powerful motivator for learning.
I would be remiss if I gave the impression that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was my only difficult health experience; it certainly was not. To make many long stories very short, I will simply say that over the course of my life I have been hospitalized more than a few times (mostly for traumatic injuries), experienced several motor vehicle accidents (none of which were my fault), and have endured no less than six major surgeries (again, mostly related to traumatic injuries). My path has not always been easy, and I have definitely experienced healthcare and illness from the patient's perspective. I have continued to do the best that I can, to learn from experience, and to heal.
I would also be remiss if I gave you the impression that all of my personal health experiences had been negative--quite on the contrary, I have indeed enjoyed, lost, and then regained very excellent health. When I was a boy, I was vigorously athletic--competing in sprinting, soccer, and cycling. I began lifting weights when I was about 14 years of age, and by age 21 as a competitive-level powerlifter, I weighed a healthy 250 pounds and was bench-pressing over 365 pounds, and squatting and deadlifting over 560 pounds. I had to abandon the stressful life of a serious and dedicated athlete when I began my professional studies many years ago, but am still quite fit and healthy and I give conscious attention and effort to making sure that I stay as healthy as I can even while handling a busy schedule and career. I have personally experienced both health and illness, both joy and despair--I have "been there"...and back.
As you may have recognized by now, for me my passion is my profession, and my profession is my passion. I love my work, because I have chosen as a profession those things that I most enjoy: hard work, learning, working with people in meaningful ways, helping people (including myself) to understand and to change their lives for the better. This is why I am inspired to read and learn as much as I can and then pass the information on to my patients: because I love what I do. In healthcare, the quality of the care delivered to the patient is often in proportion to the knowledge of the physician; in other words, the quantity of the doctor's knowledge, information, and experience is generally proportionate to the quality of the care that the patient receives. Hint: if you need to choose between doctors, find the doctor who loves to learn and who is able be discerning in his/her choice of information. Of course, if you can find a doctor who also has rich personal and professional experiences, so much the better; you may end up with someone who has "been there personally", who "knows what it is like to be really ill," who can "walk the talk," who can live and learn by experience, and who can teach by example.
Dr Vasquez has relocated to Fort Worth and is still available by 
