Chiropractor's Dream Lands Her Back In Dunedin

Dr. Pat Snair started her career in the medical field as a dental hygienist. She never planned on being a chiropractor.

In 1978, she had been working for a dentist for eight years when her cousin convinced her that she would be happier as a chiropractor. “If you like helping people stay healthy then you’ll love it,” her cousin said.

That year Snair applied and was accepted to Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.

Far from her beloved Dunedin, Snair was feeling uncertain about her career change, but an alarming event at home was about to show her that she made the right choice:

My grandmother was mugged when I was in chiropractor school. She survived the mugging but her right arm was paralyzed from where the mugger had ripped the purse out of her clutch. The doctors scheduled surgery on the arm.

“Surgery on what?” I asked my grandmother.

“They don’t know,” she said. “I guess they’ll find out once they’re in there.”

I was distraught about her being put under for exploratory surgery. I asked her to come up to Iowa and go to our chiropractic clinic.

Truthfully, I was surprised that she said yes. Traveling to Iowa from Florida, in January, in your '70s with one paralyzed arm isn’t easy.

Our clinic treated her and by Christmas she was sewing potholders. ()

After graduating from school, Snair’s choice to open her practice, in Dunedin was an easy one. When she received her Florida chiropractic license she thought, “Oh, I can practice anywhere,” and she took a drive down the west coast of Florida. Half way down she realized everything that she was looking for was in Dunedin.

She lived in Dunedin since she was 10 after her family relocated from West Virginia. She says Dunedin was a beautiful place to grow up and the town introduced her to one of her great loves: bagpipes.

What other town gives you the unique opportunity to play bagpipes in middle school and high school?

Pipes has taken me around the world, from Nassau, Bahamas, to North Carolina for Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, to my life-changing experience of watching the Dunedin High School Scottish Highlander Band play on the esplanade of Stirling Castle in Scotland. I would have never had those experiences if I had not grown up in Dunedin.

Since 1981 Snair has been giving back to her community, and she is now part of what makes Dunedin a great place to live:

Watching my grandmother recover confirmed my choice to become a chiropractor, and I told myself if she is the only one who is ever healed, then it is worth it.

Instead, I have seen so many people healed over the years. That is the best part of my job. It is unbelievably rewarding.

Snair is happy to sit and talk to anyone who is has questions about chiropractic services. Call and schedule a time with her friendly staff.

Want to go?

• Where: Back N' Balance, 1059 Broadway
• Contact: 727-733-6501 or 727-799-6066, http://www.backnbalance.com/
• Hours: Monday, Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, closed.