“Functional Medicine is like a dance and your patient’s body is in the lead. As you improve one area, you see things change in another. It’s a constant moving scenario.”
Troy Spurrill, D.C. at Synapse: Center for Health and Healing, had been “dancing” with functional medicine for nearly three years before being introduced to FPC; and prior to that, he had been running a chiropractic clinic for an entire 20 years.
He had been successful in his chiropractic business model. He had developed a routine, and his career was on track, but his heart ached for the patients he couldn’t help, and he became driven to find answers for them.
“I was seeing all these people who were falling through the cracks in the healthcare system. I would try and find them referrals; but many of them just didn’t find success anywhere.”
After learning that functional medicine was the solution, he knew he had a tough decision to make. Diving into a new model would require a major shift in how he had run things for so long. So, he asked God to give him a sign.
“I had a good life, you know. I didn’t want to get busier; and I knew what it meant in terms of responsibilities. So, I literally said, God, you need to hit me over the head with something.”
Troy’s “hit in the head” came that same week through an encounter with a patient who had experienced a “miraculous turnaround” with her health. She had encouraged Troy to build the functional medicine practice he’d often speak about, so he finally pulled the trigger. But the decision came with one condition.
“I had a deadline. If it wasn’t going to work within three years, I wasn’t going to do it. And there were a few things that we had to see: the results to help patients had to be duplicatable, it had to be profitable, and it had to run without me being there.”
Troy had been treading water for three years after his shift and the date of his deadline was approaching. It was around that time when Dr. Josh, Chiropractic Neurologist and Head Researcher at Synapse, presented the entire leadership team with an alternative.
“Dr. Josh & Forrest (Dr. Forrest Sauer) went to school together and had been speaking to each other. Forrest made the referral and Dr. Josh brought it to the team. I knew FPC was a fit after the first meeting with Charlie. It was exactly what I was looking for.”
Prior to FPC, Troy’s team was experiencing burn out. They were working nonstop and had little time to enjoy any life outside of the business. After joining, they embraced FPC’s methods and incorporated a full-team approach into their processes.
“We meet every morning for 45 minutes to discuss all of our patients. We also meet once a week for three hours and its morphing us into speaking the same language and helps us be on the same page. That was a game-changer for us. And the value of what we’re doing is finally equaling the money coming in.”
“The team is bonding,” Troy said when I asked him to elaborate on his biggest triumphs. “There’s zero chance I could have done this myself. I give all the credit to God, my team, and FPC.”
“Excellence Without Ego” is among the list of core values that inhabits the Synapse team with a few others revolving around elevating people and providing a sanctuary. Troy compared these to FPC’s values and mentioned how deeply the family-oriented culture resonated with him.
“We really like how everyone lifts each other up within the team and we do the same. It’s inspiring. We just had to emulate what we were being taught. And the support! Like different people being available to discuss things and help out. There’s a lot of edification that comes from the different coaches. It gives us hope.”
Determination has been at the forefront of Troy’s entire life. In his twenties, he lost use of his arms and was told he’d spend life in a wheelchair; but was determined to prove the doctors wrong. Later, he opened his own practice and was determined to make it a success. After discovering functional medicine, he became determined to revamp the way he had practiced for the previous 20 years; and when he faced challenges in trying to do it alone, he was determined to find another way.
“We knew what we wanted but we didn’t have a good system to get there. FPC gave us what we needed. And we feel unstoppable.”
Are you ready for your own success story?
If you are, I have good news! We can get you results like this. It won’t be easy, nor will it happen overnight, but I’ve seen it happen so many times that I can tell you that’s it’s possible.
You’ve got to be hungry, driven, up for the work, listen more than you talk, complete more than complain, implement plans more than you announce them, and show up daily with a beginners mind. If you’re ready, it’s time to get to work!
