We were lucky to catch up with Emily Puente recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

To be honest I think each of my previous jobs helped to shape me into the professional I am now. I waited tables for years and that teaches you a LOT of patience. Haha. I’ve worked in retail and that teaches you customer service and attention to detail. I’ve worked in a veterinary office and that helped me with my animal handling skills and learning how to effectively communicate with owners. I’ve worked in multiple dental offices, and it taught me bedside manner (both good and bad) so I could see the effects it can have on your practice based on how you treat people. And lastly, I’ve worked for another chiropractor and that let me see how I would want to run my own practice. With each of these things I feel that they helped shape me into a more patient, understanding and committed individual who truly puts patient needs first.

But from all of this my most important lesson learned would be perseverance and fully relying on and trusting in God. After having my second child, my position with my employer was removed. I was unemployed with a two-week-old baby. In that time though I truly wasn’t afraid because I knew the Lord had other plans already in the works. I had an appointment scheduled already that morning to look at a potential new space for my own office and that ended up coming to fruition and being the start of what I have now. It was the best decision that I never would have made on my own without that swift kick in the behind.

Emily, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a firefighter wife, mother of three and owner of a slew of animals. I come from a big family with 5 siblings and was born in Central America while my dad was stationed there.

I practice chiropractic that is focused on prenatal and pediatric chiropractic and am certified in animal chiropractic as well. I’m a philomath and have relentlessly studied both in school and postgraduate to become the best provider possible for my patients.

I actually got into chiropractic by accident.

I had applied to dental school three years in a row and each year got a step further in the application process. I ended up getting into a car accident and going to a chiropractor (because that’s what you do right?) and while I was there, I talked with a chiropractor who was previously a dental technician and had made his own veneers. As someone who works in the dental field, I thought this was a really cool thing and we chatted about it. Long story short, he ended up talking with me about my future and asked if I had ever considered chiropractic as a career choice. He went into more explaining the similarities between the two fields and how with chiropractic you could also potentially have more freedom and that I should look into it.

My husband (boyfriend at the time) a couple months later was also in a car accident and ended up having two brain surgeries and multiple fractures. This experience ended up rocking my world obviously, and it’s a story all on its own, but during all of it I was accepted into dental hygiene school and chiropractic school. I ended up praying about it and chose chiropractic school. After being in a school for almost a year we were married and found out that chiropractic therapy was provided to families of students at low/no cost so he was able to have access to incredible technology to help further his recovery in a way we would never have had access to utilize.

Every step along the road to here was laid here for a purpose and it has just been incredible to be a part of all of this.

We offer an array of services here with the help of an incredible team. My main focus is prenatal and pediatric chiropractic being certified by the Academy Council of Chiropractic Pediatrics, Spinning Babies Aware Practitioner and Craniosacral/Myofascial practitioner. And I’m also able to offer animal chiropractic for all of the fur babies.

We have another chiropractor, Dr. Nicole who sees our dads and patients with sports injuries, low back injuries or those needing decompression which really rounds out our practice nicely.

Our reliable and consistent support of people throughout whatever stage they are in is what separates us from other offices. If you’re wanting to dive deep and figure out chronic issues, then we can incorporate functional health to your care. If you’re wanting to just maintain and keep yourself healthy then we do this with chiropractic and supplementation as needed. If you’re wanting to prepare your body for a baby and/or delivery, then we can help balance the pelvis with chiropractic and home care exercises or emotional support or supplementation or all of the above.

We truly will meet you where you are and assist you along the way with whatever you need.

I bring up things from my farm to have in the office and truly make this environment feel like you’re an extension of my family. We truly care about our patients and are invested in their health and happiness.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Staying humble. One thing someone told me before was to “never be too good that you won’t take out your own trash” and this really stuck with me. No matter how far I get with this business I will always be sure that I am being a team player and staying humble because ultimately none of my success is actually my own. Everything I do I give it back to whom it truly belongs.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Just recently I made the HARD decision to stop accepting male patients myself. This was so hard because I know how crucial dads are to a family dynamic, but my schedule was getting to the point that for every dad I was seeing I would have to turn away a pregnant mother or child. With my training and expertise being focused on prenatal and pediatrics I felt this was a disservice to my training and what I had dedicated so much of my life to, so we decided to draw a line in the sand and although it was really hard it has proven to the best decision because we have an amazing provider who has lovingly accepted them for me!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bridgefamilychiro.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgefamilychiro/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bridgefamilychiro
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCStasxfGCzhxk9rlNtD_T0A