He was always Monroe (or Moishe) to us. I first met him when I was a student at Sherman College. It was because of Monroe I came to practice in Pennsylvania.
Fighting Vaccination and the CCE
Monroe was the lobbyist for the Chiropractic Fellowship of PA. He was always "going up to the hill," in Harrisburg, the state capitol. It was because of Monroe and the Fellowship that PA law was changed to permit a philosophical exemption to vaccination - no need to claim a religious refusal.
He fought for principled chiropractic for decades. Sherman College had refused to go CCE and most other states had closed to Sherman's non-CCE status. It was also because of the Fellowship and Monroe that Sherman College grads could get PA licensure. Monroe also created ARCS (Association for Research in the Chiropractic Sciences) that did groundbreaking research on crib death and spinal structure.
SIDS Research
Working with coroners, 74 newly dead infants (from all causes) were x-rayed in a specially designed structure that put their spines through a range of motion. In this triple-blind study, atlas inversion into the foramen magnum was observed in the majority of SIDS deaths. (Atlanto-occipital hypermobility in sudden infant death syndrome. Schneier M, Burns R. Chiropractic: The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation Vol. 7, No. 2, July 1991.)
After retirement, Monroe and his wife Dore traveled and lived in Israel and Ireland briefly before settling back into PA. His wisdom and stories have touched many lives.
In accordance with Jewish law Monroe was buried within 24 hours of death and I was unable to attend his funeral. As part of a thank you to Monroe, here is a story I wrote many years ago about his saving a baby's life in a hospital. It's called Hospital Rounds. I hope you like it.
Tedd Koren, DC
HOSPITAL ROUNDS (A true story)
Monroe Schneier, D.C. and his family had just returned from visiting relatives in New York. It was Saturday night, he was tired from the drive. There was a message on his answering machine. It would wait 'til morning. Oh, what the hell, he thought as he pressed the playback button. Jeff Verbet, a chiropractor in nearby Harrisburg called. His voice was very somber. "Monroe, call me as soon as you can." Monroe called immediately.
"Jeff, what's wrong?"
"Cookie (Jeff's wife) has just given birth to a boy this morning but he isn't expected to live. He can't accept nutrition in any form. They've asked permission to do an autopsy in the morning."
"Did you adjust the child?"
"No. That's why I'm calling. Will you?"
"If they'll let me in the hospital."
"I'll call you right back." Five minutes later Jeff called back. "I told the pediatrician I was having another doctor, a specialist from New York, come in to evaluate the child. He said that would be OK, he'd leave word at the hospital. I gave him your name."
Picture the scene. It's midnight and two tired men are sitting in the darkened waiting room at Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. A nurse came over, "Dr. Schneier?"
"Yes?"
"We can start now." Both men rose. She turned to the father. "I'm sorry sir, you'll have to wait here."
Dr. Schneier later recalled: "They put a mask on me, white coat and cap and led me into the nursery. Soon the nurse came back with this dried out little bundle. He couldn't even cry; he was trying to cry, but couldn't make any sound. He was so tiny, a few hours old. I said to the nurse, 'Put the baby on the bassinet.' The nurse did so.
"I turned the baby on his stomach. I did my usual checks and adjusted a couple of dorsals and cervicals. The nurse's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head but she didn't say anything. I handed him back to her. She asked me to fill out a paper with my name, my diagnosis and prognosis. I wrote Monroe Schneier, D.C., where I practiced in Middletown, PA and under diagnosis wrote 'Subluxations in the cervical and dorsal spine.' Under prognosis I wrote, 'Baby will be fine.' I then took off the mask, coat and hat and walked out.
"I took Jeff out to a local watering hole and bought him a drink. He needed it. After that I went to bed. Between the ride from New York and the hospital I was exhausted. But first thing next morning I called Jeff."
"Jeff, how's the baby?"
"Monroe, the baby and Cookie are both home."
"What? Home?"
"In the middle of the night the baby started to accept nutrition. By the next morning he was doing just fine. Cookie got dressed, wrapped up the baby, called me and said, 'Get us out of here.' I brought them home. Monroe, you are in our hearts forever."
"The hospital gave you permission to leave?"
"Who asked for permission?"
If the story were to end here, it would be enough. However there's an unusual post-script to this chiropractic miracle.
A few months later Jeff gets a new patient. After the consultation she says, "I want to tell you how sorry I am."
"About what?" asks Dr. Verbet.
"Well, I'm a nurse at Holy Spirit Hospital. I was on night duty that evening. I was so sorry to hear your baby had died."
"What?" Dr. Verbet looked at his new patient carefully. She seemed sane. A thought struck him. "Wait a minute, I'll be right back."
Jeff practiced in his home. He run upstairs and came down with a gurgling child saying, "Here's the baby that died."
"What? I, I, I just don't understand. The next day the hospital staff told us the baby died the previous night."
Dr. Verbet is not someone to leave stones unturned. He made an appointment with the pediatrician to ostensibly bring in the baby for a check-up. He greeted the M.D. with "Hey, explain this, will you?"
"I don't know, things happen, the baby made a spontaneous improvement."
"What's this about my baby dying? Why did you say the baby died?"
"I don't have an explanation."
"Why didn't you say the baby had an adjustment?"
"I couldn't. The hospital has rules about that sort of thing. If I had known what your doctor was going to do I would never have allowed him into the hospital."
"Even though he saved my baby's life? Even though now, knowing what you know about how a chiropractic adjustment saved my baby's life, even now you regret doing it? This is insanity. We're leaving. Say goodbye to the baby."
Dr. Jeff Verbet is presently practicing in San Jose, California; Dr. Monroe Schneier of Newburg, Pennsylvania died Saturday, August 10th, 2002. I'll miss him.