07/30/2017
I met Glenn and Patricia Scarpelli shortly after moving to Manhattan in 2003 at a New York Chiropractic Council event. They made me feel welcome with their warm smiles, their kind questions and their genuine offer of help should I ever need it.
I took them up on their offer many times. Glenn helped me to finalize my New York State license. He offered to adjust me, an offer that remained as long as I knew him. When I was nearing the end of my pregnancy, Glenn, Patricia and Peter and I met and agreed to terms that would give my practice a home within the walls of the Madison Wellness Center following my return to work. I felt honored and proud to share space with them, I knew they were greatly respected in our community, and I was excited at the prospect of bringing some synergy to both of our practices. The photo of Glenn at the WTC site serving first responders with chiropractic care never failed to give me goosebumps. He embodied service to the principles, and the photo reminded me why we do what we do.
When I was in labor Glenn showed up at St. Vincent's hospital late late Sunday night, a chiropractic warrior coming to deliver the goods. He reminded me of Danny Aiello in Jacob's Ladder that night. He was so angry by the way the hospital was handling my care. It was the only time I have ever seen him unbalanced. He was a knight to us when we were vulnerable, bringing the spirit and strength of chiropractic heroes like Pasquale Cerasoli, his dear friend, with him. Following his adjustment it appeared that we were going to successfully have a non surgical birth. His adjustment brought peace and ease to a room of fear and angst. He came the next day to check on me and Lily, and later, made it all the way out to Brooklyn to adjust us when I was recovering. He refused to take any money from us for his service. He was relentlessly generous with both his time and his talent with everyone, adjusting whoever needed a gentle lift of spirit and spine in soup kitchens throughout the city. His dedication to the Council was unwavering even when he wasn't in an official position. He was placed in advisory positions throughout chiropractic politics, boards, etc, doing the kind of administrational stuff that most of us in practice blissfully ignore but that provides foundation and practical reality to our profession.
Glenn and Patricia were unfazed by my desire to bring Lily to work with me. Quite the opposite, they loved having a baby around and loved her up every time they saw her. Patricia invited us to a tea party at their home with Isabella, just girls. She had made a beautiful spread complete with Prosecco and proper tea, insisting in her uniquely gentle and powerful way that it was no trouble at all. Genuine elegance, this is how I would describe her, no airs, just pure beauty exuding from her, making the world a better place wherever she went.
In all of this, in everything they did, personally and professionally, their love for Isabella and Joseph shined through. No conversation was ever complete without a mention of what they were up to, and how deeply proud they both were of their beautiful children. In September they raved about the kids in college, bubbling with pride and excitement for that which lay ahead for their family.
They were a couple of faith, of dedication, of service and of love. The circumstances of their death are unthinkable, I can't imagine the pressure and dread that they were experiencing in order for both of them to come to the decision that this was their only choice. My heart aches for their children, and for all of us who will miss them in whatever context we were blessed enough to interact with them, whether as family, as colleagues, as friends or simple passersby.
I can hear Glenn's gentle voice saying "god bless you" to each person he adjusted or with whom he shook hands. Glenn, Patricia, as you wrote it IS TRUE, YOU HAD A WONDERFUL LIFE!!!! We will continue to love you and to cherish all that you did and gave to and for so many.
We are in a profession that reveres service, yet is so often wrapped in numbers and ego. We are saddled with often insurmountable burdens of debt that make serving from a place of purity nearly impossible. We are regarded for what we give, but at what cost? How is it possible that two people who gave so much felt so isolated that they were too embarrassed or felt that they were failures and therefore did not deserve to have what we admired most about them from us, generosity and selfless giving. I don't know the answer but I do know that this may be Glenn and Patricia's final gift, that we reconsider the value of what we do and offer and create methods of payment based on that. For those who are able to financially thrive in their chiropractic practices, this may seem impossible to you, but there are thousands upon thousands of people in our profession who will never pay their loans, who will never get out from the burden of their education. Glenn and Patricia never excluded people from care based on the person's ability to pay. EVER. I watched it time and time again, "Don't worry about it." I think that they believed that they would be taken care of and supported by their goodness. This devastating loss within our chiropractic community offers us an opportunity to reevaluate who we are to each other and how we must serve ourselves through adequate support of all kinds so that we can continue to be beacons of light and sources of relief to others.
https://www.gofundme.com/the-scarpelli-childrens-education
