hand, a foot, an arm, a leg, a back or a neck. I
usually get a perplexed look until I clarify that
I treat people, rather than body parts in isola-
tion. I also do not treat conditions recorded
in medical files.” Chris went on to share an
important insight when, on a busy clinic day, he
overlooked a case history detail of a patient who
experienced a particularly traumatic incident.
“Read intake forms carefully, then forget what
you read and treat the person”, he advised.
Married to Heather MacRae, a naturopathic
doctor, they shared three children - Finlay,
Emma and Haley. Heather reflected how Chris
studied anatomy almost every day. “He had the
most refined palpation skills of any manual
therapist I’ve ever encountered. He didn’t just
want to teach palpation skills, he wanted people
to feel what he felt.” Heather continues, “I believe he was second
to none as a manual therapist and I know that his passion for
lifelong learning was his greatest legacy. The size of the empti-
ness that we feel matches the magnitude of the man that he was.”
Chris injected time, energy and money back into his educa-
tion, and the education of others. Chris served on the Mem-
bership Benefits Committee of the Canadian Contemporary
Acupuncture Association, and achieved senior instructor status
(the only RMT to do so) at the McMaster University Contempo-
rary Medical Acupuncture courses in Hamilton. He wrote (and
Heather edited) a number of articles featured in Massage Thera-
py Today and Massage Therapy Canada publications, hosted and
produced Massage Matters for Rogers TV.
Chris published The Art of Palpation, incorporating tactile
graphics - raised textural surfaces of anatomical structures - to
help the reader refine palpation skills. Chris was a gifted public
speaker, and filled the room at his last ONE Concept presenta-
tion.
At Homewood, Chris acquired tacit knowledge in working
with highl y vulnerable populations. In Touching Addiction:
RMT Treatment for Recovering Addicts Requires More Than
Technique (Massage Therapy Canada, Autumn 2013), Chris elu-
cidates, “We all know of someone whose life has been affected by
addiction; no one is immune to this pathology. With good train-
ing, a compassionate demeanour, and a commitment to ongoing
personal education and development, manual therapists can be
an invaluable part of recovery for each individual encountering
addiction. I hope you will feel inspired to reach out to this popu-
lation, offering them the power and relief that your hands and
your knowledge can provide.”
To continue Chris’s legacy of caring, a scholarship fund has
been set up to benefit the continued work of the Global Health-
works Network. www.globalhealthworksfoundation.org/chris-
oconnor-tribute-video
My Love
by Chris O’Connor
My Love
Sitting by a bend in the river
I’m watching the reflection of a clutch of leaves
bounce on the smooth surface
The water is calm
Reaching a small waterfall, the water rises in
sound and turbulence
Twisting and churning, yet never
a struggle
It emerges transformed, into bubbles and gentle
eddies
As the ripples near the shore, it reunites with
equilibrium
It flows on unconcerned
The source, in continual renewal of itself
Turning back to the mirrored surface, a leaf
suddenly falls
Gentle glide onto a canvas forever
in motion
No other force in nature can alter its path
Neither wind nor paddle could pervert its journey
In the flow of the water, as in all of life’s journeys
Relying and trusting the river
To carry and return it to its source
Once more
My Love
FALL 2018
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