LIFE GENERATIONS
For Surmont Family , Life University is a Family Affair
Some things run in families . For the Surmonts , one of those things is getting a degree from Life University .
Dr . Karolyn Surmont is the mother of the family and holds a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from LIFE . She and her husband Paul have five sons , all of whom graduated from LIFE or are currently pursuing degrees at the University . Vincent has a degree in Exercise Science and currently works with Dr . Karolyn at their clinic in Lake Worth , Florida . Spencer was the first of the Surmont children to graduate from the D . C . program . Twins Devon and Derek are studying for the degree along with oldest son Austin and Derek ’ s wife , Lauren .
According to Dr . Karolyn , Chiropractic has been a part of her life since she was 10 , but a medical emergency in the family prompted her to join the profession . When he was 18 , Austin was injured by an electrocution in a construction accident .
“ We followed the traditional medical model at that point ,” Dr . Karolyn recalls . “ We took him to doctor after doctor after doctor , trying to get a good quality of life for him . The doctors told us he would be fine , but he wasn ’ t . He had been a multi-sport varsity athlete throughout high school — he was in tiptop physical shape , but three days later when he went back to work , he couldn ’ t lift a broom .”
Soon after Austin went off to college , he was unable to walk the mile from the parking lot to his classroom . Eighteen months after the accident , Austin was diagnosed with dysautonomia , a disorder in which the autonomic nervous system — which controls things like heart rate , blood pressure , breathing , digestion and kidney function — doesn ’ t work properly . The diagnosis was the first indication that Austin had suffered a traumatic brain injury in the accident , rather than a heart injury , according to Dr . Karolyn .
“ He was really declining at that point — physically declining , cognitively declining ,” she says . “ He began having pseudo seizures and having sensory processing issues . His life was in a steady decline . We did everything that the medical community told us to do , every prescription , particular diets , and nothing helped .”
Medical doctors said there was nothing more that they could do , but Dr . Karolyn says , “ I ’ m a mom , and that wasn ’ t a good enough answer for me .”
The vitalistic philosophy of beings as selfdeveloping , self-maintaining and self-healing offered a different approach to Austin ’ s care .
“ I knew that we needed to find a way for him to heal from the inside out , not from the outside in ,” Dr . Karolyn says . “ And that ’ s why I began studying Chiropractic .”
Austin began a program of exercise , functional neurology , chiropractic care , cold laser therapy and nutrition . The progress was slow but steady .
He decided that he wanted to run a mile , despite barely being able to walk up a flight of stairs . The first day , it took Austin half an hour to walk half a mile . But through his persistence , he eventually could walk a mile in 30 min , and then a mile and a half . From there , he started jogging , just 50 yards at a time to start .
“ Along the way , we began to see that his pseudo seizures stopped being as frequent , he had less sensory processing issues , his cognitive ability started to improve and obviously , he was doing better physically ,” Dr . Karolyn recounts .
14 Alumni . LIFE . edu | 2020