Share this Story: Once a patient, now a practitioner
Once a patient, now a practitioner
Brooke Earley has come full circle.
Louis Pin
Strathroy native Brooke Earley stands in front of Middlesex Chiropractic and Rehabilitation, a business she recently purchased and transformed in downtown Strathroy. The business previously belonged to local chiropractor John Thyret, who worked with Earley when she was an athlete in high school. (Louis Pin/Strathroy Age Dispatch)
Her new clinic, Middlesex Chiropractic and Rehabilitation, is now open on Thomas Street in downtown Strathroy. It's in the same space as long-time chiropractor John Thyret's old clinic, one his family leased after Thyret died earlier this year.
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Years before, Thyret treated Earley for sport-related injuries.
"I was pretty active in the community growing up," Earley said. "I was big into 4-H, basketball, track and field — competitively as well as in high school (at Strathroy District Collegiate Institute)."
"I was pretty excited to come back to a smaller community," she added, laughing. "I just like the vibe. Everyone is really supportive, everyone sort of knows each other."
Earley was raised on a cattle farm just outside Strathroy. It was her hope to return some day, she said, though she left to study in Hamilton and Toronto.
Thyret started his business after he returned to Canada in 1967. He was forced to close the office after five decades in 2015 due to health concerns, but was "thrilled" when he discovered Earley was in school to become a chiropractor herself, wife Sue Maes-Thyret said.
"He was absolutely thrilled about it. It made him very happy," Maes-Thyret, who still owns the property, said. "I just think it's a wonderful gift to the community, that (Earley) wants to come back."
John Thyret died June 28, 2018.
"In the same space, it makes a big difference. A lot of people from out of town and in town knew that corner always had a chiropractor there," Maes-Thyret said. "I think it's important in a small town to carry on traditions."
Earley repainted and refloored the interior, replaced the bright blue carpet and knocked out a large section of the waiting room wall to make the clinic more welcoming.
She saw her first clients Sept. 10.
"It's been stressful," Earley admitted. "I was lucky this building was set up just the way I wanted it, in terms of treatment rooms, the layout of it."
The new clinic gives a boost to downtown Strathroy, which already has its share of empty storefronts. It's especially a problem on the east side of downtown, where two mainstay businesses — the Strathroy Antique Mall and A Star is Born — are closing up after six and 16 years respectively.
Some people, like, Dave Brock, chairperson of the local Business Improvement Area board, remain optimistic.
"Everything seems to be pretty cyclical," Brock said. "We just happen to be suffering a little bit at the moment. We have a lot of openings downtown, but we're hoping they will get filled again."
Earley is still getting started. She says her goal is to eventually expand Middlesex Chiropractic and Rehabilitation into a multi-disciplinary clinic.
"I do have three other rooms that I'm looking at finishing and getting other practitioners in," Earley said. "I could definitely have three or more."
lpin@postmedia.com