In the small hours of September 20th, 2018, I posted the announcement that my father, Leon Chaitow, had passed away. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of sympathy, condolences, and intense grief from literally every corner of the globe, as my father had been a towering figure in the worlds of manual therapy, osteopathy, and fascia research. Known as a synthesiser, proponent of translation research, and strong supporter of developing the evidence base for integrative medicine and manual therapies through the journal he founded in 1996, The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, my father had left an indelible mark on the fields he served and the thousands of students and patients who had known him. A passionate supporter of young people, he had been my champion, and my best friend.
As I write these lines we are nearing the 2nd anniversary of his passing, and I am no more equipped to tell the story of the horrors he, and we, endured, than I was 2 years ago. Suffice it to say that when illness struck him, he was, as he always had been, fully active and engaged in multiple projects that could not stop, even for illness and death. My father was a man of his word and could not bear the thought of letting people down. If he could not complete the tasks at hand, then I would have to do them for him.
On his very last morning he dictated an editorial to me and asked me to look through proofs with him. His last book, Fascial Dysfunction: Manual Therapy Approaches 2e had just reached proof stage; the journal had articles pouring in and no clear direction, and no preparations had been made for his unexpected incapacitation. The only solution was for me to drop everything, and become his eyes and ears, because I had set up his filing system and he and I had worked side by side for a long time. Having inherited his ability to multitask and his overall way of thinking, it was up to me to follow the breadcrumb trail and complete his work when he could not – because I was the only person who knew where anything was, how to find it, and what to do with it.
My father and I were never closer than in those final, tragic months, when he would say a few words and I would complete his sentences, with him confirming or rejecting my nervous suggestions with a nod or shake of the head. We knew each other inside out and even as his own strength abandoned him, he kept telling me that he had absolute faith in me, and that “there is nothing you cannot do.” He also told me not to abandon my own work, but for a while, I didn’t listen to that advice.
Through a sequence of events that he did not foresee, and I could not have imagined, I find myself overseeing the revisions of his textbooks that continue to be in high demand, with the support and help of some of his closest and most trusted colleagues.
Within hours of his passing I had notified his colleagues and arranged to attend the 2018 Fascia Research Congress in his place, to deliver some of his final thoughts for him. I spent the next eighteen months working 18-hour days just to keep the Journal afloat – and yes, trying to outrun the grief. Early this year, both those efforts finally came to an end, and despite the global disruption caused by COVID-19, I was able to revamp his website (unfinished), and begin putting in place a series of projects, his books among them, alongside my own. I also grieved, and have not quite finished doing so. The journal is no longer part of his legacy, as it has changed direction at the decision of the publisher. Nevertheless, its purpose will be served through other channels.
Representing the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies and presenting the prizes for most clinically relevant research papers as accepted for the congress, judged by the Journal’s Special Issue editorial board and signed off by Leon himself, followed by Leon Chaitow’s last thoughts on the future of Fascia Research. The upcoming (2021) Fascia Congress (Montreal) appears to reflect these ideas strongly.
As I write this two years later on the occasion of updating my own website – two years overdue due to these events – I am that much sadder and wiser, and that much more determined to prove my father right. He left me work to do, and I shall do it with pride and honour.
For those wondering why I did not appear by his side earlier in his career, the simple answer is that we thought we had more time, and he enjoyed watching me get on with my other projects. Everything I am now doing alone, in his name, we had planned to do together. But it will still get done, because the issues that my father was tackling are ongoing and need addressing, because he left me instructions, I made him a promise, and because I will not permit his work to fade or become easy pickings.
So for those wondering how and why I straddle both the sciences and the humanities, this is just a snippet of the story that I am only just beginning to share. More in due course, and in the meantime, for readers entirely new to this side of my endeavours, more information is here.
