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<\/a><\/p>\nTim worked at Steve\u2019s Auto Body in Sonora for 23 years before his physically-demanding career eventually took a toll on his health. Tim notes, \u201cIt figures that being on your feet all day working on a concrete floor could eventually mess up your back.\u201d <\/p>\n
And, he was often working two or more jobs at a time. He was a licensed contractor for 17 years, sometimes bartering his talents as a house painter for goods and services. His craftsmanship is seen around the clubhouse and residential neighborhood of Greenhorn Creek in Angels Camp. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just kept working with the pain in my back for years,\u201d he says. \u201cIt kept getting worse and then one day last summer, I just couldn\u2019t bend over anymore. I knew couldn\u2019t go on living like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
All the years of neglecting his health caught up with him at the age of 60 when he finally sought medical attention for his failing back. \u201cOnce I admitted I needed help, it just wasn\u2019t that easy to find,\u201d he says. \u201cI learned that when you are looking for help if you don\u2019t have a primary care doctor referring you, it\u2019s difficult to get people to listen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That all changed when Tim attended the \u201cTackle Your Health\u201d workshop at Mark Twain Medical Center in San Andreas during Men\u2019s Health Month last November. The event theme was prevention \u2013 the importance of men taking their health seriously with routine, annual checkups.<\/p>\n
Tim recalls, \u201cI wasn\u2019t having any luck getting help around home, so I figured I\u2019d just check things out across the river. At the end of that workshop staff members said to talk to them individually if anyone needed help. I did \u2013 and it\u2019s the best thing that could have ever happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey listened \u2013 that\u2019s the most important thing. They listened and took me seriously. Right away they set up an appointment for me at the Angels Camp Family Medical Center. Star Hildabrand, who is a Physician Assistant there, talked to me in terms I could understand and things took off from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She referred Tim for tests at the hospital and within a couple of days treatment was outlined for several previously-neglected problems. Physical therapy sessions began to help relieve his debilitating back pain and possibly avoid back surgery.<\/p>\n
As his health is improving Tim is able to get back into somewhat of his regular routine. He is a gardener and a gourmet chef who worked his way up from being a dishwasher to 2nd Chef at the esteemed City Hotel in Columbia.<\/p>\n
Tim was in seventh grade when his father took over as Vice President of Columbia College and the family moved from Modesto to Sonora. \u201cMy dad grew up on a farm in Nebraska,\u201d Tim says. \u201cHe had the farmer\u2019s attitude that you fix things yourself. He showed me how to do things when I was young and I wound up making a career out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the many cars he has restored and rebuilt his favorite is a 1963-and-a-half Ford Ranchero with a patriotic red-white-and-blue paint job. It has been a crowd-pleaser in many local parades and car shows over the years. He\u2019s in the process of getting it ready to sell. \u201cIt\u2019s time for someone else to enjoy it,\u201d he smiles.<\/p>\n
Looking back over the past few months, Tim marvels at the fast turnaround in his life. \u201cI have a life again. I\u2019m not living in pain all the time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore my experience with Mark Twain Medical Center I had lost all hope in the health care system. These folks are different. They are dedicated to helping you \u2013 no matter what your situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want other people to know. That\u2019s why I\u2019m sharing my experience. They will help you get on the right track \u2013 like they did for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jamestown, CA…Like many men, Tim Bratten ignored his health for as long as he could \u2013 until the pain in his back forced him to stop working. He had not been to a doctor in 40 years. \u201cIt seemed like a waste of time,\u201d he says. \u201cWhy take off work to go to the doctor?\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,10,20,33,4,1,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advertising","category-angels-camp","category-featured","category-health-fitness","category-life-style","category-news","category-tuolumne-county","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Tim-Bratten-and-his-Patriotic-Falcon-Ranchero.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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