THOMASVILLE — Chiropractic care is in William A. Ball’s blood.

With seven other family members in the business, Ball, now celebrating 46 years of his practice, Ball Chiropractic Health Center, never stood a chance.

“It was either chiropractor or preacher in my family,” joked Ball. “I get to do both in my work.”

An injury at age 9 piqued Ball’s interest in a chiropractic care. His brother-in-law, William A. Lawson in Albany, was already practicing.

After graduating from Waycross High School in 1954, Ball moved to Davenport, Iowa, to attend Palmer University and study chiropractic care.

Working his way through college, Ball came home two years later for his birthday and to see an old friend who lived in Tallahassee. It was then that he met his wife of almost 49 years, Sara.

After graduating from Palmer University in 1958, the couple moved to Tallahassee. Ball spent a year in practice with Lawson in Albany.

On July 1, 1959, his practice was opened in Thomasville. At the time, there were only two other chiropractors in the area and a standard office visit cost $3.50.

Originally in an office building on East Jackson Street, after two years, Ball bought the building next door and remodeled it. The practice was there until a fire in 1986. It then moved to North Broad Street.

Members of New Covenant Church at the time, the Balls received help from 12-15 fellow parishioners who came over on Sunday and helped clean the furniture and move the practice to a building owned by Charlie Lewis, who offered to rent the space on Broad Street to until they found something else.

“I thought it was pretty awesome to have my office burn on Saturday morning and go back to work on Monday morning,” said Ball. “We didn’t miss a day, and that’s divine providence.”

Two years later, the Balls found the piece of property where the practice currently resides on U.S. Hwy. 19 next to New Covenant, built the facility and moved there in 1988.

“I enjoy working with people,” said Ball. “That’s been my profession as well as my ministry. Our goal is to have a facility to treat the whole man: body, mind and soul. We’ve seen a lot of miracles in this office. We don’t give chiropractic the credit. We give God the credit. He’s the great physician.”

Ball travels to Atlanta each year to renew his license, completing 20 course hours to stay on top of what is going on in the chiropractic field.

“He loves what he does, has seen so many miracles and helped so many people that I don’t think he’ll ever retire,” said Sara Ball.

Her husband concurred, stating he would “be working until Jesus comes.”

Ball’s clients range from 4 days old to 96 years old, locals to as far away as Panama City, Fla., and a 46-year career can accumulate some interesting history.

Dr. Grady Young, a local veterinarian, would sometimes call Ball about an animal with spinal problems.

“In one particular case, a family’s pet dog had been hit by a car and was paralyzed,” said Ball. “(Young called) called, I went down, checked him out. Young had taken some X-rays, and I did a couple of adjustments and the dog was fine. He got up to do his thing.”

One of the numerous miracles Ball said he has witnessed happened to a client in his 60s.

An instructor at what is now Thomas University, he had received a spinal injury from being hit by a car 31 years earlier. It left him blind in his right eye.

“He told me he had been to other doctors and clinics but no one could figure out why he had lost his vision,” said Ball. “After seeing him and adjusting him, the man totally regained his eyesight. He called me that Sunday to tell me. He was so excited that he could not wait until the office opened Monday.”

Ball said there are 24 vertebrae in the human spine and all parts of the body are somehow connected to it. One vertebrae out can cause symptoms a client might not even associate with the condition, such as a runny nose, deafness and blindness.

“Patients come in for particular problem but will have numerous other things that will clear up,” he said. “Chiropractic doesn’t treat symptoms. We treat the root of the problem, which is located in the spine. I want to know what a patient’s symptoms are because the symptom is the last thing to show up if the person has an infirmary or disease. It’s also the first thing to leave once you get a correction done.”

Ball has been utilizing the activator tool for the past 20 years. A state-of-the-art instrument that moves the bone at 1/300th of a second, it uses anywhere from three ounces up to 51 pounds of thrust.

“It’s very efficient and very specific, takes all the guesswork out of it,” said Ball.

However, at first, it can be difficult to convince the patient to try the activator.

“About 99 percent come in for the first time and want a manual manipulation,” said Ball. “They have never had an activator used on them and, when a patient comes in, I show a video of the procedure and let them choose what they want. If they want a manual, we will go ahead and do that first, then we’ll do this. It corrects all the errors, anything you missed in the spine, this will find it. There is no pain, and it is so specific and accurate.”

He said 99 percent of those who try the activator prefer it, but that he still has two or three clients a week who want a manual manipulation.

What many residents may not know about Ball is that he holds a private, instrument and multi-engine rating and has been flying for more than 40 years.

The owner of several aircraft over the years, Ball used his planes to fly patients all over the country to see specialists.

“When a patient had a specific chiropractic problem that we didn’t deal with, we’d take the patient in the airplane to where they could get the best help available,” said Ball.

This was also at no extra charge.

“He did it because it needed to be done and because he cared,” said Sara Ball.

Ball said many have asked him, “If you could live anywhere in the world you wanted to, where would you chose?” and his answer always surprises them.

“I always say Thomasville because I do have a choice,” he said. “That’s why I came to Thomasville. Mom and dad are in Albany and Sara’s parents are in Tallahassee. We looked for a place to practice in Georgia because we wanted to stay in the state. We went up north and looked but we decided to settle here.”

His wife said Thomasville has been good to their family and that it was a great place to raise their children — son Steve, a pastor, and daughter, Marlesa Griener, a former Miss Georgia and pastor.

In honor of the 46-year career milestone, the Balls are hosting an anniversary party on July 25.

“We’re sending out invitations, but we hope people who have not been in for years will come by and say hello,” said Sara Ball.