Distinguished Alumni

Meet Dr. Ed Bradley, Class of '78

"I have a goal in life and that is to get involved." - Dr. Ed Bradley

Dr. Charles "Ed" Bradley first got involved in 1968 when he joined the Lions Club in Tulsa, Okla. After graduating from Texas Chiropractic College in 1978, he practiced in La Porte, Texas for 18 years, and then relocated to the Heights area in Houston 12 years ago and has been active in both communities. He has held board positions with several national organizations. And Dr. Bradley is also totally blind.

When he was born on June 15, 1943 in Cushing, Okla., Dr. Bradley was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. He gradually lost his sight over time and approximately 20 years ago lost the last of his light perception. "I can't tell daylight from dark anymore," said Dr. Bradley. "When I went through school here, I could see a little bit, but it wasn't much."

The self-proclaimed "country boy from Oklahoma" had to overcome many obstacles early in life. In addition to managing his gradual loss of sight, he lost his father at the age of 13. Dr. Bradley graduated from high school in 1961 with no plans for his future so took a position with a program for the blind. In 1962 he took his first step toward getting involved and joined the American Council of the Blind (ACB), which had been founded the year before.

He moved on to a career in massage therapy in 1967, working through the YMCA, where he was very successful as a massage therapist and health club director. Unfortunately, though, Dr. Bradley encountered another obstacle when a new manager came in and completely redesigned the programs at the YMCA. Dr. Bradley soon found himself out of a job.

While trying to decide what to do next, his wife asked if he had ever considered chiropractic. In high school, Dr. Bradley had thought about it, but then Oklahoma City's Carver Chiropractic College shut its doors. After that, the idea lost its hold on the young man until his wife rekindled it 10 years later.

"Two weeks later I got a call from a rehabilitation counselor asking me 'are you really interested in becoming a chiropractor? We'd like to talk to you,'" said Dr. Bradley. "Two weeks later I was going to school and completing my pre-chiropractic work."

He started college in April 1973 at Oklahoma City Junior College and worked diligently to attain his prerequisites for attending chiropractic college. In August 1974, Dr. Bradley enrolled at TCC having exceeded the requirements. At that time, the doctor of chiropractic program was a four-year plan, and he went on to graduate in 1978.

Soon after going into practice, Dr. Bradley's level of involvement began to grow exponentially. In 1979 he began participating in beep baseball (an exciting adaptation of baseball for blind athletes), and in 1982 he was elected to the board of the National Beep Baseball Association. He is sill a member of that board and served as the president for 14 of those years.

In addition to being a current board member of the ACB, Dr. Bradley is also very active with that organization at both the state and local level. He is the current president of the ACB of Texas and a past president of the Houston Council of the Blind. He served on the board of directors for the Lighthouse of Houston for 12 years and on the board for Houston's Taping for the Blind organization for eight years. Dr. Bradley is currently serving his second term as the chairman of Houston Mayor Bill White's Commission on Disabilities. His passion for these organizations is due in great part to his belief that if you "give of yourself; it will come back to you."

"All of these things that I have gotten involved in have helped me with my practice, because I've gotten patients from it," Dr. Bradley explained to a group of current TCC students during a visit to campus in March. "They have helped me feel good because I had given of myself, and I have had a lot of help given to me. You can't expect things to come to you if you don't give of yourself."

Dr. Bradley spoke with current TCC students in March as a part of Grand Rounds. He spent time discussing how he navigated through his education with the help of study groups and the willingness of some of his professors to work with him. Dr. Bradley also strongly encouraged the assemblage to get involved in their communities, not only for the benefit of themselves and their practices, but for the benefit of those around them.