By Angela Higginbotham
angela@floridanewsline.com

Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Dr. Christopher (Chris) Railing also spent his childhood living in Tampa, Fla. He majored in biomedical science and minored in military history at the University of South Florida before completing an additional degree at the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Daytona Beach. Dr. Railing moved to Jacksonville shortly after his 2011 graduation from Palmer College.

Passionate about helping people of all ages through both his profession and personally, Dr. Railing runs a Toys for Tots drive every year to bring smiles to kids. In 2016, with donations and help from the community, approximately 6,000 toys were donated for gifts. Dr. Railing enjoys living in Mandarin with his seven-year-old son, Christopher.

  1. What do you enjoy most about living in Mandarin?

Even though the area is growing remarkably quickly, it still feels like a smaller community. People still know their neighbors and I enjoy that about the area.

  1. What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

I think being able to open my own practice within three years of graduating was a great accomplishment. Bartram Park is a great part of Mandarin to have my office and it’s nice to know that I can help people on any end of the spectrum. I love that in one room, I may see a four day old baby and the next room I may treat a 96-year-old patient. I love what I do. Of course, I hope to accomplish so much more with future expansion and continuing to offer even more services.

  1. What inspired you to donate to the Toys for Tots Foundation every year?

Christmas was always important to me when I was growing up. I know it’s a hard time of year for many people and I just want to contribute something for the kids. The offices I worked in before opening my own practice all did a donation every year and I decided to keep that going in my own office. We’ve already planned our event for Nov. 4, 2017 and this will be our third year. We turn the parking lot into a good time with show cars, vendors, a DJ, face painting and it’s open to everyone in the community. We hope to raise even more toys this year than we did last year.

  1. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Restoring old cars. Myself, my son, and a buddy of mine restored a WWII Army Jeep. Right now we are working on a 1948 pickup truck. I keep busy spending time with my son. We enjoy Disney, watching movies, and car shows, among other things. M*A*S*H is my favorite television show of all time, so I try to convince my son to watch it with me. That show made me want to go into the medical field.

  1. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I’d cruise to the Greek Islands because it looks amazing and it would be nice to see that part of the world. I’d also enjoy going to Normandy, France to see the WWII monuments and memorials.

 

Photo courtesy Dr. Christopher Railing

Dr. Christopher Railing

 

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