- Describe your decision making process in choosing physical therapy as a career choice versus other health care careers.
The
first time I saw Mrs. Sullivan I was still a patient myself, rehabilitating
from extensive shoulder surgery. She was
a 95-year-old woman who came for physical therapy after a frightening
fall. Her deeply wrinkled face and
failing mind and body belied the wealth of knowledge she had accumulated
throughout her years, but her crystal clear blue eyes told of times she could
remember and the wisdom within. For
several weeks I watched a physical therapist work with her patient, whom we
respectfully referred to as Miss Virginia, as I went through my own
exercises. I watched her struggle to
lift the weight of her body from sitting to standing and work hard to make her
foot move in the direction her therapist requested. I grew to care about Miss Virginia deeply and
something clicked, excitement! My marine
biology degree was relegated to the distant past, I was no longer content to be
“just” a mom, and I knew. I started
volunteering at the physical therapy office the next day. I came in for my appointment and volunteered
after I finished my own treatment.
My first
regular patient was Miss Virginia. I
quickly learned that while her memory was failing, her wit was not. She had a penchant for making me blush as I
helped her count the repetitions for her exercises. I worked with Miss Virginia over the course
of several months. Each time she came in
smiling and looking at me as if she knew she should be able to place my
face. Each time she admitted she
couldn’t remember why she was there, and I would tell her about all the things
she had been doing. In the end her mind
never did remember, but her muscles did.
On Miss Virginia’s graduation day I felt my heart spill over with pride
and admiration as she went from sit to stand five times without using her arms
for support. Success!
Mr. Armstrong had Parkinson’s disease and came for physical
therapy concerned about his lack of balance and difficulty walking. Once a very athletic man, you could read the
frustration, but also determination, on his face. He practiced walking and foot flexion
exercises. We walked up and down the
hallway over and over again, me getting in his way; he forced to change his
gate to avoid hitting me. Then we added
in singing a song off cadence with his walking.
The more he progressed, the more I became fascinated by the neurological
side of physical therapy. One day he
came in, obviously excited, and shared an experience he’d had. He noticed his gate was most sloppy at home
and one day, in the kitchen, felt a shift in his walking and was able to focus
and corrected it. There was that feeling
again. I was so proud to be a part of
his success.
I worked with Miss Trudy in an in-patient setting, and
while the surroundings were much different, the experience evoked much of the
same passion for helping people and being part of the solution. Miss Trudy was diabetic and had other diabetes-related
issues. One day she was simply too weak
to make it the few steps to the bathroom, and her legs failed half way there. She was forced to have a BM in the middle of
the room with half a dozen people looking on.
I admit my first reaction was to be a little grossed out, it was only my
second day in in-patient, but that quickly changed. I pictured myself in her shoes. How would I feel, and how would I want those by-standers
to respond? In that instance I realized my age and experiences gave me an
advantage in that type of situation.
Instead of looking at her in disgust, I felt compelled to comfort her
and do whatever I could to help her maintain even a shred of dignity. I wanted nothing more than to support her and
see her walking to the bathroom and caring for herself again.
My in-patient and outpatient volunteer experiences were
filled with many similar stories as are my experiences working in and around
the military with wounded veterans and soldiers. The
practice of physical therapy speaks to me. I saw and felt the profound emotional affects
a physical disability can cause, as well as the equally profound feeling of
empowerment achieved by overcoming that disability. I experienced it first hand with my own shoulder
rehabilitation and saw that pride and satisfaction on the faces of countless
patients and soldiers. I know physical
therapy is my future.
