Becoming One
In Physical Therapy, my job is to educate, train, and help to make your body feel and function better; or so I thought from the very beginning of time. In school, I learned about the muscles, nerves, bones, injuries, mechanisms, repairs, and rehab, but I did not necessarily learn about the finer aspects of making people healthier, wealthier, and wiser, for the long run. What I have since discovered over my many years of working in the various fields of healthcare, to include hospitals, nursing homes, home health, and private practice, is that people are looking for answers to what ails them.
Today, one thing that I put forward to my patients and often-times soon after the initial meet, greet, and evaluation, is that Physical Therapy is a great place to start on their healing journey, but that my ultimate goal is to educate, train, and show them how to become their own best Physical Therapist. It is really a beautiful sight to see, when people realize that they have the power to help themselves and maybe they knew it all along. It’s akin to the old, worn, torn, and ruffled-man that climbs up the steep and treacherous mountainside to reach the top and ask a question of the wise, well-travelled, old sage perched there; and the answer comes back in the form, function, and shape, of something that he already knew!!
The finger locking joint in cabinet making is an attractive, strong, and durable piece of craftsmanship; it is not always easy to set up, cut, put-together, and many mistakes are often made along the way to completion, but once the details are nailed down and the fingers are brought together with a little glue in-between, it becomes more than what it was before; it becomes beautiful, resilient, and very likely will last a Lifetime. In PT, I will now hold my hands up in front of me, open, with palms facing toward me, and then slowly bring my fingers together in an interlocking fashion; to depict the person becoming one with their new-found knowledge and experience attained over the course of PT, to become their own best Physical Therapist; because my goal is to eventually set them free, like the birds of the air, to live, to function, and to participate in the Life of their own choosing, and at their highest capacity: complete, sturdy, and strong: healthy, wealthy, and wise!! Complete!!
