As a child I never thought I would have to mother my own mother nor did I think my mother would never forget I was her daughter. When I was eight years-old my mother had a severe stroke that took away her ability to walk and talk. As the news spread most people pitied my family for my mother’s the unfortunate situation. When my mother’s health wasn’t constant, everyone around me made sure the phrase “I’m sorry” was. My ability to cope with a difficult circumstances as a young child, continue to perform well in school, and live a semi-normal life, while my mother was ill, shaped who I am today, and ultimately introduced me to what I now believe is my calling to be a physical therapist. When it comes to my life, where I am now is completely from where I started. When my parents were married, I lived in an upper middle class neighborhood and had most of what I wanted physical and emotionally, but this all changed when my …show more content…
When my mother fell ill she attended both physical and speech therapy to help improve the deficits that resulted from the trauma in her cerebellum due to the stroke. When her recovery wasn’t progressing as quickly as the therapists would have liked, I began to think of ways that I could aid in her recovery. At the end of my own school day, I helped my mother re-learn how to read and write. At the time, because I was so young, my daily school sessions with my mother didn’t seem significant in the slightest. However years later my mother confided in me how much my efforts aided in her recovery, In that moment, I knew I wanted to do something that would benefit others. Physical and Speech therapy started my fascination with helping others. Ultimately, I want to help those in need of recovering the use of their bodies, and I feel that Physical Therapy aligns with the type of person I hope to be as well as the overall life I want to
When I was 15, my grandmother suffered from a severe stroke and was advised to go to a rehabilitation center. At that time I had not ever heard of the profession called occupational therapy. Upon visiting my grandmother, I had the opportunity to witness several health care professionals working together to help rehabilitate her. I have always wanted to engage in a career in which I could attribute to helping people, and at first I thought physical therapy would best compliment my natural abilities but then I encountered the occupational therapist. So as I watched her work with my grandmother diligently I realized that I had found exactly what I was looking for.
I found a job as CNA for the patient who had disabilities. One patient in particular changed the direction of my life and started me thinking about working in medicine. I took care of an older woman who was unable to ambulate due to her diagnosis of stroke. She experienced chronic weakness of bilateral lower extremity so I supported her with my arms to steady her. When I looked into her eyes, I could feel her saying, “you truly care about me, understand me, and thank you for taking the time to sense my expression and desire.” That’s the care all of us have deep inside, where our motives no longer become self-seeking but other-seeking. This care has the power to exponentially change that person’s life and the lives of others. It is true that other patients helped me decide to go into medicine, but Stacy had the biggest impact in my
...r tended to her activities of daily living – feeding her, grooming her. However, her mother had no insight on her condition and how to help her take care of herself. I, personally took her to school and talked to teachers who advised to have her join a school for the disabled, she was falling behind in classes and it was affecting her mentally and emotionally. She was visually impaired and no one in the family knew until she took a vision test catered to her. She is now 22 years old, and it amazes me to see how she has flourished. A young girl who used to be glued to the television, watching cartoons and the likes, she is now on her iPad watching videos on YouTube, face-timing with friends and family. When our grandmother passed away a few years ago, she took it upon herself to console everyone. Had her growth been hindered, she wouldn’t be the person she is now.
I have been exposed to the medical field my whole life. My Mom was a nurse and I would love to listen to the stories she told about her time in the hospital. If anybody asked me at the age of five what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say “a nurse like my mom.” A few years later I decided I wanted to be a doctor from the few times I got to watch the television show “ER”. The beginning of my interest in physical therapy was when I met my fourth grade pen pal, Elmo, at a nursing home. Elmo had muscular dystrophy and only retained control of his right arm and pinky which allowed him to manouver his wheelchair. During one visit where we got to spend the whole day with our pals, the physical therapist at the nursing home came to see Elmo. I was allowed to stay and I remember thinking it was so cool that there was one person to help Elmo retain the little muscle tone and mobility he had left. In sixth grade, my class went to the hospital to sing Christmas caroles and I remember the coolest place being the physical therapy room. I thought it was amazing how patients were learning to walk again or throw a ball.
While growing up I had many ideas of what professional career I wanted to obtain, although until recent years, occupational therapy was not even a thought. It was not until my grandmother had a stroke that I even knew what occupational therapy was or entailed. I watched my grandmother participate in therapy leading her to learn how to tie her shoes again, and the things I thought were so simple as to dress herself again. It was during that time as high school graduation was approaching that I realized I wanted to be apart of that. I wanted to have a role helping others learn and exceed as she did because I seen how much joy it brought her. This experience opened my eye to the things we so often take for granted, that some people lose the ability of doing or lack the ability of doing. Throughout her journey of facing and overcoming these problems, it led me to a yearning to pursue this
I chose Exercise Science as my major because I want to pursue a career in Physical Therapy. I have been through physical therapy throughout my entire life and it has always interested me and caught my attention. Most recently, was in 2015 after I needed surgery on my knee to repair a torn meniscus. The surgeon had to completely repair my meniscus because it was not just torn it had twisted and folded over on itself. I had to go through longer physical therapy than normal because this was not just a simple tear in the tissue. I will be getting another surgery on my knee in the near future so I will need to go through more physical therapy after that. It is better to have someone that has had those experiences and has seen things from the patient’s point of view so that they know how their patient is feeling going through therapy. I know I would rather have a physical therapist that knows what receiving the treatment is like and has gone through physical therapy before, rather than someone who has never received therapy and does not necessarily know what being a patient going through physical therapy feels like. I originally thought about majoring in athletic training to stay within more of an athletics type of atmosphere but exercise science will give me
From the moment I graduated high school and entered college, my heart’s desire was to become a physical therapist. As I journeyed through my education at Temple, I met and overcame dozens of obstacles and hardships, as all college students do. Over the past year, I have had to make several decisions regarding my post-undergraduate education as my original career goals seem to be unattainable. Recently, I decided to continue my education with a degree in nursing. I was skeptical given that I wanted to be a physical therapist for so long. But the one motto I have and will always live by is, “Everything happens for a reason.” This motto was brought about by stoicism in the 3rd century B.C. In class, we have talked about several other philosophies
Beginning at the age of six, I have played some type of sport year round. I was always a bigger kid growing up, weight wise and height wise and unfortunately, I inherited bad knees. Combine this with the perils if sports plus some bad luck, the saying “the bigger they are the harder they fall” was a reality for me. When I fell, I fell hard. It took a lot of pain for me to want to go to the doctor’s office. I have spent a lot of time there. I’ve had many physical therapy sessions as well. I’ve also had numerous conversations with active athletic trainers and people that were athletic trainers in the past. They all said the same thing, “I love my job.” In the 8th grade one particular therapist sparked my interest in becoming a physical therapist.
My journey to pursue an education in physical therapy actually originates from my early childhood. I endured a very impoverished upbringing and my family’s socioeconomic status was below the poverty line. At a very young age, money became the central issue of my life. I found myself worrying about mortgages, health bills, and grocery money. As I grew older, I vowed to myself that I would not endure my family’s financial burdens into my adulthood. I knew the best way to accomplish this was by obtaining a college degree and having a professional career. However, I was unsure what career I wanted to pursue. I experimented with many different career ideas, but during my sophomore, I discovered my passion and skill for physical medicine. For my
The way the Tracy handled, and interacted with the patient completely impressed me, and from that day onward, I was certain that physical therapy was the career for me. The aspect of physical therapy that I enjoy the most is working with different patients on rehabbing their injury. With every new patient that walk through the door, come s a exciting new challenge for me to help the patient work to get back to their physical ability they were at before their injury. The aspect of physical therapy that I’m the most worried about is the amount of time I have to spend in college to obtain my degree. Although I don’t mind spending a few extra years in college, in the back of my mind it still worries me a little bit. I can use physical therapy as a reflection of my faith in the way of helping patients who have suffered become healthy again. As Jesus before me helped cure the sick, blind, and taking away the sins of the world by dying on the cross, I plan to the best of my ability help anyone I can recover from an injury that is causing them great pain and suffering in their
I’m a fifty-nine-year-old student at Cedar Valley College. Having been a single dad raised six kids that have thirteen kids of their own. I am known as an active member in my church. This is my last semester at Cedar Valley College in the fall I will transfer to the University of North Texas at Dallas. Back in the nineteen eighties I graduated from Ohio Diesel Technical Institution. After graduation, I worked for over ten years as a bus mechanic for Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Twenty years ago, I injured my back and developed degenerative disc disease in my spine. Since nineteen ninety-four I have become disabled and unable to work. It kept developing until I ended up in a wheelchair as an incomplete quadriplegic. It was so bad in twenty
Physical therapy plays a major role in the lives of many individuals every day. It is up to those in the Physical therapy profession to assist patients in rehabilitation, prevention, and care. Obtaining a Physical Therapy license requires relevant certifications and credentials. A Bachelor in Health Science is just the start of the educational requirements needed to succeed. As with any profession, there are some current issues in the field of Health Care that relate to Physical Therapy. This includes the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and individuals with disabilities. It is vital to be a respectful and professional Physical therapist. Patient care is priority. Having the proper education and knowledge to assist clients is extremely important. People of all ages require physical therapy for various injuries, illnesses, and diseases. I feel that my connection with working with people of all ages will benefit me when it comes to the job. While I know what my strengths are, I do have goals set for my future in Physical Therapy. These goals include: graduating Kaplan University with a Bachelors of Science in Health Science, graduating University of Massachusetts with a Doctorates of Physical Therapy, receiving licensure from the State of Massachusetts, and gaining employment in a sports or rehabilitation setting. I know that Kaplan University Career Services can assist me in obtaining my goals as a Physical Therapist because of their in-depth assistive programs that can assist me with my employment desires. In 5 years, I see myself working with athletes or wounded Veterans in a local rehabilitative setting or hospital. There is no other profession I would want more than becoming a professional, licensed, Physical Therapist and gettin...
Bronchitis. A hip injury. A torn PCL. These are the physical challenges that set back my track career. Of course, I persevered and trained harder to overcome these obstacles, but that is not the point. Anyone can recover from an injury, but not everyone can recover from adversity. The real challenge throughout high school was having to stand up to my coach. He is an older man who puts winning over the health of his athletes. During my freshman year I contracted bronchitis, and tragically, I was out for the rest of the season. I made my peace with the situation, but my coach wanted me to keep running because he needed another runner to compete in relays. He berated my parents and me with emails demanding to know when I was coming back as if
To begin, the only two body modifications that I have done is pierce my ears and I dyed my hair numerous times. The body modification I will focus specifically on is piercing my ears. I got my ears pierced when I was about two months old. My family has always done this with the girls in our family; they pierce their ears about one or two days after they are born. The reason my family does this is because they believe it will cause extreme pain if they were pierced at a later age because the tissue would not be as soft. Additionally, they believe that having the earrings in at an early age will cause the holes too never close up, since the earrings were inserted at an age where the baby cannot take them off. The reason I had to wait until I was about two months old was because I had to spend about the first month of my life in the hospital due to complications
At the age of 36, mom decided to return to college to obtain her nursing degree. This wasn’t a hard decision for her to make. In April before she enrolled in school, my great grandmother passed away. This major dilemma played a major role in mom’s return to school. She had taken care of my great grandmother for months before she passed away, and decided that she wanted to make an impact on the lives of geriatrics.