How do you like the title of this blog post?
Impressive sounding? Yes!
It's a real place, you know.
If you needed physical therapy, you might choose to get help there...
...... I did.
After a careful search of facilities in Boca Raton, I made an appointment to tour this place as one of the possibilities for me to begin physical therapy.
The owner and head Physical Therapist, Dana VanPelt, assessed me on my first visit and we talked at length about my strengths and weaknesses. He seemed to listen as I described life with Periodic Paralysis and we both agreed that all we could do is try a little of this & a little of that and then tweak as necessary. My neurologist had prescribed PT for me for the purpose of gait training. So Dana and I agreed that the anti-gravity treadmill, known as the Alter G would be perfect for me. Developed by NASA, to train astronauts how to walk on the moon, I agreed! This machine can offset up to 80% of one's body weight! I felt as light as a marshmallow!
He also said that it wouldn't be long before he put me in the therapy pool so I could train my weak muscles with the added buoyancy and resistance of the water. And the added bonus here....? They have a treadmill in the pool! I was super stoked! I felt like I had found the right place for me and my thorough search had paid off.
I quickly realized that Dana wouldn't be working with me, though, when at my next appointment, he assigned a student intern to oversee the treatment plan he had put together. "Ok," I thought, "no problem here." My new therapist, Daniella, and I hit it off immediately and I was thankful for her wit and close attention to detail.
Yesterday marked the end of eight weeks of training at my new, super facility. And yesterday the MOST unexpected thing happened...Dana tossed me to the curb. He quit on me. He ditched me. He gave up. He quit. HE quit...
I had guessed he'd never been an athlete. I asked him once if he was a runner and he just laughed...Now I knew for sure. Regardless of the strength of my body, I'm still an athlete. My spirit is still the spirit of a competitor.
He said a bunch of crap about "my progress" or lack thereof. (As if he'd know) Then he mentioned that maybe "they weren't really doing me much good." Then he brought up money...my insurance. Aha! Now we're getting somewhere! My insurance has never given anyone a minutes worth of trouble. Plus, we're starting the new year with a bunch more PT sessions! "Still," I thought, "it must be the money...."
Isn't that what makes the world go 'round? My suspicions are that Medicare will pay more than my private insurance...and it's 'season' in South Florida, so he's loaded with Medicare patients who want my hour on Monday and Thursday.
He ended up telling me that "we'll need to think about quitting my PT at some point when we've decided it just isn't benefitting me." I informed him that I had just thought about it and now seemed like as good a time as any. Then I bid him good-riddance. (Ok, I was in tears~ I'm not mechanical you know!)
Quitting is foreign to me. ("I'm sorry, did you say quit? Is that Chinese you're speaking?) Quitting was never an option. Quitting is for quitters and losers.
Other people have quit on me and I've managed to leave them in the dust of my walker or wheelchair... Their choices always surprise me, but I am reminded once again that I'm moving in one direction~ forward. If you're with me, great. If not, step aside. xx
