If you have read through the previous posts and spent time exploring Move Pure Physiotherapy's website, you should have a pretty good idea of MPP's mission, methods, and services. You will have also received a little bit of information regarding my background and passions. To provide more insight into who I am and what my journey to this point has been like, I thought I'd write a post specifically about my story.
I am the second oldest of four children which evenly comprises of two girls and two boys. We are all close in age only separated by a total of 8 years from the oldest to the youngest resulting in many memories involving our family as a whole. My parents have been married now for nearly 40 years and have always been very involved in each of the siblings lives. Between us children there are a total of 10 grandchildren, all of whom are girls ranging from 12 years of age to just a few months old. Despite the physical distance that separates each of the different families, we have been blessed to be able to maintain good relationships.
When I was just two years of age my parents felt led by the Lord to move to Indonesia to serve as missionaries with the IMB. They bravely set out to begin language training with a four year old, a two year old, and a two month old. Not an easy task for two people who had each only traveled out of country once to Mexico on short mission trips with their high schools. Despite the challenges along the way, the Lord blessed my parents and our family with great friends and unforgettable memories of which we often reminisce over to this day. Following my freshmen year in high school my family returned to the U.S. for what was initially set to be a year-long furlough to usher my sister off to college for her freshmen year. This wound up extending out to two years and resulted in it being my final return home as well.
Throughout my middle school and high school years of playing sports, primarily basketball, I sustained numerous injuries. Two of these were fairly serious resulting in long recovery times. The first considerable injury was a complete, displaced fracture of both the radius and ulna of my left arm. This came towards the end of my 7th grade year right before summer started, and resulted in needing to have metal plates and screws surgically implanted to maintain good bone alignment. The initial couple of months were quite painful and required conscious effort on my behalf to regain the motion and use of my left arm. However, by the time the basketball season rolled around I was ready to go. Sometime after the conclusion of the basketball season the plates/screws were then removed to prevent inhibiting my arm from growing along with the rest of my body. "How did all this happen" you ask? Well, it isn't a story I am very proud of but one you would expect from a 13 year old boy.
It all started the night before the actual injury when a group of middle and high school boys and I found that by placing a bench in front of the basketball hoop we could jump off of it and dunk. We went back and forth for the better part of 30 minutes that night without any incidents or concerns. The adrenaline and satisfaction I felt from being up that high and emphatically sending the ball through the rim led me to seeking it out again the next day. This time things did not go as smoothly and on just the 3rd or 4th attempt I mis-timed the dunk causing me to fall back. In attempt to catch myself with an outstretched arm, my left arm absorbed the impact resulting in a "U" shape fracture. The injury and trip to the hospital an hour away were quite traumatic, however, I was fortunate that it was not worse and that there have not been life-long complications. To this day I will occasionally experience unpleasant nerve sensations when bumped just right, but for the most part it is nearly unnoticeable.
My second significant injury came almost exactly one year later at the start of the summer following my 8th grade year. A group of men and high school boys would get together every Tuesday night to play pick-up basketball at the school's gym. We had only just started warming up and I went up for a casual layup when, "POP"! It sounded like one of those cap guns had just gone off, and the pain that immediately followed sent me hopping over to the bench. At first I thought I had just twisted or strained something in my right knee, which I have experienced before and been able to shortly resume playing. However, 20 minutes later after the pain seemed to subside I attempted to jog and realized that something was wrong due to how my knee continually buckled despite my efforts. The next morning I woke up in excruciating pain unable to move my knee, and ended up in a full-length cast several days later. The injury turned out to be a partially torn patellar tendon with just enough remaining attached to avoid requiring surgery. Six weeks later I was out of the cast and again facing a couple of months of regaining strength in time for the next basketball season.
In both cases I was in an area where physical therapy was not an option nor were we actually aware of the offerings and benefits of seeking out PT. I was fortunate enough to be a very active kid and in an environment where I was surrounded by various sports and physical activities enabling me to bounce back fairly quick without missing out on much. Other than numerous ankle sprains and muscle strains, some worse than others, I have been able to remain active without many setbacks or requiring further medical intervention. It wasn't until my freshmen year in college that I actually heard about physical therapy for the first time.
My love for sports and all things fitness led me to select my undergraduate major of exercise science. I initially thought I would become a personal trainer or work for a university's athletic department training their athletes. It never crossed my mind to consider the medical/injury side of training until sometime during my freshmen year when my father mentioned physical therapy and recommended I look into it. This recommendation came from him realizing that personal training and working with athletes may not be the most financially stable fields to pursue, and wanted to ensure I was aware of all the possibilities available with an exercise science degree. Upon investigating what physical therapy was and the variety of settings it has to offer, I became excited realizing this would open the door to more opportunities including working with athletes. What ultimately made me purse physical therapy was realizing that by being the facilitator of restoring these individuals ability to do what they love back from a difficult injury, the impact I would have could be even greater.
With my senior year of college coming to a close and still finalizing a course required by PT programs to be considered for enrollment, I decided to take a gap year and spend it with my parents in Malaysia. This turned out to be one of the best decisions in that it gave me the opportunity to make up for lost time (my parents returned overseas before my senior year of high school) and build influential relationships with several people at the local international school. During this year I worked as an assistant to the school's athletic director as well as a personal trainer to several faculty and staff. One of these clients was the father of family I stayed with during my senior year of high school while my family returned to the mission field. Over those ten months our relationship grew and his role in my life became that of an older brother and mentor to me. The impact he had on my life continues to holds strong to this day. My time in Malaysia quickly came to an end, and through hours of research and time spent in prayer I wound up applying to and being accepted into the Doctor of Physiotherapy program at Bond University in Queensland, Australia.
Although logistically and relationally this was a difficult transition, it was exciting enough initially to allow me to pursue it without hesitation. As it has been evident throughout all the phases of my life, the Lord provided and this time through an incredible woman who opened a room in her home for me to rent. I quickly felt as though I became apart of her small family and ended up living with them for the majority of my two years in Australia. My time in Australia was a time filled with new adventures, new challenges, and plenty of learning experiences. I was blessed in my able to carry out my final 12-week internship with the university's Rugby team and work along side those athletes just as I had always dreamt. It's an experience that has in many ways shaped and developed me into the therapist I am today.
For several different reasons I decided to leave Australia prior to the actual graduation date in June, and move out to Tulsa, OK to begin the process of acquiring my US license. I was warned this was a lengthy process, however, little did I know it would be over a year before I actually received my official license to practice. The year I returned the rules had been changed resulting in me having to take several additional courses to be eligible to apply for the license exam. During this time I worked as a PT tech to continue to be submersed in the physical therapy field as well as allow time for me to prepare for the exam. After this job I progressed to being able to work under a temporary license for several months until my official license was approved. Over the next 5 years I gained experience working in private practice, orthopedic outpatient, skilled nursing, home health, and pediatric settings. All these experiences contributed to the development of the knowledge and skills I have today and can now bring to Move Pure Physiotherapy.
As you can see throughout this lengthy yet condensed version of my journey I have gained a lot experience along the way, both personal and professional. Without both the trials and triumphs I would not be the therapist or person I am today. Through all of this there is one thing that has remained constant and that is the hand of the Lord along each step of the way. I initially accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at the young age of five. I vividly remember sitting on the toilet and realizing that even though I grew up in a Christian home, I was not saved until I made that choice myself. Since that moment I have had my own struggles and mishaps along the way, but I know that without a doubt I am a son of God and will one day spend eternity with Him.
With this gift I have received I have also assumed the responsibility to follow the calling of which the Lord has placed on my heart. That calling being one of demonstrating His love to others and sharing the promise He gives to those who are willing to receive it. Admittedly, my life has not been one that reflects the love of Christ in the manner of which one should, however, the beauty of Christ's love is in the forgiveness it bestows on those willing to repent. I see Move Pure Physiotherapy as an avenue for me to care for the physical needs of those who the Lord puts in my path in hopes of opening a door for Him to care for their spiritual needs.
In coming to see me at Move Pure Physiotherapy you will not get bombarded about Jesus or feel the pressure to have such a conversation. My hope is to make myself available to discuss His love if the opportunity presents itself. If you have made it this far down the post I commend you for your patience and hope that in some way it has blessed you. If Move Pure Physiotherapy seems like the right fit for you please feel free to contact me and I would love to discuss how we can work together to get you back to your optimal performance.
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