My Doogie Howser Moment

Remember that show...?

I used to love watching him type out the life lesson he learned each week!  He's the reason I saved up for a word processor in high school (did I just date myself - do kids even know what word processors are, anymore?).

Anyway, I had such a moment the other day.  Minus the word processor...  Here's the abridged version of the "show":

One day I was sitting in my advisor’s office at the University of Rhode Island, pondering what to do with the rest of my life.  I knew I wanted a career that would utilize my love of anatomy, but I wasn’t sure what.  Dr. Blanpied suggested I try my observational experience at  PT clinic.

And so began my obsession with fixing your broken parts.  Under the supervision of an excellent PT in Narragansett, RI, I began to lay down the groundwork to become the therapist I am today.  I remember the day I decided I would attend MGH Institute of Health Professions.

There were a lot of turns in the road between those days at URI and my eventual schooling at the IHP.  I found myself travelling around Europe, working as a personal trainer in England, and spent many years coaching my beloved gymnasts at Newport County YMCA.  I learned a lot, grew up a little, and discovered that life doesn’t always follow the path you plan out - but that it’s okay to go with the flow, too.

Fast forward several years to the first day in my own clinic.  It wasn’t how I expected it would be.  In fact, it was almost uneventful.  It was as any other first day would be - I stumbled over learning a new system, my computer crashed in the middle of the day, and consequently I have a pile of notes waiting to be completed.  Already behind, and I’ve hardly even started!

Yet, frustrated as I was, later that day I stuck my hand in my pocket and found a $5 bill.  It wasn’t much, and to be honest, it wasn’t even earned at work that day.  But it reminded me that I had worked, and that was a great feeling.  I’m back at it - helping other people feel their best.  And what could be better than that?