October is National Physical Therapy Month!
When I was a teenager, there wasn’t any national campaign around to raise awareness for physical therapy. And yet, when I packed my bags for college, I wanted to become a physical therapist. Helping injured people regain health and mobility sounded like an enriching and rewarding career, the kind I’d enjoy.
I never got that college degree in physical therapy; but God’s plan for my life was far richer and more rewarding. It was a plan that started with a whole new level of appreciation for physical as well as occupational therapists… with me on the receiving end.
I have PTs to thank for teaching my family how to give me ‘range of motion’ exercises each morning. I have an OT to thank for first sticking a pen between my teeth to convince me that my artistic talent wasn’t paralyzed along with my hands. It was a PT who taught me deep-breathing exercises to strengthen my lungs (wouldn’t you know it included singing!) and an OT who showed me that I could still feed myself, despite having weak shoulder muscles and using a bent spoon. I could go on and on listing the many benefits of physical and occupational therapy in my life! And not only in my own life, but in the life of Joni and Friends.
So much of what we do is made possible because PTs and OTs volunteer their time through Wheels for the World.
Not only do these amazing PTs and OTs fit disabled kids and adults to their wheelchairs; these dedicated professionals also frequently provide training to in-country therapists who are lacking much-needed skills.
I’m proud to say that Joni and Friends is even developing partnerships with physical therapy departments in 5 different major universities, providing internship opportunities for their PT students!
Yes, we love the PTs and OTs who connect with Joni and Friends and consider them a real treasure. So, on this National Physical Therapy Month, share your thanks and appreciation to a PT or OT that you know… and then send them our way! 😉
–Joni Eareckson Tada
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