On the Move

How did I end up in Pediatric Physical Therapy in Charlotte, NC?  I've asked myself this question too! I was born at what is now Carolina Medical here in Charlotte.  I have always loved kids, even when I was a kid.  My mom called me the "Pied Piper".  Kids followed me everywhere I went in the neighborhood. 

I have to admit I was a tomboy...but I had a problem. I was terribly uncoordinated, really skinny, and could hardly generate any power.  I wanted to be the superstar on the athletic field, but my body just wasn't cooperating. I wanted to play any sport, but I was always the last picked on the team.  I think you know that kid from your elementary school days. That kid was me.  I remember coming up to kick for kickball in elementary school and everyone would automatically come in field, because I could barely kick.  I remember once running across the tracks for the school bus and the whole school bus erupted in laughter (or at least that's how it seemed to me).  I was just so awkward.
 
I was really good in school. In junior high school, I tried out for track.  I was the classroom teacher's pet of the track coach. She instructed me in how to get into the start position for running to try to teach the rest of the kids on the team how to do it.  I always did exactly what she wanted me to do in the classroom. I don't think she realized I wasn't any good in sports. I finally managed a fairly awkward version of the position she wanted. To my embarrassment she said to the rest of the group, "That's it, just slightly more coordinated".    I tried really hard and continued my misfortunes in sports. My mom really loved me and would just come to sporting events to see me sit on the sidelines. 

In high school, I became interested in special needs kids. I started volunteering at what was then St. Mark's who had a facility for adults at 10th and Graham (what later became Circle School).  This lead me to a job at Marion Diehl in their summer camp program. Each week they had a different specialty group. One week was for seniors citizens, one week the Deaf and the Blind, another week severely involved children and another for the adults.  I ate this up. I loved it and won Camp Counselor of the year.  I had my first taste of people with a variety of physical conditions, including cerebral palsy, developmental delays, autism, cortical blindness, hyperactivity,  Attention Deficit Disorder and Down Syndrome.  I continued the volunteer work with special needs children on weekends while I was at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.  I remember at the developmental preschool where I volunteered, there was a very tricky child who was easily upset and tantrummed a lot.  He became my assigned special project. My job was to keep him calm. No matter how hard I tried, I failed a lot. Looking back, I am sure he had autism. 

When I went to college, I was sure I was going to Medical School. My grades were excellent. I just had to decide what degree to get before starting Medical School.  I'd always heard that Pharmacy was a great degree.  You could work on weekends to pay your way through Med school.  I worried about it though. What if I didn't get into Medical School?  Would I be counting drugs and putting them in bottles the rest of my life?  My mother recommended physical therapy.  It was perfect.  I applied to the program at Chapel Hill. It was a strenuous application process. One part was a 6-on-1 interview process.  This panel included, unbeknownst to me, one of the highest rated master clinicians in geriatrics. I told them that unequivocally that I never wanted to do geriatrics. All I wanted was pediatrics.  ...I am still amazed I got into the program. 

When I was a student in the Physical Therapy program at Chapel Hill, I took every optional affiliation in pediatrics.  I did home health at a Pediatric Practice (The Carlton Watkins Center), rehabilitation at a Children's Hospital, and private Practice (at Child and Family Development).  I loved it at Child and Family. I loved the option of having my own room with my own suspension equipment.  Sherry Launt, the owner, was an amazing physical therapist.  I put in a resume and only had to wait a year out of school for an opening to come up in the Physical Therapy Department. ....And the rest is 20+ years of History! 

P.S. After getting a job in Pediatric physical therapy, I was no longer interested in Medical School. It was a no brainer... I could see sick kids all day long as a pediatrician, 15 minutes at a time back to back....OR run, skip, somersault, jump on a trampoline, etc with kids all day who were happy to see me.  Hmmm. It wasn't difficult to make up my mind.