“While vacationing with son and family at Disney World, my granddaughters were in a hurry for the next ride experience. My son told them to slow down so grandma could keep up, but I told them all I was quite capable of keeping up. I guess I had forgotten my youngest granddaughter was a bit of a tiny tornado, or in her words, a tiny tomato. However, I found out my body did not agree with my mouth, nor my good intentions. Needless to say, I kept going to the point of injury.
I had previously been diagnosed with spinal stenosis and subsequently had spinal fusion surgery. The only cause I can point to for this ailment is psoriatic arthritis and old age, but oh dear, these conditions have proven to me that aging is not for the faint of heart. After my surgery I was determined to get back to a more youthful feeling and requested physical therapy. These angels of mercy at Elite have beat the devil out of me but always with kind hearts and with a goal in mind. I love them all and wouldn’t have made such great progress without them. On my bad days, I felt like at time that I had the attention of all of them at once. They never missed a grimace or symptom.
My injury and subsequent surgery kept me from doing many activities. For instance I couldn’t make my darn bed, do the darn dishes, vacuum the darn floors. I had to hire these lovely ladies from a local cleaning service to come in and clean, and darn it, they did a great job. Now my husband is expecting the same quality of housekeeping from me. (Boy is he going to be disappointed – tee hee just kidding.) Other activities that were affected was my ability to stand for lengthy times in my work shop where I build doll houses, sew, craft and/or just escape from household chores. I also love to work out at the gym but that too was affected. I am slowly getting back to my old activities, but I may call the housekeeping ladies back just because I liked having them here. My ultimate goal is getting back to the gym and eventually back into some racquetball. I play for blood, but I’m 65 years old so my playing for blood is not about to make anyone hemorrhage.
I hate pushing through the pain of therapy but understand the necessity. I now know the difference between injury pain, muscle pain from exercise, and bone pain I have due to arthritis and cancer drugs I take. My friends at Elite have helped me understand the difference and how to deal with this while I continue to recover. I do as many of the home therapy exercises as I can remember. Every time I went I think there was something new. I should have taken down some notes for myself as I couldn’t keep up.
But, I tell anyone I know about Elite. Plus I wear the tee shirt I was given from my first encounter with them. The staff at Elite always had my best interests at heart. They took all the time necessary to make sure I completed each exercise properly and without causing further injury. Some of my days were good, some were bad and some were just a bit better, but with each visit, progress was made.
Without them, there likely would have been little to no recovery. I am able to sit in this chair long enough to complete this story simply because of the help I received. I am able to go through the entire grocery store now, with the help of a shopping cart posing as a walker. I am able to walk the grounds of my home with limited use of a cane at times and totally unaided other times. I am able to perform chores around my house for a change, if I take my time. And, I am able to drive or ride in a car for extended periods of time in comfort.
Thank you to Elite. The staff is marvelous, the facilities are wonderful. I can’t imagine going anywhere else. Thank you to all for bringing me back from somewhat broken. Life is great and now I am off to Florida for some beach time.”
Thank you Reva for such a wonderful story and testimony of your hard work and personal desire to get better. We are thankful that you chose us for your PT. We have been warmed by your spirit and laughter. Hope the beach was simply marvelous for you!
