A talk with Barbie

Last night Jessica, Blake, and I went to a Halloween party at their neighbor's house. There were quite a few crazy costumes! There were a lot of people, food, and drinks. :) As I was moving through the party meeting all the neighbors and chatting about costume choices (I went as a candy corn, by the way) I came across a woman dressed as Barbie. She showed me her pink purse and shoes to match her outfit, told me which house was hers down the street, bragged about her new dog, and then asked me what I do. When I told her that I'm finishing PT school and doing a clinical rotation at Grady she hugged me. She went on to tell me about her aunt who is in a rehab facility right now and is not expected to live much longer. She told me that every time she visits her aunt all she hears about is how the PT helps her walk around and encourages her in every thing she does. Barbie told me that she thinks encouragement is the most important thing that the PT provides for her aunt. She talked about this for a long time. I could tell that she really needed to talk to someone about her aunt, so I listened and let her talk. It really made me realize how physical therapy doesn't just affect the specific patients but their families, too. While her aunt is worsening medically, whatever activity she does with her physical therapist gives her and her family hope. Barbie seems to be having a hard time with her aunt's prognosis but appreciates anything that keeps her aunt doing as much for herself as she can. And she credits physical therapy with a huge part of that.