Graduate / A person is privileged to have been born healthy; PTCAS (Physical Therapy) [5]

Describe your decision making process in choosing physical therapy as a career choice versus other health care careers.

I was introduced to Physical Therapy upon arrival to The United States. My sister, Sonya, who has recently turned 8 years old, was diagnosed with a rare Aicardi syndrome. She is dislexic, disabled, and needs to be taken care of all the time.

"Health is Wealth", and I have a great faith in this saying. In my opinion, if a person is born healthy is, then that person is privileged. For me, observing a disabled person develop through childhood has become a daily struggle that has affected my family in many ways. In my native country, Ukraine, physical therapy is not a common practice. Physically or mentally impaired children are typically neglected and carry a "title" of being punished by God for their parents misbehavior or negative actions throughout their lives. As for my sister, It is practically impossible for her to develop into a healthy adolescent. However, "impossible'' is not a word in my dictionary and everything we do for her is for the better.

We have found great help at a Pediatrics Rehab Center where she was assigned to Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and a Speech Pathologist to improve her development. This new hope has to be the main reason why I've chosen the career of becoming a physical therapist. I understand how desperate the parents are to seek help for a child who is, for example, bound to a wheelchair and who needs constant care. There's nothing more satisfying than knowing I will be able to help those parents in the development of their child with certain problems. My interest in Physical Therapy grew with the limitless hours at the Rehab center where I've observed therapists work with my sister. Most of the time,she is my child and it is my duty as a caretaker to help my parents to get my sister healthier and function better in the future.

In the future, my main goal as a prospective student is to learn and be part of the team of Physical therapists that help disabled people to be able to function better in this world. I acknowledge the fact that there will be struggles, obstacles, and hardships in achieving my goals because physical therapy requires patience, practice, and most of all understanding. Knowing that I'd be able to make a difference in somebody's life, would be in itself the greatest achievement I can be proud of.