Graduate / I love the field of Therapy ; Applying to PT school [3]

- Please provide information that you believe supports your application. Such Information might include discussion of health-related experience; work experience; personal experiences affecting grades; your strengths and weaknesses; your rationale for choice of profession. Please explain any interruptions or breaks in your education. Max 700 words.

My name is Lina Maria Calderon. In May 2011 I graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor in Exercise and Sport Science Pre-Physical Therapy. After graduation I decided to postpone applying to a Physical Therapy program to gain more experience and knowledge in the field. For the last two years, I have worked at an outpatient physical therapy clinic in Austin as a Technician. During this time I have gain vast knowledge and experience in the profession, as well personal experiences with patients that have rekindle my passion and desire to become a Therapist. I have had the opportunity to share the journey that is Physical Therapy with patients from beginning to end. I have seen what the fruits of hard work, dedication and perseverance look like at the end of the day. I love the field of Therapy because it provides patients with the tools to recover and rebuild after adversity, therapy is not a quick fix; it takes time, patience and most importantly, commitment from both patient and therapist. A commitment to be constant, stay positive and fight a good battle, to reach the results for which the patient is fiercely fighting for, whether it is simply to regain some independence or return to a field of sport.

One of the most memorable patients I had the pleasure of working with, has been a 40 year old man who suffers since the age of eleven of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT,) a neurological disorder affecting the peripheral nerves. By the time I meet him and started to work with him, both ankles had been replaced due to the disorder and he was working hard on getting back some active plantar and dorsiflexion as well as strengthening both legs. I have never seen a person in so much pain work so hard. Although they had completely replaced his ankles, he was still in unbearable pain and was taking morphine and other drugs to alleviate it, just enough to be able to function as a dad to his kids, as a professional at work, a husband to his wife and work hard to achieve his rehab goals. A few months after his TAR they realized that his left foot was not doing any better, in fact it was much worse, by this time the prosthesis that should have been sitting up his tibia was pushing forward and out of the bone that was becoming necrotic. The only thing left for him was amputation of his left leg right below the knee. He was sad when he told us the news, but he said he was happy that he had tried everything in his power to save his legs and had accepted what had to happen. He is now back in Therapy, rehabbing his BTA working twice as hard and as committed to get back on his feet. Sometimes we don't get what we want, but it's about making the best of what we have and I hope to one day make a difference in someone's life as this patient has had on mine.

My bachelor education at Texas State prepared me well for my current job as a Technician; classes like Therapeutic Modalities, Therapeutic Exercises and Rehab, Human Structure and Function above others equipped me with the knowledge needed to perform an excellent job as a Technician, since day one I felt comfortable with all the modalities and knowledgeable of all the exercises and equipment they use. However I knew that there was more to therapy than what I was able to experience at the clinic, I became eager to learn and gain experience in other settings of rehab. This summer I had the opportunity to travel and volunteer providing rehab care to under-served communities in Costa Rica. This was such a rewarding experience, I got to observe geriatrics and wound care rehab, but above all the rewarding experience to know that I have made an impact in someone's life. I feel more than ready to begin the next chapter and tackle Physical Therapy school with as much passion and commitment as I have learned from the patients I have had the blessing of working with.