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In this Gym – By Audrey Perreault
On my first day of placement, my first impression of the physiotherapy gym was plain and ordinary. I could say I perceived this gym the same way that I was seeing my future career. I was asked why I wanted to become a physiotherapist and I did not really know why. I would just say that it was to live up to my personal decision of becoming one. As the days went by I started to learn fascinating things that could not be taught through a textbook.
I could not believe how so many positive things could come out of a small third floor physiotherapy gym. In this gym, I saw smiles of hope when moments before tears were streaming down out of frustration. I saw patients surmount impossibly far-reaching goals. I could now see beyond the blandness. Now, this gym had become a place where small achievements were celebrated alongside big victories, and where patients always left a little more educated than when they arrived. The best thing about this gym was that most patients were happy to come here even if it implied working hard and stepping out of their comfort zones.
It is in this same gym that the meaning of physiotherapy became clear to me. Physiotherapy is about overcoming the adversity of disability and transforming the infamous 'I can’t' into beaming 'Yes, I can'! It is also about seeing patients as people with personal goals and a social role in the community instead of seeing a spreadsheet of disabilities. Furthermore, it is about improving self-confidence, quality of life and health, which in turn makes stronger individuals and stronger communities in their minds, bodies and spirits. In the end, it is easy to appreciate physiotherapy - a lot of other professions cannot say that they achieve all of that for their community!
After 5 weeks, it is my last day of placement and I am just about to shut the gym’s doors for the last time, with the final click of the lock marking the end of an amazing learning journey. It was here, in this gym that I discovered ALL the reasons why I am proud of my future profession. Like many of my patients leaving the gym for the last time, I realize that I, too, have become a stronger person both professionally and personally.
Audrey Perreault
Physiotherapy Student, University of Ottawa
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