Injuries can be career-ending, but senior Jenna Lowell’s injuries were the start of hers.
When Jenna tore the tendon in her finger and her ACL, she had a long recovery period that required plenty of rest, and later, physical therapy. Although the work she had to do in order to recover was rigorous, she discovered a passion of hers while working with her physical therapist.
“That’s kind of what sparked my interest,” Jenna said. “[Since] last year when I tore my ACL, I’ve been in physical therapy for the last eight months; I got to see what goes on more in-depth, and it really intrigued me. I got to know my physical therapist and got to see how much more hands-on it is than I originally thought.”
Even after Jenna no longer has to attend physical therapy, she won’t be leaving the office. As soon as she turns 18, Jenna plans to attend a job shadow with a physical therapist in order to apply to a physical therapy program at the University of Cincinnati that will cut down her years of school.
Furthermore, Jenna has been taking classes at FHC that bring her closer to her dream. Through her human anatomy class, she has further cemented her interest in becoming a physical therapist.
“Being able to help people while not being into the whole gory medical part of hospitals [is why I want to become a physical therapist],” Jenna said. “Being able to help people is something that really intrigued me.”
After she finishes her schooling, Jenna’s dream is to work for a major sports team; she particularly would love to work with football or soccer players, since those are her favorite sports to watch.
Being involved in something she is passionate about—sports—without having to live the strenuous life of being a professional athlete or coach is something that Jenna is lucky to have found an interest in.
“It’s a way to be able to do something with your life if you don’t want to be a full-on doctor,” Jenna said. “It’s a way that you can impact someone else’s life—I got to experience how my life was impacted through my physical therapy—and to be able to give back and help somebody else get better and do something that they really love again. I think that’d be a really great feeling.”
Since Jenna has had much first-hand experience both with her physical therapist and in therapy, she has certainty that she wants to dedicate her life to this field.
Thanks to her personal physical therapist, she has been able to learn more about the job and connect with others, learning all of the ins and outs of what her therapist does. However, her physical therapist also is one of her biggest supporters outside of the professional field.
“[My physical therapist and I] have become really close friends,” Jenna said. “I know a lot about her life now, and she knows a lot about mine. It really helps to have someone sociable, nice, and outgoing in that field who is able to assure you that you’re going on the right track and that you’re going to do everything that you used to be able to do.”
Using what her therapist taught her through experience, Jenna hopes to have a similar impact on her own clients in the future. Having someone encouraging alongside them can help motivate any recovering athlete.
So, as she graduates and begins her journey to becoming a physical therapist, Jenna will carry the memories of what her own physical therapist has shown her.
“I hope to take what I learned from my physical therapist and be able to apply it,” Jenna said. “I think that, further down the line, [my patients and I] can help each other, with me on the physical side and the patient helping me to become better at the social aspect of it all.”
