I am...

I am a Physical Therapist. I've been practicing PT for almost 47 years. All but two of those years have been in Blount County.

"Practicing" physical therapy...I always thought that term was odd. I graduated from UT Center for the Health Sciences in Memphis in 1977. In 2005, physical therapy education switched completely to the doctorate level.

I didn't have to, but I chose to go back and complete a doctorate, finishing that at UT-Chattanooga in 2008 at the ripe old age of 55. 

Here's the thing about that--I entered that program for what I thought was a leadership thing, being a good example to others. But what I took away from it was an even greater thirst for learning than I ever had.

Maybe that’s why I’m still working well past the age when most people are retired (71, for the record). I’ve kept learning. I’ve kept growing. I strive to be better each day than I was the day before.

Let me say that again, because I still regularly get the comment “I thought you were retired!” I am not retired. I don’t have any real plans to retire. I’ll know when the day comes to pack it in. Until then, you can find me at Total Rehab-Cherokee.  Every day.

I suppose it was when I stopped covering high school sports (for the most part). Maybe it seems like I went away. I didn’t, although 40 hours a week in the clinic seems like vacation when compared to football season in years past, when I would work 70 hour weeks. Every week, from July to December.

I’m also an Athletic Trainer. I wear both hats proudly. Being an Athletic Trainer means I am qualified to work with sports teams, athletes, and active individuals. Athletic Trainers are well trained in emergency medical procedures, diagnostics, athletic rehab, and what seems like a million other things.

In other words, we are responsible for pretty much everything that happens to our athletes, from concussions to heat to skin disorders—the list goes on.

Physical Therapist. Athletic Trainer. I suppose you could say that when I’m on the sidelines, I’m an Athletic Trainer and when I’m in the clinic I’m a Physical Therapist, but that really isn’t the case at all. I never stop being either. My physical therapy background influences my work as an athletic trainer and vice versa.

I’m also a certified Sports Clinical Specialist (SCS). That is a physical therapy certification that doesn’t really imply competence but does mean that I’ve completed a rather rigorous process to achieve that designation. I’m the only SCS in Blount County.

But all that doesn’t mean much if I can’t take great care of the next person in front of me. What I’ve done in the past doesn’t help much if you’re next and I don’t give you my best.

In about a month, I will have been writing a column for The Daily Times for 40 years. That’s a lot of columns. I wish I could be as funny as columnist Sam Venable, but my role is more preacher and teacher. 

I guess my point in all this is that you should never stop learning. That you should never think that you’ve reached your best. That your work is never done.

I thought you would find me on the sidelines of a game somewhere for as long as I could get around, but sometimes the venue changes, and that’s OK. We all just need to be dedicated to being our best.