A New Beginning

Well, here we are. 

I think it's fair to say that 2020 has not met with the expectations of even one human being. Obviously, there's the whole "global pandemic" thing going on (major bummer), and the economy is limping along, sports are on hold, socializing is suspended, vacations are verboten, family gatherings have been flummoxed, and doldrums are the new de facto. Everyone, all seven billion of us, is on tenterhooks waiting to see what's coming down the pipeline in 2021.

Still, you've got to laugh, don't you?

There's an old Yiddish proverb that I'm fond of: “Man plans, and God laughs.”  I think that's a great lens through which to view this hot mess of a year. Boy howdy, were we wrong about e v e r y t h i n g that happened! Well, almost everything: I did graduate from Macomb Community College like I expected, it just took five extra months, and the job market is looking a lot more anemic than I had hoped, even in an essential field like healthcare. I thought my entire class would have jobs before the end of summer, and instead (with a few happy exceptions) we're all huddled in our houses, conducting job interviews over Zoom and trying not to go stir-crazy. Not exactly the resounding triumph we all hoped for.

But it wasn't all bad news in 2020: polio was eradicated in Africa, the US got through the election without violence (to everyone's great relief and surprise), whale-hunting decreased, distilleries shifted to producing hand-sanitizer, and drive-by birthday parties became the new norm. As Mr Rogers often said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'” Which is why I became a PTA in the first place: to be a helper.

I'm starting this blog as a place to gather my thoughts, and to keep myself accountable with my studies. Just because I've passed the licensure doesn't mean I don't have anything left to learn about PT (far from it). I intend to post one short article each weekday about something I've learned or studied, as well as brief updates on my career search. No patient names will be used, no personally-identifiable information will be given away; this blog will be 100% HIPAA-compliant, and all examples given will be purely hypothetical (i.e., not based on real patients whom I or anyone else have treated). This blog's content will be aimed primarily at other health professionals like myself, though I'll try to keep it layman-friendly.

For the blog's title I chose an anatomy pun, because A) I love puns, and B) I think that having a message of hope is especially important right now. It's always difficult to see the future, and in difficult times like these that's more true than ever. No one knows what the world is going to look like when we emerge from our long quarantine, but one thing is certain: there will still be sick and injured people in the world, and they're going to need help to get better. 

The road is long, but my shoes are sturdy and they have good arch support.

Location: Detroit, MI, USA

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