Mary was referred to our office by her physician following surgery for a severe ankle fracture. Mary tells her success story in her own words:

When I first came to the Penfield office, I thought I knew how to use my walker, only to find out that I did not. After Ryan showed me, I couldn't't believe what a difference it made to "do it right". I left that day feeling so happy, and I continue to leave every session with a sense of pride in each accomplishment. From the "step to" to the "ankle pumps" to the "toe raises" to the "calf stretches" to the "balancing" to the "clock steps" to the "grapevine", from the bicycle to the treadmill, from successes to setbacks, and all the other stuff … I cannot speak highly enough about how Ryan guides me through a lengthy recovery process. My water therapy with Lindsay really built my confidence at a time when I couldn't't do anything but hobble around; it served as a pleasantly successful transition to land therapy.

I can honestly say I enjoy every one of my physical therapy sessions because Ryan listens to me attentively, appreciates my requests for more challenging exercises, and is always respectfully honest when sharing his opinions about things I need to talk about. At first I didn't think I would like the open atmosphere, but I soon learned how skilled Ryan is at keeping track of what each of his patients is doing. I started thinking of everyone as family and friends. I am very glad I chose Penfield GVPT. I love my physical therapy and will miss it when it's all done.

I did a lot of reading about trimal fractures, and the recovery stories I read were by far and large very discouraging. My hope was to get back to a normal gait and a normal life …. and I think I am going to make it …. in fact, I'm almost there! I don't believe I will ever run again …. although my surgeon says I can …. but even if I don't … I'm not letting this awful break get the best of my golden years …. I'm really not …. and I still plan to see Chicago all lit up at Christmas time.

Overall, the most helpful thing I learned in PT was not "zoom" through things. Ryan would often tell me that he didn't want me to "zoom" through my exercises. Then, because I am by nature a fast person, one day he reminded me of my original statement to him that I wanted to take my time in recovering and "do it right" instead of hurrying to get it done because I still have a long time to live.