-: When I was shadowing a physical therapist,
I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do,
and I saw a physical therapist working
with people who had neurological issues,
and I saw the kind of compassion and challenge
that came with that kind of population.
And so, although yes, it is taxing on the individual,
it's extremely rewarding when you see that person
regain independence in their mobility,
whether it be that they're now able
to push their wheelchair again
or get back up on their feet or on their bike,
there's really nothing like it.
It's very satisfying.
The biggest challenge, I would say,
is when you have a patient who is 100% motivated
and they want it, and they're doing all the right things,
and you're doing all the right things,
but you're hitting a wall, really, and essentially,
that person, if they had a stroke and it was a big, bad one,
then you may never really get past that injury
that happened in their brain despite all of your efforts,
and that's really hard to, to come to terms with
or even tell your patient, "I'm so sorry, like,
"there's not that much more that I can do at this point
"because there was damage in your brain or your spinal cord,
"or this is a disease process that is progressing."
That's pretty tough.