Feeling Powerful in Powell

Covenant Health Therapy Center Perseveres with Patients

It’s a sunny day, and Bill Page, age 80, is on the move. There’s always plenty of work to do around his house, from mulching to mowing and caring for the pool.

But on this particular day, he’s taking a break from the work at home to visit Covenant Health Therapy Centers – Powell, and the physical therapists who helped him recover from a devastating fall.

“If I knew somebody who needed therapy for any reason, I would send them here,” Bill says. “You feel like part of their family from the first day. You can truly tell that they genuinely care.”

Covenant Health physical therapists help with recovery from injuries and surgeries that cause pain and limit mobility. They are trained to determine just when to start prescribed exercises for the safest and most effective recovery.

In the process, they weave in education, so patients like Bill can go forward with independence.

Persistence Over Pain

When Bill pulled hard on a pool liner that was stuck, he didn’t know he was setting himself up to go airborne. The liner suddenly came loose, knocking Bill off his feet and causing him to take a hard fall onto his shoulder.

“It tore three ligaments loose and broke three ribs,” Bill says. “The level of pain was horrible.”

Making matters worse, he had to wait for the ribs to heal before surgery could be performed on his shoulder. There was plenty of pain and frustration to follow.

Not wanting to replace his shoulder unless it was absolutely necessary, Bill chose to have it repaired first. Physical therapy afterward helped reduce the pain, but he didn’t have the level of mobility he knew he needed. Due to the extent of his initial injury, one or more of the tendons hadn’t fully healed.

Dr. Justin Kennon, Page’s surgeon at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, recommended a reverse shoulder replacement. The procedure was successful, and Bill returned to Covenant Health Therapy Center – Powell without hesitation.

“I wanted to get well, I wanted to get out of pain, and that was the only way,” Bill says. “The more therapy I got, the faster it healed, the faster my strength came back to where I could function with my arm and shoulder.”

A few months later, he was back to working around the house and back to being himself again. Bill says he owes a lot to the physical therapists who saw him through the process of recuperating from not one but two surgeries.

“You have to have the therapy to ever regain enough strength to do what you want to do, as well as what you need to do,” Bill says. “Therapy is the kicker as far as I’m concerned.”

Constructive Recovery

Jim Smith, manager of Covenant Health Therapy Center – Powell, explains the important partnership between the surgeon and the physical therapist in terms of building a body that is healed, whole and functioning properly.

“The doctor is the engineer, draws the plans up, and does their work, and then we’re like construction, the guys on the ground getting our hands dirty,” Smith says. “Once the anesthesia wears off, we’re dealing with pain, mobility, attitude, just the general mechanics of what the doctor has done. You adjust what you do day to day.”

Wendy Lockhart, physical therapist, explains that personalized therapy and understanding those mechanics with compassion is what sets Covenant Health Therapy Centers apart.

“In addition to physical therapy, I think our job is largely listening to their actual complaints and problems and addressing that on a personal level, day to day,” Lockhart says. “What little problem can we fix today? What’s the issue right now that we can work on?”

That combination of clinical skill and compassion has made a dramatic difference for Bill Page. He’s standing tall and in command of his life again. He says a great surgeon and great physical therapy got him where he is today.

“The surgery does what it’s supposed to do, but the therapy is what really gets the healing done,” Bill says. “It’s hard work, but not one ounce of regret have I had.”