National Rehab Awareness

I don't often go in for public speaking.  I'm one of those nervous, panicky types who gets clammy hands and sometimes has trouble breathing just from thinking about it.  But when the rehab hospital I receive physical therapy from approached me about speaking at a lunch during their celebration of National Rehab Awareness, I couldn't say no.  Here was an opportunity to reach out to patients and therapists and other community members and recognize how their efforts have impacted people like me, and to hopefully encourage those facing struggles of their own.  Maybe even inspire some people who are just considering careers in medicine and rehabilitation.  It represented all that I hoped to accomplish with this blog: to reach out to others, and through my story of rising up, perhaps lift someone else, too.  So in that spirit, I share with you today's speech, sweaty palms, bad hair day, and all.