Dear Ginger, 

I want to thank you for so many things.  First of all, thank you for not being afraid to rock the boat, for being an innovator, for caring about our profession (and healthcare in general), and more importantly the people who come to us for help.  It is not easy to be an instigator of change.  It takes courage, time, energy, sacrifice, and above all perseverance to do what you are doing.  Keep “fighting the good fight” so to speak.  I think we process information differently, so sometimes I don’t completely connect with what you say, but I really want to.  I believe in your mission and approach to patient care.  I look forward with anticipation to a time when more healthcare providers embrace a more holistic mindset, and I think that time is coming.

I was already talking to patients about breathing, meditation, sleep, nutrition, etc., but I find that I things have been different this week.  You gave me the confidence to speak with more authority, I have more resources at my disposal, I have my own personal experience with meditation from last week, and several of my patients have really responded to our conversations.  Just today I spoke with a patient about the functional medicine program Dr. Hyman started at the Cleveland Clinic, and she was really excited about looking into it.  She has chronic pain everywhere throughout her body and just found out she is pre-diabetic.  She also has a history as a breast cancer survivor twice.  There is another patient I just started trying to get into a meditation routine.  She also has a long history of chronic pain all over.  She was honest and admitted that she has not followed through.  I talked with her about what you had us do each day and how much it (along with other things) helped, we talked about different meditation options, and I think she just moved from pre-contemplative to contemplative.  Other people have recommended it as well and she does a lot of research on her own, so she knows it is good advice.  I’m not sure I would have pursued this with her as I did if not for attending your training at PYTI. 

With Gratitude,
Dr. Susan Decker PT, DPT, PYT