Behind Tinted Windows

At least three times a week I drive to my sister’s house and I always pass this place that catches my eye called After Hours Physical Therapy. Each time I pass it, I try to look through the windows to see what is inside but I never can. Even though I know I’m not going to be able to see what’s inside, I still try each time I pass it. The windows stretch across the front of the building and are darkly tinted. It has a huge white and green sign on top the building that says After Hours Physical Therapy with a huge clock next to it. The parking lot is not too big but is always full. Since this place intrigued me so much, I knew it would be the perfect place for me to do my student interview.
As I pulled into the After Hours Physical Therapy parking lot, I noticed a sign that read “If you are NOT a patient, please park around back!” I did what the sign said and pulled around to the back and parked. As I was about to open the door to enter, it opened automatically. Inside looked like a big gym where people work out. There were treadmills, stationary bicycles, weights, exercise balls, and other kinds of workout machines. As I began to look around at the people who were in there, they weren’t regular people who were trying to get fit or lose weight. They were people in wheelchairs, on crutches, and in braces. After I had figured out what was finally behind those tinted windows, I asked the receptionist if I could interview one of the physical therapists for my English 1001 class. She told me to go down the hall and it would be the third door on the right.
There was a gold plaque on the door that read, “Carol McFarland P.T.” I knocked on the door and I heard a high pitched voice telling me to come in. I opened the door and saw a lady sitting at her organized desk with short, curly, brown hair and a warming smile on her face. As I glanced around the room for a second, I noticed many framed certificates in a neat row across three of the walls. She asked, “How can I help you?” I briefly answered, “May I have a little bit of your time to interview you for my freshman writing at LSU?” She leaned back in her chair slightly and replied, “Of course you can.” We introduced ourselves and I sat down in the chair across from her. She had striking green almond shaped eyes with long dark lashes. Her skin was pale with freckles scattered across her face and arms. She wore a name tag on her white t-shirt that read, “Carol McFarland P.T.”
Carol had attended A&M University in College Station, Texas. She first wanted to be a P.E. coach, but realized that she didn’t want to pursue that anymore so she switched to geology. After a short time of studying geology, it no longer interested her. Carol decided she would try health education. She began reading a brochure about health professions and started reading about Physical Therapy. Growing up, Carol was always involved in athletics, so she knew when you get injured during a game; you get treated by Physical Therapist. She liked the idea of helping people get well and she had a real interest in it that kept her wanting to know more about physical therapy.
Carol began observing at a hospital in College Station where she got to help patients learn how to walk again after breaking their leg. She also helped strengthen elderly people’s muscles after they had a stroke. Even though she was not yet a certified Physical Therapist, she felt rewarded knowing that she had helped people in their recovery. As Carol talked she had a pleased look on her face and spoke with such sincerity. I realized how much compassion she has for her job and it made me feel good just knowing that.
Getting into physical therapy school was by no means easy. Carol had to take pre physical therapy classes to prepare to apply to physical therapy school. It’s very competitive to get in. They look at your grades, interview, and experience in physical therapy. Carol met all the requirements to get in. She started taking classes in physical therapy applications, neurology, and gross human anatomy. I asked her what gross human anatomy was because I had never heard of it. After I asked, she pulled her chair closer to the desk and said in a serious tone, “I had never experienced a class quite like it before. It was the hardest class I ever had to take.” She took in a deep breath and began telling me about it. Carol had to dissect cadavers, which are dead that had been donated to the school. At first I didn’t understand why she would have to do that for a physical therapy class. It sounded more like what a surgeon would have to do. I asked her why she had to dissect dead bodies for physical therapy. She answered, “It was the most important class I took. I got to see where the muscles, bones, and nerves were in the human body and how they worked.” It then made sense to me. I looked at Carol in a different way after she told me that. She portrayed a brave and determined woman who was dedicated in becoming a physical therapist.
After two years of physical therapy school, Carol had to take a State Board test before she could get her physical therapy license. She had to study for months and review everything she had learned that last two years. The time had finally come for her to take the exam. I can only imagine how nervous she was after all she had to go through to be a physical therapist. This exam would determine if Carol would become what she longed to be. All her hard work and dedication had paid off because she passed the exam and got her physical therapy license.
Carol’s first job as a physical therapist was at a hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana. She came to learn that being an actual physical therapist was nothing like she had learned in school. She had to adapt to treatments to fit the needs of the patients. For instance, she had a patient that was a burn victim from a grease fire. Two thirds of the patient’s body had second and third degree burns on it. Carol had to take all the burned skin off her body by scrubbing, cutting, and tweezing the skin off. Then she applied medicine to the burns and bandaged it. When she told me this, I cringed just hearing how painful that had to be for the patient and even Carol. She must of saw me cringe because she said, “Don’t worry the patient was heavily sedated to have less pain.”
I was curious to know what other types of patients she had to work with. So Carol went on to tell me about a little boy she had to treat who had been in a car wreck and had a head injury. He was non-responsive and could only lie in the hospital bed. Carol did range of motion on his arms and legs so they would not get stiff. Then she had to stand him up on a table that tilted to an upright position to remind his brain and heart how it was to be standing up like he use to before his head injury. After months of doing this his brain started to heal as the swelling went down. I began to understand that being a physical therapist was not only a physical job but emotional as well. Working with a patient who can’t even respond, then seeing him become coherent would definitely take a toll on someone, especially knowing that you contributed to his recovery.
Carol got the opportunity to open up her own clinic in Baton Rouge, where she continues to work to this day. I asked her how Hurricane Katrina affected her. She told me she had never had so many patients at one time after it hit. She had to get more therapists to come help her. It is an outpatient clinic where she treats neck, back, and leg injuries. Carol asked me if I came in knowing what all physical therapists actually did. “I had no idea all the different types of cases you treat. I thought physical therapists strictly deal with healing people’s muscles.” I answered honestly. Carol replied in a warm voice, “Being a physical therapists is much more than that. You become the hope of so many patients life and they become a priority in your life. Every improvement a patient makes, you know you helped them accomplish. I get to see so many people’s life change for the better which is so rewarding. That is why I love my job.”
Now whenever I drive buy After Hours Physical Therapy I won’t have to wonder what is behind those huge tinted windows. Behind those windows is people in need of treatment and an inspiring woman who is more than happy to help these injured people. Carol McFarland definitely picked the right profession for her and others.