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My Journey from Geriatric Physical Therapist to Online Weight Loss Coach by Morgan Nolte PT, DPT
I quit my job. No more steady paychecks. No more benefits. No more predictable hours or regular schedules. After working hard to complete my education and secure employment, I never imagined leaving the practice of physical therapy unless it was to move up the corporate ladder. And yet, here I am, in my early 30s, an entrepreneur and owner of an online weight loss and wellness business focused on helping women over 40 avoid, delay, or minimize the need for geriatric physical therapy. You may be thinking, “Why would she leave a stable, well-paying job with benefits?” “Why attempt to build an online health-related business with virtually no business training or computer skills?” My family and friends asked the same questions. Starting a business was a huge step for me. Doing so online was a skydive out of my comfort zone. Why did I do it? I could write a book about the geriatric patients I treated in physical therapy who suffered financial, physical, mental, and emotional burdens from diseases like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, dementia, and cancer. Most of these could have been prevented had the underlying causes of their diseases been addressed in earlier years. One particular patient brought into sharp focus the importance of proactive weight loss and wellness. This patient’s morbid obesity led her to be bedbound for over 10 months. She was being transported via stretcher into her home and had to be turned sideways to fit through
GeriNotes • March 2021 • Vol. 28 No. 2
the door, subsequently sliding off the stretcher and onto the door threshold. She literally fell off the stretcher. Her primary care provider prescribed homecare physical therapy and occupational therapy as a “last glimmer of hope.” Her diet was terrible and consisted primarily of processed and refined carbohydrates. She alternated her food choices with doses of insulin. A mechanical lift was required to get her out of bed. Her situation tore at my heart yet was largely preventable. One thing I learned early in my geriatric residency training was pattern recognition. Excess weight is so common; it often is not even listed in the past medical history, having been assumed, discounted, or overlooked altogether. As I reflected on this particular patient’s case, I noticed a pattern among my geriatric physical therapy patients. The vast majority were overweight or obese. Most had significant and multiple co-morbidities like diabetes, cancer, arthritis, heart disease, or cognitive impairment. Most importantly, these people had no idea what “healthy” meant. Most were in no place to make the lifestyle changes needed to see optimal outcomes. In contrast, I noticed that the few geriatric clients that I treated who were at a healthy weight had far fewer complications and co-morbidities, with much better prognoses and outcomes. I kept thinking to myself, “If only I could have worked with these people 20 years ago to help them lose weight and get healthy, they could have
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