I Am…in the Middle
I am not at the beginning, where the relief of surgery gave me hope and every small step forward felt like victory. I am not at the goal, where walking will one day feel natural and pain-free again.
I am in the middle.
At three weeks I was already off crutches. My physiotherapist said I was doing well, and I believed it. But by week five the pain came back, sharper than before, and it shook my confidence. At nine weeks I thought I’d be free of pain; but instead I find myself struggling, questioning, and needing reassurance.it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
This is the hardest part of recovery: when your mind says “I should be healed” but your body says, "Not yet.”
It’s also where physical therapy matters most. My physical therapist reminds me that recovery is not a straight line. The exercises I repeat day after day are not wasted effort; they are the scaffolding for a future I can’t yet see. The encouragement to “keep moving, keep showing up” steadies me when disappointment sets in.
Other Smart Patients have taught me the same: recovery is slow, uneven, and deeply personal. Some found their second wind at 17 weeks, others at 6 months. Each story is a reminder that setbacks are not failures, but part of the process.
Physical therapy is not just about muscles and joints. It’s about persistence. It’s about someone walking beside you when you feel like you’re standing still.
I am in the middle. And because of physical therapy, I believe I will not stay here forever.
October is National Physical Therapy Month.
It’s a time both to raise awareness about the many benefits of physical therapy, and to appreciate what physical therapists do to optimize our movements. Smart Patients takes its hat off to those physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who bridge medical treatment and surgery and living again, who work to reduce pain and restore function, day after day, month after month, year after year.