Miss Independent-Part 2

The Western Kentucky PT program was only in its fifth year and the school was hyper focused on ensuring all students passed their boards at the end of the program. Thus, they implemented a stringent grading policy. A grade of C in any class would result in academic probation and three grades of C would result in expulsion from the program.

Claire was challenged academically right away. For Amy and I, it was a shock to receive multiple calls each week as Claire sought support. Amy was the master of problem solving and guided Claire to seek help and tutoring early in the program. When Claire needed to stay in Bowling Green for the Thanksgiving Holiday to focus on her studies, Amy did not hesitate to take Thanksgiving on the road. Both to provide moral support but also to give her some good old fashioned home cooking.

Claire was able to stumble through the academic portion of the program and seemed to gain confidence as the program transitioned to the clinical portion with rotations from Louisville, Kentucky to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Those ventures are stories in themselves, so I will just say, that I am not a big fan of AirBNB.

COVID hit as she was finishing her clinical in Philadelphia. COVID lockdowns hit the east coast first as Philly became a hot spot early in the pandemic. The seriousness of the pandemic did not hit Kentucky as quickly and her academic advisors were somewhat slow to react as her clinical rotation was cut short. Amy and I were in Florida for Carson’s Spring baseball trip with UW-LaCrosse when Claire called and warned us that the East Coast was shutting down. After her clinical was terminated, we agreed that she should pack up and head back to Wisconsin. Our trip was also cut short as the world experienced its worst pandemic in 100 years.

Only two hurdles remained between Claire and her goal of becoming a Physical Therapist. First, she needed to pass her boards and second, she was going to need to find a job amid a pandemic.

Because the pandemic had shut everything down, Claire had ample time to study. But the date of her exam was only four months away. Claire’s strength was always the clinical part of the PT program. She admitted that the academic portion was going to be difficult for her. Despite the best test prep materials, she struggled to pass her practice exams. Ever the problem solver, she found a tutoring program to help with her preparation and she participated in their online discussion group to glean every last morsel of advice from individuals who had already taken the exam.

Amy and I helped as much as we could, but without any personal knowledge of the source material, our assistance fell more to moral support and quizzing her on the hundreds of flash cards she had created. We would take nightly walks through the neighborhood quizzing her on the difference between dysdiadochokinesia and dysmetria and hundreds of other esoteric terms to us.

These walks were not my favorite, but Amy insisted I participate. “She’s never needed our help until now. You’re going to put on your big boy pants and help her even if you don’t understand a word of it!” She chided me.

Claire took practice test after practice test. She went so far as to time herself taking the test with a mask on to be sure to replicate the exact conditions of the test. At the end of July, 2020, Claire took her Boards.

Claire has always had an uncanny ability to predict and forecast her grades. She came home neither excited by her effort, nor disappointed. For once, she had no idea how she had done but was optimistic. While she waited for her results, Claire dived into her job search.

The results were released just a week later. Claire had passed. Less than a month after that, Claire received a call from ProHealth Care with an offer to be a Physical Therapist at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital. After hanging up, Amy, Claire and I did some celebratory dancing. She soon embarked on her career.

Because of the pandemic, Claire was deprived of a graduation ceremony, so we made sure to celebrate her accomplishments here in Wisconsin. Her family is so proud of her accomplishments and her fortitude in pursuing her goals. As Amy would say, “You did it Sweetie!”