Continued Journey

Where does the time go? I can't believe it has been a year since I have posted. It has been a whirl wind year. I took an early retirement last July from Perrigo after 29 years with the company. This was a decision we made in order for me to pursue a full time career in massage therapy.

I started working part time for another chiropractor last August to have the additional hours free to build my business. Things are not where I had hoped they would be by this time, however I am still plugging away. Thanks to a good friend and fellow massage therapist-Tammy Forbes-I had the opportunity to work at Hillcrest High for teachers appreciaton and a Crazy Cow 5-K run at Hertiage park recently. Networking with fellow therapist comes in handy.

What is exciting is that massage therapist are now being hired in medical practices. It is nice to see the medical community acknowledge the benefits massage has on our health. It is also nice to see insurance covering this as a medical expense. What this is doing for massage therapist is giving validity to us as trained professionals. It also means the massage therapist gets paid more than a minimual hourly wage. The medical doctor benefits as well, clients happy with the benefits, insurance paying the doctor and he in turn pays the massage therapist a wage that is not insulting.

What I have experienced thus far is the chiropractor benefiting financially and the massage therapist restricted as to the time we can work on the patient. That is frustrating to me when I know in some cases given another 10 minutes I could help benefit the patient.

I have heard of several medical doctors that are giving the respect to massage therapist by hiring, paying well, and trusting the massage therapist as a trained professional to help the patient.

I am not just talking family practice, but specialist as well. I have a neurologist that has referred some patients to me. He knows my work and likes the benefits he sees for his patients. He respects me as a professional to know what I need to do to get the results he wants.

Even though things are moving slower than I would like, I have learned to never give up....always keep moving forward. Trusting God's timing, not mine.