#340 - DD

As I think I have mentioned before, when I got into PT school, I thought that everyone was going to be just like me.  Young, interested in sports, and gung ho to learn how to tape an ankle.  It wasn't long into the school year that I was set straight.

#340 was one of my classmates.  He was not young.  I think at the time I was 20 and he was an old 29.  I was soon to be engaged, and he had been married, divorced, and paid child support.  I was taking my first semester of anatomy and physiology and he had taken it three times already in undergrad while waiting to get into PT school.  I think he dated half of the nursing students and the other half of the medical school students in the two years that we were there.  He was a very smart guy in a bad boy package.  It was a known fact that he was not in PT school to better the world by helping people, he was in the program because he could make some $$$.  I went to PT school before managed care was a part of the medical vocabulary.  PTs did not worry about reimbursement or medical necessity, they just sent a bill and got paid.  But I digress...

I should also mention that he was very nice and he really helped me pass physiology when I was struggling.  In addition to this...we both share the same birthday and we both loved Tesla.  Lol, I don't know where I picked up the love for this hard rock band, but I really liked them.  (Probably from Jeff)  I even had their cassette.  One day my entire cassette case was stolen from my car in the parking lot and #340 told me that if I brought him some blank tapes, he would make me a copy.

Anyway, after graduation I can honestly say that I never thought about him again.  Until about five years ago.  My partner and I were getting more into treating patients with open wounds.  We had travelled to Wisconsin to learn the latest and the greatest in the way of medications, bandages, and all other things wound care.  There was a new product out there which used electro-therapy to heal wounds.  When we got back to town, we contacted the vendor to find out more about this electro-therapy device and we asked for local providers using it so that we could get some feedback from them before we made the purchase.  Guess who was recommended.  You guessed it, #340.  I put in a call to him and when he called me back I was very impressed with not only his knowledge on the device, but how successful he had become.  He had gone into business with another classmate of mine, and they were burning it up doing contract work in nursing homes all around the Lafayette area.  Since that time, he has been a valuable source of info for any questions I have had about wound care.  While my practice is very diverse, he does about 90% wound care and therefore has been able to help me determine the best course of treatment for several patients.  A valuable friend to have.

So thanks #340 for all the help in physio, the pirated Tesla cassette tape, and all the wound care info.  I won't even mention the fact that since we share the same B-day, he only has one more year to 50!  Ouch!

Rock On!