PT Squared, LLC

What a day yesterday! 🥹🩵💪🏼

My first day at PT² as a fully self-employed entrepreneur, and my schedule was full.

Three new evaluations. Three follow-up visits. Six people, each with a unique story, unique goals, and a unique plan.

Here’s a glimpse into my day:

🚴‍♂️ 8:30 AM - Evaluation
18-year-old national-level competitive cyclist with posterolateral corner knee pain

😓 10:30 AM - Evaluation
Menopausal woman navigating frozen shoulder (such a debilitating diagnosis)

🦵🏼 12:30 PM - Wellness Visit
Active older adult managing knee stiffness after a remote knee surgery while maintaining her independent exercise program (including workouts at the Transformation Center)

🏃‍♀️ 1:00 PM - Evaluation
Returning client and recreational runner with a new episode of hip pain and great toe stiffness

💪🏼 3:00 PM - Follow-up Visit
Middle-aged woman also navigating frozen shoulder, combining a recheck of her home exercise program with hands-on mobility work

🦶 4:30 PM - Follow-up Visit
Active young adult recovering from a recent ankle sprain (1 of several) while working to improve long-term ankle stability and reduce future recurrences

What struck me most was how different each person was. Different ages. Different goals. Different injuries. Different stages of life.

And yet the process is often the same:

🩵 Calm pain when needed
💪🏼 Build capacity over time
🔗 Support the whole person

That’s the foundation of how I practice.

After 24 years in outpatient orthopedics, there isn’t much I haven’t seen, and I genuinely love helping people understand what’s happening, create a plan that makes sense for their individual needs, and build confidence in their body’s ability to adapt and heal.

If you see yourself in any of these stories and are looking for physical therapy in the Madison area, send me a DM or schedule a free discovery call ("Book Now" link) to see if we’re a good fit.

Yesterday felt like a glimpse of what I’ve been working toward for a long time. And I’m incredibly grateful. 🥹

Today was my last day with SSM Health after 24 years.

Heading into today, I wasn't sure how I would feel, but I can now say that I felt every emotion from relief to grief. 😅😭

It was a roller coaster ride of gratitude, pride, relief, sadness, excitement, and, as I type this, pure exhaustion.

I, of course, cried saying goodbye to special coworkers, but then I cried some more on my way home.

Not because I'm questioning the decision. I'm 💯 confident this is the right next step.

I think I was mourning the end of an era and the "ego death" that has, quite frankly, been happening over the last several years.

For 24 years, my professional identity lived inside a healthcare system. Today, I stepped out of that container.

The badge, the organization, the title, the familiarity, the coworkers, and the routines all provided a container. Even though that container became too small as I outgrew it, it was still familiar and incredibly hard to leave.

That version of me isn't gone entirely, though. I'll carry her with me. She taught me so much. She helped shape the therapist, business owner, and upgraded human I've become. I'm incredibly grateful for the coworkers, mentors, patients, lessons, challenges, and experiences that came with those years.

There are moments when I wish I had made this leap sooner. I've mentioned that before. But I also know that life unfolds in its own timing, and I wouldn't be who I am today without the path that brought me here.

As challenging as these last several years have been, they also gave me the clarity and courage to build something different.

Tomorrow, Melissa 2.0 wakes up unemployed for the first time in 24 years ... and fully employed by herself. 🩵

That feels a little terrifying, so very exciting, and incredibly freeing.

LFG! 🙌🏼