Welcome to Refuge :)
Welcome to Refuge!
Welcome to Refuge Physiotherapy! My name is Maggie, and I am the owner and head physical therapist here at Refuge. I am excited for you to get to know more about me and my “why”.
I absolutely love what I do - the root of what I do - helping people. That is why I went into this profession in the first place. I went through physical therapy several times between high school and collegiate sports, and I very much enjoyed the experience - I also had great physical therapists who helped me.
From then on, I always had it in the back of my mind that I had the desire to be a physical therapist. A big consideration for me was whether or not this profession would allow me to spend quality time with patients and also have a life for myself with my future family. All of this led me to choose physical therapy as my career! I am so thankful that God gave me this opportunity to help and bless others.
Following physical therapy school graduation, I entered the job world in Oklahoma City. I literally felt like I had no clue what I was doing (which is scary when you just spent 7 years in college and lots of money at that). I was disappointed, because I wanted to be a great physical therapist- not just mediocre at what I did. But, I needed to figure out a way to do that. Luckily, I had great mentorship at my first job and got SO MUCH out of it. That is where I began to learn about non-traditional physical therapy that is evidence-based such as dry needling, cupping, and spinal manipulation. After taking some classes through the American Academy of Manipulative Therapy, I decided to do their fellowship program. I was so nervous because I felt inadequate, but I knew this was necessary to be the physical therapist that I knew I wanted to be so I could help more people. I had the best experience meeting like-minded colleagues, teachers, and mentors throughout the country and developing a great skillset that allowed me to be better at assessing patients and gave me a lot of tools to put in my toolbox to make me more of a well-rounded physical therapist. I feel that this fellowship and my training with my mentors is what has made me into the physical therapist I am today, and I am so proud of that!
Although I love what I do, I haven’t always loved my jobs. I think a lot of you can definitely relate with that. There are pros and cons to every job, but I never felt that peace and fulfillment that I was doing what I REALLY wanted to do. This was due to having many restrictions at work that came down to limitations with insurance, staff/higher-ups, the mindset behind our role as physical therapists, and overall decreased quality of care for patients. This is where I struggled. I wanted to be able to help my patients, love on them, spend quality time with them, help them reach their individual goals, and give them their confidence back. From experience, I wasn’t able to do all of these things unless I was willing to take a stand and become my own boss so I could make this happen.
This is how Refuge Physiotherapy came to fruition! If you have ever met me, you know I am down to earth, easy to talk to, love to get to know you and develop relationships, and I really do care about you and your wellbeing. I am an encourager, motivator, and have a coach mentality. I will push you past limits that you never thought you would be able to get past, but we definitely have fun doing it and we laugh in the process! I love a comfortable environment where you can be yourself, trust each other, and work towards your goals together. That is what I am about.
I am huge on mindset. I want you to value yourself enough to put in the work and know that you are investing in yourself when you come to Refuge. I can’t develop that mindset for you- that is for you to have a serious talk with yourself about. But, I do know that if we are on the same page about that, and you want to get better and will do what it takes, you will improve. I am a physical therapist, yes, but I am only a part of the process. I want you to consider me a guide that wants to help you become independent and confident again!
I am an open book and very personable and vulnerable, so if you ever meet me (which I hope I get the chance to meet you!), I hope you will learn to trust me and feel comfortable! I love people and I love to see people improve themselves and their lives. I am always here to answer any questions. I hope this gave you a little more insight into who I am as a person and a physical therapist!
