October is National Physical Therapy Month, and at Minds Matter, LLC, we’re celebrating how physical therapy helps people build independence, confidence, and connections in their communities.
Dayne, a physical therapist assistant (PTA) who has been working with Joey, shares how her experiences have built on what she learned in school. While her education emphasized strength, endurance, flexibility, and mobility, working with consumers has shown her the powerful role resilience plays in recovery. Below, Dayne reflects on what Joey’s determination and positivity have taught her, and Joey shares his own perspective on staying motivated and moving forward.
“In school, I remember learning about how building strength, endurance, flexibility, and mobility can improve an individual’s quality of life. While this is true, my experiences working with consumers have taught me that there is one skill that is even more important: resilience. Helping people learn how to adapt, recover, and overcome hardships is foundational to making true progress. Working in physical therapy provides to opportunity to incorporate this into each activity I work on with consumers. Working on strength and mobility allows individuals to also build their emotional strength, including confidence and self-efficacy. This can be a difficult skill for some consumers to build, but Joey naturally demonstrates positivity and resiliency in everything he does. I sat down with him to listen to his words of wisdom, which I am excited to share:
Joey, can you tell me about yourself? Good morning, it is Joey Balderas here. I have been with Minds Matter for who knows how long. My recovery has been quite a journey. I had an accident back in October 2024 in my brand-new car. I had life-threatening injuries and luckily was given a second chance at life.
I was able to go into the rehabilitation process, and I now work with Minds Matter. So far, they have been great to work with. They help with anything I need. If they can’t help with something, they will find a way. My therapy team is filled with multiple positive people, and I like to spend time with them.
What are your goals for therapy? Being able to be physically more active and find ways to continue my therapy activities independently, without my therapist. One thing I like about my PT sessions is that they help to keep me physically active so that I am not sitting and watching videos. It has helped me have discipline to actually do the work to recover. One goal I have is to improve my walking so that I can be safer and be on my feet for longer.
What do you work on during PT sessions? Being able lay down and go to sleep. Just kidding! I work on my ability to do physical activities, as in, all types of activities. I work on walking, strengthening my legs, and going into the community. It’s a challenge for me to walk in the community with a lot of people around me, like walking in a crowd.
My therapists want to help me improve in my life and go out into the community. No one likes to be locked up inside. Minds Matter therapists like to help me go into the community. We have gone to present to students at KCKCC, visited museums and nature centers, done grocery shopping to cook food for myself, played pickleball, walked at parks, and many more. PT has helped me be more mobile and active when I am by myself. I am able to get around my community better, and I don’t get tired easily.
What has helped you be successful in your recovery? The one thing that has made me most successful is being personally motivated to improve myself. Being able to see a bright picture on the other side. Knowing you will have to put in work to recover. You aren’t recovering for just yourself; you are an example for other people. Being personally motivated to improve will make you improve more.
While Joey always expresses his gratitude toward his therapy team, his progress is purely a result of his own work and his incredible outlook on life. When faced with a life-changing situation, he consistently chose to embrace the good and continues to do so each day. He tackles challenges head-on and refuses to be discouraged when facing setbacks. While I always set out to help consumers find their confidence and power through resilience, Joey needed no coaching with this skill. Keep up the great work, Joey!”
