It was January 20th, a Wednesday, and I was approaching the end of my work day.  I looked once more at my schedule for the day and noticed that I had a new patient coming in next.  His name was Ryan and he had right shoulder tendonitis.  I was running extremely behind schedule that day (and for everyone who knows me....that does cause a little anxiety!!) and not really looking forward to a new evaluation.  I noticed that he was born in 1980, the same year as me, so I figured it couldn't be all that bad! 

I went out into the waiting room to greet a very warm and outgoing Mr. Ryan Jenson.  I introduced myself, "Hi, I am Kelly, I will be your physical therapist."  And the rest in history!  Now, this is also where my story differs from Ryan's a little bit.  As Ryan told all of his friends, "...she had my shirt off the first time she met me...," I continue to protest that it was the SECOND time, not to mention, he should have been wearing a shirt suitable for physical therapy!!!   Anyways, to make a long story short, I saw Ryan as my patient for about 4 months.  The funny thing is, not once in that whole time period did I ever think of him other than just this funny and talkative patient I see 3 days per week.  It was in this unique situation where I learned so much about him and who he was without any of the awkwardness of dating.  We shared stories, laughed, and got to know eachother very well without even realizing it.  I also used Ryan as a guinea pig for all of the new exercises I learned at my continuing ed conferences (he was willing to do whatever I told him....good start!). 

Later that year, after Ryan and I bet on who would run faster in the Shamrock Shuffle (him, hungover...me, marathon training), I unfortunately owed him a margarita.  From that point on, we started talking more and realized that we were a pretty good fit for each other!  We started traveling and spending more time together until, almost 1 year later, Ryan proposed to me!  Thankfully, I am no longer known as just "PT" to his friends and I look forward to all of the wonderful times to come.  And to think...it all started when Ryan chose my therapy clinic because it was across the street from his work.  I feel very fortunate and, to this day, believe that things happen for a reason :)  Enjoy the rest of the website!