In desperate need of a liver transplant, Brian Oswald will be the first to admit he was “on death’s doorstep” in November 2012.
“My family was prepared to make funeral arrangements,” Brian said. “I received a liver transplant at the last possible moment.”
After a successful transplant surgery, Brian went to Kernan Orthopedic & Rehabilitation Hospital to complete in-patient physical therapy. He was discharged in mid-February before heading to ATI Physical Therapy.
“When I went into ATI, I was barely able to walk,” Brian said. “I spent four and a half months in bed, and they basically had to reteach my muscles to work again.”
During his first visit to ATI, Brian sat down with his physical therapist Dan to discuss his goals for treatment.
“I knew it was a little far out there, but I wanted to walk the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) 5K on April 13,” said Brian. “My stepmother is the chair of the race, and I really wanted to complete it. There was also the option of doing the one mile fun walk, but we made the 5K my goal.”
Progress was slow, but steady, as Brian worked towards his goal of walking the race. It took him thirty minutes to complete his first mile on the treadmill. However, he began working up from there.
“On my second to last visit, I completed a ‘Dan-K’ on the treadmill,” Brian said. “We called it a Dan-K because he tacked on 0.2 extra miles at the end!”
With a full 3.3 mile walk under his belt, Brian was able to successfully complete the JDRF 5K on April 13, 2013, with his sister and niece by his side.
“I owe it all to Dan and his staff,” Brian said. “They’re phenomenal. It was a great environment, and it didn’t feel like work at all.”
Brian noted that the team helped to build his confidence for race day.
“When I walked in, Dan told me to put the cane away,” he said. “He believed that I could do it, and eventually I started to believe it, too. Now, I’m stronger and in better shape than I was before my original surgery.”
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