Araya’s “Get There” Story
On the first day of her treatment with ATI Physical Therapy at the Milwaukee Third Ward clinic, 9-year-old Araya Gutzmer literally crawled from the car, through the snow, and into the clinic. After six weeks of having both feet in casts, this brave little girl didn’t have the strength, or the pain tolerance, to begin walking on her feet.
A “toe walker” Araya was placed in a series of casts to help stretch her Achilles Tendons to correct what can be a common problem in children. While most children outgrow walking on their toes, Araya unfortunately did not, and it began to affect her life in more ways than one.
Sue Clement, Araya’s grandmother, began to see that her body was changing physically because of her condition. “I noticed that her posture was becoming poor, and it was getting difficult to find shoes that fit her feet because the ball and toe portion of her foot was becoming too wide.”
Additionally, her condition became so painful, it interrupted her life. “Araya couldn’t do most of the things kids her age were doing,” says Sue. “Everything we take for granted – running, playing at recess, walking up the stairs – she couldn’t do because of the pain. At one point, she couldn’t even go to school because it hurt too much, and she couldn’t crawl up the stairs to get to class. We were told she would grow out of the habit, but she didn’t. I knew we needed to do something.”
During a visit to an orthopedic surgeon for an injured wrist, Susan’s concerns about Araya’s toe-walking were addressed by the physician. “The doctor told me once we get this wrist taken care of we’re going to fix her feet.”
After six long weeks of casts, Susan said that Araya became depressed about her situation. When the casts came off, Araya still couldn’t walk due to weakness and pain from being in the casts.
Araya Meets Her ATI Physical Therapy Team
It was at this point, when Araya met Cory Leier, physical therapist and Aaron White, physical therapist assistant, that things really started to look up.
“When Araya came in for her first evaluation, crawling was her main mode of mobility,” said Cory. “She was in a lot of pain, and was afraid and resistant to therapy. We really tried to motivate her, and made her therapy as fun as possible, masking her treatments with fun and games . . . and bribes. Araya was known to negotiate as well, trading her exercises for rides on a scooter.”
Araya immediately forged a strong relationship with her therapy team, and calls them by their nick names; Aaron is “Cool Guy 1” and Cory is “Cool Guy 2.”
“They’re super fun,” says Araya. “They made physical therapy funny! They would push me, but in a fun way. If I didn’t meet them, it would not have been pretty.”
Treating Araya has also had an enduring influence on Cory and Aaron.
“Working with Araya has had long lasting effects on how I approach the creative and motivational aspects of working with people,” says Cory. “She has affected my thoughts and decision making processes everyday since she first walked into the clinic.”
For Aaron, Araya is one of his proudest moments at ATI! “Her work and dedication has been outstanding, and it shows in her recovery. She was so easy to motivate and our team really believed in her.”
Araya Lands on Her Feet
Today, Araya is back to being a kid – walking, running, playing ball and enjoying recess with her friends! When asked what she would like to do now that she can walk, she responded with some big plans. “Well, I am going to run, dance on stage and be a rock ‘n roll dance star. I’m also taking Karate. I’m a white belt now, but plan on getting my black belt in two years.”
As for Araya’s grandmother, she hopes to educate the public on Araya’s condition and the success of her physical therapy. “If your child walks on their toes, and their not outgrowing it by an early age, see a doctor and don’t wait,” said Sue. “Continuing her care at ATI Physical Therapy was the best thing for Araya. They challenged her just enough, but not too much. They made her therapy fun and she enjoyed coming. If anybody ever asks me where they should go for physical therapy, I would say ATI Physical Therapy.”