Oh, how life changes quickly. It was a standard weekend morning, and Tammy Knipe was spending quality time with her young granddaughter while her daughter and son-in-law slept in late. As part of her routine, Knipe realized that their dog needed to go outside. She placed her granddaughter on her hip, leashed the dog, and went outside for a quick walk – this was when her day took a turn for the worse.
The dog saw another dog, which sent him bolting and pulling Knipe and her granddaughter to the ground. Luckily, she managed to protect her granddaughter from any injury. However, Knipe did break her shoulder and upper arm in four places. As a result, she underwent surgery and required physical therapy – which her surgeon recommended Premier Orthopaedics.
When Knipe first arrived at Premier’s West Chester physical therapy site, she was in excruciating pain, so much so, the physical therapy team was unable to do a proper evaluation of her range of movement and strength. As time passed, Knipe began to progress with treatment, but then frozen shoulder settled in. The pain was unbearable, and she dreaded going to PT each time.
Throughout her time with Premier, Knipe saw different therapists – including Emily, Karen, Therese, Jody, and Gina. “Everyone was great! Not only were they all extremely knowledgeable, but they were genuinely caring and very patient with me,” says Knipe. She continues, “Even all the assistants were on the ball. When I was finished with my exercises, they were right there to assist me.”
After some time, Knipe’s pain began to subside, which helped progress her recovery and made the physical therapy sessions more enjoyable.
On the day of her physical therapy graduation, Knipe felt triumphant and grateful because, at one point, she questioned if there would ever be a time where she was not in pain. Knipe states, “I owe my success to this great team who didn’t roll their eyes or throw their hands up week after week when there wasn’t any progress. They stuck with me until I was better!”