THE PRODIGAL THERAPIST
ARTWORK AT THE OFFICE One day, I decided to catch upwithmy old colleague, Ray. I told himabout the changes in our lives and that hemay seeme walking around town again soon. I remember him saying “you may want to tell Bill about these changes also”, and so I did. As destiny would have it, the Pinehurst clinic was looking for someone to take the Clinic Director Allow me to re-introduce myself. I’m Dr. Jonathan Cole, DPT. Life is full of interesting twists and turns, and while we might not always know what’s at the end of the next road, when you get there you understandwhy everything had to happen theway it did. I grew up in North Carolina completingmy undergraduate studies at UNC-Wilmington and earnedmy Doctor of PhysicalTherapy degree fromEast CarolinaUniversity. While at ECU, I underwent a clinical internship with Ray Metzger, PT at the APT Pinehurst office and that experience alone let me know I was on the right track. Ray really was a key factor in making things “click” for me where I knew I would be able to make a difference formy community by practicing physical therapy the right way; patient-first, hands-on care. After I graduated in 2011, I worked at the APT Pinehurst office for 3 years, during which I met my future wife, Felicity, although because of circumstances I wasn’t able to ask her out at the time. As I began to get experience under my belt, I opened my mind to where else this amazing fieldmay take me, and as a result I made a decision tomove away fromNC. Let’s face it, the grass is always greener on the other side, right? As I began to prepare for this transition I also decided to go out on a limb and ask Felicity out to a date. Who doesn’t like beginning a relationship just before theymove 5 hours away? I think I have a habit of making things difficult… Felicity and I created an amazing bond and relationship over the next couple years which included A LOT of driving up and down I-95. Finally, I proposed to Felicity (she said “yes”!) and we got married in September of 2017. As I pursued opportunities in SouthCarolina, I realized that perhaps I had left things that weremuchmore important than my career and self-indulgences of travel and living in new places, and now with Felicity as my wife I had bigger priorities to think about. After spending 5 years in South Carolina, it was time to move back to North Carolina so that we could bewith themost important thing in our lives… family. Aswith all good decisions, it was a difficult decision to make. After investing a lot of time and effort into my career in SC, would I have to start back from square one again? Where would I even work? I love working in outpatient, but can I find another workplace as great as the ones I had left? Would I be able to make ends meet after we moved back? There are a lot of stresses and things to contemplatewhen these big decisions aremade, but rather than succumb to the fear of change and stay comfortable we pushed forward with faith that we would make it work, one way or another.
position, and because of our relationship and understanding ofmy caliber as a clinician and the company’s caliber as a clinic it was an easy and obvious choice to reunite. And so here I am, very happy to be back in North Carolina and back with Appalachian Physical Therapy, and now as a happily married, more experienced clinician. Going back to what I said at the beginning, you might not know what is at the end of the next road, but when you get there it is obvious why everything had to happen exactly the way it did. Did I just waste time moving away if I could have just stayed in NC anyways? I don’t think so. I think the long-distance struggles and triumphs carved the strong relationship I have with my wife. The experiences I had in South Carolina exposed me to more leadership and managerial type roles. The audacity to leave home and pursue opportunities where I called the shots in how I treated and how to further expand my clinical knowledge. These are all things that had to happen to put me where I am now. The exact timing of my return with the needs of APT is nothing short of serendipity. There is no other road I could have taken to bringme to this exact place I am today, and for that I am grateful. I look forward tomy future with Appalachian Physical Therapy, the benefits I will bring to the community, and the possibilities that lay ahead!
Carol VanAlstine and Christina Williams will have their art on display through July 24. Come by our Harrisonburg office during our business hours Monday through Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm to view their work. HARRISONBURG CLINIC 2035 East Market Street, Suite 45 Harrisonburg, VA 22801
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