Darcy: My Why

I didn't always want to be an occupational therapist. From a young age, I've always had a love for sports, so my freshman year of college I contemplated between being a coach or maybe a physical therapist, but neither field, or any field for that matter, seemed like the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. My sophomore year of college it finally struck me what I was meant to do when I met my boyfriend’s family for the first time.

It turned out that he had a younger sister with Cerebral Palsy. The minute I walked through the door, I got greeted with the biggest hug and a sloppy wet kiss on the cheek, but it didn’t bother me a bit. I fell in love with Darcy that day and I knew as soon as I left that house that I wanted to help people like her and make a difference in their lives. What I didn’t know then but know now is that the more I’ve gotten to know her over the past three years, it was her that has made an impact on me the most. Meeting Darcy was all I needed to do to figure out what I wanted to do in life. 

I got to talking with her mom about the different types of therapy that Darcy had to go to growing up; PT, OT, and speech. I didn't really know anything about OT so I started to research what it was all about. I soon realized that occupational therapy was very important to people's livelihood, and specifically to Darcy. Having OT at a young age helped Darcy do the things in life that she loved to do like play with her toys, eat her favorite foods with utensils, and hold on to the side of the golf cart to not fall out! (That's her absolute favorite thing to do!) It made me sad to think about Darcy not being able to do these things due to CP without therapy, so I made a decision to be that person to other people who needed help. 

I still use Darcy as my inspiration to get through OT school, especially anatomy, and I hope to make her proud as I strive to make a difference in other's lives just as an OT did for her.