Grace Villaver Owner of Level up Physical Therapy

Have you ever considered that healing might be most profound on home turf? Our latest episode brings you a conversation with a seasoned physical therapist who's transforming the landscape of care with concierge services, extending the warmth and personalized touch of healing to the cozy confines of patients' homes. We chat about the incredible benefits of this intimate approach - from the tailored treatments crafted in familiar surroundings to the deep connections fostered without the sterility of clinical walls. It's not just about mending what's broken but nurturing a preventative mindset to keep us thriving. The stories we share are a heartfelt reminder that in the quest for wellness, the alliance between patient and therapist is as crucial as the treatment itself.

Swapping scrubs for shutters, one of our guests reveals the daring leap from medical school aspirations to a profound passion for photography. This tale echoes my own journey, where the threads of human connection in the medical field intertwine with personal fulfillment. The episode also turns up the volume on life's soundtrack, discussing how the right melody can be food for the soul, and how CrossFit can be as much a mental challenge as a physical one. Family — that anchor in the ebb and flow of life — takes center stage as we reflect on the shared experiences that shape us, from weekend outings to navigating the ever-changing landscape of raising children. Join us as we celebrate the courage to chase joy and the unwavering support that emboldens us to live authentically.

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Transcript

Outpatient Physical Therapy and Concierge Services

Speaker 1 0:31

So thank you for coming in, tell me a little bit about okay. So tell me a little bit about what you do.

Speaker 2 0:39

I'm a physical therapist, so have you had physical therapy before?

Speaker 1 0:45

So I did for a very, very short time. It was after an accident and it was a while ago, so I don't remember too too much.

Speaker 2 0:56

Okay, yeah, so you probably saw them on an outpatient basis right in the clinic. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, that's what I do. I pretty much do outpatient physical therapy.

Speaker 1 1:08

Okay.

Speaker 2 1:09

And then nowadays, after almost 25 years, I've started to branch off into concierge medicine because people are so busy and loud, and and so I wanted to bring my services to them so that they have the ability to be treated in their own home and not have to drive anywhere.

Speaker 1 1:33

I was going to say what is concierge services? You're going to them. Yeah, yeah, Okay.

Speaker 2 1:38

So I take private patients and I go to them. They don't have to worry about traffic or taking time off of work and is it the comfort of their own home.

Speaker 1 1:48

So you're going in to their houses taking care of them? Yeah, how long are the sessions?

Speaker 2 1:54

usually the sessions are normally an hour, okay, and sometimes if it's more than one body part, for example, then it would be. It's really up to the patient. It could be two hours, oh well, I like that because I take my time and they're able to talk to me and by listening to the patient, to the client, you're able to uniquely plan a treatment program for them. Yeah, yeah, so you can address those issues In the clinic. Normally we're it's time restrictive, you know, because of insurance.

Speaker 1 2:34

So it's a different type of service. You're able to offer.

Speaker 2 2:38

Yeah, yeah, it's a different type of service. It's better quality and sometimes, in the clinic, you're limited regarding the amount of the type of services that you provide and the time, of course, yeah.

Speaker 1 2:53

And it's probably a different environment because you can actually see people work like doing things in their home, so that you can help kind of guide them or give them tips, right yeah.

Speaker 2 3:02

Because in a clinic I don't know if you remember when you went you didn't have your therapist to yourself the whole time. Yeah, right, yeah, you probably received treatment from the therapist and then you did exercises with someone else. Yeah, but the problem with that is you're not always getting what the therapist wants to get from that exercise, and it's usually very specific, okay.

Speaker 1 3:30

So how did you get into this?

Speaker 2 3:35

I was actually on track for med school. However, my grandmother had a stroke and the chair of a physical therapy department came to treat her and said well, how do you know you want to be a physician? I said I guess that's something I've always wanted to do. And he said why don't you come visit me? And so I visited and learned about physical therapy and then, with my grandmother, I saw what a difference it made for her and for us, because he was able to connect with us in a way that no one else could, because he was able to put his hands on my grandmother and give her a loving care in that way, and it made us feel better that we weren't alone in the journey after her stroke.

Speaker 1 4:34

Yeah, yeah, so that's really empowered you.

Speaker 2 4:37

It really did, it really did. And even today I'm excited, after over 20 years of practice. I'm excited to see how I could help someone, not just physically, but when you were with someone connecting for an hour, you know you can't help, but also help them emotionally and probably yourself.

Speaker 1 4:57

So you're also therapist.

Speaker 2 4:59

Well, I don't know.

Speaker 1 5:02

But I like to listen.

Speaker 2 5:03

I like to listen, because usually the solution is in listening.

Speaker 1 5:07

Yeah, that's a good point. What is yourself in the next 5, 10, 20 years?

Speaker 2 5:14

5, 10 years, I still want to see myself still doing what I do, but I wanted to flourish in a way that could reach more people. Right now, I think I want to take my. I want to increase visibility of my profession in terms of wellness and prevention. And not just you come to me when you have a problem. Why don't you come to me when maybe it's just starting to bother you? You know, I want people to see the importance of prevention and wellness and preventing disease, and then, of course, if something happens down the road, I'll be around to help you out with that too. And it doesn't have to be overwhelming, it could just be a little at a time. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 6:13

So three things that you wish more people knew about your career, or three things that you find yourself saying to clients again and again, or patients, sorry.

Speaker 2 6:26

That's a good question. Usually I tell them not to worry that I'll be walking alongside them through the journey, because usually people feel really alone when they're going through something, that nobody else feels their pain. And I always tell them you're in charge of your treatment. You tell me what you need and we'll go as fast or as slowly as you need to go. And then I always tell them let me know how I'm doing, you know, am I helping you out? Is this going in the right direction? What are your goals?

Speaker 1 7:09

You're very calming. You've got very calming energy, which I think is critical. Oh, thank you so much. Yeah, Okay, so that's one thing that you find yourself saying. Is there anything else that people should know?

Music, Family, and Career Paths

Speaker 2 7:24

or In terms of seeking help, I see If. Well, I would like to tell them that, if something is bothering you, physically, for example, to not be afraid to reach out, because physical therapists in general and I'm speaking from my field are we love to help people and it's not always about money, you know. We love to just give you our insight based on experience, give you direction if that's what you need, give you guidance on where to go, because we also have connections with different professions and we are trained in differential diagnosis, for example, that one cluster of symptoms could mean many different things and we could probably tell you where to go, who the person to talk to, because sometimes it's easy to go online and just say, hey, these are my symptoms and they think it's this. But physical therapists have special training in differential diagnosis with physical symptoms, neuromuscular symptoms, stuff like that. So what you think might be the problem might not be the problem. So don't be afraid to reach out, because we're pretty approachable.

Speaker 1 8:57

So Dr Google is not always the best answer.

Speaker 2 9:00

I mean Dr Grace might. Yeah, there we go.

Speaker 1 9:05

Yeah, okay. Who are you as a person Like? What type of music do you listen to? What do you do for fun?

Speaker 2 9:16

Well, for music usually depends on the mood. Right, I do CrossFit regularly and so for that I like upbeat. You need that energy, I need that for strength and we all need that. And then just for calming myself down and just relaxing, Normally I enjoy music from Tony Bennett or Michael Buble, and for party moods I like to dance, of course, so I listen to ballroom music and some Latin music.

Speaker 1 9:49

Latin music will get you every single time.

Speaker 2 9:51

What are you going to do? You just can't help it.

Speaker 1 9:53

It's funny. And then like, what do you do on the weekends? What's your?

Speaker 2 9:59

fun. I like exploring new places, so, even on a, I like waking up early so that I get most of the day Five, six, okay, in the morning, before the sun, Get my coffee and then figure out what I'm going to do that day with the kids or with the patient or something like that. Something new, something exciting.

Speaker 1 10:21

How many kids do you have?

Speaker 2 10:22

I have three.

Speaker 1 10:23

Oh gosh, what are their ages?

Speaker 2 10:26

I have one in college and one who's a senior at ball to sixth.

Speaker 1 10:31

You do not look old enough to have a college child. Thank you.

Speaker 2 10:37

And the third one is a seventh grader.

Speaker 1 10:40

Okay, yeah, very fun. So they're on the higher end, they're getting there. They're young. Yeah, I've got three as well.

Speaker 2 10:48

That's why I'm on the third grade.

Speaker 1 10:49

Oh, how old are they oh gosh, look a pop quiz. 16 is the oldest, and then I've got a 12 year old, I'm going to have an eight year old. So you never would have guessed that I would guess that you look so young.

Speaker 2 11:02

I was waiting for three years old.

Speaker 1 11:04

Yeah, no one got that Four years old.

Speaker 2 11:06

Oh, my goodness, you have a 16 year old. 16 year old, yeah, so like a sophomore.

Speaker 1 11:12

She's a junior.

Speaker 2 11:14

A junior.

Speaker 1 11:14

Yeah, she's a rep would grow. Yeah, we're on the western end of the county. Yeah, that's four.

Speaker 2 11:22

Yeah Well, I have to drive to Paul VI. That's pretty far too. Where's that Shantilly? Okay, that was.

Speaker 1 11:27

Aldi, aldi, it was the same. Yeah, kind of.

Speaker 2 11:31

South rating.

Speaker 1 11:31

Yeah Ish, I was like people can have the same like some people refer to it as Aldi and then south rating and like okay, it's a loud end. Yeah.

Speaker 2 11:43

It's less traffic than Fairfax. True, yeah, so that means you're looking for colleges? Yeah?

Speaker 1 11:50

not quite yet, but yeah.

Speaker 2 11:51

Junior.

Speaker 1 11:52

I think she's already got her eyes set on what's the popular one.

Speaker 2 11:58

Virginia Tech.

Speaker 1 12:00

It's either Virginia Tech or the other one. Is she an engineering person? No, what is she? I think it's a classic R than R. Yeah, r– R, okay, r. I told her just go liberal arts right now. Okay, yeah, sure, I'm like she artsy. Yeah, she's artsy. Okay, she's like straight-A student, but she just doesn't know what she wants to do. Mm-hmm. So I'm like you know what? You don't need to have that figured out. I was medical school and look at what I'm doing now.

Speaker 2 12:22

Like life changes and that's okay, and you're probably much happier, I am very happy. Yeah, and I'm much happier.

Speaker 1 12:30

I know what type of doctor you want to be.

Speaker 2 12:33

Um, I wasn't sure. I wanted to be an ortho doctor. Okay, an ortho doctor. I wasn't sure.

Speaker 1 12:41

So kind of connected muscle.

Speaker 2 12:43

It's kind of connected. Yeah, it's kind of connected. I mean it took I did Nine years of school because I did my master's also, and then I did the doctorate. Okay so it took just as long, but touches people in a different way, yeah, and I think, less restrictive. Yeah yeah, and we can really reach people and connect with people because we have more time. Yeah, just like you do, you know you're not so sorry, that's right.

Speaker 2 13:07

Oh, my goodness, I didn't know you. That's completely different. Yeah, this is really our, and oh, how wonderful for you.

Speaker 1 13:15

I need people, kind of like what you just said. Uh-huh, me it's always like why I wanted to be a doctor's, cuz I wanted to help people. Uh-huh, I wanted to be an emergency room type doctor, like working in a third world country, like, yeah, you know emergency medicine like legit emergency, oh I love that.

Speaker 2 13:31

I think that would have excited me.

Speaker 1 13:32

Yeah, right, oh, I love that. Like going in. Yes, what to expect? Every day is different, so you're a problem solver.

Speaker 2 13:39

I love you actually your problem solver and your quick thinker, and I just love people.

Speaker 1 13:45

You know people.

Speaker 2 13:46

Yeah, you want to be on your toes, yeah.

Speaker 1 13:48

So it's like the root is still there and what I'm doing not as intense and not like life or death Situations, so that pressure is gone. But at the end of the day it's, yeah, just about serving other humans and I get to do that.

Speaker 2 14:05

Yeah, but that's quite a difference. Yeah, was it work, was it? You had a summer job and now?

Pursuing Passion With Courage and Support

Speaker 1 14:11

so yeah, so why I'm doing this is because when I was in school, I was actually pregnant. My husband was in the army, or he was Deployed, and so I wanted to be closer to my mom.

Speaker 1 14:22

Okay so some family, yeah. And so I moved out here from Indiana and I said I want to go back to school when my daughter's a year. Yeah, never made it back to school because I ended up getting like a like an after-school program type thing because I needed that insurance. Yes, yes, yes, and. And Military insurance sucks anyway no. So, um, so I ended up falling in love with kids Taking.

Speaker 1 14:51

It was like the most random thing you know taking pictures, falling in love with the process of it, and then said I don't want this just to be a hobby, I want to really like learn About the business side of it. And so then I just kind of like you know, I kind of kept going with it and I was like you know what, I'm gonna go ahead and close off the idea of going back to med school and just follow this path for a while and see what happens. And that was like wait was 16. So that was 16 years ago and I'm still here. I Mean.

Speaker 2 15:26

It takes a certain kind of courage to do that, to follow what makes you happy, but it's not always possible if nobody was behind you. Yeah and I think someone was supporting you and Encouraging you and that's why you did it, yeah you're right, yeah, yeah, it always takes a village, right, mm-hmm?

Speaker 1 15:46

Well, I'm so happy for you. Oh, thank you. Yeah, yeah, cuz you can see it in your face. You love it. Yeah, I do, I love it, mm-hmm, especially with all the possibilities of what you can do in the future with, you know, serving people, no matter what your industry is.

Speaker 2 16:00

Mm-hmm. There's always ways to improve, mm-hmm. I think it's just strange that how life leads us to where we're supposed to be, you know when things aren't working out. It doesn't seem like we're working out and you just went with it. Yeah, sometimes we fight against that and then we end up in a wrong place, but you just went with the flow and had people encouraging you. Yeah, so lucky.

Speaker 1 16:26

And they're our guests, aren't?

Speaker 2 16:27

you? I just think that probably cuz I'm old, no.

Speaker 1 16:32

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're an active listener.

Speaker 2 16:35

Wonderful.

Speaker 1 16:37

So, in terms of back on to you, oh yes, what? What? Just to kind of wrap it up, what is a life lesson or a piece of advice, or just something that's really like Heavy on your heart that you would like to share with people that are listening and tuning in?

Speaker 2 16:56

What do you mean? Heavy on my heart?

Speaker 1 16:58

That's something that's like you're passionate about, or I'd like to.

Speaker 2 17:07

My message is that, no matter how hard you think it's going right now, how difficult things are, that hope is just a Step away and there's always somebody there to help you. Just look around, take a deep breath and and you'll get through it.

Speaker 1 17:30

Yeah, just one step at a time you get such calming energy, like You're the person you went on the other end of the phone in the time of crisis or or problem-solving.

Speaker 2 17:45

Yeah, yeah. Nothing is as bad as it is. Yeah, sometimes it feels like it doesn't, even if it feels like it. So that's what I want people to remember.

Speaker 1 17:56

Thank you so much for being on the show. Thank you for having me you.