REFLECTIONS: The Therapists
by Teresita Bacani-Oropilla, MD
Life goes on with its joys and its rewards and its satisfactions. Some are blessed with continued use of clear minds and judgements, but sometimes, somewhere, the body that supports them starts to slow down.
Surreptitiously or suddenly one bodily system slows down or threatens to quit and physicians are called upon to diagnose or rectify the deficit. Once successfully done, the latter call upon themselves or helpers to restore or stop the malfunction, as in specialists or colleagues or therapists.
Therapists? Who are they? What do they do? How long do they treat a patient? When do they stop?
Case in point. A 90-year-old is staying at a facility because he / she can no longer maintain a household alone for various reasons. A“ fall” is a disaster. Hospitalized and restored intellectually, she is sent to“ rehab,” a facility to restore lost skills of self-care. They teach patients to do banal skills like getting in and out of bed, stand without falling, use a wheelchair, and most humiliating, have help in personal care. Who does this? Therapists!
One can appreciate them when unwilling and weak and complaining patients are told to carry one-to-two-pound weights, kick their weakened legs and try to stand!
They are persistent and have to be tough on their patients to get results. Therapists, that is who they are! Patients have to obey and cooperate in order to get well! That in itself is a task! Of mind and body!
They teach you how to swallow, to remember thing and events, and regain function of damaged or non-working muscles. They can be taskmasters, but they get results.
Take a second look at therapists. They coax patients to wellness! They do!
Dr. Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist.
August 2026 33