Photo By Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy | Sgt. Latonya Sharp, a physical therapy technician at Madigan Army Medical Center on...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - The United States Army motto, “Army Strong” means something different to each Soldier and for some that are injured, being Army strong can sometimes seem like a thing of the past.
But, thanks to Soldiers like Sgt. Latoya Sharp, a physical therapy technician at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, it is not impossible.
Sharp, a visibly positive Soldier, says she loves her job and it shows.
“I am very protective of my patients,” said Sharp. “I try to make them feel like they are valued and they are listened to. I try to make them feel like they are part of the process.”
Whether it’s getting patients to smile while still pushing through the pain of a stretch or just giving that extra word of encouragement, Sharp is always motivated to help patients in her clinic.
The England, Arkansas native, initially enlisted in the Army as a cargo specialist, but during one of her deployments, she decided it was time for a change and wanted to take care of people. Sharp decided to reclassify to a health care specialist.
Then one day she met a Soldier whose attitude and positive outlook on life inspired her to finally find her true passion, physical therapy.
“When I was stationed in San Antonio, I encountered a wounded warrior, he was an amputee,” Sharp said. “His attitude and spirit exuded everything I wanted to be around all the time. I just wanted to be around and see this individual as he progressed.”
“I just want to take care of Soldiers,” she added
Sharp helps rehabilitate patients with many a multitude of different injuries while consistently providing high quality physical therapy care to her patients and said she feels validated when she can see her patients progress and recover.
“Seeing someone going from a lot of pain and being barely able to move to seeing them fully functional is awesome,” said Sharp. “When they finally reach that point the patient has been working toward it is very fulfilling.”
Sharp spoke about her first patient that she will never forget.
“One patient initially came to us in a wheelchair,” said Sharp. “She had multiple fractures in both of her legs and by the time she left she was fully walking again. “The feedback I received from her was that she appreciated that I was not easy on her.”
Sharp said she never decreased the amount of exercise or intensity for that patient and that’s what helped motivate her patient to succeed. To this day, Sharp continues to be firm and friendly in her daily duties to mold and motivate her patients to achieve their recovery goals.
One of Sharp’s current patients is Master Sgt. Marvin Howard, a mechanical maintenance supervisor, Warrior Transition Battalion, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee several years ago playing basketball and did not have it repaired. Over the years, along with the onset of arthritis, it got worse and led to him undergo a total knee replacement surgery in November of 2014.
“I used to teach cycling class,” said Howard. “I never thought I would walk again or ride a bike again.”
Soon after surgery, Howard started working with Sharp but was a little hesitant at first, seeing the exercise equipment such as stationary bicycles, treadmills and elliptical machines that he would have to use in order to get his knee working correctly.
“I walked in and didn’t know what to expect,” said Howard. “I was nervous because I knew I couldn’t, at that time, sit on a bike and ride and pedal it full circle.”
On Howard’s first attempt on the stationary bike, he said he tried to bend the rules while performing the exercise.
“I did cheat a little because it was painful,” said Howard. “I would raise my right hip and she would say, ‘Nope, no, keep that hip down.’ And when I was able to finally get [the pedal] all the way around she was always right there making sure I kept that hip down.”
“It was painful to do but I did it and it was very relieving to know that I could do this,” he added.
Howard said Sharp always gave words of encouragement and challenged him to push through his pain to get where he is.
“She worked with me mentally and physically to get to that point,” he said. “She didn’t let me veer off left or right. She said ‘Just know that you can do this.’ And that’s what I did.”
Howard, who now rides the bike with a smile on his face in just three months of therapy, said Sharp made every visit a positive experience and felt that she truly cared for him and the rest of her patients.
To Howard and possibly many more of her patients, Sharp is a living example of Madigan’s vision statement: Patient-centered in all we do.
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.26.2015 19:42 |
| Story ID: | 152792 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Hometown: | ENGLAND, AR, US |
| Web Views: | 350 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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