Dear Friends,
“The lessons we learn in life are not always appreciated or understood at the time we learn them.”
Growing up, I was responsible for preparing lunches for my nine brothers and sisters. I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, stacking them one on top of the other and cutting them all at once. I was also responsible for other tasks which were evaluated by my mom or dad. I always waited apprehensively for my parents’ assessment of my work. Almost every job was “incomplete” or “not up to par.” I hated those evaluations. I hated being held accountable for my work.
I thank my parents for the service they did for me and for the strength of character they imbued in me. Within my family, we may argue about how to bring up children, who to vote for, how to handle the pandemic, even who was responsible for some dire event in our family history. But there is one thing we all learned that has made us successful as individuals; we are all responsible for what we do. We learned early and often that we needed to work hard and care about what we did. We knew not to blame others for our mistakes.
When I first moved to South Bend with my wife and two children, I was very anxious. Would I succeed in South Bend? In Illinois, patients could come to see me without a referral from a physician. In Indiana, this was not the case, at the time. (It is now, however). I needed somehow to get to know the physicians and prove to them that my physical therapy would benefit them more than the physical therapy they had been using.
During those scary times when I wondered if I would be able to pay the bills, the lessons my parents taught came back and helped me a great deal. As the practice slowly developed, friends asked if I wanted investors to help me get over the hump. They all had more confidence in me than I had in myself. They believed in my abilities and my work ethic, and they were willing to invest to help me and eventually, themselves.
I was tempted to use their help, but my parents’ lessons came to me once again. If I took the assistance, life would be easier, but I wouldn’t be taking full responsibility. I thought it would be the easy way out. I was always told, “You have to be willing to put yourself on the line,” to become a stronger and better person. With these words ringing in my head, I chose the more difficult way and did not accept financial assistance from my friends. By not taking the assistance, I felt more pressure (just as I had waiting for my parents to inspect my work at home.) Yet, because of this, I decided to challenge myself in ways I would not have done before. I would market McDonald Physical Therapy. I hated the thought of going out to meet with physicians. I hated marketing of any kind. Why couldn’t I just open and have patients come in and see me? Nevertheless, I did meet with physicians. I asked them to refer patients who had been to physical therapy or surgery and had not gotten better. I wanted them to send me those patients, and if I got them better, the physicians would know if they wanted to send more. If not, I would go out of business, and they would not have to deal with me again. Patients did come to me for physical therapy, and they talked to other prospective patients. They also put in a good word to the physicians who had been brave enough to give me a chance. Physicians started to tell other physicians. Little by little, my practice grew in ways I never thought possible. We are now in our 33rd year. We have, hopefully, made it through the pandemic. We did have to furlough 21 of our 34 team members for a short period of time. (We did pay their health insurance the entire time they were furloughed.) Was the pandemic challenging? Did it bring back those memories of growing up and beginning my practice in 1989? Absolutely! However, little did I realize, that years ago, my parents had been preparing me for so much more in life than I would or could have ever known at the time.
I owe much of the growth of my business to the challenging lessons of responsibility my parents taught me as a young person. I may have not enjoyed learning these lessons, but I thank God for my parents’ efforts and unwavering resolve. I also owe much to the patients who were willing to tell others about the new kid on the block and the physicians who gave me a chance. Thanks to all of you!
Please know that we are here to provide care that exceeds your expectations. As most of you know, we even handle our phone calls the old fashion way; we answer them.
Enjoy, and know we are here to help you get stronger every day!
Fran McDonald, PT,DPT,OCS
