Colleen is a physical therapist and an athlete who loves skiing and hiking. About five years ago, she was injured while backcountry skiing in British Columbia. ACL reconstruction and a complicated and lengthy recovery followed.
Living with chronic pain and a significant decrease in functional mobility for about two years, Colleen searched for options. On the recommendation of friend and former colleague Heidi McClellan, ATC, who works at APD as a certified athletic trainer, Colleen began seeing Peter Loescher, MD, for platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection therapy.
“He thinks outside of the box and actually listens to you,” she said. “He cares.”
After being out of work for two years, Colleen is now back to working, skiing, and hiking mountains. She achieved her goal of hiking Mt. Katahdin this past summer which she thought was a thing of the past.
She has high praise for the APD team members she’s worked with, including Heidi, scheduler Vicki Braley, and Tabitha Ferranti, RN, who she calls “The Vein Whisperer.” And, of course, Dr. Loescher.
“The treatment process has been lovely,” Colleen said. “It’s like going to lunch with friends except that you have to do something that’s unpleasant. I could stay there for hours. It makes the injections not so bad, because I adore the team. Dr. Loescher is a great coach.”
Colleen travels to APD from Vermont, and says she will gladly continue to do so. “As a fellow clinician, I would go nowhere else than here.”
She offers this advice to others struggling with pain: “Never give up. Dr. Loescher gave me different options. He gave me hope, and helped me get my life back.”