Listen to the author narrate his story in this APTA podcast.

A key event in my life was applying to and being accepted into the New York University summer program called Health Career Opportunities. As a young man in college, I was excited to become a "yellow jacket," as we were called. Two memorable experiences in the program shaped my decision to pursue a career in physical therapy.

My first recollection is of being assigned to the fifth floor of the Institute for Rehabilitative Medicine — primarily known as the Rusk Institute or Rusk Rehabilitation. A girl being treated there had both of her upper limbs amputated because of injuries she sustained after falling between subway cars. At the time, hooks were the common prosthetic devices for upper extremity function, and she was being trained to use hers. I remember trying to understand not only the physical barriers she had to overcome but also the emotional aspects of being a young teenager forced to redefine her physical image. I wanted to help her — I remember simply wanting to help her wipe her often-oily face, which was a physical challenge for her.