Three Disciplines, One Family

It was summer 1991. Like a “meet cute” from a rom-com, Dave and Marie met in gross anatomy lab. She was in the OT program at Mizzou, and he was in the PT program. Back then, Mizzou’s PT and OT programs were smaller, so they had some classes together and socialized. They remained friends until their senior year when they started dating. They married a year after they graduated and have raised two red-headed daughters, Marissa and Sami. Sami lives in London and is pursuing a master’s degree in economics. While she did not follow in the families’ footsteps, Marissa did.

What began with two therapy students meeting in anatomy lab grew into a family legacy spanning three disciplines: occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology. And now, they are all here at Boone Health. 

Marie – Occupational Therapy

Growing up in Warrenton, MO, Marie always knew she belonged in the medical field, but didn’t know where yet. Her mother was a nurse, and exposure to caregiving and compassion left a lasting impact on her. Before home health existed, Marie’s brother had a terrible motorcycle accident, and his therapy exercises were done at home. Getting to watch her brother’s therapy as a young girl was fun for Marie and it helped solidify that therapy was her path into the medical field.

Marie became a certified hand therapist, specializes in upper extremity rehabilitation and makes custom splints for patients. “When our hands work well, we don’t think anything of it,” Marie said. “When one finger doesn’t work, it affects the whole hand. When we can’t do things like feeding ourselves or brushing our teeth, that affects your function, let alone what you do for your work.”

Marie chose occupational therapy for the creativity and adaptability the discipline requires. “As an OT,” Marie shares, “you’re trying to think of adaptions and how to do something with very limited function or limited budget. Being able to adapt and create is very important. Lucky for me, that is my forte.” Getting to add the function to a patient’s life is what Marie really loves to do. 

Dave – Physical Therapy

Dave’s journey to PT school took a little longer than he originally had planned. He did not get into Mizzou’s PT program with his first application. He lived in Carthage, MO at the time, and got a job at St. John’s Regional Medical Center (now Mercy Hospital Joplin) in the rehab unit as a physical therapy aide. There in the Brady building, Dave worked with neurological cases: stroke patients, head injuries, and some orthopaedic cases. 

His time in the Brady building solidified that physical therapy was the right choice for him. To see the changes a stroke patient could make was very eye opening to Dave. Patients would come in after a stroke and be neurologically debilitated or half of their body wouldn’t work. But after a few months, Dave would get to see the patients return home, sometimes with adaptive equipment, sometimes on their own. And Dave was hooked. 

Now, Dave’s passion is orthopaedics and dry needling. He specializes in shoulder and knee rehabilitation and has been providing dry needling to his patients for 14 years. Dry needling is a physical therapy technique used to treat musculoskeletal pain by inserting needles into locked muscles. Dave has a Level 2 certification and loves what it’s been able to provide his patients. “Treating musculoskeletal pain has become a passion of mine,” Dave said. “Getting patients back to doing the things they want to do is what I love about my job.”

Marissa – Speech/Language Pathologist

Marissa went to Mizzou but wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do. She started out in nursing, but after passing out at the sight of blood, decided nursing wasn’t for her. At the time, she wanted to work with pediatrics, so her mom suggested speech therapy. After shadowing a speech therapist at a school, Marissa thought, “I could do this!” 

She changed her major and was very happy with her decision. “When I went to grad school, I didn’t think I could work in a hospital because I passed out at the site of blood,” Marissa said. But grad school taught Marissa about the work speech therapists provide in a hospital. 

Thankfully, she’s gotten better at the squeamish things and learned that she really loves working with adults. She’s found a passion in working with stroke patients who have aphasia, difficulty finding the words people want to say. 

Marissa is a Boone-a-rang. She got hired at Boone right out of school and was here for a year before her husband got relocated for work. A year and a half later, they moved back to Columbia and Marissa returned to Boone.

“I’m very much a neuro person,” Marissa said. “I want to know what part of the brain was affected and how can I fix it or collaborate with it.” She feels the work is incredibly rewarding and enjoys getting to meet a new patient or a different diagnosis.

A Family That Heals

“I think it’s really fun being in a therapist family,” Marissa shares. “My husband and sister are very much the outcast at family get togethers.”

When the Keene Street Therapy location was being discussed, Marissa knew that area was needing a certified hand therapist and a physical therapist. She reached out to her parents who applied and got the jobs. When they first started, all three were in the same location. Marie and Dave are used to working in the same office, but it was a treat for Marissa to be working so closely with both of her parents. 

“It was good being able to collaborate with them in a professional capacity,” Marissa said, “but also weird because they’re my parents. My mom would ask me, ‘What are you doing with this patient,’ and in the next breath ask me what I’m having for dinner.”

And Marissa has also gotten used to hearing coworkers say, “Your dad was showing me some of your cute baby pictures!” 

While Marie and Dave are more orthopaedic – broken bone, let’s fix it, Marissa is a neuro person – what part of the brain was affected and how can I fix it.

Marie, the creative healer, Dave, the determined restorer and Marissa, the neuro communicator, all providing care at the same hospital. Boone Health is lucky to have the Hole family.