As a physical therapist assistant, Will Boatwright can relate to some of his patient’s injuries. A torn knee-joint ligament, sprained ankles, a dislocated shoulder, hand injuries, assorted bumps and bruises — he’s suffered from them all.
Boatwright, 29, is an avid skateboarder and no stranger to physical therapy from a patient’s point of view.
“I can encourage some patients through my personal experience of having been a physical therapy patient,” said Boatwright, ADN, PTA. “Other patients have more serious injuries like head trauma or [are] recovering from surgery.
“My approach to each patient is individual, but my goal is always the same. I want to see them get better. The reward is always seeing them achieve a better quality of life. Curling up and saying, ‘I quit,’ is not an option that I present to them or to myself.”
Boatwright earned his physical therapist assistant degree from South University in Savannah in 2007. Before that, he worked as a physical therapy aid for seven years in outpatient clinics and in a hospital, where he helped many patients recover from surgeries.
“Seeing my interest, some superiors took me under their wing and taught me a lot. I understood the ‘how’ of doing treatment but wanted to know the ‘why,’ so I went to school to earn my degree and get my license,” he said.
Boatwright recently joined the staff of Visiting Nurse Health System, a nonprofit home health and hospice company in Atlanta. Working under a physician’s orders, Boatwright provides therapy after a physical therapist has evaluated a patient and written a care plan.
“If I see anything unusual, I report back to the doctor or physical therapist, but I also get to report a lot of good news when patients make progress,” Boatwright said. “I’m really impressed by the teamwork approach here; it’s not just one person who helps a patient get well. Everyone works together.”
Teamwork also plays a part in skateboarding, Boatwright said. He skates three to four times a week at Atlanta skate parks with friends who compete professionally and in amateur competitions.
“If we’re all skating together and everyone’s stoked and making their tricks, then someone will do something good,” he said. “That just makes you push harder and try something you know you can only land once in a while, especially when your buddies are whooping and cheering you on.
“It’s the most exhilarating high I’ve ever felt. Once I’ve done a couple of tricks, I’m just going fast and not even sure what I’ll do next.”
His best stunts are carving the bowl, frontside air, frontside grind, frontside air hip transfer, sweeper and backside air.
“On a good day, I can get three to four feet of air out of the bowl,” he said.
When he was 8, Boatwright’s father gave him his first skateboard, which was almost as big as he was.
“I taught myself to push and turn on the front porch. Growing up outside Claxton, Ga., there were more fields than concrete. When I was 13, we moved into town and I lived, breathed and ate skateboarding,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to skate to school and practice afterward. It was just an awesome feeling to be on that board.”
Boatwright and his father built obstacles and ramps on an abandoned tennis court. On his way home from work, his dad often stopped to watch Boatwright skate.
Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero and other skating pioneers from the 1980s were his heroes. Vertical skating gave way to skating in bowls and pools, and so did Boatwright.
“It’s been a long time since I dove down a vertical handrail,” he said.
When Boatwright was skating at a park in Dunwoody, the owner of Woody’s Halfpipe Skateboard Shop offered to sponsor him. “When he asked me if I wanted to compete with his team, I thought about it for about five seconds before saying ‘Yes.’ ”
Boatwright, who competes as an amateur several times a year, placed seventh and eighth in the Georgia Bowlriders Championship last fall.
Skating is stress relief for Boatwright. “I can have an awful week, but by the time I pad up, drop in and take those first couple of turns, I’ve forgotten all about it,” he said.
Pushing 30, it’s harder for Boatwright to keep up with “hungry teens” — the 15- and 16-year-old hotshots who compete in his age bracket.
“They’ve learned more in four years than I’ve learned in a lifetime,” he said. “I love watching them but it can be a little disheartening.
“Before I hit 40, I’d like to achieve five to six feet out, but in any case, I don’t see myself quitting ever. I can see myself skating in my 40s and 50s. You just don’t quit something you love.”
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