“My PT and I”:
Kaitlyn Norman

For someone who’s just 26, Kait Norman has a lot of physical therapy experience. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, as a senior in high school, while playing point guard for the Bethune varsity team. That’s when she met Brittany Whitmore, a licensed Physical Therapist for Parke Wellness Rehab Center at Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital.

For six months, Whitmore helped Norman recover from ACL surgery. “She knew how to motivate me,” Norman said. “We gelled. We had good communication and rapport.”

Which is why eight years later, when Norman was playing a pick-up basketball game and re-tore the same ACL, she knew what to do. “I called my PT,” she said. “I texted her before surgery. I know that recovery from this surgery is super hard, and I wouldn’t want to do it without her.”

Today, four months after that second surgery, Norman goes to physical therapy twice a week. In between appointments, she does all the exercises she’s supposed to do while coaching Burlington High School C-team women’s volleyball. “Brittany pushes me,” Norman said. “I need that motivation. There are some days the recovery is a lot, but she wants to help me meet my goal of reintegrating sports into my everyday life.”

Mid-recovery, Norman has made it through six weeks on crutches and is back to bowling. “I grew up riding horses,” Norman said. “My whole I’ve been a very active person—volleyball, biking, skateboarding, track, golf.” She even played rugby for Chadron State College.

“My PT listens to me,” Norman said. “We’re a great fit. She helps me be the best person I can be.”