Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in Houston?
I was born and raised in Lake Jackson (about an hour south of Houston). I moved to Houston for PT school in 2008 and fell in love with the medical center and the city.
Child(ren) and Age(s)?
Isaac (3.5)
Evan (1.5)
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
I minored in dance in college and started a non-profit organization, A Chance to Dance, in my hometown while I was in PT school. They provide dance classes to childrens and adults with special needs. They just celebrated their 10th year!
Favorite local activities to do in Houston?
There are so many! We love doing things outdoors- like the Houston Zoo, St. Arnolds, and the many parks. Houston also has such a great restaurant scene. I love doing happy hours or dinners with girlfriends (recent is Trattoria Sofia) & date nights at awesome restaurants (recents are Xin Chao & Ume). I also love a good Houston breakfast/brunch. Snooze is probably our family fave. And we love going to Astros games when we can.
Are you involved in a business venture, a local organization, a creative endeavor, or in the corporate world? Please share!
Yes! I am proud to be a part of Bloom Concierge Physical Therapy. We are a newly formed pediatric practice and have recently opened a clinic at Memorial & Shepherd. Our clinic takes place at the older Joplin campus of St. Thomas High School, which is now called Together for the City. It houses a variety of businesses and churches.
Melissa and I first started discussing a concierge cash pay practice about a year ago. As we began to see a few patients in their home, we realized that this wasn’t just a part-time gig. It quickly grew to become a brand that we are really proud of. Bloom offers a unique service line for patients from infants to adolescents. Melissa is board-certified in neurologic physical therapy and I am board-certified in pediatric physical therapy. We provide a high level of care that’s individualized and are accesible by email, phone, or text. I love being able to directly check in on my patients and work together with parents to meet their goals. The care we provide is thoughtful, evidence-based, and meaningful. We love watching our patients grow, meet their goals, and achieve what’s important to them in life.
Movement is the basis of our profession. We are movement specialists. We analyze movement in all walks of life, from a baby lifting its head for the first time to helping a teenager learn how to manage knee pain. We see kids that are recovering from an illness or injury as well as children with underlying diagnoses, such as cerebral palsy, arthrogryposis, or torticollis. This is no exception to our pelvic health services. The pelvic floor is FORMED as a child develops. This means that how a child learns to roll, crawl, and walk all impacts their pelvic health as they grow. We treat kids with constipation, bedwetting, urinary incontinence and also help parents navigate potty training.
I am loving watching this business also grow into the wellness paradigm. We offer baby packages where we see the baby for 5 visits in the first year of life. This gives us the opportunity to assess them for any delays or potential issues as well as to help provide new parents with ideas for purposeful play. We can also answer questions about baby-wearing, swaddles, toys that stimulate motor development, and much more.
Bloom allows me to fully utilize my set of skills to help patients in a timely manner. We can typically offer appointments within the week and we do not require a referral to evaluate a patient. This means that the patient is getting intervention sooner leading to fewer visits.
How has the Houston community been instrumental in getting you to where you are now?
Truthfully, without our community, I don’t know that starting Bloom would’ve been as easy a choice as it was. We’ve had the opportunity to work with many different professionals and families in the Houston area over the last 10 years that are supportive of our business. The majority of our referrals are from word-of-mouth, which is so appreciated. We are so thankful for all of our Houston community that is helping us to grow.
What is the best advice for juggling mommyhood and running a business (or volunteering, working, etc)?
I’m sure there is much we could all talk about and what works for each woman as she navigates this. I think mine would be to trust your motherhood instincts. You know your child/ren best and what their needs are. These needs change over time. What work and motherhood look like today is not forever. Be present. When you’re with your kids, be intentional, and feel good about it. I am continually working on this. I’ve been telling my 3.5-year-old recently that people are more important than play or work and I want to be a role model for that.
What would you tell the old “You” before you had kids?
Oh goodness, a lot I am sure! I would say, it’s harder than you thought, and each decision to figure out career and motherhood isn’t straightforward. But, it’s all in seasons. Some are really sweet and some are really hard. Soak up the sweet times and persevere in the hard- there are always lessons to be learned in the hard.
Funniest shortcut/routine for helping you through parenthood?
I had to really think on this to just pick ONE. In our house, snacks save lives. And since my youngest has food allergies, it’s not as easy to find him food on the go. So. You can find ready-to-go snacks in multiple places. We have car snacks, purse snacks, backpack snacks, stroller snacks, and a very full pantry to replenish things regularly. To top this off- we throw all trash (snack trash, tissues, and whatever else my toddlers may need to throw away) on the floorboard in my passenger seat, and then 1-2x/week I grab a grocery sack and throw all the trash away. At least it’s all in one place!