Sometimes Love Shows Up Wearing Purple. It…read morehas been almost a week since I walked into ApexNetwork Physical Therapy in San Tan Valley expecting an ordinary PT day and found something I will never forget. The day has passed, but the love I felt that morning certainly has not.
Eric, Ian, Justin, and Katie, my therapists, Stephanie and Makayla, the tech assistants, and Jay, the PT student, were all wearing purple.
They were wearing purple for Jackie, the beloved Big Bear bald eagle whom I watched for years through the Friends of Big Bear Valley nest camera. Jackie became such an important part of my daily life that I eventually wrote twelve books filled with my memories and stories about Jackie, Shadow, and their family.
Then I noticed Eric had even changed the ApexNetwork signs to purple. It was one more little detail that told me how much thought had gone into making that day special for me. They did not simply put on purple shirts. They created a whole room filled with purple and, more importantly, filled it with love.
They knew how deeply I loved Jackie and how much losing her affected me. They had listened to my stories, remembered how much she meant to me, and cared enough to honor her with me.
I cannot adequately explain what that did to my heart. I felt surprised, honored, loved, and very special.
ApexNetwork is a wonderful place to receive physical therapy, but I have learned that what makes this particular place so extraordinary is the staff within those walls. Their knowledge and dedication help strengthen my body three times a week, but their kindness, laughter, compassion, and friendship have helped me in ways that have nothing to do with physical therapy.
Somewhere along the way, they became people I look forward to seeing, laughing with, and spending time with.
Almost a week later, I can still feel the love they gave me that morning.
When I look at this photograph, I see much more than purple shirts and purple signs. I see kindness. I see friendship. I see a group of people who cared enough to say, "Mary Ann, we know you miss her, and today we remember her with you."
From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Eric, Ian, Justin, Katie, Stephanie, Makayla, and Jay. You touched my heart more deeply than you will ever know.
I went to physical therapy to strengthen my body, but that morning they helped strengthen my heart.
Almost a week has passed; the purple shirts have been put away, and the signs have returned to their usual color, but what all of you did for me is still wrapped around my heart.
And somewhere in all that purple, I couldn't help but think our Queen Jackie would have approved.
