Hi -- I'm introducing myself today to what Mardy tells me is "The Grate Group"
. I met Mardy when she was working in driving rehabilitation in Colorado Springs. My adult son has developmental disabilities and learned how to drive, which had some interesting stories I will hopefully share in the future with you. (My experiences of a Developmentally Disabled Mom.) 
I'm also a registered occupational therapist (OTR) and we then ended up working together after that in skilled nursing ("nursing home"). I helped pick up the pieces when she sprained her ankle in a parking lot, which was funny because she was covering for a much younger OT who was out on a back surgery/injury from lifting a patient. 
Since Mardy thinks I have a lot of interesting information from my life experiences, because I'm so old, I'm going to be coming to the Forums and writing about things that hopefully will be helpful to YOU. I'm retired now, but in the past specialized in hand therapy and have worked a lot with the elderly, including doing home assessments. Knowing what kind of adaptive equipment can help people function is a specialty of occupational therapists.
I also know Karen Richardson, OTR, CDRS who is also going to be joining the Forums with her expertise and she is a ton of FUN and I just LOVE HER!!!
I think we should call ourselves the FUNctional Friends! 
So I look forward to seeing what others write here and I'm having FUN LEARNING. "Comment" so I know how I can be of help, and we'll just learn a lot from each other. ~~ Petie
Karen's Korner can be found at the following link: www.lumigrate.com/forums/integrative-medicine-parts-make-whole/therapy-occupationalfunctional/karens-korner-driving-th [1]
Those who read Petie's pieces at Lumigrate.com (found regularly in the forum related to therapies/functional and occupational -- link: http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/integrative-medicine-parts-m... [2]) learn she grew up in California with "Bobby" Redford and has had an interesting life from beginning to today. She graduated from USC in technical illustrating and drafting and was the first female draftsman for The Wall Street Journal in South Brunswick, New Jersey. She returned to USC to become an occupational therapist and enjoyed the 'heyday' of therapy in prestigious programs in California, and was an entrepreneur for many years. She had a daughter then adopted a son, Thomas, who she writes about regularly; they have been each others' greatest teachers, as it turns out he had developmental disabilities. Remarrying in middle age, she and her husband Bob moved to Colorado and now enjoy 'active retirement'. Petie appreciates the opportunities to continue teaching through sharing at Lumigrate and hopes those who read find as much enjoyment in reading as she does in writing.
Links:
[1] http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/integrative-medicine-parts-make-whole/therapy-occupationalfunctional/karens-korner-driving-th
[2] http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/integrative-medicine-parts-make-whole/therapy-occupational/functional
[3] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/petie-ot-registered-occupational-therapist#comment-1339
[4] mailto:robin@robinthomas.biz
[5] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/meet-robin-thomas
[6] http://facebook.com/robinthomas.usana
[7] http://linkedin.com/rpthomas
[8] http://twitter.com/robinthomas1
[9] http://robinthomas.biz
[10] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/petie-ot-registered-occupational-therapist#top
[11] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/login?destination=node/813%23comment-form
[12] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/register?destination=node/813%23comment-form
Comments
Hi Petie!
Mardy says we need to talk sometime, and I think that is so true! We can both learn a lot from all our "life experiences" Isn't it funny how life throws things at us... that end up forcing us to stretch, learn, and grow.
If you feel comfortable talking on the phone, send me a private email at robin@robinthomas.biz [4] with your number and good day/time to talk. I'd love to meet you in person!
Live Well,
Robin
Robin started contributing to Lumigrate in August 2010. "Meet Robin Thomas", a topic in our biographies/vitae forum is at http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/meet-robin-thomas [5] to read all about her journey, which was greatly influenced by the need to help solve her youngest son's significant health challenges. For those who want just the overview here: After working over 22 years in medical research at the University of North Carolina on chronic inflammatory diseases she switched her focus to preventive health in 2004 when she was introduced to USANA Health Sciences. Robin is passionate about helping others improve their health, have more energy, manage their weight, and improve their skin.
I love meeting new friends !
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"I dream of a world free from pain and suffering. I dream of a world free from disease. The USANA family will be the healthiest family on earth. Share my vision. Love life and live it to its fullest in happiness and health."
-Dr. Myron Wentz, Founder and Chairman, USANA Health Sciences