Cathy Swan puts her best foot forward every day, and she’s seeing to it that many of the residents of Riverton do the same. One foot pillow at a time.
Fifty years ago, Cathy began sewing foot-shaped pillows for her family. “I found the pattern in a craft magazine. I made them for my children,” of which she has three, as well as 15 grandkids and 35 great-grandkids and one great-great-grandchild.
Eventually, she began giving the pillows away to people outside of her family, including her therapists at Teton Therapy. Over the years, she’s seen members of both the Physical and Occupational Therapy teams. “I like all the people I’ve worked with,” she says. And they have been recipients of her special foot-shaped creations, too.
Cathy has always been a caregiver, whether caring for her late husband, George, or during her career as a healthcare provider: “I did ambulance for 18 years in Riverton, and I was a nurse for 11 years before that,” she says. “In the ambulance, you’re the carer.”
“Caregivers have special needs,” says Riverton clinic-based Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Don Scott. “Caregivers can experience physical injuries associated with caring for a loved one, like back and shoulder strain caused by lifting or transferring a loved one using improper techniques. They can also experience repetitive stress injuries from tasks they need to repeat every day.”
Aside from the physical toll, there’s also the mental and emotional stress of caring for a loved one. “Self-care and hobbies can often provide a release for caregivers,” Scott says.
Those hobbies could include something like making foot-shaped pillows.
Cathy says making the pillows is her way of fulfilling a higher purpose. But while she refuses any glory for what she does, her impact on the Riverton community is undeniably heartfelt, leaving footprints that many will strive to follow.
Throughout June, Teton Therapy is celebrating the amazing, inspiring, fun, and funny patients who make our clinics the incredible places they are. Watch this space for more posts about our patient’s success stories, and if you’d like to be one of these stories, schedule your free pain consultation today!
In Riverton, call 307-857-7074. In Lander, call 307-332-2230, or find us on the web at TetonTherapypc.com.
