The Value of Kind Practitioners

I rushed off to work this afternoon and spent nearly two hours in the car despite the fact that I left for work around noon. I think some type of road construction was in progress on the beltway. At some point I decided to pull off and take the back roads to work, which may or may not have cost me more in gas, but definitely saved me from paying a chunk of change on the toll road.

I was distracted at work and completely unproductive. It probably stems from the fact that I had a physical therapy appointment a little after five o’clock. Which meant I drove around the beltway for two hours so that I could be at work for two hours before driving home. All of this is clearly my fault. I should have left for work first thing in the morning, but of course I was distracted by other things and as usual time was not on my side.

Of course, even though I left work on time I got stuck in rush hour traffic on my way home. My therapist, who comes directly to my house, agreed to push my appointment a full thirty minutes. As I was driving home I couldn’t help thinking about my former therapist. I used to take the earliest morning appointment and he would often arrive late, meaning that I had to wait in the hallway until he arrived. I never complained, but whenever I arrived late for an appointment he made me feel like I was two inches tall. I saw him three times a week and paid him out of pocket but he never once offered me a discount of any kind. Although I asked him about it multiple times, he always brushed off my requests. I paid him nearly $1700 a month.

My new therapist comes to my house and works around my schedule. I’ve never asked him for a discount because his prices are reasonable and he drives to my house, which is so convenient that it would be worth paying even more.

It makes me a little sick to think about how much money I paid my former therapist, especially since he was never able to relieve my chronic pain. As I was walking around the neighborhood after therapy tonight, I realized just how loose and comfortable my neck and shoulder feel. Now this is money well spent with a kind practitioner.