It took Deann Garrett, PT 12 years to get a job at RehabVisions.

Actually, it took just one phone call from her former physical therapist, friend and now rehab director Stephanie Foust, PT. But Deann’s journey to her first full-time job as a newly licensed physical therapist in Dalhart, Texas began way back in 2004—in Dalhart.

Like many paths to PT, Deann’s started with an injury. A high school athlete, she experienced a torn ACL injury during volleyball season and started going to physical therapy at the Dalhart clinic in the fall of 2004. Between her initial rehab, an ACL surgery procedure in March of 2005, and the accompanying ACL rehab therapy, she had spent 10 months in the clinic as a patient.

With successful rehab she was able to return to volleyball. She continued the sport while working as a PT Tech for the rehab department in 2007, still in high school.

“After being in therapy for so long I became interested in physical therapy as a career. I always wanted to be in healthcare somehow, and my experience opened my eyes to how much everyone enjoyed their job. It seemed like a good career to get into,” said Deann.

Deann completed her undergrad at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas before moving on to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Amarillo and then Lubbock for her degree. A second torn ACL in college, while doing sprint tests in PT class, only reinforced her decision to join the field.

Deann stayed in touch with Stephanie. Social media and the fact that Dalhart is a small town made it even easier to stay in the loop about opportunities with RehabVisions.

“This is my first job out of school. My husband—we were just married in June—was coaching and teaching back here in Dalhart. It worked out that Stephanie asked if I knew of anyone looking for a job and that my husband wanted to stay in town.”

One month into her job with RehabVisions and we’re proud to finally welcome Deann as part of our permanent therapy staff.