Wow! 2022 was a year of incredible growth for us. First and foremost, we'd like to thank all of you for your continued support and dedication to Megan's vision. She began Lively Therapy Services as a way to put all of her years of learning and treating into a type of curriculum she truly believed in. We have experienced insurmountable success as the staff has evolved from 3 total therapists at the start of the year to a group of 8 Occupational Therapists, a Speech Therapist, and a Physical Therapist by year end. We are so thankful to be in a position where we can truly make a difference in our community and in the lives of the kids we come in contact with. Though the year has been difficult with the challenges of being a small business, and only having been operating for a full calendar year, what we have learned from those challenges has already proven to make all the difference in our approach to new obstacles.
My name is Cheyenne, and I am the office manager, social media & marketing coordinator, the do-er of most administrative things, and the one who bugs most of you about paperwork and payments. I, myself, wanted to take a moment and spotlight Megan for the amount of dedication she has, not only to the business and to the clients, but to her staff, as well. I have only been an official part of this team since May of 2022 and the growth even just since then has been mind-boggling. There's a lot going on at face value. We've added more staff than anticipated (it looks like a small amount, but it's technically a 300% increase in staff, how crazy!), we're all somehow still getting along co-existing in this tiny space at Locke Mill Plaza, our waiting room is constantly overflowing, and the opportunities we've created for our clients to receive the best therapy possible are building by the day. I first met Megan at my previous job, as she was a tenant in the building. She began in what was previously the mailroom that was, in retrospect, probably the total size of our current waiting room and kitchen space. I had never heard of OT before and was just delighted to have her, and eventually Jess, treating in the office right next to mine. Their spirits lit up the breakroom when our paths crossed and I spent more than my fair share of daily steps delivering Chipotle bags left at my check-in window by DoorDash back to their small office. She told me in September/October that she was moving in November and that she wanted me to work for her. She said "I don't have the capacity right now, but I'd love for you to come on the team!" I expressed my interest because I had always been complimented on my work ethic and "how great I'd be on the team," but as I had discussed similar propositions with prior employers before, I expected this to be another inquiry that was never fulfilled. Our relationship did not surpass me texting her GIFs of mailboxes when she received letters to her old address. Every so often I'd ask how the clinic was, she'd always say "you have to come see it! We should have lunch sometime!" and just as insecure as I was in my position, I never initiated lunch. If there is one thing I've learned about Megan since being hired by her, it's that if she wants something, she is going to get it. If she says she's going to do something, she stands by it. Unless she forgets, in which case it was not that important to pursue. In March she, out of the blue, sent me a paragraph (and then some) long text about the changes that were happening in the clinic and that she could recognize that it was becoming all too much for her to handle by herself. She said she had spoken with Ryan (her husband, former office admin of sorts) and that they both agreed they wanted me in the position. I proceeded with caution, for reasons I mentioned previously, but by the end of March we had spoken candidly about the struggles we were both facing in our current positions, by the beginning of April I turned in a 3-week notice, and by May 1st I was sitting at a little desk in her office not sure what I had just gotten myself into. Having a literal front-row seat to Megan's Madness (I'm trademarking that!) has opened my eyes to not only the world of OT, but to see firsthand the impact of being a business owner in a medical field, on the coattails of the COVID pandemic. It is a very unique and niche situation to be in, but it presented all of us with challenges we inevitably had to create a solution for. Occupational Therapy at its core requires a specific type of personality and character and being a business owner requires the antithesis of that exact personality and character. Seeing Megan balance both harmoniously has been an incredible learning experience for me AND for the incredible women on our team. I could not be prouder of these women and everything that has been accomplished this year because of them. They've adapted, come into their own, built on their strengths and challenged their weaknesses, and have created the core of a team that's difficult to shake. Megan has begun to build her dream clinical team & because of the successes in her choices for providers, we've had several doors open for us already, with more on the way in 2023. I am so thankful to be a support to this incredible team. I'm so thankful I can be an advocate for all of them, I can be a friend, and I can be a relatively unbiased perspective because I am still learning the industries of behavioral therapies and pediatrics. This has truly been a year for the books and to have more growth coming in 2023 makes the harder, more difficult aspect of this job so worth it. We could not have had half of this success without YOU, the parents, the clients, the teachers, OUR advocates who support us, share our vision, sing our praises, and believe in what we do and what we can provide to the community. See a collection of some of our 2022 highlights below.
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