Freedom Stories

In the midst of the world's sorrow and pain, a glimmer of hope persists. It's the hope of uncovering one's truth and embracing one's identity. Nathan's story exemplifies this journey—a journey marked by the exploration of his faith, mental health, and physical well-being. Through resilience and dedication, he has unraveled the depths of his being. Understanding the importance of setting healthy boundaries has been pivotal, as it lays the foundation for genuine self-love—the ultimate expression of love.

Join Valene on her journey as she shares the profound lesson of embracing beauty both within and without. As a devoted mother of three, she imparts this wisdom to her children, cherishing life and family above all else. Through unwavering faith in God, Valene's enduring relationship serves as a beacon of strength. Dive into her story and discover the remarkable depth of her character.

Morgan passionately shares how running has seamlessly woven itself into the fabric of her life, detailing her upcoming goals with unwavering enthusiasm. In recounting her journey, she candidly discusses the challenges posed by injuries, emphasizing the valuable lessons she has gleaned from overcoming setbacks. For Morgan, the running community holds a special significance, and she encourages everyone to embrace the experience. Don't miss out on the inspiring narrative – tune in and take a listen!

Elizabeth courageously opens up about her journey, triumphing over misery and pain in the realms of doctors, injuries, and physical therapists. Through her story, she aims to reassure others that they are not alone in their struggles—emphasizing the power of perseverance and setting goals. In a captivating twist, Elizabeth also manages to coax Dr. Donny into doing something truly remarkable towards the end. Tune in to hear her inspiring tale!

On this month’s podcast, we have Alexandra. She explains her life from growing up as a child in humble beginnings to now a Triathlete for Team USA and a Boston Marathon qualifier! Listen to her journey of overcoming doubt from others. Take a listen to learn more!

The storm is coming! I AM the storm! Meredith talks about her cancer journey and how she overcame the battle. She is one strong individual. Listen to how she overcame the storm and what advice she gives to others.

Dr. Joel is our guest on this month’s podcast which is Physical Therapy Month. He is from a tiny town called Mankato, Kansas where he grew up playing sports and spending time with his four brothers. His love for physical therapy started with his physical therapist in high school. He loves connecting with his patients and making a difference in their lives more than just assisting with their injuries. Take a listen to see how Dr. Joel has overcome the puzzle pieces to physical therapy.

Wow, wow, wow, what a story! Eladio Valdez shares his running journey from being a runner himself to his journey as a coach today. He shares what it is like to be in the shoes of his runners. Eladio would describe himself as the “Unofficial mayor of the running community.” Take a listen to hear more about Eladio’s story. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jABckld5zI&t=2287s

Everyone meet Susan. Susan is an inspiring woman; she has a family of four with two daughters. Today on the Freedom Stories Podcast Coach Megan and Susan discuss the story of how she decided to donate her kidney. She talks about the nudges that were pushing her to donate to somebody. Susan listened to the nudge and she donated her kidney to a stranger. HOW COOL!! After a season of recovery, Susan is now an active member in the group fitness classes here at Freedom Physical Therapy and Training Center. 

Konlynn goes to the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, KS. She will graduate in the Spring of 2024 with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science with an emphasis in Physical Therapy. Konlynn is also on the track team and where she throws the javelin. Konlynn has a sister and two stepbrothers. In this podcast, she talks about her childhood up to high school which helped mold her into who she is. She talks about her injuries that helped her perceiver and helped her get where she is today with her education and her future dreams and goals. Then Konlynn spoke on how important her grandmother has impacted her journey today. Take a listen to learn more about Konlynn. 

Farm. Faith. Family. Flowers. What connects these four words? The answer is this week's guest, Lorrie! Lorrie is from KS and grew up on a farm. She has a husband of 40 years this year and four wonderful sons. Her family even owns Family Tree Nursery. Lorrie and Coach Megan discuss her faith journey, stories from the farm, and choosing the right choices in your life that fit your family. Lorrie is an active member of the Freedom Physical Therapy and Training Center group fitness classes. She lives by the words “I can” and constantly challenges the social norms of life to keep things fun! Join us for a candid conversation with Megan and Lorrie.

This month, we have our very own, Donny Dequine, sharing his story. Dr. Donny Dequine, PT, DPT, CSCS is an Azusa Pacific University grad. Dr. Donny (Don) was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area where he developed his passion for all sports, but found a unique love for the game of soccer. At the age of 17, he had a snowboarding accident that left him nearly paralyzed. Due to emergency surgery, relentless rehab, his amazing family, and God’s grace, Dr. Donny was not only able to return to soccer, but received a scholarship to Azusa Pacific University. There he found success on and off the field boasting back-to-back NAIA National Championship Final appearances while graduating cum-laude in 3 years with a degree in Psychology.

His love for sports followed him after graduation as he began training athletes at Performax Training Center while also running the Sports Ministry at his church. During this time, Dr. Donny’s passion for helping people greatly surpassed his educational ability to do so and that kept him up at night. This deep longing to know more birthed his 5 year journey of obtaining his Doctorate in Physical Therapy. After graduating, Dr. Donny spent a year studying under Dr. Chris Powers at the University of Southern California researching and developing tools for identifying and treating movement dysfunction in the running athlete. Since, he has worked with hundreds of professional, collegiate, high school, and avid runners from all over the country.

Roger is a 63 year old male who served as a parametric and now educates other first responders at Johnson County Community College. He has a wife and two children and three grandchildren. Roger worked for 34 years and retired in 2019 as a parametric. His body started to get worn down over the years. Roger finished a certificate on helping with mental health for all the first responders on duty. Roger has incorporated what he learned from this certificate into his daily life; he strives to make himself physically strong, so his brain can be mentally strong. He wants to bring awareness to mental health because being paramedics can be a very heavy job. He loves the phrase “stop the stigma” where he wants to bring awareness that these feelings are valid and normal. Roger brings to light some of the struggles that these heroes are dealing with. 

Dr. Timothy Mahoney, PT, DPT, OCS, was born and raised in Kansas City, KS. He has two sisters and a brother, who were raised in a faith family, living a very active nature. Dr. Tim recalls playing sports after sports in high school: baseball, basketball, and football. He got a scholarship to play baseball at Rockhurst University as an undergrad. He talked about not knowing what he wanted to do in his future. His parents had a significant influence on his path. His mom was a physical therapy assistant, and his dad was a firefighter; both of his parents designed careers centered around people, which Tim knew he wanted to experience. He continued to learn more about fitness and exercise, leading him to the University of St. Mary’s for PT school. Dr. Tim loved to meet people where they are at and help them out physically, emotionally, and spiritually! Dr. Tim is excited to spread physical therapy to everyone while spreading God’s love to everyone he meets. He strives to make fitness sustainable for everyone. 

Dr. Emmie Witham, PT, DPT, is a University of Kansas grad for undergrad and PT school. Dr. Emmie is originally from Iowa City, IA, and she grew up in a big family of four kids. Dr. Emmie had parents who were in medicine. Her dad worked at the University of Iowa hospital, and her mom was a pediatrician. Both of her parents came for healthcare, and they urged her toward physical therapy since Emmie craved medicine's personal/relational side. Dr. Emmie also ran through high school and college and got her fair share of physical therapy. The relational aspect is unique to physical therapy and is a big highlight for her. Dr. Emmie specializes in pelvic floor therapy and has gained certification so that she can help women who need help! The clinic has redone the treatment room to help Dr. Emmie treat and support women in a safe, confidential space. Being a young female athlete, she learned about pelvic floor therapy and wanted to know how to treat it! Dr. Emmie has been a student and has recently transitioned to the work field. She is excited to spread physical therapy to everyone while spreading God's love to everyone she meets.

Show Notes:

Phyllis is a 74 year old woman who is from Oskaloosa, KS and worked as a dental hygienist for fifty two years. She is a widow with three beautiful girls. Phyllis leads a bible study for women to get closer to God, and she even writes them! She is a people person. In eighth grade, she got in a serious car accident and ended up with a full leg cast on her body. She healed up, but as she has gotten older, her body is in pain. She was a part of PT for years with multiple surgeries. Exercise after exercising, Phyllis continued to grip to the perspective that she shouldn’t give up! The pain was bad and caused her to be non weight bearing, so she was using a wheelchair. Phyllis  came to Freedom Physical Therapy and Training Center to learn how to provide stability for her foot and learning techniques for watching her balance. Finding a sense of hope from pursuing physical therapy, Phyllis is on the road to feeling better, exercising at home to overcome her obstacles. Phyllis wants to live life to all it has for her, one shoe at a time.

Mark is a fifty-eight years young man who lives in the Kansas City area. He is happily married to his wife, Karen, who met at St. John’s College, celebrating their 34th wedding anniversary this year. Mark grew up playing little league sports in Colorado; he played basketball in high school, which earned him a ticket to play in college. Growing up in Colorado, exercise was a natural part of the culture there. From biking the trails to skiing in the mountains, Mark maintained his active lifestyle all of his life. His active lifestyle got complicated when he had a herniated disk in 2000. Having a back injury, doctors were suspicious about the thought of Mark running again. Something that helped him get back into running seemed super steep (literally). Mark discovered that the slope of the hill would ease the impact of his feet on the ground. He learned that a coping mechanism for him was being active, leading to the thought that exercise must be a part of his lifestyle. Mark found out about Dr. Donny’s Running Assessment and he viewed this as a sign to better himself and figure out how to stop the pain in his lower back. Finding a sense of hope from pursuing physical therapy, Mark is on the road to feeling better learning to overcome running. Mark used the golden tidbit of finding a hill, and taking running step by step!

Hello, meet Cara! Cara was the daughter of missionaries, which led her to move many times! She  went to a Christian college, south of Chicago, to play soccer. Currently, Cara, her husband, and their three kids reside on a farm in Kansas. Cara is a pastor who still plays a Monday night soccer league, but she tore her ACL in January. Cara is striving to get Freedom back in her life, so she is pursuing physical therapy. Cara has not let her injury take her to a negative point of view; she is using this as an opportunity for herself to be humbled. She strives to keep fitness sustainable in her life; she has found her Freedom.

Rachel started having pain in her right hip at the age of fourteen. When she started experiencing pain, she jumped from doctor to doctor trying to find some answers. Each doctor gave contradicting information which led to confusion, frustration, and resentment. Coming from a big family of six children, Rachel felt as though she was being a burden to them. Going into her fourth surgery, her perspective changed. She had a pivotal moment which led her to find Christ and realize her identity is not in being just an athlete. Today, Rachel is a twenty year old young woman overcoming her hip pain one day at a time. The outcome is still possible, but Rachel knows it is about the journey. She has hope and wants to help others overcome perpetual pain as well.

Robin grew up competing in various activities, constantly pushing her body to the maximum. She started experiencing pain, but she just threw some dirt on it and moved on. She was trapped in a vicious pain cycle from exercising, which led to injury and frustration. Robin described feeling humbled because her body was not as youthful as she wanted. The simple task of putting her pants on led to excruciating pain; her biggest fear was the doctor potentially taking exercise out of her life. After vacillating whether or not to go to the doctor for two years, Robin discovered she had a hip impingement and a torn labrum. Gaining a sense of hope, Robin learned that the combination of injections and physical therapy was the perfect solution to her problem as she was able to work with one of the physical therapists from Freedom Physical Therapy. Robin gained her quality of life back, and now she is now an active member of the Training Center and a part of the Freedom Family!

On this episode of the Freedom Stories Podcast, we have Erin Pogue joining us. Erin went from living a very active lifestyle to being consumed by chronic pain and having difficulties functioning day-to-day. She started to feel hopeless and stuck in her pain until she came to Freedom and found exactly what she needed, a furry companion. After experiencing the comfort and emotional support a dog could bring, Erin set out on a mission to find her own service dog that could help her with her daily life. Today, Erin is continuing to rehab alongside an amazing support team and looking forward to the possibilities ahead. Take a listen to hear Erin’s story of overcoming chronic pain!

Can you imagine what it would be like to run a 100-mile race? On this month’s episode of the Freedom Stories Podcast we welcome Ultra Marathon Runner, Debbie. Age is just a number for Debbie. She believes in the “use it or lose it” method when it comes to fitness and will not allow her age nor injuries stop her from accomplishing hard things. Even if running 100 miles in your near future, this episode will inspire you to get up and move. Take a listen!

Next on the Freedom Stories Podcast is Training Center Member, Christina Batalia. Not only is she a wife and mother of two, but she is also a police officer. Many of us do not have  the stress of being in law enforcement, however we all have stressors in our life. Food, medicine, and coffee are ways we tend to cope. Christina gives us insight on how she has changed her lifestyle to help with the emotional and physical stress she faces every day. Take a listen if you want practical steps to destress.

This month, the Freedom Stories Podcast welcomes Lindsey Simoes. Lindsey’s running career started out very promising. She was able to complete a 5k at eight months pregnant. Shortly after, she started to experience different injuries but pushed through the pain. Eventually, the pain became impossible to push through and interfered with her day-to-day life. Lindsey became tired and frustrated with the methods being advised to her continuing to fail. She decided to take control of her own health and seek out different solutions. Listen to this episode to hear Lindsey’s story of perseverance and resilience that led to overcoming her injury.

Next on the Freedom Stories Podcast, we welcome the extremely driven and talented, Coach Tom “Tinman” Schwartz. He has been coaching runners and other endurance athletes for over 30 years including state champions, national champions, Olympic trials qualifiers, world team qualifiers, and world champions. Coach Tinman refuses to accept conventional methods and pushes runners to places they never thought they could go. He looks at every obstacle, even his unexpected brain tumor, as an opportunity and encourages us all, no matter who or where we are, to live out our purpose.  Coach Tinman’s drive to help and serve others is evident throughout this episode and will offer you inspiration to do the same.

This month, we have our very own, Joel McQueen, sharing his story. Joel is the first guest to not discuss how he overcame a physical injury but rather how he overcame adversities in every form. Joel moved to Kansas expecting to play collegiate football and live a better life than what was offered to him in his hometown of Stockton, California. Instead, he found himself at his lowest point. Quitting football, failing classes, working long hours, maxing out on credit cards, and feeling alone are just a few of the many things that Joel faced after moving to Kansas.

Joel credits God’s provision and his new-found love for fitness that brought him out of his lowest point. He hopes that sharing his testimony can make a difference and help you through whatever adversity you may face.

Next up on the Freedom Stories podcast is Katie Moore, a young and accomplished D1 runner.  As a high schooler, Katie’s sophomore year was one for the books.  Katie’s 4x8 team set a Kansas state record, and ended up finishing runner-up as a team for the season.  Her junior year, she started to notice a pain in her left hip during workouts, and she decided to seek help.  She was diagnosed with congenital hip dysplasia along with labral tears. Her doctors gave her the option of surgery with a six month recovery.  Fear set in, and Katie expected the worst and lost motivation in other aspects of her life.  She pushed off surgery, and was able to overcome her pain through physical therapy and working through lower back tightness that was triggering the pain.  From facing a potential career ending injury, to being a successful D1 athlete who recently hit a personal record at the Big 10 championships as a freshman, Katie learned not to let setbacks define her, but rather to use them as a way to come back stronger.

This month, the Freedom Stories Podcast is enthused to present the first installment of Julianne Dillon’s story, who is a highly decorated D1 athlete that is facing a rare movement disorder.  As Julianne started training for a half marathon, she began to notice a lack of coordination in her right leg.  Hesitant to share what was happening to her body, Julianne took it upon herself to research what she was experiencing.  This in turn led her to later be diagnosed with runner’s dystonia.  She describes her physical challenges as well as the mental roadblocks she's faced throughout this medical journey, and shares how she is working hard to be on the path to recovery.  Hopeful to run again, Julianne turns towards her community for support, love, and encouragement to keep her motivated.  Stay tuned for the second episode on Julianne and the progress she has made since we sat down with her last.

Daryl is welcomed onto the Freedom Stories Podcast to tell his life story and his experience as what he calls an “orthopedic nightmare”.  Daryl opens up about the motorcycle accident that he endured, which in turn, resulted in a crippling back injury.  From facing excruciating pain, fear of re-injury, and constant flare ups, Daryl was put into a situation where he needed to reach out for help.  After taking the steps to get back on track, and implementing a newfound love for fitness and exercise, he now feels stronger than he did twenty years ago.  

Now, fifteen months post injury, Daryl is fully confident in exercising, has had the courage to take his health into his own hands, and is feeling more energized than ever.

Kelley joins the Freedom Stories Podcast to talk about her life story and her fitness journey. She describes her fitness experience through time, not being able to keep weight off, and having two knee replacements by her early 50s. Her fear of re-injuring her knees made her stop exercising and at her lowest point, coming off a shoulder surgery, she needed help. She looked for inspiration to try and climb out of this time in her life and found it where she least expected it, within herself. She decided to get back to exercising for her, rather than for what she might look like to others. This newfound, self-love has helped her overcome and she is now capable of helping those who are closest to her.

Welcome to the Freedom Stories Podcast with Dr. Don Dequine PT, DPT, CSCS, sharing stories of ordinary people who have made simple choices that over time have resulted in extraordinary transformations.

Through years of working as a physical therapist and strength coach,  Dr. Dequine has been an eye witness to the spirit of the overcomer. To combat a world that is riddled with false motivations, fear, and doubt, he will be sharing relatable and encouraging stories of people who have made the choice to overcome.

Freedom Stories’ first episode launches next week.