Carbon Monoxide Poisoned on the Iditarod; Simmons College Graduate Accomplishes the Unthinkable
2004 Simmons College on-line DPT with distinction graduate, Anchorage Alaska physical therapist, and past Iditarod sled dog racer Dr. Catherine Mormile was severely brain damaged by carbon monoxide while competing in her last Iditarod in 1994. She set course on a difficult 10-year plan to recover and overcome cognitive and emotional trauma and go on with her life while learning strategies to help others. Happily with the help of family and supportive instructors at Simmons College, she not only met but exceeded expectation and her goals.
Anchorage, AK (PRWEB) November 16, 2004 -- While competing in her third
Iditarod sled dog race in 1994, Anchorage physical therapist, 2004 Simmons
College graduate, and Iditarod finisher Catherine Mormile was severely carbon
monoxide poisoned while resting in a shelter tent at the Finger Lake checkpoint,
early in that race. Five of the other competitors were also affected, but
Mormile lie close to death and severely injured by the poison. She survived the
ordeal and returned home happy to be alive; but unbeknownst to her, the worst
and the best were yet to be realized.
The years and the race went on and
Mormile quietly slipped into Iditarod oblivion. The public had no idea of the
rigors the she experienced during her long physical, cognitive, and emotional
recovery from the poison; rigors that in all actuality left the Iditarod in pale
comparison. But she was not resigned to sit by the sidelines feeling sorry for
her self. Mormile, with the help of her loving and supportive husband, Don
Mormile set out to be the champion of her “own race” so to speak. She never
stopped working. She never stopped mushing the dog team that she loved. And with
determination, Mormile stated that by the end of the year 2004 she would become
a board certified orthopaedic specialist, obtain her doctorate, and publish a
scholarly work. These were all very ambitious goals considering the fact that
Mormile returned home with an IQ of 76, suffering from posttraumatic stress
disorder, and severe cognitive learning disabilities. Remarkably and on
schedule, Catherine Mormile accomplished her goals.
The path was riddled
with disappointments, frustrations, and roadblocks. Cognitive rehabilitative
treatments provided her by her doctors at the Duke University Medical Center
brought her IQ back to normal by 1997. But the emotional hesitance to resume a
normal life persisted much longer. Although most individuals were empathetic, a
full understanding of the adverse effects of CO poisoning was not universally
held at the time. There was a commonly held belief in her community that her
withdrawal from the race was not because of poison but simply that she had not
trained sufficiently. Strangers would approach Mormile in the grocery store and
tell her how disgusting and a disgrace she was to the Iditarod. Several years
into her recovery a fellow dog musher inhibited her fragile spirit by quoting to
her local newspaper that “If she dared to show up at any Iditarod events,
everyone would walk out”. But with each obstacle overcome, she fully recovered
in mind and spirit while she learned and honed insights and strategies that
would later prove to assist the most physically, and emotionally wounded souls
who would seek her physical therapy services.
“I realized that in order
to become fully autonomous, mindful, and responsible for the path I choose for
my life that my vicarious role models needed to strengthen my self-esteem and
the ability for me to visualized, internalize, and seek my personal success”.
Mormile continues, “ It appears to me that many so-called role models become
merely external cues and lofty images from which an individual attempts to seek
validation. Today, I prefer to offer my patients an experience full of
empowerment and self-efficacy, not external props.”
So, with renewal,
empowerment, and confidence, Mormile sought her goals. In 2002, she successfully
passed a peer-reviewed examination to become a board certified orthopaedic
specialist in physical therapy. In 2003, she wrote and published a home study
course on her clinical specialty, temporomandibular joint disorders for the
orthopaedic section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). And in
May 2004, she accomplished the totally unthinkable attainment. She received a
doctor of physical therapy degree (DPT), on-line from Simmons College, Boston
Mass. If that was not enough, following Simmons College review, she was awarded
the doctor of physical therapy with distinction degree this October presumably
due in part to her 4.0 GPA and leadership abilities. Dr. Mormile states, “I
regained my sense of autonomy at Simmons College; through my computer. How
amazing”.
The traumas and tragedies of the past are long behind Dr.
Mormile now but the memories and recovery strategies guide her every day as she
and her husband Don treat patients in their Anchorage private practice. To
celebrate their hard work and good fortunes, Dr. Mormile and her husband have
moved their office to a larger, bright, and cheerful new office with many
windows and a glorious view of the Chugach Mountains right in the middle of the
city’s business district.
“No hiding for me. There is much to do now
with the talents and skills at hand. I am very grateful for my husband and my
teachers who helped me, a second change at life and opportunities to help
others”, says Dr. Mormile. “I won that last race, my patients will win my next
race”.
Mormile Physical Therapy
Catherine Mormile, PT, DPT, OCS, MA,
OTR/L
1600 A Street, Suite 215, Anchorage, Alaska 99501
(907) 561-1800,
FAX: (907) 562-4705
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/11/prweb178627.htm