May 20, 2024
Kevin Leahy, left, and Kaitlan Braden love to bring play-based exercises — such as obstacle courses and fun games like The Floor Is Lava into children’s physiotherapy. These activities challenge their patients to practise balance and coordination, build strength and increase range of motion as well as boost their confidence. Photos by Tricia Miller.
Story by Kelly Morris | Photo by Tricia Miller
MEDICINE HAT — As the newest physiotherapist on the Children’s Allied Health team at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, Kevin Leahy looks to colleague Kaitlan Braden, and her decade of experience with Alberta Health Services, for guidance, inspiration and advice.
“Pediatrics is such a specialized corner of the physio world,” says Leahy. “Kaitlan has been immensely helpful to me, answering questions and providing reassurance. She’s got a real grasp on how the system works and the best ways to reach kids, form bonds and get buy-in.”
While working with pediatric patients poses unique challenges — it also encourages cool solutions.
“It's very different every day,” says Braden. “You just don't really know what you're going to get — so it's a great opportunity to learn — and the kids are amazing to learn from.”
Their unique approach to pediatric physiotherapy, and the youthful perspective that children bring to the appointments, creates a lot of room for fun.
“Kids don't have that many bad days,” adds Leahy. “They really want to be there. They're super-motivated. The families are always appreciative and want to do whatever they can to help their kiddos. And it makes it easy to do my job.”
Disguising physio as play helps, says Leahy. “Instead of, ‘Let’s do 10 squats’, it’s ‘Let’s play The Floor Is Lava.’” To an outsider, it might look like Braden and Leahy get to play with kids all day.
“Obviously, there's some targeted play behind that,” adds Braden. “You want to make the experience fun for the kids so they're enjoying it — and they participate and engage with it.”
As Leahy tells it, the best exercise is the one that gets done. Having Braden around to bounce ideas off and jazz new ways to engage clients and their parents, has also helped Leahy navigate his new role. He also acknowledges that he’s learned a lot from the entire Allied Health team, working collaboratively to meet the needs of complex cases.
“I will gush about the people I work with,” says Leahy, whose team includes therapy assistants, speech-language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, a social worker, intake worker and administrative support staff. “It’s a really cohesive team environment to work in. I’m lucky to be part of the great team here at Children’s Allied Health.”
Braden agrees: “Working on a multidisciplinary team is a great opportunity to learn from other disciplines. May might be physiotherapy month, but I don’t think I could be the physiotherapist I am today without my team — and all the other Allied Health professionals that I work with are equally amazing.”
