Senior Physical Therapist Pages
I was born on May 16, 1943. I was blessed to have married
Maryann Bosshardt on my 21st birthday. We have six children and to date
four wonderful grandchildren. God has worked in our lives and blessed us
these many years. We are a normal family that has endured many challenges
including my many years of my alcoholism, drug use by some of our children, and most recently
the ongoing battle with ovarian cancer. Through all this God has worked in
our lives and today we continue to meet the challenges we face with great
love and enthusiasm. I cannot think of a time in my life where I have been
happier or more in love with my wife and family. All this possible only
through our drawing closer and giving our lives to our Creator. God has led me
now to get involved in his plan for us as far as the food we eat and how it
interacts with our God made bodies. See
Our God made bodies.
My professional life has been completely resurrected due to the calling of God. It has taken me from a disabled morbidly obese guy to loose over 140 pounds and to obtain my doctorate in physical therapy degree from South Dakota University in May 2012. At the hooding ceremony in May, 2012 at the University of South Dakota I was honored with the Dr. Lana Svien Visionary Leader Award. I have subsequently been accepted into the PhD physical therapy program at Nova Southeastern University beginning in September, 2012. My area of academic concentration is chronic disease that of course includes obesity.
I had previously practiced as a Registered Physical Therapist, graduating from the University of Florida in 1968 with High Honors. I spent the next 30 plus years treating patients and administering extensive networks of private outreach programs primarily with senior citizen groups. I retired in 2002 when I suffered a heart attack, brought on partially by my morbid obesity. Obesity has been a lifetime problem beginning in childhood.
Picture on left is of Maryann and I with Andre taken in the first part of 2008.
Picture on left taken May 4, 2012 at the Hooding Ceremony at the University of South Dakota. Pictured left to right is Lana Svien, Pt, PhD, Joseph B. Gentzel, PT, DPT, Justin Beebe, PT, PhD showing my being awarded the Dr. Lana Svien Visionary Leader Award for 2012.
The next day I graduated with a GPA of 3.85 out of a possible 4.0 from the University of South Dakota with the degree of Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Prior to God's calling me to resume my education to enable me to better help others; my days were filled with our animals and our family. Life was pretty simple. It involved God, family, and God's creatures. Our greatest love in God's creatures are Great Pyrenees dogs, but includes our cats, and a few Nubian goats. My writing began around these magnificent Great Pyrenees dogs of very ancient heritage many years ago. You will see on this web site books I have written or been involved in editing and publishing. In the year of 2008 I have done "The Great Pyrenees Handbook" and "Roi Shepherd King's Dog." The Handbook is for breed enthusiasts and people who are interested in the breed. The later book is my novel of fiction using a Great Pyrenees as the main character set against the backdrop of the birth of Jesus and the subsequent "Slaughter of the Innocents" that occurred as a result of the birth of the Messiah. The summer of 2008 I wrote with my Grandson, Drake, a children's book "The Wondrous Adventures of the Cherry Orchard Friends." It is available on Amazon.com. In this book Drake, eight years old, planned the story and illustrated the book. Me, Grandpa, put Drake's story in words, edited and designed the book. The book involves some extraordinary playmates who are very unlikely friends. The book deals with bullies, but the theme of the Cherry Orchard Boys is safety and protection of our children. I just completed in 2009 a trilogy of the "Great Pyrenees Pictorial History." All three are now available on Amazon.com.
Before return to school, my projects include developing and implementing resources for people and groups to understand how God designed our bodies as far as the food He intended to be ingested. This program, I have coined as the Indigenous Therapeutic (IT) diet. In truth it is not a diet at all, but the way God intended us to nourish our bodies for optimum health and longevity. This will involve writing a personal workbook for people to use in getting started and monitoring their progress as well as basic information and resource information for their continued growth in God's plan for our health and welfare. I will be recruiting other therapists and health care professional to join this outreach to teach and implement the basic information and knowledge necessary to improve the health of their patients and make contributions to groups who are seeking good health and assistance for the members of their group. While doing this I will continue my personal quest for good health through the IT program that God has led me to discover. Refer to Our God made bodies above.
Now our lives are changed with concentration on God, our family, and my focus on a better understanding of God's creation and the science he created in our health and bodies. My fuller understanding behind the science of our bodies have essentially changed nothing that God led me to prior. It has simply given me a fuller understanding of how He created our bodies and just how impossibly complex is His creation. What an amazing transformation he has wrought on my life as I trudge along to follow his calling..