Michelle Gordon

Physical Therapist

MEMORIES JOVIAL AND JOYOUS

It was Christmastime when I started, and there were holiday parties all over the Hospital Center. I immediately felt a lot of camaraderie with my co-workers, especially once I started teaching line dancing to other therapists and the orderlies during lunch breaks in the whirlpool room. They nicknamed me "Disco Queen," and every time one of the orderlies would bring in a new patient, they would say, "Here's the Disco Queen." Some of the orderlies never did know my real name.

One of my most memorable patient experiences was helping Nikki Felch - a survivor of the Air Florida crash in 1982 - improve the use of her leg after she was pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River. About two years after the crash, I saw Nikki again, and she brought out her wedding photos. Because she was still walking with a cane at the time of her wedding, she chose a Little Bo Peep dress and wrapped matching lace around the cane to make it look like it was part of the bridal outfit. I remember being so happy that she survived to walk down the aisle and be married.