Ep. 11 - Alan Fredendall: Army Rehab After an IED Explosion

This episode of the Voice of the Patient comes to you from the Combined Sections Meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association. Alan and I found a corner of the Hilton Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, to record this interview. San Antonio was bustling with 14,000 attendees of CSM, so please forgive the background noise. 

In this episode, Alan shares his experience as a patient in the US Army after an IED explosion caused bilateral patella fractures. He shares his advice to providers working with military veterans and those in active duty service. 

Alan is a 3rd-year physical therapy student from the University of Michigan-Flint. He is currently completing his final clinical rotations. Prior to PT school, he worked as a clinical exercise physiologist after graduating from Eastern Michigan University. Prior to college, he served in the United States Army for 8 years as an infantryman, intelligence analyst and UAV/drone pilot. Alan has been married for over 5 years to his wife, Marion. They live in Howell, Michigan near Lansing with their lab puppy, Lucy.

You can contact Alan at [e-mail], and he is active on Twitter @AlanFredendall. 

Resources and shout outs:

• #APTACSM Recap & A Late Night Special by Dustin Jones at the Senior Rehab Project
• Run Don't Walk by Adele Levine, a book that I'm currently reading and an amazing look inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 
• The Official Blog of AAOMPT, of which Alan is the president of the Student Special Interest Group.
• CSM 2018: February 21-24 in New Orleans, LA
• Institute of Clinical Excellence, of which Alan is the COO.

If you have a story to tell as a patient, provider, or both, then contact Zach Stearns on Twitter @zachrstearns or Dave Reed @DReedPT.

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