The Restore Story

My credentials, briefly: BSE from Baylor University, Doctor of Physical Therapy from Duke University, 15+ years across inpatient, skilled nursing, and outpatient settings, founder of two pediatric PT/OT clinics within rural hospital systems, registered yoga instructor, and founder of Restore Physical Therapy in January 2020.

My honest story: I struggled with pelvic pain from the time Garrett and I got married all the way up until the birth of our first son. Looking back, that should have been a flashing neon clue that I needed to prepare for an event involving those exact muscles. Instead, I took a wait-and-see approach to birth. I figured I was pretty good at physical challenges, so how hard could it be?

Boy, was I wrong.

I asked for an epidural early due to terrible back labor, and was soon informed the hospital had run out of them. I labored on for 8 hours. After finally receiving the medication I requested ages prior, I pushed for four hours while my son crowned and retreated, crowned and retreated. When he was finally born, I felt like I’d been run over by a semi truck. But something unexpected happened in recovery: my years of pain with intimacy were gone. A lightbulb went off — those pelvic muscles had been stretched during birth, and maybe, just maybe, I could help other women find that relief without needing to give birth first.

So I dove into pelvic floor coursework and opened Restore in 2020.

My second son arrived 58 minutes after we got to the hospital with the epidural I’d pre-ordered never even entering the room! During that birth, I got to experience what the fetal ejection reflex feels like. By my third, I had spent the whole pregnancy preparing: breathing into my back, releasing my hips and pelvic floor, and studying the anatomy of birth. Despite a preeclampsia-induced hospital induction, I had the most homebirthy hospital birth possible — two pushes, standing up, midwife catching. Three births, three completely different stories, one conclusion: a prepared body changes everything.

That conclusion became the Belly to Baby Program, and it shapes every single patient visit at Restore.

Outside the clinic, I live in Georgetown with Garrett and our three boys — Rhett, Cavender, and Finn. I homeschool the boys, raise chickens, cook (okay, mostly eat), and pursue an active, holistic lifestyle. Above all, I love Jesus Christ and hope He works through me to love on and heal others.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul.” — Psalm 23:2–3