Patient Spotlight: Kristi Szewczyk
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When Kristi first came to see me in August 2024, she could barely walk, sit, or stand. She'd been thrown into a flare-up that years of physical therapy hadn't prepared her for — and on paper, the obvious place to start was her back.
We started with her eyes.
Her eyes weren't converging properly, and she was experiencing concussion-like symptoms — the kind I'd been seeing more and more often in patients with no history of head trauma, all of them post-2021. The vestibular system and the spine are in constant conversation; you can't fully address one without listening to the other. Her back pain was real, but it wasn't the origin. The origin was upstream.
What followed was eighteen months of work that asked a lot of both of us. Long COVID, a vestibular disorder, hormonal upheaval, MCAS — her body was carrying on several conversations at once, and most of them were being missed by specialists each looking through their own narrow window. The breakthroughs came slowly. The setbacks were demoralizing. But she kept showing up, four times a week, and her body kept telling us what it needed when we paid close enough attention.
Kristi is now training stronger than she was before any of this began. I asked if she'd be willing to share a few words. Here's what she sent:
Over the past 18 months, Kent has been far more than a physical therapist — he has been a constant, a guide, and truly my north star through one of the most challenging periods of my life.
When I first came to him, I could barely move. I had seen countless doctors and specialists, but each approached my situation through a narrow lens, confined to their specific area of expertise. Kent was different. He didn't stay in a lane — he looked at the full picture. He understood not just the symptoms, but how everything in the body connects and works together.
From day one, he brought a level of insight, care, and dedication that I hadn't experienced anywhere else. I've worked with Kent four times a week, fully committed to becoming the strongest and best version of myself — and I can say with certainty that I would not be where I am today without him.
Quite simply, Kent is exceptional. And in my experience, a little bit of magic.