By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
She was going along enjoying her life, well kind of sort of enjoying her life. Her career paid well, and international travel was part of the job, so what more could a 28-year-old want? She wasn’t aware that something was missing till she broke her leg.
“My independent life was turned around when I broke my leg. I had limitations and I couldn’t do simple things like take a normal shower or drive. Cooking was a challenge. I came out of that experience and took stock of my life and knew I wanted to do more to help others to give them greater independence,” shared Laura Yuhas.
Yuhas will be graduating with her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from UTMB Galveston in August. A native Texan, she graduated from Colleyville High School in 2004 and pursued a degree in International Business at Oklahoma State University.
“I really wanted to travel and so I worked in software for a company that gave me lots of traveling time,” said Yuhas.
That was until the broken leg.
You can’t go from an international business degree into a medical field without doing some backtracking and Yuhas was committed to pursuing OT. She went back to undergraduate classes to fill in the sciences and medical classes that weren’t part of her original degree.
Another prerequisite for the OT program was volunteering, so she stepped into volunteer roles at various clinics. She lived in Georgia for a year and worked with AmeriCorps as a coach, gaining more experience in a complimentary field.
Finally, she was ready to start as a student at UTMB and she has not looked back with any regret at her old self.
“I feel like I am able to relate to more people because of my past experiences,” said Yuhas. “The pay was good in my first career, but this career is already bringing other types of rewards. When I go home at night, I feel like I’ve done something that makes a difference in people’s lives,” shared Yuhas.
All OT Doctorate students must participate in a Capstone project for graduation. Yuhas chose to work with the Christina Sullivan Foundation and their Camp Possibilities for her project. This meant she would be spending time developing programs for and working directly with individuals who have life-long limitations.
Her project is a warmup program for building foundational skills that will increase a person’s participation in athletic endeavors and have crossover benefits in their daily lives.
Delving into her project meant she spent hours analyzing all the little movements involved in an activity such as swinging a tennis racket. This allowed her to begin to build a warmup program that will be used in future years by the foundation.
Along with analyzing the sport and the muscles used, she takes careful notice of each person and what they will need as she implements her warmup directions.
To keep the participants who have limitations from being overwhelmed with directions, she provides simple cues. She may use a verbal cue for one person while another might do better with a visual cue.
“This is my first foray into adaptive sports. I’ve never before worked with such a wide range of abilities,” said Yuhas. “I’ve learned to really look at a person, which is part of our training, but working with the special needs athletes has pushed me further. For instance, with their body language and how they communicate. Not everyone uses words,” Yuhas shared.
This is the inaugural year for UTMB OT students to be able to select the foundation as their Capstone project. The Christina Sullivan Foundation provides programs year-round that support opportunities for people with different abilities to enble them to be participants in sports and all other areas of life.
So far both UTMB and the foundation are very excited about their new relationship.
“The Department of Occupational Therapy and the Christina Sullivan Foundation have a beautiful partnership aimed at providing opportunities for future health care practitioners to work with differently abled individuals as well as assisting in providing an inclusive environment for those who are differently abled,” said Amber B. Armstead, Assistant Professor & Academic Capstone Experiential Coordinator University of Texas Medical Branch.
“We are above the moon with excitement to be able to partner with UTMB’s OT program. Our students and families are benefiting, and the future medical professionals are benefiting. It’s a win, win relationship!” expressed Josephine Sullivan, member of the Christine Sullivan Foundation.
“Lauren has developed the warm-up video and illustrations for our athletes called “Motor Moves,” which is now part of our curriculum,” Sullivan added.
As for Lauren’s future, she met her husband during the pandemic on the beach in Galveston. Together, they have purchased a home on the north end of Houston. This has meant she has had a long commute to school, but it’s been worth it for her to accomplish this next phase in her life journey.
She hopes to work with pediatric hand patients but is open to the possibility of working with all ages. “I am looking forward to being able to help someone post-surgery or after an injury to regain functioning of their hand,” said Yuhas.
