Teresa's Story
Amputee rehabilitation
Teresa Barkley was enjoying some self-care at a hair salon in March 2021, when a large sedan careened through the front of the building, pinning Teresa between a cabinet and a wall. A relaxing evening turned nightmare.
Teresa suffered a left shoulder tear and a fractured right foot that included complete ligament detachment and significant tendon damage. She has had five surgeries since the accident, ultimately undergoing below-the-knee amputation in 2024.
Two months after the accident, Teresa began physical therapy at our Proper center. Working through exercises to increase stability, strength and agility, it became evident a second foot surgery loomed.
In December 2021, Teresa transferred to our Frisco center to try lymphatic drainage therapy. She completed the course within months, but still experienced intense pain. Not wanting to surrender to her new diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), Teresa opted for a total ankle replacement in September 2022.
Following surgery, she returned to our Prosper center and relearned how to bear weight, maintain balance, adjust to rapid movements and improve strength and stability. The pain wouldn’t go away, though, so after three years, she opted for amputation.
Teresa again returned for treatment, this time to our McKinney Lake Forest center with Physical Therapist Rebecca Ma.
"This phase proved to be the most challenging," Teresa said. "Even though I was free from CRPS, I faced the task of adjusting to my new reality, with all its physical and emotional hurdles.”
Her journey is a series of setbacks and pushing forward. A fall in September caused a chip fracture in her leg and made wearing the prosthetic painful. She had a revision surgery in October and returned to Rebecca and therapy.
"I am now able to run on the AlterG for 25 minutes at 75% of my body weight," Teresa said. "This is something I haven't been able to do since my original accident."
Teresa doesn’t let misfortune defeat or define her.
"It's been quite a road over the last four years,” she shared, “but I owe a lot of my recovery to Baylor Scott and White Outpatient Rehabilitation centers of Prosper, Frisco and McKinney."