I spent most of my professional career as a physiotherapist working with elite athletes to prevent and fix injuries and improve their performance – better, stronger, faster was always the focus. I didn’t realize the extent and true meaning of those words, until I met a client who was in a wheelchair and needed support from her community.

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It was this client’s journey that inspired change and was the impetus for the origins of Synaptic. Like so many of us do each day, she got into her car one morning to drive her kids to school but unfortunately lost control of her vehicle. In that split movement her life and that of her family’s was changed. She went from running and playing hockey multiple times a week and managing the family businesses, to being unable to care for herself due to a spinal cord injury. However, through this life changing accident, she was determined to put everything into her recovery. She quickly discovered that there were limited opportunities for ongoing rehab in Calgary, Alberta and even Canada, and made the decision to seek care in the United States, which was not without significant personal and financial sacrifice.

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She approached our team of practitioners and asked if we could help. Not a single person on our team at the time had any specific neuro experience but refusing to help her was not an option. And so, it began. We engaged in professional development courses to learn more about rehab. We approached potential donors to raise capital funds. We picked out tiles for the bathrooms in what would become our newly accessible space. An unrelenting shared commitment spurred us on as a team who wanted to impact change for those in the neuro community. Our mission was simple. We wanted to make things better. We wanted to educate, enable, and empower people to live their best lives. We wanted to provide them with the space, treatment options and opportunity to try.

 

From our origins, Synaptic continues to evolve and I could not be prouder to be a part of something that fundamentally changes lives for the better. Our goals are still the same; we are here to work alongside our clients to be better, stronger, faster, so that they can hug their loved ones again, play with their kids, go back to school, return to work, or get dressed independently in the morning. Their individual goals are our goals.

 

Synaptic continues to give our community a platform to seek and advocate for change. Our story is a culmination of human kindness, mixed with community generosity, sprinkled with unwavering hope. We want to always be a beacon of resilience, determination, and strength for our clients. I hold deep gratitude to be part of this story and it is with honour that I will continue to steward this journey.

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Sincerely,

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Uyen Nguyen