So, in an interesting twist of fate, I came across Ventus on Instagram. Now, considering my posts, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they’d promote any number of physical therapy or recovery offices in my stories. However, what I do find surprising is who this business founder was.

Allow me to explain.

Some years ago, I went to Professional PT because it’s super close and convenient for me. I reviewed them in 2016, and you can read that here. My thoughts on them at that time were that the PT was decent. But upon my return later for another issue, it was an entirely different staff and I was assigned to a physical therapy assistant whose approach didn’t quite meet my expectations. I can’t speak on whether the doctor there was good because I never worked with him, only this assistant.

His first statement that caught my attention was, “I don’t even need to look further, textbook forward-tilting posture,” and he did not consider additional information that might have helped my recovery early on. They didn’t review the MRI info or much else. While I understand that’s not always necessary, I felt more questions and interest in how this developed would have been beneficial. “Textbook” descriptions seem too general to me because we are all individuals and circumstances vary greatly.

In that practice, I noticed two practitioners that caught my interest. One of them was named Josh. I remember observing Josh working with patients and thinking I wanted to work with him instead. I quietly asked the staff to assign me to Josh or to let me know when he was available if the other therapist was around, as I wanted to be considerate of feelings.

I managed to work with him once; during that session, I felt we accomplished more than in many weeks with the other therapist. However, after that session, they sent me back to the original therapist because I was “his case.”

I wasn’t happy about that because I felt I was not making progress and didn’t get the hands-on care I was hoping for. Most of what the first therapist had me doing felt like exercises I could do on my own. So, I decided to stop attending PT sessions there since I couldn’t continue working with Josh.

Fast forward about three years, and I came across this Ventus Instagram post. At the time, I didn’t realize the connection. I was interacting with Josh as a new acquaintance, and he showed interest as well.

We didn’t realize we had met before until by chance I mentioned going to the old Kew Gardens location and a guy named Josh that I liked. He told me that was him, but I didn’t think he looked like who I remembered. I assumed it was the facial hair and my memory playing tricks. That’s how we realized near the end of a long and detailed appointment.

Now, after that long explanation, let’s get to the actual first impressions.

This location is a bit out of the way for me, but when you find a promising place, some sacrifices must be made. Josh seems very capable, and whether we succeed or not, I feel like I need to give him a try.

I am currently doing everything I can to avoid surgery on my neck. I’ve seen many doctors and therapists with little progress. Josh and a few other doctors feel like my last chance to resolve this with conservative treatments that do not involve major surgery.

Ventus is a nice open space; it’s clean, and Josh is conscientious about the location’s hygiene. They even have these slip-on shoes to wear in the bathroom, which Josh said is a Korean custom. I get it, taking shoes off indoors is common, but the bathroom shoes were a new touch for me.

Josh spent quite a bit of time discussing my pain symptoms, what’s been tried, and what he thinks might work. He doesn’t believe I need surgery and feels confident he can help resolve the issue within about four sessions. After years of pain, that sounds pretty encouraging. So, that’s why I’m giving him a chance.

It’s important to note that Ventus does not accept insurance, so you pay out of pocket. However, if Josh can address my issues, I think this is money well spent. The costs are reasonable, and there are no copays or insurance billing involved.

We already know Josh had caught my attention long before this, so I’m really looking forward to working with him and hopefully making some progress toward a solution.

Ventus seems promising, and I’ll share updates as we go along in the coming weeks.