Episode 176: Marli Pinnau Cline

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Today's episode of Motivational Moments features audio taken from my Conversations video series

at www.motivationalsteps.com slash conversations.

Hello everyone, it's Linda Ockward-Jenner here again with another Conversations with Linda.

Tonight I have one of my favorite people who I see quite a lot when I go to my physiotherapy

clinic, Marley Pinault-Klein, who's a registered therapist and a mother to three wonderful

children.

Marley!

It's Linda!

It's lovely to see you outside of the physiotherapy clinic.

Yeah, nice to see you too, Linda.

Thank you for having me.

Oh, I've been wanting to have you on the show for a long time, but I think you're one of

those wonderful people that if you're not working, you're not doing something with your

wonderful children, you're not running to keep fit, you never stand still.

No, never.

Oh, I really wanted to ask you...

Did you grow up as a young child and say, I want to be a physiotherapist?

No, Linda, I actually didn't even know what a physical therapist was until I was graduating

from kinesiology at Western, and I really didn't know what direction to go, and I was

taking a course called sports injuries, and my professor, Gary was his first name, he

came up to me and said, why don't you go into physio?

You know, you're really good at this.

You're good at sports injuries, and you love to help people, and I thought, what is physio?

I didn't even know what it was, so I ended up applying, and I got in, and I also at the

time was thinking I'd be a phys ed teacher, so I just told my mother when I went off to

Europe to backpack because I was just taking a three-month hiatus, and I thought, I'm going

to go see the world, and whatever application, whatever I get, that's what I'm going to be,

so I told her, whatever comes first in the mail.

I'm going to be a physical therapist or a teacher, and the physio acceptance came first

from the University of Toronto, and off I went for another four years after I'd just

finished five, so I'm very grateful because it actually is a career that fulfills me.

It fills my soul because I get to see people get their life back, and that is just so,

so wonderful.

I love it.

I know you love it.

Is it okay?

Is it okay to ask how many years you've actually been doing this kind of work?

I actually, I can't believe it because I always say I'm 29, but I've been almost doing this for

30 years now, almost 30, and it feels like maybe 10.

You could be 29.

You started when you were one, and I mean, you look like you're 29.

You always look so amazing.

Now, have you worked in America, or did I make that up?

No, no, I have.

I have.

I worked in California as a physical therapist for 10 years.

Had three children in California, lived a wonderful life there.

It is honestly my favorite place.

I still, my soul is in California because it's warm and sunny, but yeah, I had my kids

there and then decided, we thought, our kids really need to know our family, so we packed

it up and moved across the country with no jobs, no house, no nothing, and started over,

and lo and behold, it worked out just fine.

So, is there a difference with the way Americans look at health and wellness compared to how

Canadians look after health and wellness?

Because you've told me many times, it's about the mindset, okay?

So, did you notice any differences?

Well, I actually, when I went to California, I thought I would be going to this very active,

healthy lifestyle, because when you think California, you think, you know,

sunshine, running, health, it wasn't that way.

They are, it's very different.

It's like a fast food oriented type of situation there with large portions at restaurants.

It's, I've never seen so much food come to a table.

Like here, we don't get those big portions, but I was, I was quite amazed that that nation

wasn't as healthy as I thought it would be.

But nonetheless, I think.

The mindset of like working in America and here is very similar because you, you just

need a good mindset in order for your body to heal, right?

So, I took on the fact that, you know what, basically you have to teach someone that's

getting better, that your mindset actually affects how your body heals and how the inflammation

can go away.

Because if you believe that your body can heal, it promotes empowerment, resilience,

and you can actually.

Have a shot at really fixing it, right?

With your mind, along with all the advice that we give you.

A specialist once said that to one of my now adult children, that what, what you think

can affect the whole of your body.

What is it about working with people of all ages, I'm assuming, what is it about that

kind of work other than the fact, you know, that you are making them strong again?

What is it you really like about the work?

Well, I told you, I really like when I give people, people their life back.

But I think it's, um, I think it's the, the communication and all the, the relationships

I've made over the years, like yours, I started when I came back, you know, I've been here

for almost 20 years at the same clinic and I started treating people, some of them in

their sixties and now in their eighties.

And I'm treating their whole families and it just feels like a whole family affair.

And to, to me, the biggest compliment is when someone sends me their child.

If a mom or a dad trusts me enough to take care of their kid, I know that, that they

really believe in me.

And also if it's a parent, you know, now, um, a lot of my clients are older and I'm

seeing like them age through, through this universe.

And sometimes it's just, it's just, it's just, it's just, it's just, it's just, it's just

sometimes it's really hard because I don't want to see them get old and I don't want to

see them get sick.

So that's why I started doing some home care and I go to their homes to help them now.

So it's just become a very, they're family to me now.

It's not just a client.

I've made a lot of, a lot of good connections.

Now I could be wrong, but I'm, I might be right.

Um, like when I moved to Canada, I didn't have health insurance.

So would I have been?

I would have been able to get physiotherapy from OHIP because I'm not sure if you can

even get physiotherapy on OHIP now.

Um, and if not, how do those people manage if they haven't got insurance through their

work?

So OHIP, um, we're, we don't treat, um, OHIP in private clinics anymore.

There's certain clinics, certain OHIP clinics that you go to.

So you'd have to be covered under OHIP.

I know when we moved back from California.

For example, we, we didn't have insurance, so I had to pay per month blue cross.

So I just, I did that.

Yeah.

You have to pay.

Oh, I lost you.

Oh, there you are.

Yeah.

I had to pay, I had to pay out of pocket every month to have any kind of benefits.

I believe that, um, physiotherapy is one of the things that's very much about healing,

but also, uh, prevention.

Um, and, and it, it, it enables us to recover from an accident or if we've got osteoporosis,

it helps us keep our, you know, our muscles strong and stuff like that.

I believe it, it should be covered, uh, by OHIP because yes, it's covered by OHIP, but

do people only get a certain amount covered by OHIP?

It's not enough, is it, to actually keep them going as if we had insurance?

Yeah, I know.

Like, for example, when someone gets a total hip replacement, order,

you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know,

or a total knee replacement, they'll get six visits, um, from an OHIP clinic, just six.

And then there's, they're, you know, scrambling around trying to find a place where they can

get some more care.

I mean, I'm sure there's some people that do very well with six, but it's pretty rare

because you need a lot of help, right?

And also, I think you've spoken to me about the fact that, um, I like you, you've treated

my husband, you've treated, I think.

One of my sons, I don't know whether you've treated my daughter, but it's an ongoing process,

isn't it?

So, whether we are coming to you for a broken ankle or, or, you know, any other kind of

injury or something that we need you to take care of, we have to continue that afterwards

and keep on doing our exercises.

But I think we should come back to you the following year because it isn't like maintaining

a car, a car engine.

We have to keep having a checkup and a service.

But a lot of people come back.

People can't afford that.

So, again, you know, I think the government should put a bit more money into it so that

everybody should be able to visit the physiotherapist because it prevents us getting worse, doesn't

it?

Yeah.

So, that's why when I discharge someone, I really try to make sure that they have a good

exercise program that they can follow.

And I mean, I'm always welcome to a phone call and I will always help.

But I always try to make sure someone's left with some tools that they can handle, handle

the situations.

And I also make sure that if they're not feeling comfortable, I say, why don't you pop in in

three months and then the chart can open again for another three months.

Just, I do see some people on maintenance like that just to make sure that they're okay.

I think it's a really, really good idea.

Now, during COVID, how long was the clinic closed for?

How did people manage without you?

It was a long three months for some people.

We did some virtual work.

Some of the clinicians in our clinic did do some virtual work, but it's very different

when you can't lay your hands on someone, but you can educate them, which is a big part

of our job.

So, if you can educate someone through virtual, I guess that's a way to keep somebody going.

But it really was hard because things like a total knee replacement really need somebody

to push them.

And like I said, get your hands on there and really bend because people are scared.

They don't know what to do.

They didn't go to school to be a physio, so they don't know that they can actually push

their knee as hard as they can to make it work.

And if you don't, you got a stuck leg.

So, it was hard with physio that they closed us down.

So, I'm very grateful we had a college that fought for us and made us essential.

And that should not happen again.

It was.

It was hard.

I had a few total knee replacements that failed because they couldn't get the help.

Oh, now you say you've been at that clinic for 20 years.

What's the name of the clinic?

And what is it about this particular clinic that makes you want to stay there and help

people?

Because you could work anywhere, couldn't you really?

Yeah, but I came home and the owner and I went to school together and we were roommates.

We traveled across.

We traveled across Australia together for our last placement and it just was always

a really good environment.

We really get along really well and I actually love my clients that walk through the door.

We've built a really good family around us and the clinic's called Body in Motion.

Yeah, it's on Victoria Street.

I've met the gorgeous owner.

She's lovely.

What's her name?

Carrie Martin-Verbanek.

That's amazing.

Is she any relative?

Is she any relative to the past mayor?

Everyone asks for that.

The poor woman.

She got on the same night.

Oh, no.

He's still the mayor, isn't he?

Sorry about that, Barry.

So you guys went to school, built a great relationship together.

Then you traveled together.

Now you've worked together for 20 years.

Yeah, I left for the first 10 and then Carrie opened the clinic.

And then when I came back, she was...

It was in about her third year of the clinic and I started working.

But she had started it already and I just fit in.

I had to wait for someone to leave and get married and then I got that position and here I am.

What do you think it is about this particular clinic to have such longevity?

Because whether you're a clinic that offers physiotherapy and other health-related things

or whether you're any kind of business,

some businesses don't do well and they haven't got loyalty.

What do you think it is about your clinic that promotes the loyalty and we keep coming back?

You know, it's something that...

It's such a small thing, I think, but it goes such a long way.

Every time that door opens, you are welcomed with open arms.

And it's like, hi, how are you doing?

And come on back.

And it's just you...

As soon as you open the door, we always...

I wanted people to feel like there's light energy in there and that you actually belong here.

And when Carrie opened up the new clinic, she actually...

The words that you see when you walk in says everyone belongs here.

And it's just a happy environment.

I always wanted to make people feel welcome.

So the second that door opens, you're going to hear my voice.

And it's not like, you know, you just walk in and sit there.

I don't know.

I just really want people to feel welcome and happy to be there.

I love...

I love it when people come to see me.

Let's admit it.

You are all very good at what you do.

Because you don't just...

You're a physiotherapist, which is wonderful.

But you have...

I don't know the names of the other clinicians.

But basically, I see pregnant women coming in, you know, before they have the baby and after the baby.

You offer a lot of services.

If there's anything you could share with our listeners, maybe something to do with the health and wellness.

Quote or some advice about, you know, whether they should go to physio or feel they can do it on their own.

What would you like to share with our listeners?

There's always...

Let me think.

How can I say it?

Movement is the key to longevity.

So if there's something that, right, as I always say, I probably say it a hundred times in the clinic a day.

Movement's the key to longevity.

You've got to keep moving.

You've got to keep active.

And you have to have a positive mindset that you can get better.

And I think every one of us that works there feels that way.

I know Carrie has built the most amazing pelvic floor following.

She's actually brilliant at that job.

She really found her calling with that.

And I'm out in the back in the clinic.

And I found my calling with the people, mostly ortho.

I love kids.

I love the babies, the torticollis.

But there's always an answer for something that you don't know.

You can help people.

And if there's a question that you have, call a physio.

Because you shouldn't be living in pain.

I have so many of my relatives that before I was a physio, you just lived with the pain.

And now I'm like, you don't have to live with that pain.

Ask somebody.

Ask me.

Yeah, you don't have to live with pain.

You've got to come and ask.

I love that.

Keep moving.

One last thing before I let you go.

Because I know you want to get...

You've just finished work.

And you need to do...

Do your own thing.

But basically, are younger people going into this line of work?

Are they still wanting to do this as a career?

I mean, I know COVID scared a lot of health professionals away.

But are we getting enough people going into this line of work?

Probably not.

We're getting...

It's just...

We just notice it in the applications for jobs, right?

There's just not as many.

But we have found some really good ones lately.

So we're really happy.

We've had some great students.

That have now started working for us.

So that's usually how it starts.

A student will come.

And then they do really well.

And we end up hiring them.

Thank goodness for that.

Yeah.

Oh, I agree.

Because so many nurses have left the healthcare.

So I was wondering about, you know, your line of work as well.

I think it's the same with us and nurses.

It's just not as much choice.

It's a shame, isn't it?

But this has been fantastic.

Because we normally...

Meet in the clinic.

And I'm lying on a bed.

And you're doing things to me to make me feel better.

And we've said for ages, we've really got to do this.

Because I want so many people to know that you've got to keep moving.

Molly said so.

And basically, if somebody's living in Waterloo region,

do you get people coming from Toronto?

Or is it mostly Waterloo region?

I actually do.

I have a gentleman that drives weekly from Toronto to come see us.

Yeah.

It's so...

Yeah, he doesn't want to go anywhere else.

And I'm happy to help him.

Yeah.

Oh, that's amazing.

Well, Molly, I've got to say goodbye to you.

But this has been a wonderful conversation.

Thank you so much.

Well, thank you for having me, Linda.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.