When Ashley Forrest tore her ACL (a major knee ligament) in middle school “they didn’t repair it right away because I was still growing.”

She spent six months in physical therapy in order to get back on the basketball court.

“I was so thankful to my physical therapist for guiding me to become strong enough to return to sports that I thought to myself, ‘this would be a great field to go into.’”

Ashley was in the eighth grade then. She never wavered from that thought and today is the Clinical Director of Tidewater Physical Therapy’s Denbigh location, located off of McManus Boulevard in Newport News.

“Looking back, I suppose I’m thankful for the injury,” Ashley said. “It led me down the path I was meant to follow.”

After graduating from Freeman High School in Richmond, Ashley studied psychology at the University of Virginia and in 2001 earned her Masters of Science in Physical Therapy from the Medical College of Virginia.

“I chose to work at Tidewater right out of school because of the network of other physical therapists that I could call on if I needed,” Ashley said. “I love that it is owned by physical therapists who still practice. I love that the owners allow us to practice in the way in which we see fit – they have never dictated how to treat patients.”

Being part of a company that’s nearly 30 clinics strong also means having a corporate location, which Ashley describes as a benefit.

Tidewater’s corporate support is “phenomenal and very hard to find anywhere else. It brings a very high level of organization and compliance to all that we do. We would not be able to do what we do as therapists if not for the many people behind the scenes at corporate.”

Most therapists remember their first patient. Ashley is no different…and even still feels somewhat connected to her.

“We always talked about food as I was stretching her. She gave me a recipe for baked spaghetti that I still use!”

Ashley’s most memorable patient was also among her first.

Following a heart attack and a several month hospital stay, he came to Ashley severely deconditioned, in a wheel chair and extremely depressed. In three months, he graduated from that wheelchair to a walker, then to a cane, and finally walking unassisted.

“He looked like a completely different person because in those three months he regained the strength and confidence that he once had and began to enjoy life again. It was so rewarding to work with him and to see his transformation back to life!”

For Ashley, patients aren’t just identified as “shoulder strain” or “back patient.”

They are all people working to get back to their active lives.

“I like to get to know them on a personal level – like how many kids they have and what they do for fun and where they like to eat. I like to keep things on the light side so that their mind is taken off what they’re truly here for.”

Not only is it fun getting to know people better, Ashley said, but it also “builds their trust with me.”

That trust is critical because Ashley will “challenge patients to do things that they think they can’t do.”

When she’s not in the clinic, Ashley is very active in the Junior League of Hampton Roads and volunteers for the Food Bank of the Virginia Peninsula.