There was no big epiphany or event that led Donna Abbott to physical therapy. She just knew it was the path for her.

“I just had this sense,” she said.

So much so, in fact, that the summer before her senior year of high school, Donna walked several miles to her local hospital to volunteer as a physical therapy tech. She eventually took a personality and aptitude test which confirmed what she knew all along – physical therapy was the best match for her.

Donna “matched” up with Tidewater Physical Therapy, Inc. when she joined the company in 1992. Today, she is the Clinical Director of Tidewater’s Magruder location in Hampton.

Over the years, a “focus on industrial ergonomics has allowed me to interact with a number of companies in the area. I have been able to travel to various places in the U.S. to set up our local programs at their other business locations.”

It’s not uncommon for Donna to get stopped in her tracks by people in the community and for them to say, ‘hey! I know you! You are the exercise lady!”

People remember Donna because of her dedication to clinical excellence, personality and approach to care.

While enrolled at UNC Chapel Hill, Donna volunteered at the UNC Hospital and met who would become her first physical therapy mentor.

“She generally shaped my ‘physical therapy’ personality,” Donna said. “Compassionate. Focused. Simple, but specific. She was just happy that I didn’t faint or run away at the sight of my first extensive wound care patient.”

When she’s not in the clinic, you can find Donna on her bike – the kind with pedals – rolling along local roads or through the woods.