For Natalie Conway, Tidewater Physical Therapy’s Gloucester Regional Director and Clinical Director of the Gloucester Courthouse location, becoming a physical therapist was a calling.

“I don’t remember what exactly inspired me, but I have notes from when I was in the second grade talking about becoming a PT!”

While Natalie has called Williamsburg home for the last 20 years, those early therapy writings were done in her hometown of Conneaut, Ohio, situated right on Lake Erie about half-way between Cleveland and Buffalo.

Natalie became a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) in 1988 and earned her Master of Physical Therapy (MPT) in 1991, both from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. In 1998, she became an Orthopedic Certified Specialist (OCS), demonstrating her depth of knowledge of orthopedic problems.

She joined Tidewater Physical Therapy in August 1992, starting in the Williamsburg clinic.

She’s never forgotten her first patient – a young man who contracted a brain infection and was unable to stand, much less walk.

He “was severely deconditioned. We got him well enough to be discharged from the hospital.”

Then, Natalie said, “I met him about 17 years later at Tidewater Physical Therapy for an annoying sciatic pain he got from over training his running!”

There’s many patients Natalie won’t forget. Many patients who illustrate what’s possible.

There’s “the guy who came in on a gurney and nine grueling months later returned to the things he loved, including golf….(and) the young lady who I had to haul in on a rolling office chair who was scared to death after significant knee surgery, who was eventually able to run again!”

If you know Natalie, you know she’s respectful of all people and can summon the tough love when she needs to. It’s because she cares about each patient and wants them to return to their active lives that she uses that tough love.

“I believe nothing worthwhile is ever easy,” Natalie said. “Recovering from an injury or overcoming barriers to becoming the person you want to be and doing the things you want to do is tough.”

She brings out her tough love, and a few jokes, “knowing it is the best thing for you and will be worth it in the end. A little humor along the way is helpful to get through the toughest times.”

For Natalie, working for Tidewater Physical Therapy means working for people who put patients first.

“The owners of Tidewater are all physical therapists themselves, and they are focused on giving patients the best care, the greatest access, and at the same time, giving me the authority and professional respect to treat patients with my own strategies and techniques.”

If you don’t see her in the clinic, you might run into Natalie coaching competitive girls gymnastics, which she’s done for more than 30 years.

“I love watching the girls get stronger in body and mind. It reminds me what the human body is capable of performing.”