PISTOL PETE
A PTNW SUCCESS STORY
It was late 2007 when a young man who called himself Pistol Pete stepped into the door of the PT Northwest clinic in Corvallis, Beaver Sports Medicine. His visit was due to a recent surgery to repair his ACL. Director, Jason Ball, began his evaluation surprised by the young man’s medical history. Having had 20+ major surgeries and surviving Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at age 16, it was clear that “Pistol Pete” knew what healing and hard work were all about. Jason also soon discovered that Pete was committed to every appointment and took personal responsibility to return to his sport of Motocross.
Pete made it clear to Jason that despite all of his past surgeries and rehabilitation, he hadn’t ever made it past two visits with a physical therapist. Pete admits that he thought this round of PT wouldn’t be much different then others he had attempted in the past until he actually met Jason and began his rehabilitation for his ACL repair. Pete remarks, “Jason was the first PT that I have seen that seemed like he wanted me to get back to what I wanted to do. He asked me what level of activity I wanted to return to and he was dedicated to working me harder than any other PT ever has to help me get there. Every time I saw Jason work with other patients in the clinic he was the same with them, no matter their age or activity levels.”
Since 2007, Jason has helped Pete through rehabilitation of not only his ACL repair, but also for a broken femur and a shattered scapula. Pete worked equally as hard as Jason was willing to work him with each of these injuries. Jason states, “Pete is a true athlete. Despite all that his body has physically gone through, all the scars, the chemo and many surgeries, he still pushed himself so that he could return to his sport and do what makes him happy. Its not just about being functional, it’s about being functional at the level that each patient considers normal for them.”
Pistol Pete Sannan has returned to Motocross, remains in remission and is feeling better than he ever has. He is excited to compete professionally in the National Circuit in May
