I want to acknowledge all of my former patients who have taught me more about the practice of physical therapy and what it means to age than I would have discovered on my own. I am grateful to all of you. Most of the cases I have written are based on actual patients who have become part of this text. My desire is to impart that knowledge acquired from those patients to the next generation of geriatric physical therapists.
I want to thank all the authors of the cases presented in this text; without their assistance and dedication this book would not have made it to a publisher. More specifically, I would like to thank Jill Heitzman, PT, DPT, GCS, NCS, CWS, CEEAA, FACCWS, Deborah A. Kegelmeyer, PT, DPT, MS, GCS, and Meri Goehring, PT, PhD, GCS, CWS as lead writers. A special thanks also to James R. Creps, PT, DScPT, OCS, CMPT, and Eric Shamus, PT, DPT, PhD, for their special additions to this text.
To all my former and current coworkers, thank you for your help along my professional journey. To my former and current students, I hope to generate a passion for working with the older adult. You have pushed me to become a better teacher, a better scholar, and a better therapist. I hope that some of my passion rubs off onto you and you take up a career with providing services to older adults.
Lastly, to my wife Linda, and my two daughters Catherine and Courtney, thank you for being part of my life to enable me to complete this project.