PTU Patients: Harry & Hema Amin

Harshad "Harry" Amin, age 66 and his wife Hema, age 62 started gardening in their hometown of Philadelphia almost 40 years ago. They have always enjoyed beautifying their home with plants and flowers and they likedhaving fresh vegetables. Gardening quicklyl became their beloved hobby.

A little over ten years ago, Harry was a research scientist on a business trip to visit his company's headquarters in Selma. He enjoyed the south Texas lifestyle so much that he proposed to Hema that they make a move. After spending several months searching for the ideal location, they decided to have a home built in New Braunfels.

Harry and Hema chose a lot, had their home built and immediately started working on their garden. They used to make wine from the mulberries and plums they grew in Philadelphia but they had to change their plant line-up due to the milder winters and the heat of South Texas.



Harry and Hema studied on-line and from books to find the best plants and flowers to grow in Texas. They browsed around the nursery for ideas and fished for suggestions.

It took Harry and Hema about two years to have a complete garden and now it is ever evolving. They both love working on their flowers and vegetables and they try to get out every day for a couple of hours in the morning and another hour in the evening. "We are retired now and we don't want to over work ourselves," said Harry. They try to stick to plants and flowers that take less space as opposed to the larger fruit trees that take a lot of land and a lot of work.

Unfortunately, last winter was rough on their garden. "We were in Europe in India during the winter so we weren't at home to cover our plants and keep them from freezing," said Harry. "We lost our Bird of Paradise, a mango tree and our plumeria trees are gone but the Esperanza is coming back. Our Gardenia was almost lost but it appears to be coming back," he said.

"We are very happy with our garden right now. We make changes here and there just to add some variety," said Hema. "Everyday we are anxious to wake up and see what is new in the garden."

"We enjoy the staff of Physical Therapy Unlimited and would recommend them to everyone who needs therapy," said Harry.

Robert Rodriguez raised $1,005 for children with Muscular Dystrophy

PTU Owner/Director Robert Rodriguez was locked up on June 17 at T Bar M Resort. In order to be released, he received a total of $740 in donations as "bail money." The money he raised helped pay for muscular dystrophy stricken children to go to camp. Thank you!

PTU Student Physical Therapist: Mary Alexander-Simecki

Mary Alexander-Simecki is not what you would call a traditional physical therapy student. At the age of 40 she began working towards a degree in physical therapy.

Mary was a stay at home mom for 25 years and raised five children. “When I got married, I had two young kids and my groom also had two young kids,” said Mary. “We then had one together which made five young children all within 5 years of age.” Mary wanted to give the kids good stability and direction so she stayed with them while her husband worked out of town for 15 years. “My husband followed his job all over the place but I wanted to keep the family in the same house so we stayed in New Braunfels and have been in the same house for 24 years.”

Mary first entered college when her kids were still young. “I was an engineer major and went to school part-time when my kids were between the ages of four and nine. I had about 64 hours credit but then I quit.”She started back to school full time in 2001 and received a BS in Kinesiology from UTSA in 2001. After taking some time to get through the application process, Mary started working on her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2007. “I told my kids that I finally decided what I wanted to be when I grew up.”
She has since completed her classes and is currently working at PTU to complete her last clinical rotation.

Mary had several rotations in which she gained valuable experience. She worked in different settings including hospital based orthopedic outpatient, hospital based short term acute care, and long term acute care at a specialty hospital. “I really enjoy working in long term acute care because I work with challenging patients that have multiple medical conditions and I work with them long enough to build a rapport. I also love working with older patients.”

Mary sees herself working in a hospital based setting so that she can treat a variety of patients. “I will probably work full time for about ten years and then go part-time for five years more. I’d like to find a job that I can stick with for the rest of my career.”

Mary has enjoyed her time at Physical Therapy Unlimited. “The PTU staff is very friendly and they are all easy to get along with. It’s a relaxed atmosphere and it’s also very close to my house.”

When Mary is not studying or working she spends time in her back yard. “Landscaping my back yard is my passion. I like to make it nice so I can BBQ and swim with my friends and my kids.” Mary is also very handy and spent a year remodeling her entire house.

Robert Rodriguez is being locked up "for good!"

HELP! PTU Owner/Director Robert Rodriguez will be locked up on June 17 at T Bar M Resort from 1-2pm and he needs your donations to be released. His goal is to raise $1600 in order to pay for two muscular dystrophy stricken children to go to camp. Donations are being accepted now! You can donate on-line at https://www.joinmda.org/2010newbraunfels/ptunbtx
or you can donate with a cash or check at Physical Therapy Unlimited anytime or at T Bar M on June 17 between 1-2pm.

We understand that times are tough. However, if you have a few dollars you can spare please donate to the muscular dystrophy children. Thank you!

PTU Patient Neil Boll: Master Gardener

Some people perceive gardening simply as digging up dirt, planting something and watering it however to Neil Boll, it is so much more. Mr. Boll, a seventy year old patient at Physical Therapy Unlimited (PTU), is a part-time dentist at Fort Sam and a full time gardener at home. He proclaims that gardening as a hobby is mind cleansing and it satisfies his personality. “To me, gardening is an appreciation of nature,” said Boll. “I enjoy growing plants and sharing them with others who share that same appreciation.”

Boll started gardening in Houston after he got married in 1967. “I really didn’t have an interest in hunting or fishing and I wanted to stay home with my family so I started working in the garden,” he said. He learned to garden through trial and error and even recalls trying to grow vegetables in pots when he lived in an apartment until he quickly realized it didn’t work. “I was very proud to be married and a dad and I really enjoyed sharing my hobby with my daughters and as a result, they are now very active in gardening as well.”

When Boll started building his home in New Braunfels in the fall of 2003, the yard was in a state of disarray, overgrown with trees and brush. So in February of 2004, Boll started his full landscape renovation. His garden became a labor intensive art form that involved a large number of different plants. “I seek plants that will do well in our climate,” said Boll. “I usually choose plants from the Texas Superstars list on the A&M Horticulture website.”

“I’m most proud of my Mexican Orchid because it’s a hard plant to find. Unfortunately my orchid became freeze damaged this past winter but because of its root heartiness, it came back to life.” Boll also grows a number of herbs and vegetables including thyme, mint, chives, Echinacea, tomatoes, peppers, lemons and oranges.

Boll works in his garden every day and during the heat of the summer he tries to maintain morning and evening hours. “Sometimes I’m in the garden from six to eleven in the morning,” said Boll. “Occasionally I’ll go back out in the evening with a glass of wine and my pruners.”

Boll sought therapy at Physical Therapy Unlimited to help him with his neck stiffness and the curvature of his neck. He was impressed with the fact that PTU had been doing business in New Braunfels since 1984. “When I saw the website and read about PTU, I had a gut feeling that was the place for me,” he said. “And I really have enjoyed working with Robert Rodriguez.”