A different view on life
Aurora CO- As you watch the therapist expertly work the sore and tired muscles of the client on the table, the first thing you notice is how he glides effortlessly around the table as if floating. You the notice that he seems very short, and then you realize he’s in a wheelchair.
A recent graduate of the Center of Advanced Therapeutics a massage therapy school located in Denver CO, Dale Watts is one of only a handful of massage therapists in the county who uses a wheelchair. “I know it sounds a little odd, but being in a wheelchair has given me a unique perspective on the healing arts”, says Watts.
A quite and unassuming man, Watts was diagnosed with an uncommon form of spinal cord tumor, ependymoma, when he was 21 years old. Watts has undergone 3 surgeries and 4 rounds of radiation to control the growth of the tumors.
Because of the damage to the spinal cord, caused by the tumor, Watts would be called an incomplete T10 paraplegic.
In 2000 Watts and a friend designed and developed a unique form of dancing. They wanted to see if someone who walk and a person using a wheelchair could dance in a fashion that still looked like a couple dancing. After successfully demonstrating that it could be done, Adaptive Dancing was born. (www.adaptivedancing.com) Can’t walk? So go dancing!” says Watts.
His new massage practice is Equinox Body Works in Aurora CO, and the focus is in getting better. As he says,” you can feel good or you can feel better!”
Submitted by
Louisa Scheele
Center of Advanced Therapeutics-massage therapy school
1212 S. Broadway, suite 200 Denver, CO 80210
LScheele@catinc.net
303-765-2201