Donielle Chelf is a bright, caring and always-engaged mother of two..
A 10-year veteran of the trials and tribulations of the nursing world, Chelf has set her career aside for the moment to be a hands-on, stay-at-home mom.
Married to Craig, a Muscatine, Iowa, paramedic/firefighter, Chelf has dedicated herself to her children, Kamdon, age 7, and Jana, age 2. When there is time, she loves to travel and — according to those on the inside — is a potential Hall of Famer when it comes to baking.
Kamdon and Jana, Chelf says, are the lights of her life.
At age 18, Chelf, was in a car accident that left a lasting — and troublesome — imprint on her hips.
Fast forward to bringing Kamdon — her oldest — into the world.
“My son was born two weeks early and got stuck during labor that resulted in a c-section,’’ Chelf said. “I also had bladder leaking.’’
It was after Chelf brought her daughter, Jana, into the world, did her path cross with women’s health expert Stephanie Aguero-Miller, DPT,CMTPT, clinic manager, at Rock Valley Physical Theray’s Muscatine, Iowa-based Cedarwood Clinic.
Aguero-Miller, a 24-karat gem on all fronts, had just returned to work from maternity leave when she met with Chelf.
And Aguero-Miller — a star in her field — knew just where Chelf stood.
“Donielle had been dealing with pelvic-floor dysfunction (tension in the pelvic floor contributing to urinary incontinence, constipation, pain during intercourse or pain in the lower back, pelvic region) as well as pain in her Cesarean scar, all somewhat common issues for mothers, though often misunderstood to those on the outside looking in,’’ Aguero-Miller said.
An energetic and compassionate sort, Aguero-Miller went to work with Chelf, setting a plan in motion to better her life on a variety of fronts. It was two gifted professionals — two mothers — working together.
“I did an internal pelvic exam to assess the muscles and see what was going on,’’ Aguero-Miller said of working to find relief for Chelf. “I found that she had really good pelvic-floor strength, but decreased ability to relax, especially on the side she had her hip injury.
“Donielle purchased a wand to do internal soft tissue mobilization at home, which helped a lot,’’ added Aguero-Miller. “We also did some work on the pelvic-floor manually and did a lot of “drops”. We then moved on to the Cesarean scar, doing myofascial release and dry needling. ‘’
Aguero-Miller says “dry needling,’’ paid huge dividends for Chelf.
“Donielle had great results from the needling to the scar,’’ Aguero-Miller explained. “We then turned our focus to the hip, needling the gluts and then performing soft-tissue work and exercises. I gave her some back and hip stretches, along with breathing and yoga for hip mobility. Along the way, she lost 17 pounds and was walking frequently, so she was given new exercises for higher intensity and a return-to-running running program. The awesome thing about Donielle’s case is that she came to me for pelvic floor issues (which were also tied into the right hip), but now has decreased hip pain and ability to run with her kids.’’
Despite everyday optimism, life before physical therapy was a challenge, even for an upbeat type like Chelf.
“Before my first visit (to Rock Valley Physical Therapy), I had a hard time even getting out of bed,’’ Chelf said. “My hips hurt all the time and at the age of 33, if I occasionally sneezed, my bladder would leak. Today I have minimal to no hip pain and I feel much better. My bladder and pelvic muscles are stronger and I can get around with my kids so much better.’’
Chelf says she had great respect for Aguero-Miller — one professional to another — but her admiration reached even greater heights after being treated by the Cedarwood clinic manager.
“Stephanie is amazing,’’ Chelf said. “She was very empathic of my symptoms and was willing to help me. She came up with a treatment plan to address all my issues and I felt relief after four months of visits.’’
Two professionals — both mothers — working together to better lives.
By: Johnny Marx, Storyteller