For 30 years, Marblehead resident Patricia Sullivan traversed the globe, bringing her skills and compassion as a physical therapist to patients in far-flung locales from Asia to the Middle East. Now, the PT has chronicled her experiences in a new memoir titled, “Boston, Bangkok, Bombay & Beyond: The Journeys of a Physical Therapist.”
“The book is written for those who love to or want to travel; for those who want to work internationally as health care providers; and for those who will enjoy a book chronicling years of service and adventure,” said Sullivan, 78. “Readers will share the anxiety of working in new and unfamiliar places and the problems presented by the scarcity of services and facilities available in many places.”
Sullivan’s international journey began in 1989 when she received an invitation to teach for a month in Perth, Australia, where her physical therapy textbooks were being used. Sensing an opportunity, she reached out to contacts in other parts of Australia and Taiwan to arrange a six-month teaching tour.
After returning to Boston, Sullivan became the coordinator of the International Scholars Program at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, which launched her into more overseas teaching and consulting. Her work took her to Turkey, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and frequently Thailand over the ensuing years.
“I don’t think there’s any other physical therapist in the world who’s done what I’ve done,” Sullivan reflected. “I’ve had such an interesting life.”
Interesting may be an understatement. In the book, Sullivan recounts a harrowing motorcycle ride up a mountain path in Nepal, followed by a walk on wooden planks through rice paddies to reach a homebound patient. She describes the thrill of riding elephants in Thailand and marveling at architectural wonders like the Taj Mahal.
But it’s the human connections that shine through most vividly. In one section of the book, Sullivan is called to treat a construction worker who suffered a spinal cord injury after falling from a building site in Beijing.
“He was paralyzed from the waist down, with a wife and two kids to support, but there was no social safety net,” she explained. “We improvised a pair of parallel bars using bamboo and cardboard to help him stand for the first time. He so desperately wanted to walk again, to work again, but all we could do was help maximize his independence with the resources available.”
Sullivan also profiles the heartbreaking case of a premature baby in Nepal who was left blind after being placed in an incubator with pure oxygen — a practice long known to cause vision damage, but still used in under-resourced hospitals. Gently working with the distraught mother, Sullivan demonstrated techniques to encourage the baby’s movement and development within the confines of the disability.
Throughout her adventures, Sullivan had the unwavering support of her partner Nancy and the Marblehead community, especially her fellow Rotarians. After a massive earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, she worked with the Marblehead Harbor Rotary to secure a $75,000 grant to bring physical therapy equipment and advanced training to rural areas.
“Nepal Medical Association’s promise of money,” Sullivan explained. “They withdrew their funding. So all of a sudden now I was down thousands of dollars.”
Local Rotarians helped Sullivan make up the shortfall through fundraising. In total, the project delivered around $100,000 in equipment and training to Nepalese physical therapists over four years.
Rotarian Francie King, who served as one of the editors of Sullivan’s book, praised her friend’s compassion and spirit of adventure.
“Trish has a world of experience as a PT and bringing that experience to far-flung audiences began sort of by accident, as she tells her reader. But then, taking that singular experience and traveling with it and being open to new countries and cultures was pure Trish.” King exclaimed. “She was and is an individual uniquely unafraid of the strange and wonderful. I think this comes through well in the book.”
Sullivan hopes her memoir will open readers’ eyes to both the needs and the potential that exist in the wider world.
“Boston, Bangkok, Bombay & Beyond” is available through Amazon at tinyurl.com/6nk5emnj. On April 10 at 12:30 p.m., the Council on Aging hosts Sullivan for a presentation and book signing at the Jacobi Community Center. She also hopes to have an author talk at Abbot Public Library in the fall.
