Peace and Growth in the Valley

The story of Physiolete, answered prayers, and finding peace in the process—as told by Nadia

Part 1: Desperate Prayer

Lauren moved to Mississippi in the spring of 2025. I started writing out my heart's thoughts that summer, but quickly realized I wasn't ready to process everything at that time. Shelby, our Office Coordinator, asked me to write out a little history on Physiolete this summer, and I revisited this Word document again (and again and again).

For the first several years of Physiolete, I strived for perfection. I wanted to get it all done. I wanted everything to go exactly as planned and be free from errors. From the delivery of patient care taking place on stage to the audits on Excel spreadsheets going on behind the scenes—I wanted it flawless.

With each season that passed, I believed that if we could just get to the next one, we would have it all done. I believed that the "peace" would come when we had it all done.

The truth is, I had been believing a lie. The lie that "perfect peace" was something I had to work for.

Growing a business has certainly taught me to embrace change and challenges. At this point, I would say I still don't invite them willingly, but I can accept them knowing that change and challenges are normal and to be expected. There are times when I still find myself searching for peace through completing a checklist, especially as we prepare to move into our new building, but I do recognize “getting it all done” is an unattainable goal.

That's when I remember it was motherhood that served as the catalyst for really understanding peace.

After the birth of my second daughter, I remember returning to work and feeling like I was running in a rat race. I doubled down on my perfectionism at Physiolete because I was striking out with getting my sweet newborn to sleep or stop crying.

Motherhood showed me in that season that finding "perfect peace" apart from God was simply an illusion. Striving for it on my own only created more anxiety and turmoil. I credit a long season in the Book of Psalms and counseling with healing my heart and mind from the lies I had been telling myself my whole life up to that point.

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." — Isaiah 26:3

The News I Wasn't Ready For

Lauren texted me in the spring of 2025 that we needed to talk in person. Even when Lauren lived in Tuscaloosa, we were quick to call if we needed to chat about something important. The fact that she wanted to come to my house and talk to me disturbed my peace quite a bit.

Lauren arrived at my house and, knowing that I had probably feared a hundred different worst-case scenarios already, she broke the news fast.

AND let me be honest, Lauren moving didn't make the original list of my worries.

She told me that evening that Nathan had a career advancement opportunity in Mississippi and that if he was offered the job, they would be moving closer to family.

Despite my weak and selfish prayers to keep the Buckelew’s in Tuscaloosa, I knew deep down God had a bigger plan than anything I could strong-arm myself. Thank goodness the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we are weak.

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." — Proverbs 16:9

By March of 2025, Lauren announced the news at our staff meeting. I don't think there was a dry eye in the building, except for me oddly enough. I thought I had peace with the situation during this meeting, but truthfully, I had not come to terms with Lauren leaving Tuscaloosa yet.

Something about Easter 2025 though, y'all.

Watching our competitive daughters sprint to find the most Easter eggs at Indian Hills. Peyton Buckalew won, of course.

Watching our husbands talk about Nathan's exciting new job.

Watching so many people come up to Lauren and thank her for all she did for them—their backs, their shoulders, taking care of their spouses, taking care of their parents. You name it, Lauren helped so many people.

On a day that I should have been celebrating Jesus Christ being raised from the dead, my heart felt like it was diving into a grave.

When all the candy-filled eggs were gone and the petting zoo animals left the premises, we headed home. That's when my husband unknowingly asked me the loaded question.

"How are you feeling?"

And that was what opened the floodgates, of all things.

I think that was the day I moved into the fourth stage of grief, depression. Now let me make it clear, I know Lauren wasn't given a death sentence, but when your best friend and business partner leaves you—it still hurts.

I had been in denial when Lauren first told me. I was selfishly angry that just when I thought I got her to fall in love with Alabama, she was choosin' Mississippi. Yeah, I just inserted an Ella Langley joke.

I even bargained for her to stay. I told her Nathan could just replace me at Physiolete. Just so you all know, Lauren vetoed that quickly.

That Easter Sunday, I cried a lot.

I cried about the simple things I took for granted, like catching up with Lauren at the microwave or water fountain. I cried because my girls and her girls couldn't just hit up a playground last minute anymore. I cried about how we had dreamed up Physiolete together, and it felt like it would never be the same without her living here in Tuscaloosa.

I also cried thinking about how I resisted our growth early on because we didn't have all our ducks perfectly in a row, yet Lauren always welcomed it, believing everything would work out the way it was supposed to.

Learning to Let Go

A little aside. I didn't want to grow Physiolete at first because I wasn't sure anyone would care as much as we did about our patients and clients. I feared patients wouldn't accept working with anyone new. I didn't want to delegate administrative work because I believed we were the only ones capable of doing it with excellence.

I worried about bringing in new graduates, DPT students, interns, and techs because I knew how much teaching them would require—not only clinical skills but people skills, too.

But the truth is, everything I just said was rooted in the narrative that finding perfect peace was something to be earned.

It took a pandemic and becoming a mother for me to see the lies I was believing.

The pandemic hit about three and a half months into our first year of Physiolete. Talk about a great year to open a small business. In hindsight, we may have delayed or never opened Physiolete if we knew what was ahead of us. Praise God for directing our steps.

We hired our first two techs, Jordan and Samir, during the summer of 2020 because TBH, we needed them wiping down every square inch of the clinic at all times. Even areas that a patient gazed at for too long, we wiped those down too!

While I was out on maternity leave with my first child, Lauren started giving simple administrative tasks to Samir and Jordan. Thankfully, Lauren didn't ask my opinion.

When I found out Jordan was making eligibility and benefits calls, I was beside myself. She hadn't even graduated college yet, and she knew how to get past the robot on BCBS of Michigan's phone menu. This skill is like having a PhD in the healthcare administration world.

Samir was growing his confidence helping us work with patients, and our patients adored him.

This was when I realized our PT techs could serve as patient advocates and enhance the overall patient experience.

During those first few years, we welcomed DPT students, sports residents, and eventually more physical therapists. Sydney was our first Sports Resident and Allie was our first full-time PT we brought up. These women were the first DPT’s to show us that they could love our patients and pursue excellence independent of Lauren and I.  

Shelby, who started as one of our patients, became our first Administrative Assistant. Our students became colleagues. Our techs became leaders. Our patients became part of the Physiolete family.

We expanded beyond our original space at Element, opened a pop-up location at Game Changer, and eventually signed the lease on 7th Street.

Physiolete was growing, and just when I thought we might stabilize a little, I gave birth to my second daughter.

During my maternity leave with Brady, I continued my Practice Administrator duties. Many people told me not to work on maternity leave and that I should "enjoy that time to rest with my baby."

I'll keep this statement short and sweet, but before you judge a mother's decisions, ask her how you can help her first.

My team at Physiolete supported me during a time in my life when I felt despair as a mother. Brady struggled with colic, and I struggled with feeling like I couldn't soothe my own child.

Meanwhile, Physiolete continued growing. Emily covered my caseload. Gracy joined us and brought her healing hands to the clinic. Claire began her sports residency and fell in love—with Tuscaloosa (inside joke here). Courtney completed her trifecta moment from tech to DPT student to physical therapist, bringing a new niche to Physiolete.

We had many more interns, techs, students, and residents come and go through our doors. Each one of them a member of Team Physiolete forever. Each one of them bringing something to the table that remains with us today.

I think about Jordan playing pranks while on hold with insurance companies. Samir coaching agility exercises independently after earning his CSCS. Calley asking “info or admin?” Graham H playing guitar while Courtney danced with Mr. Don during PT. Colin preaching our core values to new interns. Joel flipping at football games and our group text getting lit. Carson wearing more hats at Physiolete than any college student in the history of earth. Graham R reading rooms better than any college student in the history of earth. And Caleb managing warming-up with a patient while also recapping all of the major sporting events from the week in perfect detail. Laura having a full circle moment from new college student to Team Physiolete and all the shoulder PT in between.

And those are just a few memories.

Lauren and I never planned to have a big team or multiple locations. I resisted growth and even feared it because I knew it would create challenges and changes, something that disturbed having "perfect peace" by the world's definition.

I am thankful our fearless leader Lauren always saw the bigger picture!

And even if she didn't see the bigger picture, she trusted that even though we both had plans in our hearts, it was the Lord who would be ordering our steps all along.

Part 2: God Ordered Steps

If I've ever found myself questioning WHO orders my steps and ordains my days, I simply reflect on past prayers.

In the winter of 2016, about six months before graduating from physical therapy school, I was looking for a job in either outpatient sports or inpatient neuro.

Dr. Jimmy Robinson, a legend in sports medicine in Tuscaloosa, graciously met with me to talk about jobs. One of the places he recommended was Drayer Physical Therapy at the University of Alabama Student Recreation Center.

I scheduled a time to bring my resume by, and when I stopped, who but Lauren Buckalew greeted me with a big smile on her face while stretching someone's hamstring.

Fast forward to the summer of 2016. I accepted a job at Aspire Rehabilitation. Long story short, I thought it was going to be like my inpatient rehab experience (it wasn't), and there were no sports PT jobs available.

The plot twist though?

My first job as a physical therapist was with Nathan Buckalew, Lauren's husband.

I didn't know it on my first day, but after about a week, Nathan told me his wife recognized my name. It was then I had a flashback to that nice PT at Drayer, Lauren.

About five months went by, and Nathan approached me in the breakroom with an offer that would change my life. Lauren wanted to meet with me to discuss the possibility of being the first Sports Resident at the UA Rec Center.

I met with Lauren at Heritage House, of course, and the rest was history.

My last Friday at Aspire, I almost got snowed in while my husband was out of town. The Buckelew’s, not really knowing me, rescued me and let me stay at their house. They were having a pancake night and taking care of college students, including Allie and Kyle who was our tech at Drayer at the time. For those of you that know Allie and Kyle, you know the rest was history for them too!

That night, Lauren found me in a quiet place, and we chatted about our dreams.

I told Lauren I wanted to have a private practice one day and wanted to name it Physiolete. She shared a similar dream, and instead of laughing at my clinic name that I coined by combining Physio and Athlete, she complimented it.

This was the third time I had ever talked to Lauren.

Finding Purpose in the Valley

Sports Residency was tough. It stretched me in every way possible. I cried probably once a month and a few times in the bathroom at the rec center at lunch.

Lauren was an incredible mentor, and while the experience challenged me, she helped me through it, and I was a better PT in the end.

Another God wink moment was getting to do so many of my on-field hours with Bernard "B" Burroughs. I call B my guardian angel because he was the athletic trainer who picked me up off the track when I tore my ACL competing for the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2011.

Tearing my ACL sucked for that one moment, but out of it came many blessings. One of the biggest ones was a career change from Optometry School to Physical Therapy School.

During my residency, I also got to shadow Dr. Brett Bentley, who was working as as Sports Medicine Fellow for Dr. Robinson at the time. Can we just talk about all the full-circle moments up to this point? Today, 10 years later, we continue to work with Dr. Bentley and the best Sports Med doctors in town.

In the spring of 2019, Lauren and Nathan welcomed their first daughter, Peyton. I was missing Lauren while she was out on maternity leave, and I was feeling burned out.

I wasn't sure how I could sustain my workload and post-work documentation load. I was quietly looking up teaching jobs while Lauren was out, but I also continued to fantasize about having a PT clinic in a CrossFit gym.

I had found a niche treating CrossFitters at the UA Rec Center. One day, a patient told me Carla Skelton, the owner of CrossFit RTR at the time, had referred them because she heard I wasn't telling her gym members to quit CrossFit and take up walking.

Instead, I was helping people continue working out in ways that were conducive to their injuries healing.

I wrote Carla a thank-you card for trusting me with her members.

Little did I know, that thank-you card would become a catalyst for what would later become Physiolete.

But it wasn't that simple.

Somewhere in between that thank-you card and Lauren going out on maternity leave, I slipped into a deep valley of anxiety and depression.

I was dealing with a severe flare-up of a herniated disc with radiculopathy in both lower extremities. I couldn't work out, go for a brisk walk, or even stand or sit at work without severe pain. It impacted not only my professional life but my personal life.

I remember feeling an apathy for life during that season.

When I realized my back wasn't getting any better, I scheduled a visit with Dr. Bentley. Funny enough, he wrote me a prescription for physical therapy.

Of course, I didn't want to ask any of my colleagues for help because everyone was busy, and it felt selfish.

Do you know who made time to see me while she had a newborn at home?

Yep, Lauren Buckalew.

That season felt like it lasted forever, and ultimately, by the seven-month mark, I was finally on the up and up.

When I look back at my prayer journals during this time, I can see what God was doing. He found me in the valley and strengthened my relationship and trust in Him.

God was drawing up plans for Physiolete when I felt like I was at my lowest.

While I was rehabbing my back and continuing to work a crazy schedule, I got a call from the Skeltons telling me about a space inside their gym.

I immediately called Lauren, and we continued to talk about our dreams and vision for Physiolete.

While that call didn't turn into a buzzing clinic overnight, it was certainly the open-door Lauren and I had both prayed for.

Then I got another call from Lauren. She was in the car on the way to visit her parents, Nathan and Peyton in tow. Mid-maternity leave.

She told me she had purchased a GoDaddy website and had accidentally spelled Physiolete wrong. LOL!

So, on the same day Lauren purchased our official website, she had also purchased another website with our name spelled incorrectly.

All this to say, I understand that even though Physiolete looks easy to pronounce and spell to me, it's a challenge to many.

Even Lauren at first.

Answered Prayers

I'll spare you all the details of how we went from purchasing a website to opening our doors. If you know me, you know I write everything down, so if you want the play-by-play, let's get coffee one day and I'll tell you about our very first checklist that still has boxes unchecked.

Two months before we opened Physiolete, Lauren and I prayed the Prayer of Jabez.

I know many interpret this prayer differently, but one thing I hope everyone can understand is that it gave us a framework to pray together.

We prayed for God to bless Physiolete so Physiolete could bless others.

We prayed for God to give us influence in Tuscaloosa.

We prayed for God's presence in Physiolete because we knew without it, we were doomed.

And we prayed for God's protection because we knew we would need it. We just didn't know the hurdles ahead—like a pandemic four months after opening, for example.

I joke about Lauren being the reason we have grown to where we are today, but when I go back and look at my prayer journals, I realize that our growth is simply answered prayers.

Our sports residency program has brought incredible people through our doors. Halea joined us after being a student DPT with us. Jacobi found us because he wanted to specialize in sports and work with adapted athletes. Adapted Athletics is another partnership that I could write an extra chapter on as well! Brannon takes the quadruple crown—patient, PT intern, DPT student, and sports resident.

And let's talk about Beth. I asked my mother-in-law to pray for us while looking for a Front Desk Specialist. Before Michele could even say a prayer, she told me to call Beth Duncan.

The Lord knew we needed Beth.

A few more God winks.

How about Aspire, the place where Nathan Buckalew and I first worked together, being right across the street from our new clinic in Northport?

How about Walker, our former DPT student who clearly remembers Lauren breaking the moving news (awkward turtle for a new DPT student) at a staff meeting, going on to complete the same sports residency Lauren completed and telling us he wanted a Physiolete in Flowood? Enter new location in Mississippi.

How about Grace, another wonderful former DPT student, joining our crew while Allie and Courtney begin new chapters with their newborn daughters?

I can look back on so many answered prayers since we opened our doors in October 2019.

Prayers not only for Physiolete but for the people coming and leaving our building.

Some prayers were answered exactly as we requested. Others were answered with one door closed and another opened. Some prayers I questioned if God heard them. Some prayers took seasons before they were answered.

Some prayers are still unanswered.

So many prayers. So many memories. Each time I have reviewed this I have added more prayers and memories.

Flowers Grow in the Valley

If you are reading this chapter book, I hope you know a little bit more about the history of Physiolete and why I am so passionate about our mission, vision, and core values.

Love People. Pursue Excellence. Honor God. Take Initiative. Value Teamwork. (The acronym we use at Physiolete is LEGIT)

These values are so much more than words on a wall. They are rooted in the people, experiences, and prayers that have shaped Physiolete into what it is today.

Most importantly, I hope you know that you are deeply loved and sincerely prayed for.

As cliché as this sounds, I truly believe God is working for us in our waiting and in our sufferings.

A career change from an ACL tear.

A business from a season of depression and apathy.

Growth during a pandemic.

Learning to ask for help from God and people during a challenging postpartum season.

Losing my best friend to Mississippi, but expanding our reach to help others meet their goals.

When I started writing this story, I was still wrestling with the changes ahead. I was grieving what Physiolete had been and what I thought it was supposed to look like.

But when I look back at the valleys in my life, I can see how God was working in every one of them.

I spent so many years believing peace would come when everything was finished, when everything was perfect, and when everything went according to plan.

But the Lord has been teaching me something different.

Peace isn't found in having everything figured out. Peace is found in trusting the One who does.

And maybe the valleys we so desperately want to escape are the very places where God is planting something beautiful.

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." — John 16:33