Anna DiMarco Physio

08/10/2026

Landing back into my current reality with a bit of ease, a bit of relief and maybe a slightly altered perspective.

Distance from our “challenging reality” can often give us an enough space to feel a bit more courage, a lot more hope, and a little more clarity moving forward.

08/01/2026

For the past 5 years I have struggled with explaining my sense of loss, the overwhelming anxiety about the future, the complex guilt and resentment I experience on a regular basis and the feelings of isolation I carry with me.

Being a caregiver, while feeling consumed by loss, overwhelming responsibility, anxiety about the future, etc. is not for the weak of spirit.

Furthermore, we live in a culture that does not truly honor our elders, particularly once they need our assistance. We tend not to share our grief about slowly (or rapidly) losing our loved ones who are diagnosed with some form of dementia. We may speak about the frustrations at the late night phone calls, the constant interruptions to “regularly scheduled programming”, but not about the profound sense of loss we are carrying with us as we go about living out our lives.

I am immensely grateful to the friends who have shared the truth of their journeys with me, to the patients who ask and truly seem to understand the depth of emotional turmoil that accompanies this journey (mostly because they have been through it or something similar as well) and to the strangers who hold doors open for us and give us a “knowing” kind smile as we make our way to medical appointments..

The algorithm here has been feeding me many beautiful posts and introducing me to content producers that are outstanding in the area of grief processing. Last week, Pretty Painful Grief Book landed in my orbit. And I subsequently learned the terms “anticipatory loss” and “ambiguous loss” and ordered myself “The pretty painful goodbye book, for the grief that arrives before goodbye”.

I’ve always found writing to be one of the most useful tools for processing life’s hardships. I strongly recommend trying it out for yourself if you are going through something similar.
The prompts in this journal might lead you down some interesting and healing paths.

07/24/2026

05/28/2026

It's spring , so I'll plant this seed yet again in hopes that it may inspire even one soul to pick up a pen and paper and start a journalling practice ..

05/12/2026

Be sure to make it to the MPA AGM Wednesday May 13 at 7pm. Links were sent via email through Manitoba Physiotherapy Association. Check your inbox (last week).
Several board positions open as well! See you there !

05/04/2026

These last 2 weeks have been incredibly life-giving, professionally and personally. Thank you to all my patients who have reached out with kind messages of congratulations. Your words land right into the centre of my heart.

My gratitude is a shallow reflection of the depth of what I am experiencing, have been experiencing regarding my professional career.

I must tell you all that it is imperative that you, my patients, consider your own role in this matter. Without you being who you all are, I would not be who I am.

At some point in my career, I came to understand and appreciate the incredibly transformative relationships that we were building together.

My intention to listen carefully to who I am, what I need, where I believe I am going led me to ultimately listen more carefully to who you are, what you need, where you believe you are going.

My listening to you with my heart as much as my head allowed you to trust me.

This trust grew into reciprocal trust….we trusted one another.

This then grew to reciprocal growth….we could move forward in ways that we might not have been able to without the trust.

This then grew to reciprocal healing….when you recover from an injury, manage a chronic illness or a life-threatening one and invite me into your journey, we can both find a bit of healing.

With this wellspring of perpetual healing being offered back to me, I am able to engage more deeply, more fully with life, professionally and personally. It gives me sustenance, longevity and hope, in all realms of my life.

I feel as though I have been engaged in a 39 year life mentorship program with you, one where we learn from one another simply by paying attention to one another

I am eternally grateful for the wisdom, the joy, the hope and the courage that you bring forth every single day. And for taking me on your journey with you.

Maholo….more than a simple thank you, I choose this term because it is a spiritual blessing, honouring the breath of life and divine presence. It’s direct translation “being in the presence of the divine breath of life”.

04/29/2026

Every spring I look for signs of life in my parents’ apple tree.

It serves as a reminder that we are resilient and genetically highly adaptable and predisposed to survive in harsh conditions, and that our growth does not occur during our emergence as someone new, as someone recovering, but rather, happens in the darkest and most challenging of times.

Let spring remind you of the magic within you.

04/23/2026

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be .
---------------Douglas Adams -------------

39'years on this journey and I have never loved it more.

I made it through physio school largely because of my very supportive parents and a couple of acquired friends in week one of first year . We became the "3 muskateers" almost immediately and truly, their friendship and support made life during those years a whole lot more fun.

Thanks and Scott Allan for all the good times and the tears shed and shared !

I almost left the profession twice ...once in the early years when I really struggled with Imposter Syndrome and then immediately following my cancer treatment. (I couldn't trust my own body to be healthy and this bled into not trusting my patients' bodies either ). I actually was hired as a pharmaceutical rep for Fournier but thankfully the big guy from Montreal did not rubber stamp me . He deemed me to be an educator moreso than a salesperson and did not see the potential in me .

I am most grateful to all those peers and employers who have seen the potential in me throughout my career and especially to those who pushed my potential beyond what I may have pushed myself. A big thanks to the original three owners of (Russ Horbal, Laurie Urban, Sam Steinfeld) and more recently, Lisa Mills-Hutton .physiotherapy .

And to my patients/ clients throughout the years who have trusted me on their journey to healing and wellbeing.

I am still learning to human , and "to physiio" ( thanks to perpetually evolving science ) but the biggest lesson has probably already landed and that is to truly love the people you are working with....clients and peers . Clients/ patients especially .

When we love our people , we improve our patient outcomes and we end up loving our work and we minimize the risk of burnout .

The aitalians have a way of expressing this kind of platonic love when they say "Ti voglio bene" . It gets translated as I love you but it's literal meaning is "I want good for you " .

Let's want good for one another . Always. Alll ways .

04/13/2026

Last turtle reel / photo / moment for this year . They continue to serve as a beautiful reminder of the value of slow, consistent efforts .

Maholo for all the moments of peace . Until next year my beautiful Paia friends 🐢