Christine Egan Physical Therapy

Sawyer Taylor’s competitive heartbreak occurred in 2018. An incredibly talented bicycle racer at the age of 18, Sawyer had qualified for the Junior United States National Cycling Team the year before. However, a lingering hamstring injury had kept her from training at full-strength. She raced at National Championships anyways, but failed to qualify for the National Team — losing her spot on the junior team in her last year of eligibility.

“I felt like I had put in years of work only to have (the spot on the team) taken away because I didn’t know what was going on with my body,” Sawyer said.

True to Sawyer’s unshakeable determination, she rebounded in 2019 to turn in one of her best seasons of racing, despite competing against much older racers. Her ability to overcome physical impediments has been tested throughout her life. She was born with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT), which causes chronic weakness in hand and feet muscles. Sawyer also had a leg length discrepancy and a flexible congenital scoliosis. Her mom, Shirley Taylor, a physical therapist herself, noticed all of these physical issues and sought explanations and treatment from Sawyer’s doctors. She refused to let any physical challenge impede Sawyer’s success.

When Sawyer was two years old, Shirley started noticing her daughter’s atypical characteristics. Sawyer looked asymmetrical when she stood upright, but her position corrected when she laid flat. Sawyer’s fine motor skills were uncoordinated for her age and she walked with an odd gait.

“Running was always really a chore,” Shirley said of her daughter’s toddler years. “She would do it, but it was not that easy, childlike kind of a run. It was very labored and clumsy.”

Shirley also said Sawyer had a stark sensitivity to certain textures and touches, as if her sensory system was overwhelmed with environmental input. Shirley could tell something was wrong with her daughter even if medical professionals did not agree.

“All her physicians reiterated ‘Oh don’t worry she’ll grow into it,’” Shirley said. “I’m a rehabilitation expert, we don’t let people just live like that until surgery. From a mom’s perspective, I’m not going to let my kid just develop like that. That’s not okay with me.”

“When you’re a parent and you see your kid suffering,” Shirley said, “You can’t just sit around and do nothing. You have to act. Parents don’t realize how fast things can change in childhood.”

Without much support, Shirley helped her daughter practice exercises that she adapted from her own adult PT practice. Shirley built a simple lift into Sawyer’s left shoe to accommodate her leg length difference. Activities that avoided running, like swimming and cycling, were also critical for bolstering Sawyer’s strength. It was these two activities that changed the course of Sawyer’s life.

Shirley was introduced to Christine Egan MPH, PT C/NDT at one of Sawyer’s swim meets. Christine was the first professional who agreed with Shirely that Sawyer’s condition could be improved with treatment as she was growing up.

“I am not a wait-and-see therapist, says Christine. “When I evaluate a problem be it orthopedic, neurological, developmental or any other issue, I prefer and strongly recommend we address the problem in order to mitigate any further compensations that often arise in childhood due to untreated or unrecognized concerns.”

“I would have continued to advocate for my daughter, of course,” Shirley said. “But it was just so nice to see the perspective of Chrisitne’s incredibly expert eye.”

Christine fitted Sawyer for bilateral custom molded foot orthotics. She also recommended Sawyer wear Theratogs, a neoprene suit that provides joint compression and controlled forces to provide specific sensory input.

“We began a program for Sawyer that first put her into an optimal biomechanical alignment,” said Christine. “Next we addressed her poor body awareness with compression garments. Then I added Pilates to Sawyer’s treatment regime. The combination of all three of these approaches allowed Sawyer to move and strengthen her body in a very efficient and effective manner,” said Christine.

“It was always fun to go to Christine’s office,” Shirley said. “It wasn’t like a chore to go there at all. Sawyer loved using all the equipment and especially the Pilates reformer. Christine was always so kind and patient with her. She has a great sense of humor especially with kids.”

“I still do some of the physical therapy moves that my mom prescribed or that I can remember from working with Christine,” Sawyer said.

Strategic surgeries, performed by pediatric orthopedist Dale Townsend MD, combined with physical therapy helped alleviate most of Sawyer’s physical issues. Her first knee surgery at the age of 11 corrected the malalignment in her legs. Sawyer said that while she still notices some lingering effects from her developmental impediments, they do not get in the way of her athletic or academic achievement.

“Once I started living in a body that I believed was strong, capable, able to play sports and ready to take on the world, I got a lot more confident,” Sawyer said. “I accredit a large amount of my academic success to the confidence that I gained from cycling and physical therapy. I can’t focus on school work or my other pursuits unless I am training or working out.”

After joining her middle school mountain biking club, she quickly excelled and became captain of the team. She also started racing on velodrome track bikes, whizzing around banked turns at 40 miles per hour. Sawyer raced with several amateur cycling teams throughout high school and made the Junior US National Cycling Team in 2017. She particularly admires the female role models in the sport, which she said are too few and far between.

“Cycling is something that should be more accessible to everyone, and it’s often seen as something that has and will forever be male dominated,” Sawyer said. “I just want to encourage more women to take up the sport. That would be hugely positive for the cycling world.”

Not only has Sawyer won on the track but she has won in the classroom. A naturally curious and intelligent person, Sawyer is a top-notch student and is currently a freshman at Stanford University, with ambitions to double major in Economics and Computer Science. But for Sawyer, it all goes back to confidence she gained on the pedals.

“For me personally, cycling changed my life,” says Sawyer.

“It’s made me into the person and student I am today. I wouldn’t be talking to you right now about strategies and success without it. If you have a physical disability, your progress in athletics is going to be different, but ultimately if you work at it and you’re smart about it and listen to your body, there’s nothing you can’t do in life.”