In one fell swoop Jeff Woodrich's future simultaneously died and was reborn.
Leaving baseball practice in the fall of1988, his first semester at UB, an unstable table leaning against a door violently collapsed onto his heel, instantly slicing his Achilles tendon.
He thought he felt fine, and it was his turn to drive, so after carefully tying a cloth around the gushing wound, he began to drive himself and a couple friends back to Hamburg where he lived. The bleeding continued rapidly and soon it was too much, Woodrich lost consciousness on the wheel along Interstate 290 and the car ended up in a ditch.
Baseball season was over for the freshman business major, but the incredibly painful situation irrecoverably altered the course of his future. What he later realized was that pushing open the door to leave Alumni also opened the door to a new career.
After the incident Woodrich attended rehab to work on strengthening his Achilles tendon, becoming well acquainted with his doctor and staff. He came to feel so at home at rehab that he decided he wanted to stay for good, and started working towards a degree in physical therapy.
Woodrich went on to graduate from UB in 1991 as a certified physical therapist, with a GPA of 3.9. Today he is co-owner of Buffalo Rehab Group physical therapy located on Transit in East Amherst, where his services are in high demand. The group also has locations in West Seneca, Hamburg and Tonawanda.
He has worked with a variety of people, including clients from the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres. Woodrich has worked with former UB Bull and Buffalo Bills player Drew Haddad, and helped Daniel Briere, JP Dumont and Teppo Numminen get back onto the ice last season after minor injuries.
The walls of the facility are decorated with a number of pictures of former patients - celebrity and non - back in full functioning health and partaking in their favorite activities. Extending from the waiting room to the large gym, the "Wall of Fame" is a reminder of the countless community members Woodrich and his fellow staff members have helped.
"They're like everyone else," Woodrich said of his local celebrity clients. "They are hardworking and determined to get back to what they were doing before."
Working with people well known in the community has its downfalls, however, according to Woodrich.
"(They are) a little higher risk. If you don't get them better it hurts your reputation, but if you do help them, it puts you in good standing with people," he said.
As an undergraduate, Woodrich took an internship at a hospital in Springville, and also worked in the neurology department at Brothers of Mercy and in orthopedics at Buffalo Physical Therapy. While at Springville, they invited him to stay on for his first job out of college job.
"Internships are basically tryouts to see if you like the job and the people and if they like you," Woodrich said. "If it works out you tend to get the job."
The UB alum is now married to his college sweetheart, Kim, and lives in Orchard Park with their two children, eight-year-old Jake and five-year-old Hannah. When he's not seeing patients or in a business meeting, Woodrich spends time with his family at his son's hockey games and his daughter's dance recitals.
Sophomore exercise science major Lindsay Zirnheld has been interning with Woodrich and his fellow physical therapists at Buffalo Rehab Group physical therapy for the past year.
"Jeff is genuine and really cares about his patients," Zirnheld said. "He's gentle and respectful towards patients as well as co-workers and I've really loved the hands-on experience. I've gotten to work with patients and I'm learning how to interact with them and understand what they're going through."
Zirnheld's favorite part of the job is getting to know the patients who come in two to three times a week while they are healing.
"People come in, in pain, and they leave in a much better state. It's nice to see them get back out there on the ice or on the field or whatever and be able to say, 'I helped with that,'" she said.
Woodrich is pleased with the future of his alma mater.
"I'm extremely proud of where UB is going. I like President Simpson and I'm a huge fan of Turner Gill and where the Athletics department is going," Woodrich said. "UB could be the revitalization of the whole area."
His only request and desire is that UB invest in a Division I hockey team, something long awaited by both community members and UB students.
In the end, Woodrich is thankful for the direction fate has taken him and for the opportunity to do what he loves best.
"I get to take people through the process, getting them from their worst point to their best point," he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
