"Helping disabled individuals who are scared and afraid to come out; teaching a public that is uncomfortable and uneducated; actively working with doctors to eliminate their skepticism - we can improve it all. We just need to remember the physically challenged are just people too." - Gay Koopman, L.M.P.

Gay Koopman, L.M.P., works, primarily, with "amputees, wheelchair athletes, individuals with polio, spinal cord injuries and cerebral palsy and the blind." This profile describes how she initially became involved with Adaptive Sports Massage, her work with Amputee Soccer International, and her on-going mission to encourage other therapists to "embrace the disabled population." Koopman's passion for helping her clients prompted her to spend time playing soccer on crutches, and for four days, she lived in a wheelchair. These experiences helped her to understand the kind of physical and societal obstacles her clients routinely face. Koopman's specialty is working with amputee clients.