We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Danika Viola. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Danika below.

Hi Danika, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The risk of deciding to chop part of my leg off at 23 years old was similar to the decision to start a clinic as a new mom at 28 years old- a big risk for the potential of a much better life. In considering the alternatives, I knew that both of these decisions would impact my entire life, my childrens’ view of women and the strength that we have to offer the world, and the ability for me to live life in a way that allows me to enjoy it instead of just surviving it. After spending weeks trekking through the Himalayas in Nepal just 2 years after becoming an amputee, I knew that starting my own clinic was going to be my new mountain to climb. Following 7 years in the healthcare world as an Occupational Therapist working in pediatrics, inpatient rehab, skilled nursing facilities, and finally landing in women’s pelvic health- I knew that I needed to create the best possible scenario for myself and my family. And on January 15, 2020, I launch my very first business and cheekily called it Empower Your Pelvis. With a baby on my hip, a pandemic looming, and a baby about to be growing inside me in less than 2 months, it probably wasn’t the most ideal timing (not that there is such a thing). But just shy of 5 years later, and this clinic has quadrupled its staff and helped thousands of women, children, and infants, grown to 2 clinic locations, I’ve mentored hundreds of pelvic health occupational therapists and their businesses, and I’ve opened a collective of women-owned health & wellness businesses that currently has 11 businesses in it that all work with families, women’s health, and pediatrics. Isn’t it amazing how the confidence you can gain from one leap can exponentially increase the next leap you take?

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Danika Viola, and I’m a mom of 3, an occupational therapist, an amputee, and have raging ADHD. I specialize in pelvic health for women & kids, maternal health OT, and infant development and tethered oral tissues. I own 3 businesses that all work symbiotically with each other- Flourish Pelvic Health & Wellness: a pelvic health clinic with 2 locations outside of Philadelphia, Flourish Mentorship Program: a mentorship business for pelvic health occupational therapists for clinical and business skills, and the Flourish Birth & Family Collective: a collective of 11 women-owned health & wellness businesses. Within those businesses, I’ve also created events such as the Pelvic Health OT Retreat 2024 (and another one coming up in 2025!) as well as a networking event for the Philadelphia area called the Holiday Happy Hour Networking Event: For Women’s Health & Pediatric Providers.

I’m most proud of being able to support other women-owned businesses and women in general through both my clinical skills as a clinician as well as a businesswoman who is able to help other businesses thrive and flourish with my coaching. The way that I coach and treat patients is very much the same – I match what others need along with their energies to help them feel empowered, confident, and ready to take on the world. I throw in a bit of sarcasm, some swear words here and there, and make sure that they understand that they are getting the most authentic version of me. And the authenticity piece flows right back into what I love to see with both my patients and my coaching clients. Because the moment that we’re able to feel like ourselves and know that we’re enough, is the moment that pelvic health problems start to get better and you start being more open to various treatment methods as well as the moment that your business starts to thrive because of the confidence and your own personality you imbue into it.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My resilience is proven in a very permanent, physical disability that I was forced to make a decision on when I was 23. As someone who had to not only research and choose to electively amputate my right leg below the knee after life-threatening injuries from a car accident, I also had to fight through several surgeons to find one who would perform it. I had spoken with 2 surgeons before finding mine, and both had told me that they would prefer to fuse all of the joints in my ankle and foot – at 23 years old – before amputating “since amputation was permanent”. Even after providing them with 26 research articles that highlighted why an a below knee amputation was more functional than just a simple ankle fusion (let alone all of my foot bones as well), explaining to them that I’m an occupational therapist working with individuals who have had ankle fusions and that I knew what it meant, the surgeons would lie to my face and tell me I could run again and do marathons and triathlons and climb mountains after my fusion. It was truly my first experience in the medical system having to advocate for myself. Thankfully, the third surgeon I found looked me in the eye and said “Listen, if I fuse all of this, you’ll be back here in a year begging me for the amputation you’ve done your due diligence on. The hardest thing about an amputation is your daily activities – showering, for example. You’re an OT. You do this for a living. I can’t think of a better candidate for a below knee amputation.” And I never looked back. The amputation was the best thing I ever did, and I’m so proud of myself for making that insanely difficult decision for the betterment of my life and my future.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

To succeed in our field, I think mentorship is actually one of the most helpful things ever. Mentorship allows you to lean on someone because more often than not, healthcare professionals are driven by a mindset of helping people and not necessarily by money. Being a healthcare business owner means that you must overcome the mentality that healthcare providers need to be “bleeding heart” professionals in order to be successful clinicians. While almost every single helping professional I know went into healthcare because they want to help people and make the world a better place, business simply doesn’t work like that. There’s some serious work we all need to do when we start as a businesswoman for things like realizing our self-worth, improving money mindset, and establishing the ability to set boundaries and say “no” when scenarios, clients, or opportunities don’t serve us in the most authentic way possible. This is something I continue to work on and yes, there’s situations in everyone’s lives that are outliers, but having a mentor in your field is something that is priceless to be able to lean on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.flourishmentorship.com
• Instagram: @Danika.Pelvic.OT
• Other: TikTok: @Danika.Pelvic.OT

Image Credits

Maggie Boo