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Step forth lightly…Hospital Corpsman Xavier Boney attempts a obstacle course with hidden challenges, designed to test agility, equilibrium, and coordination. In conjunction with April designated as Occupational Therapy Month, Ms. Teri Nyblom, NHB certified occupational therapist assistant, showcased to her Physical Therapy Department colleagues on how occupational therapy can help those in need to recuperate, recover, and rehabilitate from an injury with individual and team activities which challenged each contestant on performing what seemed like a series of children games, but with a decidedly occupational therapy twist. Although occupational therapy and physical therapy are closely aligned - for Fiscal Year 2024, they combined to treat over 14,300 patients - there is a difference. According to Nyblom, occupational therapy promotes health by enabling individuals to achieve independence and improve their ability to perform meaningful and purposeful daily activities across their lifespan. “We deal with a lot of repetitive motion injuries and combine teaching and training to help the healing,” Nyblom said. “Healing can be hard.” Physical therapy primarily focuses on healing a body’s damage and helping a patient’s physical mobility, movement, and ability to function (Official Navy photo by Douglas H Stutz, NHB/NMRTC Bremerton public affairs officer).