Posted by By Gray Lobell, Writer
Brady Ternes, 44, wears a beard that’s always well kept, his voice a joyful melody that always seems to be in tune. Usually wearing a school-colored collared shirt, he’s ready for any injury-filled student to barge in and demand healing.
In his spacious office resides all of his “high-tech rehabilitation devices.” Even though most of it you could find at your local CVS, his methods do work, and he heals most people he encounters.
It also helps that his office is filled with Star Wars decor. Anything from Baby Yoda mugs to Millennium Falcon lights or how his text tone is a lightsaber sound. Aside from his own enjoyment, it creates an aura of uplifting spirit that is hard not to catch.
Every morning, Brady drives to work on one of his two Harley-Davidson motorcycles. A hobby Brady immediately fell in love with. The joy of cruising on the road is one that Brady cannot get rid of, even if he tried.
“This is where I belong. I feel at home.”
Brady Ternes
“Two wheels just makes here to there funner,” Brady claims.
From growing up in Kansas to living in Colorado, Brady has seen and rode in a big chunk of the USA. However, where he currently resides in New Paltz, NY is the middle point of his journey.
“New York is kind of a mix of Kansas and Colorado. It has elevation and views to ride, along with harrowing straights to zone out.”
It’s Brady’s first year being the athletic trainer at New Paltz High School, and immediately he deals with injuries daily – a profession that was found out of luck. In his senior year of high school, Brady played football in his home state of Kansas, at a school that happened to have an athletic trainer. And after getting to know the trainer, he realized this was a viable career.
“I liked sports and biology; I thought maybe I should give it a shot.” Said Brady. “This is where I belong. I feel at home.”
However, this isn’t his first rodeo. Brady once worked in Colorado for a hospital that covered over 10 high schools and colleges for athletic training. Scrambling from school to school, he found a challenge. It is a challenge to keep up with the number of injuries and work at hand. But it is the challenges that Brady looks for in life.
“Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
Joshua J. Marine
This quote is printed in a frame in his office, where it stands on his desk for everyone to see. And it’s a quote that Brady lives by– the challenge of helping people —and seeing people overcome their challenging injuries helps him find purpose.
“What I do shortens the healing time for injury. It’s who I am. I love helping people.” However, helping people isn’t something he magically developed. Instead, it’s something that was instilled in him by his parents at a very young age. And it’s something that will likely stay with him for his whole life.
Unfortunately, there have been challenges that stem from the meaningful outcome. One that Brady doesn’t like to bring up, as he says it makes people uncomfortable.
“My son died in 2008.”
His son was born with a condition called gastroschisis. A condition where the organs in the belly and abdomen are outside of the body. One that kept them in the hospital almost indefinitely. Though the surgeries were successful, his immune system was unfortunately compromised.
“He was just a ray of sunshine.” Say’s Brady. “The kind of kid that the nurses would fight over to take care of.”
And he was incredibly smart. Before age two, Brady says, he could spell complex words such as “elephant.” However, unfortunately, due to his compromised immune system, Brady’s son passed away at the age of four in 2008.
“It’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemies.”
Despite this, Brady is still one of the nicest and most uplifting people one could meet. His personality is unique, and he has a certain aspect that continuously raises everyone’s spirits. It’s who he is, and it’s who he’s meant to be.
On any given day, you can find Brady smiling, helping, healing, and driving his school-issued golf cart around the sports fields in style. And the students of New Paltz High School will be able to appreciate him and his-high tech rehabilitation devices for years to come.
The Maroon 