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It was Easter Sunday 2023 when Bryce Hackett received a call from his dad that would change everything.

The first-year student in The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth’s Department of Physical Therapy found out his dad wouldn’t be making it to family Easter events. He was in severe pain and unable to walk.

The Kennedale native immediately called his older brother to let him know what was going on. Despite wanting to avoid the hospital, Hackett’s dad was admitted with cellulitis, a bacterial infection that affects the skin’s deeper layers, including the dermis and subcutaneous fat. After undergoing debridement surgery to get rid of the dead tissues and cells in his leg, his dad started experiencing complications. Prior to this, he’d had two kidney transplants.

Three months after the surgery, Hackett’s worst fear came true: He lost his dad.

Despite living through this unimaginable tragedy, Hackett was determined to find the good in each day his dad was in the hospital. Most good days back then came in the form of his dad’s physical therapists.

“Coming to terms with everything was very difficult, but I was determined to find the good in something each day,” Hackett said. “His physical therapists were amazing because he was going through so much, and they remained so encouraging through it all.”

From the moment his dad started working with physical therapists, Hackett was picking their brains about inpatient therapy and the ins and outs of the job. A prior injury in 2016 sidelined him from his college baseball career but gave him his first exposure to the field of physical therapy and the difference it could make in a patient’s recovery journey.

“After I had surgery, I had an amazing physical therapist named Lisa,” Hackett said. “She really pushed me to want to get better and was such a great role model. I could really see her compassion, and I immediately became interested in the field of physical therapy.”

Seeing how the physical therapists encouraged and supported his dad solidified Hackett’s decision to pursue a career in physical therapy.

“I made a promise to my dad that I would make a difference by helping other people,” Hackett said. “I didn’t get to help him in the ways I wanted, so I promised to find a way to help others and impact the community for good.”

He took his first step toward that promise when he enrolled at UNTHSC in July. His childhood best friend, Andrew Flanagan, a second-year student in UNTHSC’S Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, previously had driven him through campus and spoke so highly of the university that he knew it would be the perfect fit.

Hackett is now two months into living out his promise to himself and his dad, and he’s loving every second of it.

“As I go through all my classes, I always remember the physical therapists who inspired me and helped my dad,” Hackett said. “I can’t wait to hopefully have that same impact on someone one day.”

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