Today we’d like to introduce you to Chloe Fetrow.
Hi Chloe, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My life goal was to one day be a women’s college basketball coach. Pat Summit was my biggest influence growing up. I was heavily involved in playing AAU for most of my young life. Basketball was all I knew. When I graduated high school in 2005, I was given a scholarship to play basketball for Immaculata University (D3). During that time, my parents were divorcing so my mental health was on the shelf. After one semester in college and a few open gyms, I realized that I just needed to take a break from everything I knew, and heal. I moved out to West Chester and needed to figure out my next steps. I was lost, but upon thinking, I had one class in high school that was the only subject that ever grabbed me – Kinesiology. My teacher was amazing and made class so enjoyable, on top of the awe I found in learning about the human body. Being a hands-on learner and my love for science, and the human body, is what drew me to becoming a Massage Therapist.
My entire life was surrounded by healthcare. My mom was a midwife, and then became a nurse, and shortly after got her masters as a Nurse Practitioner in women’s health. I was about 8 years old when Merck Pharmaceuticals (her dream job) hired her and she eventually became a researcher and epidemiologist, and pioneered the women’s health research group for Merck back in the 90’s (in a very male-dominated field at the time). She retired a few years ago with a PhD. My dad is a kidney transplant recipient. I was 3 years old when we got the call they had a match. It ended up being a perfect match. My dad is now going on 36 years with the same kidney. Healthcare professionals think he is the longest living recipient with a deceased donor in the country. He has an incredible story but my life was constantly involved with his chronic condition and my mother’s career. So I wouldn’t be where I am without both of them.
I became a Massage Therapist in 2006 and worked full time for about 5 years when I found out I was pregnant. I was 23 years old and at the time, massage was a lot on my body and I knew I wanted something more stable when my daughter was born. My aunt was a Physical Therapist and she turned me onto this new up-and-coming career to become a Physical Therapist Assistant. The more I researched it, the more I knew this is what I wanted to do. I was licensed in 2014 and took a job with one of my clinical affiliation sites. It was a Subacute/Skilled Nursing retirement community. We did PT for both short term and long term care patients. It was an amazing experience. I learned so much. We treated everything including but not limited to joint replacements, strokes, spinal cord injury, amputees, cardiopulmonary diseases, cancer, dementia, and all sorts of surgical procedures, etc. You name it, I’ve probably seen and/or rehabbed it. My coworkers were also in the field for 20 years so I learned from the best.
About a year into my PTA career, and treating people with all sorts of swelling, I remembered learning in PTA school about a massage technique that targets inflammation and the lymphatic system. We didn’t go into depth about the lymphatic system as much as we did the other body systems, but my massage ears were listening. Fast forward to Covid and I was as burnt out as anyone in the medical field during that time. I was really struggling with finding enjoyment in working for the healthcare system and by the universe’s grace, I was laid off. I was so grateful to have the opportunity to use my unemployment to figure it out. During that time, I was trying to reach out to other Lymphedema Therapists in the area. It wasn’t until a Massage Therapist in Bryn Mawr, who specialized in lymphatic massage, told me to call her immediately. So I did and she was so motivating. She told me to reach back out when I completed my certification because she was moving into retirement and wanted me to take her new clients.
After much research, I signed up to become a Certified Lymphedema Therapist through one of the most internationally recognized programs, Klose Training, which teaches the Vodder Technique – one of the most precise forms of Manual lymphatic Drainage. The training was a total of 135 hours. The first 75 hours were home study regarding anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic system, physician’s lectures, pathology, treatment including manual lymph drainage, bandaging, fitting for compression garments, etc. The in-person seminar was 60 hours hands on.
Once I was certified (2021), I called my mentor and she took me on board. I worked with her until she retired, and I continued working by offering home visits for my clients I received through her. I made business cards and brochures and literally went door to door to give different surgeons and medical offices my information. I eventually picked up part time work in a wellness center to make some extra income until I was ready to go out on my own.
In 2023 I was ready to make the jump and opened a small office in downtown West Chester. During that time, I also became certified in Myofascial Release and Craniosacral Therapy. I knew there was a link with these modalities and the lymphatic system, and so a lot of my work tends to blend the modalities.
The more I started working with clients fresh out of surgery, specifically in cosmetics, the more I realized that standard Vodder Technique had some missing pieces. So I furthered my education to become a Certified Cosmetic Surgery Therapist. It is a more precise method to accelerate the healing process for those who have undergone cosmetic surgery. It also bridges the gap from patient to surgeon, which helps answer any questions patients have during their healing journey as well as education on compression, diet, and positioning.
Most recently, I’ve become certified in The Perrin Technique, which is a lymphatic drainage technique that targets the lymphatic system in the brain and spinal cord, known as the glymphatic system. This technique helps people with serious chronic illness by draining lymphatic fluid and toxins from the nervous system.
My business has flourished by word of mouth, referrals from surgeons, functional medicine doctors, and other healthcare and holistic practitioners, and my incredible web developer/business coach who has helped me with my website and running the business. I am currently in the middle of expanding as I’ve hired another therapist who specializes in lymphatic work, and I hope to bring more therapists on board soon. From the start, I always envisioned my practice to be the place for people to have access to the safest and highest level of lymphatic treatment. So at this point I feel I’ve covered all angles of manual techniques for the lymphatic system in the human body, that we know of. My manual approach has been guided by those I have learned from, while simultaneously combining all the techniques with my own flare and experiences to customize all of my client’s treatments. It has been a wild ride to see it all come together, and one day I will teach.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been fairly smooth in that I think I started this at the right time, but there have been some bumps along the way. I’d say growing pains is the best way to put it. I never imagined owning my own business. Learning how to run and operate a business, while also being completely hands on all day has its challenges. So it’s very time consuming, but it’s my baby and I am enjoying the process and am grateful for every step that has gotten me to where I am now. I’ve learned a lot. It’s been a lot of work between trainings, hands on experience, and starting a business from scratch. When I was starting out, I built my own website with no experience and when I met my web developer, he was teaching me how to do SEO and google operations based off of what I could afford at the time. So I’ve had to do a lot of this myself. I’ve truly built it from the ground up.
Within my work, at the time, one of my biggest challenges was getting my name into surgeon’s and oncologists offices. Five years ago, lymphatic massage and the lymphatic system were barely even talked about. Five years doesn’t seem like that long but I have seen so much change over the years. I have seen a lot of misinformation out there about lymphatics, which has, understandably, made medical professionals hesitant. So there was a bit of an uphill battle trying to be taken seriously. But it has worked out. I have a great network of people. I think social media has brought a lot of attention to lymphatic work so I am seeing more and more health care professionals and community getting on board with it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Certified Lymphedema Therapist and Certified Cosmetic Surgery Therapist. I am licensed as a Massage Therapist and Physical Therapist Assistant. I am also certified in The Perrin Technique, Myofascial Release, Craniosacral Therapy, and I am a Certified Yoga Instructor. I love bodywork.
I run my own business that specializes solely in lymphatic massage. I consider it more therapeutic treatment compared to what you would see in a spa. I treat all walks of life, which is the beautiful thing about lymphatic massage because it benefits everyone. I’d say the majority of cases I see are people with autoimmune/chronic disease, oncology, lymphedema, lipedema, women’s health, thyroid disease, and post op cosmetic and general surgery. I also treat people with allergies, sinus issues, skin issues, and people who are just genuinely interested in it or want it for their own wellness routine.
Lymphatic massage is a very light, rhythmic, pumping technique that stimulates the lymphatic system by moving fluid at a more accelerated rate to minimize inflammation and promote detoxification in the body. So the benefits are incredible. I work closely with local surgeons, functional medicine doctors, and other holistic practitioners. My goal in working collectively with other practitioners, is to help detox the body and minimize inflammation so it can maximize their work and provide accelerated outcomes.
I am most proud of the fact that I’ve worked so hard and built this completely on my own from ground zero, and I’m practicing lymphatic techniques with 100% intention to truly make people’s quality of life better. Working for the healthcare system became soul sucking, and as necessary as it is, the system is becoming more and more business driven that quality care is problematic. I didn’t know where this was going to go when I decided to jump into starting a business. I just knew I genuinely wanted to help people and my experience doing massage and physical therapy (and yoga) is what brought me to this point. I think my client’s recognize that what they’re receiving is top notch care. And I’m proud that I can show my daughter that you can start over at any time and you can make a career out of your passions – and if you do it with complete authenticity, it will always work out.
I think what sets me apart from the rest is my passion for the lymphatic system, my education, experience, the trainings/certifications I’ve completed, and understanding of the human body. I truly love what I do and I have seen miraculous healing with the techniques and experience I have. The lymphatic world is a bit like the wild wild west. It is not quite regulated the way massage and physical therapy are. When I started researching lymphatic work, I wanted to do it right by taking the highest levels of training that are out there as opposed to some of the more basic trainings. I think, and have seen, it makes a big difference in the level of care and outcomes people have. I’ve been doing bodywork for 20 years, so I’ve seen a lot, and I’ve made it a point to seek out the best when it comes to education. I’m a forever student of bodywork so I will never stop doing what I can to make sure people are receiving the best. I’ve also had my fair share of health issues and self healing, and being raised in a family with someone with a chronic condition, I hold a lot of empathy and can truly understand people’s situations.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I do consider myself a risk taker. I’ve never really done things by the books. I’ve always been very independent. I’m the middle child between two brothers so when I wasn’t keeping up with them, I was in my own world. Being the only girl/middle child was unique and I believe that helped pave the way for me to do things on my own, in my own way. Even if it meant failure. I think elements of my childhood and my life experience have made me trust that no matter what, things always work out.
I took a risk by dropping out of college and walking away from the possibility of living my dream as a college coach to pursue massage therapy, and moved to a new town where I knew no one. I took a risk of leaving a career in massage therapy and dove into school to become a PTA as a young mom of a newborn, in hopes that it would give my daughter a better life. But I think the biggest risk for me was taking a leap of faith by stopping my career in healthcare and starting a business in a field that (at the time) was not well known, and is still making its way. I have a family, so walking away from stability was really scary. But I trusted my gut and it just felt right. I saw that the universe was providing me with an amazing opportunity I knew I’d have to work hard for. I didn’t know where it was going to go. I’ve never taken a business class so there were always thoughts of, “how am I supposed to do this? Can I do this? How could I possibly run a business with no experience?” But I’ve just taken it one day at a time, and still am. And everything I’ve done and every decision in this process has opened a new door. I know this is what I was meant to do no matter how risky it was to get here.
I was graced with two pieces of advice (years ago) that have driven my life and every decision I make when it comes to risk-taking that I love to share to motivate others:
1.) The best things are always on the other side of fear.
2.) You have to fall to fly.
These are my mantras that I remind myself of regularly. And I believe every risk I’ve taken in my life has gotten me to where I am today. I’m excited to take more risks and see where this path takes me.
Pricing:
- $135/60minutes
- $150/75minutes
- $180/90minutes
- $200/home visits depending on location
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chloefetrowtherapy.com
