Edie McDaniel Climo started coming to Maine at a very early age to visit with her grandparents in Boothbay Harbor. As a child she would often “hang out” at their store “Angels Unawares” which was located in the parking lot of Captain Fish boat tours, across Commercial Street from where “Ebb Tide” once was. When I first landed here there was still a chimney standing in that location until it was hit by lightning and eventually disassembled.

Eden recalls watching the store when her grandfather took a lunch break in the early days at “China By the Sea.” If a customer needed information about some item in the store, Edie would step outside and call across the street to her grandfather who was dining outside. “China By the Sea” is now “Ports of Italy.” It once was the home of “Harbor Motors” owned and operated by Arthur Barlow. Clem Brewer bought the building after Arthur passed. There is no longer outdoor dining or “Angels Unawares,” but Edie has returned as she always new she would.

We recall Edie during her middle school and high school soccer days with our daughter Morgan. Edie’s grandmother always attended home games to cheer on the team coached by Mr. Taliana in middle school. We were captivated by grandmother McDaniel’s lovely Georgia voice and dedicated enthusiasm. Edie came to Maine in 6th grade from Cincinnati and finished her high school education here, before returning to Cincinnati for college, advanced study and clinical doctorate (DPT) in physical therapy. And now she’s back, married to Adam Climo, with a new baby, building a new home on Southport, and launching her career in what she refers to as “Consierge Physical Therapy.” This means that she will make in home visits to help with rehab and personal training.

In her years of study, during and after degree work, Edie worked in a variety of settings within and outside the formal network of medical care. She was not pleased with the pressures she felt from a system that became more and more driven by patient volume and time constraints. There was no way to actively meet, assess and treat new patients within predetermined and actively limited appointment windows. As many of us have come to realize, doctors are feeling significant pressure to meet “quotas” set forth by medical companies. Eden needed more time and greater interaction. So she has set out to develop her own more personalized approach to helping create care and treatments that are tailored to individual needs. Her approach is not well suited to institutional models which restrict more in-depth evaluation and interaction.

Eden can be contacted through her website at www.tidal-wellness.com. Eventually she hopes to create a space at the family home for her work, but until then, home visits are working out well. It’s nice to have her back in the “’hood.” She looks forward to helping create a healthier community.