Brian Baker’s prognosis was grim. He was told that he would never walk again—one year out from a suffering a devastating stroke at age 27. The new father told his wife, “Two things that I'm fighting for are, I want to be around for my daughter so I can walk her down the aisle one day. And I want to be able to dance with her at her wedding."
Thanks to a decade of free physical therapy sessions at Carroll University’s Therapeutic Abilities Clinic (TAC), Baker is now walking and perfecting his box step. Baker’s story and that of the clinic, which provides much-needed free services for clients with neurological conditions like stroke, brain injury, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, was recently featured on Fox6 News.
The clinic, which is part of Carroll’s mission of service, was begun in 2008 by Carroll’s Physical Therapy Program Director Dr. Sara Deprey, whose vision was to educate students while providing physical therapy activities to individuals who had run out of insurance.
"It's a win-win situation. The students benefit from being able to learn from the clients, and the clients benefit from being able to work with the physical therapy students," said Dr. Vickie Ericson, senior lecturer of physical therapy.
The clinic has proven to be very popular with patients, and there is an active waiting list. You can find more about TAC by emailing chsclinic@carrollu.edu or by calling 262.951.3045.
Watch the Fox6 Feature Here