From Wheelchair to Walking!

“My name is Jorge M., I had an accident in October 2023, breaking my spine, leaving me wheelchair bound and numb from the waist down to the tips of my toes; I could not move. I spent eight days in intensive care and then taken to a rehabilitation center to start my therapies, where I stayed for 22 days.

At the rehabilitation center, I met my Rehab Without Walls therapy team, but we didn’t have the opportunity to discuss my case because we didn’t have an interpreter. But thanks to God, the opportunity came for my therapy team to visit my apartment, and we were able to talk about my case. They spoke with me and my wife about continuing the therapies at home.

The first home therapy session was particularly challenging for me because I couldn’t bend to touch below my knee, and my therapists had to hold me to do it and to return to the sitting position. It was very painful, but thanks to faith and the therapies, I managed to do it. With the patience of the therapists, I was able to lift my feet and stand up, although I was afraid of falling when they stood me up, so we used the support of the sofa. I felt great joy when I was able to walk with the walker. At the same time, I felt sad because I thought I wouldn’t be able to achieve it.

Thanks to the therapists taking me to the park to teach me to walk, I managed to do it. After that, it was easy for me to walk with the walker. The therapies that I felt helped me the most were the ones they gave me when they took me to the stores. There, I learned to walk with the shopping cart, which was a great help. They lifted me out of depression and helped me walk. The at-home therapies, park therapies, and shopping trips helped me out of the dark world I was living in because I couldn’t even go to the bathroom or bathe alone without the help of my wife, Maria C. Without her help, I couldn’t do anything.

With occupational and physical therapies, I have managed to do many things, and I thank God that today I go to the park and the stores to do therapies on my own. I have learned a lot about the importance of therapies because I have left behind the wheelchair and the walker. Today, I walk with crutches, no longer needing the wheelchair. I am working on gaining balance to be able to stand and take my first steps and thus leave the crutches behind as well. I am very excited and confident that I will achieve it, God willing.”

– Jorge M., RWW SCI Patient
*This patient testimonial was translated to English from Jorge’s native language of Spanish.