One in a million. Those were the odds that were given to Aaron Baker for his chances to ever feed himself again. Aaron suffered a Spinal Cord Injury similar to mine 14 years ago and these were the words that his doctor told his mother. Nothing about walking, nothing about standing up on his own, or even pushing himself in a wheelchair, but just simply his chances for feeding himself.
In my last post I shared the new page on my blog highlighting the stories that are inspirational to me and front and center among those is Aaron’s story. Through years of hard work and unwavering determination, not to mention incredible support from his mother and community, Aaron slowly regained control of his body and was able to fight his way back to his feet, and to his bike! A formerly sponsored motocross racer, he traded his motorized dirt bike for a road bike and ended up crossing the country twice, riding over 6,000 miles to share his story and raise awareness about SCI. Now he has opened a rehab gym north of Los Angeles with the intention to help as many other people with SCI and other injuries as possible.
I bring this up not only because of the continued inspiration I get from Aaron’s story but also because after speaking to him on the phone and learning more about the methods that he used for his recovery and his amazing, one-of-a-kind therapist Taylor (a kinesiology mastermind who now runs the therapy program at Aaron’s gym), I’ve decided to take a short break from my typical schedule and come to Southern California for a few days to mix things up again. I’ve mentioned how helpful it is for me to change my patterns, go somewhere new, meet new people and have different people work with me so that’s what has brought me here.
I could not be more grateful for this opportunity to come and meet people who in my eyes are like superheroes. I see people like Aaron, Laquita (his mother), and Taylor as beacons of shining light amidst a pervasive darkness in the SCI recovery world. For every one like them there are too many other people who say that to not get used to this “disabled” reality is to do yourself an injustice and to put “unrealistic” dreams of recovery to the side and move on with life. I’m honored to have this opportunity to meet these incredible individuals and I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with them in my next post.
Arash Recovery 