WALK THE LINE RECOVERY THERAPY | THE INNOVATOR | SUMMER 2018 1

Walk The Line Recovery Therapy exists for one purpose — to promote and achieve RECOVERY from spinal cord inju-ry and brain injury. When a TEAM of individuals all believe and work towards a goal….anything is POSSIBLE!

THE INNOVATOR News & Information from WALK THE LINE

2018 SUMMER NEWSLETTER

ERICA’S CORNER

A note from the Chief

Starting Walk The Line on the heels of feeling defeated and being discharged from my previous physical therapy program fueled the fire and passion to make WTL a place of power. The initial design of Walk The Line reflected the type of stimulus and environment that helps me to feel successful and accom-plish my goals. Some of our clients identify with this as well -- they find suc-cess in the bustle on the floor, the banter amongst clients and staff, the bright and energetic environment.

Over the years as Walk The Line has become much more than spinal cord inju-ry recovery, the needs of our clients and the environment that promotes suc-cess for them has expanded. When faced with the opportunity to serve a broader base of individuals on their road to recovery we found ourselves ask-ing the question, “Are we doing our best to serve ALL individuals that could

benefit from Walk The Line?” The answer was no. We have evolved in our ability to customize each program for the individual based on their current abilities, desired abilities and goals but when it came to aspects such as duration and environment, we had fallen short.

Enter Walk The Line Blue, a 1000-square foot expansion designed specifically to provide a space that pro-vides results based feedback, with a less distracted color palette that promotes concentration and focus. The Blue gym provides an environment where individuals receive feedback during activities from the external cues or visual cues on the floor and around the space. It also features a private treatment room as well as a gaming room where clients can engage in motion sensor virtual reality gaming via Xbox Kinect.

We have also started offering 90-minute sessions for those individuals that feel more successful with a shorter session time. Since the implementation of WTL Blue, we have found that some individuals benefit from participating only in the Blue program or only in the Red program, while some benefit from a mixture of both programs. All clients are evaluated by their Physical Therapist and a custom plan is created that takes into account the environment and duration that best suits each client’s goals and needs. (CONT.)

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In almost seventeen years of living with a spinal cord injury, I’ve learned that recovery means something different and looks different for each of us. Recovery evolves over time as we change and progress. Walk The Line strives to serve every individual that entrusts us as partners on their road to recovery. We take this re-sponsibility seriously and hope that by expanding our methods, environment and session duration that we are a recovery program that truly reflects the needs of our community.

As Walk The Line celebrates its 11th birthday we reflect on where we have been -- both the successes and the challenges -- always keeping our eye on the road ahead that pushes us to achieve more, faster.

MEET THE TEAM

Sheena Moore, PT, DPT

Sheena earned her Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with a concentra-tion in Pre-Physical Therapy while also obtaining a minor in Exercise Sci-ence at Oakland University. She then continued her education at Oakland University and received a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Sheena began at Walk the Line as a student on her final internship in September 2017. Shortly after she began working at Walk the Line as a trainer.

With goals of travel PT and traveling the country in mind I accepted my first placement away from Walk the Line and soon realized something was missing. Actually, a lot was missing: true client centered care, co-workers who share the bond of a family, laughter in the workplace, and a team en-vironment of positive energy from office staff, trainers, clients, and physi-cal therapists. I then realized my goal of travelling didn’t make sense if I

couldn’t work in an environment that I was passionate about everyday. So I followed what I was passionate about and returned to Walk the Line as a physical therapist. Here at Walk the Line I truly believe the envi-ronment is one of a kind and the kind of recovery place I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience. I’m grateful to be a member of the team at WTL.

Tyler Donaldson, BS, MBA

Tyler Donaldson graduated from The University of Findlay with his Bachelor of Science degree in Strength & Conditioning in 2016. Tyler was also a member of The University of Findlay's Varsity Baseball team.

Walk The Line has surrounded me with not only influential colleagues, but friends. Being at Walk The Line has been an amazing experience. I’m hon-ored to be around such an exemplary group of people who are able to cre-ate an inclusive, welcoming, and energy driven atmosphere. I am blessed to have the opportunity to help the individuals we serve strive toward re-covery and achieve their personal goals.

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CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

Steve P.

Hi. My name is Steve Percha. At the end of 2007, I remember thinking that I had it all. I had just graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in mechanical engi-neering. I had just returned from the vacation of a lifetime to New Zealand, where my sister and I did everything from skydiving to bungee jumping.

A few months later, in February of 2008, I went to visit some friends in Washington, D.C. and everything changed. After a night out with friends, we decided to go check out some of the memorials and monuments around D.C. Apparently I slipped on the icy steps of the Lincoln Memorial and hit my head – hard. I remember running my hand through my hair and, when it came back bloody, thinking, “I must need some Neosporin and a band-aid.” Apparently I’m not a very good judge of the severity of injuries, because after my friends were unable to wake me in the morning, I was taken to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Mary-land. There they removed part of my skull to relieve the swelling and I was diagnosed with a TBI. I’m told that I was in a coma for 8 weeks, during which I was air-ambulanced back to Michigan and the U of M Hospital. It was there that I finally came out of the coma, which was great except that I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, had no idea where I was, how I got there, or even how old I was (as my birthday passed while I was in the co-ma.) And so I started my insanely long road to recovery.

I ended up spending a total of 8 months in the hospital before being discharged to my parents’ home in Oc-tober, 2008. It was great to finally be out of the hospital, but I remember thinking “where do I go from here?”

After our initial search for an appropriate outpatient therapy center came up short, my parents and I found our way to Walk the Line, and I began to get an answer to the question “where do I go from here?” I’ve seen many therapists and trainers and clients come and go over the last 6 years, but I’ve always felt an un-believable amount of support, compassion, and just overall kindness from everyone I’ve ever come across at WTL. The other clients are a source of inspiration and give me lots of ideas on everything from ways to cope to where to go on our next vacation. My therapists and trainers always include me, and really seem to value my input, and have made me realize that the answer to “where do I go from here?” is really “wherever the hell I want.”

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IN THE NEWS

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Don’t Just Sit There Foundation along with the Community Events group at Walk The Line work together to plan and implement fun events for our community to participate in. This is made possible by our annu-al Field Day event and the sponsors for that event: QUALITY HOME MEDICAL, DIGNITAS, ALRIG, HEALTH PARTNERS, S&L TRANSPORTATION, TRU DESIGN, CAPS, ENTECH, YOUR WELLNESS MASSAGE, GRACE OT, REHAB PATHWAYS, WOLVERINE ORTHOTICS AND WALK THE LINE.

So, what have we been up to?

The Paint Party

March 10 – Paint a Miracle Art Studio was at Walk The Line to work with our clients and volunteers and provide art instruction! Each participant was assist-ed with the creation of their very own water color painting of a Walk The Line inspired MANDALA. Lunch was provided and some great art was created!

Zoo Day

June 16 – Over 40 guests attend-ed our Zoo Day at the Detroit Zoo and had a great picnic lunch along with exploring the Zoo at

their own pace and enjoying the wildlife!

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Walk The Line is committed to advancing knowledge in the professional community and we are proud to sponsor continuing education events.

March 15- Walk The Line along with M1 Imaging and Caps Remodeling sponsored the NeuroQuant event at the Iroquois Club, which included a presentation on the science behind the Neuro Quant and a case study as well.

October 11 – We will be hosting this event again at the Iroquois Club from 4pm – 8pm for those of you who are interested in earning 2 CEU’s and were not able to make it in March. Watch for the invitation via email!

Walk The Line Blue Open House

March 19-23 – Walk The Line held an Open House to introduce our new program, WALK THE LINE BLUE – A Results Based Program, which is a broader approach to therapy utilizing “Knowledge of Results”.

Our goal is to improve a certain functional/goal directed movement based on the outcome. We use a whole task training approach focused on utiliz-ing functional and relatable activities specific to each client.

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We have created a controlled ambient environment which includes LED lighting and an overall quieter envi-ronment for clients who suffer from light and noise sensitivity. We also have private treatment rooms avail-

able for clients who may be easily distracted.

If you would like to have a tour of our new space please contact Greg Cate Director of Business development at greg@wtlrecovery.com or by calling 248-827-1100.

Celebrating 11 Years!

July 14 – Walk The Line celebrated this milestone along with our friends, clients families and staff at the Italian American Banquet Club of Livonia. We enjoyed good food, entertainment and the best company: each other!

Thank you to our supporters for helping us achieve this!

Over the past 11 years, Walk The Line has become recognized as a world-leading program

for recovery therapies. Our belief in the human spirit and perseverance fuel our desire and

drive to be the best recovery facility in the world.

Come and see what RECOVERY looks like. To schedule a tour, contact Greg Cate at 248-827-1100 or

greg@wtlrecovery.com

WALK THE LINE RECOVERY THERAPY

23800 W. 10 MILE ROAD, SUITE 193 | SOUTHFIELD, MI 48033

P: 248-827-1100 | F: 248-827-1120

WTLRECOVERY.COM