ORLANDO, Fla. – A local organization that helps people with paralysis regain their strength and mobility is taking a big step forward, but they need your help to keep the momentum going.
Next Step Orlando just moved into a new, larger facility at the Genesis Sportsplex in Orlando, formerly known as the RDV Sportsplex.
People like Laura Engstrom, who was paralyzed after a motorcycle accident in October of 2021, rely on Next Step Orlando to help them regain their independence.
Eight years ago, Schuyler Arakawa’s life also changed in a split second.
The student from Yale was on a fellowship in South America when she was hit by a falling boulder while whitewater rafting in Colombia.
“She was rappelling down a waterfall, and the next day, I’m getting a phone call saying that this crazy boulder had cracked open her skull, crushed her lungs, fractured her spine, snapped her thigh, and they were saying, by medical precedent, she would not survive, and if she did survive, she would never be mobile again,” said Schuyler’s mom Meridith Alexander. “And as you can see, not only is she mobile, but she still has a shot, and I attribute a lot of that to Next Step.”
Next Step has now been offering specialized therapy and equipment in Central Florida for people with paralysis for the past 15 years.
“Next Step Orlando was started in 2009 after I was in a car accident in 2007 where I sustained a C6 spinal cord injury and was paralyzed from the chest down,” said Amanda Perla, who founded the organization with her mom, Liza Riedel.
Amanda and her mom knew the only way for them to move forward would be to create a gym like this.
“There was literally a gym on every corner, but there were no adaptive gyms available. There was no place for someone like me to go and exercise and be trained properly,” said Perla.
Next Step is now in such demand that some 200 clients come here from around the world. In most cases, insurance doesn’t cover a penny, but with the help of donations, people of all ages, from kids to veterans, who’ve suffered from traumatic injuries, strokes or other medical conditions are able to live more independently.
“I remember the first time they set me up in this exoskeleton and I stood up, it was the best feeling in the world,” said Engstrom. “There’s no better feeling than being able to stand up and then to walk on top of that, that’s the best. I felt like a human again. A real person.”
For more information about Next Step Orlando and its fundraising events, visit the Next Step Orlando website.
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