{"id":1007,"date":"2012-07-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ati.local\/?p=1007"},"modified":"2024-12-17T17:32:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:32:52","slug":"matts-get-there-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/matts-get-there-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt’s “Get There” Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When 23-year-old Matt Whalen of Braceville, IL, started his care at ATI Physical Therapy in Joliet, IL, all he wanted to do was take a few steps out of his wheelchair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to walk,\u201d said Matt. \u00a0\u201cI haven\u2019t been able to since 2006.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happened during the course of treatment was something more than walking; it was something no one at the clinic ever expected.<\/p>\n

Matt, who suffers from spina bifida, has been bound to a wheelchair. His dreams of walking were all but crushed when he underwent a double amputation below his knees. \u00a0Matt received prosthetics but was unable to use them. \u00a0His mother, who was his sole caregiver, was battling cancer and could not take him to therapy. \u00a0Sadly, Matt\u2019s mom passed away in January of this year.<\/p>\n

Matt\u2019s aunt, who took over as caregiver, knew Matt would be able to walk with the right care. That\u2019s when she found ATI Physical Therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI listened to Matt\u2019s situation, and knew we could help him,\u201d said Tony Caronia, PT, Joliet clinic director. \u201cAs difficult as Matt\u2019s case seemed, I was confident our staff would make a difference in his life.”<\/p>\n

Two months into treatment, Matt has made tremendous progress.<\/p>\n

No longer completely dependent on his wheelchair, Matt is able to use a walker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe staff at ATI has given me the courage and strength to walk,\u201d said Matt. \u201cI love coming to ATI. \u00a0They have become like family to me. \u00a0Bryan, my therapist, gets me up and moving and I look forward to each visit. It\u2019s always a good day at ATI.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, Matt\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end here. With his dreams of walking realized, he could have never envisioned what would happen next.<\/p>\n

On one particular therapy visit, Matt mentioned during casual conversation with ATI’s Jerry Wall that he needed to get the wheel on his wheelchair fixed \u2014 or better yet, hopefully get a new one. Matt said he couldn\u2019t afford to do so because he was not going to do anything for himself until he could buy a headstone for his mother\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n

\u201cJerry told me about the conversation and asked me if there was anything we could do,\u201d said Tony. \u201cSo the next day, I shared Matt\u2019s story at our staff meeting, and as a group, we decided to start a change war and compete to see who could collect the most loose change to donate for a new wheelchair.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series of events that happened next amazed the staff at Joliet.<\/p>\n

An ATI patient overheard Matt\u2019s story and immediately donated $400. The following day, the same patient came back and donated an additional $800 towards the chair.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Jerry contacted two local companies who agreed to join the fundraising efforts. The first company, which sells the wheelchair, agreed to reduce the price. The second donated $500 towards Matt\u2019s chair and offered to assist with employment for Matt.<\/p>\n

All of these dedicated funds, combined with personal donations from clinic staff, other patients, and the proceeds from the \u201cChange Wars,\u201d allowed the staff at ATI to purchase a new wheelchair for Matt, plus give him extra for his mother\u2019s headstone and funeral expenses.<\/p>\n

Matt was speechless and trembling when he received the gifts from his fellow patients and friends at ATI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means a lot to me,\u201d Matt said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what to say. I always wanted my mom to see me walk again, and I know she\u2019s looking down on me smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony was amazed by the entire experience and expressed how honored he was to be part of Matt\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s moving to see patients, staff and community come together to help someone,\u201d Tony said. \u201cAt ATI we strive to make a positive difference in the lives of our patients and our community. \u00a0And, that\u2019s what we did with Matt!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When 23-year-old Matt Whalen of Braceville, IL, started his care at ATI Physical Therapy in Joliet, IL, all he wanted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMatt's "Get There" Story | ATI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When 23-year-old Matt Whalen of Braceville, IL, started his care at ATI Physical Therapy in Joliet, IL, all he wanted to do was take a few steps out of his wheelchair.\u201cI really wanted to walk,\u201d said Matt. \u201cI haven\u2019t been able to since 2006.\u201dWhat happened during the course of treatment was something more than walking; it was something no one at the clinic ever expected.Matt,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.atipt.com\/matts-get-there-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matt's "Get There" Story | ATI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When 23-year-old Matt Whalen of Braceville, IL, started his care at ATI Physical Therapy in Joliet, IL, all he wanted to do was take a few steps out of his wheelchair.\u201cI really wanted to walk,\u201d said Matt. \u201cI haven\u2019t been able to since 2006.\u201dWhat happened during the course of treatment was something more than walking; 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