Tatonka
06-16-2009, 11:40 AM
Recently I had the honor of speaking with Janne Kouri whom among many other notable achievements, is the founder of NextStep Fitness. Janne's story is nothing short of incredible and he is truly an inspiration.
In August 2006, Janne Kouri's life changed in a split second. An avid athlete, Janne was participating in a beach volleyball tournament. Between matches he decided to take dip in the ocean to cool off. Like so many times before, Janne ran into the water and dove through a wave. But, it was not like every other time - under the wave this time was a sand bar. Janne hit his head on that sand bar and fractured his C5 & C6 vertebrae. In an instant, he was paralyzed from the neck down.
After two months in ICU in California, Janne, and his new wife Susan, traveled to Lousiville, KY to participate in a cutting edge rehabilitation therapy for individuals with Spinal Cord Injury called "Locomotor Training". For twelve months Janne and Susan lived in Louisville, and under the watchful eye of his therapy team, saw improvements in his muscle strength, movement and general health. Ready to return home, Janne wanted to ensure that he could continue his athletic lifestyle and his Locomotor Training. After much research, Janne came to find that he was unable to continue his Locomotor Training and fitness regiment and continue to live his life as it was. He wondered what everyone else like him was doing. Being surprised at how little his options were he decided it was not only his responsibility to make this happen for him, be for others also. So, with the help of his family, and the guiding influence of Dr. Susie Harkema - one of the neuroscientists who created Locomotor Training & enhanced Activity Based Therapy techniques and Janne's lead advisor in Kentucky, Janne and Susan decided to start NextStep Fitness.
NextStep was created to deliver essential fitness services to the underserved community of para- and tetraplegics, as well as others with neurological impairments, in greater Los Angeles County. NextStep's brand new specialized facility in Lawndale, California, will provide fully accessible and adaptive equipment for physically challenged adults. Through our specialized facility and our unique expertise, we will strive to improve levels of independence and quality of life through personalized fitness and wellness programs -- designed by you and our trained staff.
Nextstep Fitness has partnered with the Reeve Foundation's NRN to bring Locomotor Training to the community. Locomotor training is an innovative rehabilitation that helps individuals with gait impairments due to neurological injuries. NextStep Fitness is the first facility on the West Coast to offer Locomotor Training in a community fitness setting.
About NextStep Fitness:
NextStep Fitness (www.nextstepfitness.org), a CA Non-Profit, is a state-of-the-art community-based fitness facility that brings cutting edge training methods, procedures, and technologies to rehabilitation for spinal injury, MS, stroke, and traumatic brain injury victims in Southern California. NSF’s mission is to provide community-based, state-of-the-art fitness facilities for the physically challenged at an affordable cost. NSF was born through a partnership with the NeuroRecovery Network and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. NSF is also the only Locomotor Training Center west of Houston. (Only 7 other hospital based centers exist nationwide)
In August 2006, Janne Kouri's life changed in a split second. An avid athlete, Janne was participating in a beach volleyball tournament. Between matches he decided to take dip in the ocean to cool off. Like so many times before, Janne ran into the water and dove through a wave. But, it was not like every other time - under the wave this time was a sand bar. Janne hit his head on that sand bar and fractured his C5 & C6 vertebrae. In an instant, he was paralyzed from the neck down.
After two months in ICU in California, Janne, and his new wife Susan, traveled to Lousiville, KY to participate in a cutting edge rehabilitation therapy for individuals with Spinal Cord Injury called "Locomotor Training". For twelve months Janne and Susan lived in Louisville, and under the watchful eye of his therapy team, saw improvements in his muscle strength, movement and general health. Ready to return home, Janne wanted to ensure that he could continue his athletic lifestyle and his Locomotor Training. After much research, Janne came to find that he was unable to continue his Locomotor Training and fitness regiment and continue to live his life as it was. He wondered what everyone else like him was doing. Being surprised at how little his options were he decided it was not only his responsibility to make this happen for him, be for others also. So, with the help of his family, and the guiding influence of Dr. Susie Harkema - one of the neuroscientists who created Locomotor Training & enhanced Activity Based Therapy techniques and Janne's lead advisor in Kentucky, Janne and Susan decided to start NextStep Fitness.
NextStep was created to deliver essential fitness services to the underserved community of para- and tetraplegics, as well as others with neurological impairments, in greater Los Angeles County. NextStep's brand new specialized facility in Lawndale, California, will provide fully accessible and adaptive equipment for physically challenged adults. Through our specialized facility and our unique expertise, we will strive to improve levels of independence and quality of life through personalized fitness and wellness programs -- designed by you and our trained staff.
Nextstep Fitness has partnered with the Reeve Foundation's NRN to bring Locomotor Training to the community. Locomotor training is an innovative rehabilitation that helps individuals with gait impairments due to neurological injuries. NextStep Fitness is the first facility on the West Coast to offer Locomotor Training in a community fitness setting.
About NextStep Fitness:
NextStep Fitness (www.nextstepfitness.org), a CA Non-Profit, is a state-of-the-art community-based fitness facility that brings cutting edge training methods, procedures, and technologies to rehabilitation for spinal injury, MS, stroke, and traumatic brain injury victims in Southern California. NSF’s mission is to provide community-based, state-of-the-art fitness facilities for the physically challenged at an affordable cost. NSF was born through a partnership with the NeuroRecovery Network and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. NSF is also the only Locomotor Training Center west of Houston. (Only 7 other hospital based centers exist nationwide)