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Aaron Baker was a newly minted 20-year-old motocross pro in 1999 when a malfunction in his motorcycle kicked him over the handlebars, breaking his neck and rendering him a quadriplegic. Just days after his accident, he suffered from respiratory failure while in the hospital, lingering between life and death as doctors rushed to stabilize his pulse.

Years later, he points to his near-death experience as one of the most important steps in his recovery:

“I ended up flatlining.  I remember that movement vividly.  There was a dissolving of my reality, of everything I thought I knew, of everything I held close.  When I was resuscitated the paralysis injury really didn’t matter.  All that mattered was time, another breath, sharing moments with those I loved,” Baker said.

According to his mother, Laquita, doctors gave Aaron a “one in a million chance” of ever functioning again, a prognosis that neither she nor her son ever accepted.

“I just shot up in front of my chair and told them to never say anything like that in front of my son. All I knew is that if there was one chance in a million then that’s what we were going to focus on, “ Laquita said.

After three months of an outpatient rehabilitation program, Aaron and Laquita started looking for ways to continue Aaron’s rehabilitation more aggressively; they found their options to be surprisingly scant.

“There’s a sense of defeat in realizing that the resources are so few, it’s still inconceivable to me that people have no place to go once their hospital stay has been exhausted,” said Laquita.

Undeterred, Laquita scoured libraries and the Internet for further rehabilitation options.  Eventually, she and Aaron settled on a kinesiology lab at Cal State Northridge run by personal trainer and former professor Taylor Issacs.

Making Strides
Aaron quickly hit it off with Taylor, and soon he was spending 4-6 hours a day working out. Once in rehab, Aaron began to achieve gradual improvements, reaching levels of physical mobility that his doctors thought weren’t possible. 

Not only was Aaron able to soon walk on his own, but he began to ride a tandem bicycle with Laquita.  Then, in 2004, the two entered and completed the L.A. marathon on the bike.  The event was a huge accomplishment, and flush with confidence the mother-son duo decided to push themselves toward an even more ambitious goal.

“A week later Aaron said, ‘Well, hell, if we’re going to ride this thing, let’s ride across the country and promote what we are doing’,” Laquita said. The two made a pact to give the cross-country venture a shot.

C.O.R.E. and the Rise Above Tour
Since the early days of Aaron’s injury, both he and his mother had been appalled at the lack of rehabilitation resources for those suffering from catastrophic injuries. When Aaron’s health stabilized, they were finally in a position to do something about it.

The two founded C.O.R.E. (Center of Rehabilitative Exercise), a non-profit corporation focused on providing continuing rehabilitation services after acute care rehab has been terminated.

“In a nutshell, it’s a gym for special populations with clinicians who have been trained to work with such populations,” said Laquita, who adds that the rehab centers will be affordable as well.

In 2007, Aaron and his mother bicycled from San Diego to Florida on the Rise Above Tour to raise funds and draw attention to the C.O.R.E. concept; this summer they’re on the road once again, having departed in early June from San Francisco with plans to arrive in Washington D.C. in mid- September.

The two bike approximately 30-50 miles per day and live in the Rise Again Tour bus that accompanies them on their journey.  Along the way, they’ll meet up with other athletes with disabilities and speak at rehabilitation clinics and hospitals.

Aaron and Laquita hope to raise a $1 million for C.O.R.E.—between individual and corporate donations—and open their first C.O.R.E. rehab center in the San Fernando, CA area by the end of 2008.

For Aaron, the Rise Above Tour now serves two purposes, acting not only as a “personal campaign to promote the benefits of ongoing exercise,” but also as his own personal recovery process.

For both Aaron and Laquita, C.O.R.E. is the most current chapter in a number of challenges they’ve been faced with over the years—challenges that have strengthened the bond between a mother and her son.

“My mom has provided me the opportunity to do whatever it is that I want to do.  Not only are we mother and son, but we are best friends and now business partners.  The rewards are so great,” Aaron said.

And after sticking with her son through thick and thin, Laquita also expresses a glowing optimism for the future.

“There’s not a day that goes by that part of me, as Aaron’s mother, isn’t mad as hell at the challenges he faces to function.  But, as hard as it’s been the rewards have been greater. Overall, I’m incredibly grateful,” she said.

www.riseabovetour.com

Read More
Read Part II of Laquita and Aaron's story, A Mother Harnesses Her Love and Entrepreneurial Spirit To Help Her Son and Others.