Tina Bailey can walk without a walker for the first time in 21 years.
"I was just on cloud nine," Bailey said.
A stroke robbed her of the use of her right leg. But this plastic brace has given her control of it again. How she came to need the brace is a story that has touched the hearts of people at Cole Health where she does her physical therapy. Because Bailey's stroke occurred after an attack by her boyfriend when she was four months pregnant.
"He slammed my head on the ground and for about eight weeks my head hurt really good and the next thing I started having a tingling feeling that went to my toes," said Bailey.
That was her first stroke. She had a second stroke the day her baby was born. She left her husband, but since age 25 she's been limited to life with a walker. That is, until physical therapists at Cole Health realized all she needed was a plastic ankle brace. And when her insurance wouldn't pay, they did.
"Just one thing that was standing in the way of her walking, and to see her walk, it brings tears to my eyes. It's such a special privilege to be able to help her," said Jennifer Cole, CEO of Cole Health.
She and Adam Cole plan to help others like Bailey who are going without a brace or orthotic because they can't afford it.
"If we can help out in one small little way, that makes our lives and the lives of some people in Houston just that much better," said Adam Cole, CEO of Cole Health.
Someday, Bailey may even walk without the cane. Her story started with violence, but turned into one of forgiveness and hope.
"I can't express how much it meant to me to have people that care," said Bailey.
"We're thrilled to be able to give her that hope, that god didn't forget about her," Jennifer Cole said.
For more information on the Cole Foundation's program to provide braces and orthotics for patients who can't afford them, you can click here to ColeHealth.com.
