To our VIP Family-

As probably expected, our Board of Directors has determined that VIP will remain closed for the upcoming week (3/23 - 3/27) and possibly the following week.

Our plan for the following week (3/30 - 4/3) will be announced as soon as decisions are made and we will continue to update you weekly. Be encouraged to contact David at david@vipneurorehab.org with any questions you may have.

Thank you for being a part of our family at VIP NeuroRehabilitation Center! 

- David Charbonnet, VIP President

VIP's New Lokomat Nanos has arrived!
We are truly grateful for the huge fundraising push in 2019 that made this possible! Our main supporters were the Cushman Foundation: Making a Difference Grant 2019 and Beyond the Teams.  Schedule a tour today!

VIP is proud to welcome a new scholarship recipient, Alex! 

Alex suffered a Spinal Cord Injury and is looking forward to working hard at VIP to become more independent! Alex comes from a military family and enjoys being outdoors. 

We are excited to have this family and look forward to seeing Alex's progress!

Scholarships are available for military and their families as well as low income patients. Please visit our VIP Scholarship page for more details.

VIP is proud to welcome Willie to our VIP Scholarship Program! Willie served as a Navy SEAL and we thank him for his service to our country!

​Willie is a quadriplegic and is looking forward to utilizing all the therapy options VIP offers. 

​Scholarships are available for military and their families as well as low income patients. Please visit our VIP Scholarship page for more details.

Big Things are coming in 2020 at VIP!

Due to many generous donations, the Cushman Foundation and the Beyond the Teams Ride, VIP has achieved our largest goal to date – purchasing a 2nd Lokomat for VIP!

The Lokomat Nanos, by Hocoma, is an assisted treadmill which allows patients to walk upright, with the support of a harness and robotic leg controls. Our technician is able to adjust the system to each patient’s specific needs, such as, walking speed, weight bearing, and gait pattern.  Almost all our patients can benefit from this technology and it is one of the most advanced therapies available for gait training and neurological re-training today.

VIP is currently the only public facility in Southern California to offer this technology and thus has seen a high volume of patients desiring to utilize this machine.  The ability to have multiple Lokomats at our facility will ensure that all patients are able to access the Lokomat without delay!

The Lokomat Nanos, by Hocoma, is over $200,000 and due to all the generous support in 2019, VIP will be able to purchase this machine outright.  We are amazed at this support and look forward to early 2020 when this machine will be delivered to our facility!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

FOX 5 SAN DIEGO -- A former Marine captain severely injured in Afghanistan is donating his $100,000 ReWalk robotic legs so that others can walk again.

​Derek Herrera, with Spinal Singularity,  was one of the first patients with a spinal cord injury to get a Rewalk Exoskeleton.

“It enabled me to stand and walk again," Herrera said. "It caused me to question a lot of things that I thought were not possible in my life.”

The robotic legs are used to help people with spinal cord injuries to regain upright mobility. Herrera has a newer set of Rewalk Exoskeleton legs and will be working with new technologies to help other people with spinal injuries live a more full life.

Herrera is donating  his original robotic legs to the VIP NeuroRehabilitation Center in Miramar. He said he hopes his contribution of the exoskeleton will let others to walk again.

"It was really important for me physically, mentally, but also psychologically. So it single-handedly changed the course of my life,” said Herrera.

Watch the full interview with Fox 5 San Diego here:
https://fox5sandiego.com/2019/12/10/former-marine-donates-robotic-legs-to-help-others-with-spinal-cord-injuries/

Mission Complete! The guys rolled into their final stop Friday. It sounds like the ride was quite a journey.

Since they had never ridden together, or spent time together since Navy Training days, there were a lot of unknowns. They ended up averaging between 16 and 17 mph most days- making much better time than anticipated. They even arrived a day early!

The continual police escorts kept them not only safe, but it helped save time by not having to stop a lot for stop lights and traffic.

They didn’t kill each other while being stuffed together in RVs for 12 days.

Some of the guys didn’t even own a road bike until the end of last year. None of them had ever organized a ride or fundraising event. To pull this off so well was truly amazing!

Right before the ride started, storms hit parts of the east coast. But for most of the ride- they didn’t see rain, except when it was welcomed in the stifling heat.

Right after they hit 1000 miles on the odometer on Friday, a huge rain storm hit Ft Pierce; threatening to cancel all of the Seal Museum’s annual outdoor events and demonstrations for the next day. Low and behold, sunshine peeked through the clouds as the guys were introduced in front of the crowd. All the fun festivities went on as planned.

The 2 RVs were generously donated for the boys to use for the entire journey-plus gas! That was a huge blessing!

The men who came along for support were amazing. They drove all the vehicles, staged the rest stops with replenishments, tuned bikes after rides, did laundry, and scouted out places for dinner in the evenings. This allowed the guys to keep up with interviews, clean up, and get their things ready for the ride the next day.

The VFW, Elks Lodge, or American Legion hosted the boys at every stop in the evenings- allowing them to park the RVs in their lots at night. They met some great people!

Lastly, the fire station in Ft Pierce allowed the team to park the RVs in their lot, and basically let them take over the fire station! Such nice people!

Though not a cake walk, the journey couldn’t have gone better!! ​

(pictured above-BBT riders hitting the surf, a SEAL tradition, at Fort Pierce FL, their final destination)

The Beyond the Teams 1,000 Mile Bike Ride has started!!! Follow along HERE for daily update and happenings! If you come by the clinic, we will have a board updating everyone of their progress as well! Best of luck to all the riders!