Student goes from paralyzed to Polk State Occupational Therapy Assistant at Orlando Health

Submitted by Polk State College

Chase Roberts was told he would never walk again. Now, he’s not only on his own two feet — he is also helping others recover from traumatic injuries.

A December graduate of Polk State College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant Program, Roberts is completing his final clinical rotation at Orlando Health (Orlando) Regional Medical Center Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation, the place where he recovered from his paralysis.

A car wreck in January 2016 left him wheelchair-bound as a quadriplegic. He suffered a C-2 level spinal cord injury, which is often fatal due to its impact on the ability to breathe independently.

“I was paralyzed from the neck down. I had doctors tell me, ‘Go home and widen your hallways, you’re never going to move anything below your chin again.’ I was distraught.” he recovered from his paralysis.

A wiggle of his big toe provided hope. It brought him to Orlando Health ORMC Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation, where he underwent intense occupational and physical therapies for seven weeks before entering outpatient treatment.

“My biggest sources of hope were my therapists,” Roberts said. “My therapists knew the signs to look for and what we could expand on to improve my recovery. When they got me up and walking for the first time, I bawled my eyes out. They never gave up on me,” which inspired his career path.

Being back here as a practitioner has been a surreal experience. Working with the same practitioners on the same team I had almost seven years ago has been enlightening.

“I had a patient in the same room that I was in, and it was a little scary walking into that room again,” Roberts added. “But it was the best feeling to go in there as a teacher of somebody going through a similar issue that I had because I can identify with them and coach them through things that were best for me. I preface it with every spinal cord injury is different. I tell them don’t look at what I had as a metric for what you have, but I do understand the symptoms you’re going through, and I will help you with everything I have been taught.”

In addition to achieving his degree and becoming a licensed occupational therapy assistant, Roberts aspires to raise awareness about spinal cord injuries. An avid Superman enthusiast, he cites Christopher Reeve (Superman) as the man and hero as inspiration:

“Christopher Reeve changed the game. Now that he’s gone, somebody needs to pick up that torch and take it a few more steps,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can in order to be that person.”