Tim’s Story

At the age of eighteen, Tim Klemm was in a terrible accident that resulted in multiple serious injuries but most significantly an incomplete C4-C6 spinal cord injury that forever changed the trajectory of his life. While fighting to recover from his tragic accident physically and mentally, Tim experienced first-hand the shortcomings that exist in neurologic rehabilitation for those with disabilities. These experiences, coupled with his innovative mind and background as a mechanic, inspired Tim to do more.

In his past 18 years as a recovering quadriplegic, Tim has served as managing director of Empathy Rehabilitation (an outpatient facility serving individuals with neurologic and orthopedic conditions), owner of the Hitching Post Cafe & Bar in Sturgeon Bay, WI, obtained a pilot's license through AbleFlight at Purdue University, and co-founded Healing Innovations, Inc. with the launch of his invention, The Rise&Walk, which assists individuals in rehabilitating neurologic and orthopedic conditions. During this time, Tim also prototyped a plethora of inventions aimed to ease the suffering of individuals with physical disabilities while suggesting a more progressive model of medical management for this population.

Learning to navigate the world paralyzed has challenged Tim in every way imaginable, and there were times it all felt too much. Yet, throughout the years, I’ve come to realize it was my injury that saved me. It has fueled his passion to make the world a rehabilitation better for those patients who experience it…because he has lived it first-hand.

Four years into life as a quadriplegic, Tim became the managing director of Empathy Rehabilitation, a multidisciplinary comprehensive outpatient facility serving those with neurologic and orthopedic conditions. While continuing his own rehabilitation and overseeing the recovery of others, the dream to walk again has been a recurring theme. However, limitations in medical technology, current rehabilitation equipment with the required manpower often equated to subpar results.

With Tim’s ever-increasing independence, his passion became to create a rehabilitation center and equipment to improve the lives of those recovering from neurologic conditions. After years of prototyping in his garage, Tim co-founded Healing Innovations and launched his first neurologic gait trainer, the Rise&Walk. Partnering with the Christopher Reeves Foundation, the Rise & Walk is currently being utilized at the Shepherd Center and Kentucky One.

Three of Tim’s inventions are undergoing further prototyping and development with Life Enabled’s partner company Espiritu Design. Espiritu, a strategic design firm dedicated to developing products that enhance life experiences, has partnered with Tim to help bring his ideas to fruition. Together, a new concept for a more accessible neurologic gait trainer, walker, and off-the-shelf fully customizable AFO (ankle foot orthosis) were chosen due to market demands, advancement in technology, and cost-benefit analyses.

I share my story not to impress you but to enlighten others of the essential need for better patient-centered access to neurological rehabilitation equipment for those with disability.

My story is unique but so too is yours. We all experience highs and lows and a few curve balls in life. We are all challenged at some point in our lives to overcome what seems like near insurmountable obstacles and I hope that by sharing my journey I can inspire others to dig deep, persevere, and find a way to live the highest Life Enabled