Meet Tim Kerr
At age 43, Tim was the commanding officer of a Royal Canadian Navy Destroyer ship. With no prior history of stroke, he was found unconscious in the ship gym and had to be airlifted to a hospital in San Diego. Once stable, he knew he had a long road of rehabilitation ahead and so Tim made a choice to come to Bruyère. The decision was partly because of the recommendation of his physicians in San Diego and partly because of Bruyère’s reputation as a leader in stroke rehabilitation.
It has been seven years since Tim’s stroke, including three months as an inpatient at Bruyère and nine months in the outpatient stroke rehabilitation program, and he is thriving. He credits Bruyère’s world-class experts and facilities with his ability to recover the best he could.
Tim recognizes he made an exceptional recovery and so he continues to serve those around him — this time as a Bruyère ambassador. It is his recovery story that helps inspire others and he plays the role of both mentor and fundraiser for Bruyère.
Tim is an inspiration.
Despite being unable to run due to a pre-existing hip injury, Tim has led a Bruyère team at Ottawa Race Weekend for the last three years. Each year, he walks incredible distances, the daunting 59.2 km Lumberjack Challenge, for example, motivating current and former patients of the stroke rehabilitation program and staff to participate.
Medals received from this competition hang on the walls of our fourth-floor stroke rehabilitation unit with these encouraging words, “The possibilities are endless… From one stroke survivor to another.”
Through his efforts, Tim has helped raise over $20,000 for Bruyère’s Foundation. The impact he has made by inspiring those around him to continue on their recovery journey cannot be quantified
We continually find new ways of helping people after stroke. Our virtual reality project, for example, is being tested as a useful tool for rehabilitation in the comfort of patients’ homes. Through this work, we hope that all people affected by stroke can also have success stories like Tim’s.