Quadriplegic Aaron Baker Goes for Paralympic Gold

Sometimes the interview process takes me to places that are quite remarkable. Such is the case when I had the opportunity to sit down with Aaron Baker, a former resident of Chatsworth, and a quadriplegic who is now a contender for the Olympic gold in 2012 in the cycling category of the Paralympic Games in London.

Having been a professional motocross racer, while simply training, Baker broke several cervical vertebrae.

“I knew something major had happened,” Baker recalls of that day, May 26^th 1999, when he was only 20 years old.  Like many accidents, his was a fluke, a “simple malfunction with his motorcycle,” he reflects wistfully.   But while lying there, he knew that there was something larger on the horizon for him; that there was a new path ahead, something far greater that racing motorcycles.

Through brute determination, optimism, a regimen of exercise and undying family support, Aaron climbed back from horrific circumstances. Much of his success can be attributed to his mother, Laquita.

“I did not know what had actually happened to Aaron until I walked into the ICU,” she remembers. “Call it denial or whatever, but I just decided that I had to devote myself to his recovery. 

She sold the family farm in Oklahoma, and got out of her business as an Asian importer, to devote herself to Baker. Both she and Baker have those Colgate smiles, and a “can-do” attitude that has been instrumental in his recovery.

About a year after Baker’s accident, rehab became more problematic.  His insurance had run out, and finding the right physical regimen was becoming tenuous.

They eventually came across Taylor Issacs, an expert in kinesiology and clinical exercise physiology, and former soccer player who worked out of Cal State Northridge. Taylor was doing some advanced research in spinal cord injury. Something clicked in Baker when he began working with Issacs, and soon the idea was hatched to create C.O.R.E. (Center of Restorative Exercise), with his mother.

C.O.R.E champions the use of exercise as part of the daily regimen for every disabled individual following the release from medical intervention. Through a series of specially designed exercise programs, an individual can continue to improve functional movement and independent skills, enabling the person to gain autonomy, and once again become a productive member of society.

The first C.O.R.E. center is located in Northridge. “It’s not just another gym,” Baker grins. And with Baker’s sheer determination and the marketing expertise of his mom, the concept is destined to be successful.

They’re also involved in another major achievement, Project One in a Million, a multi-faceted movement that will chronicle Baker’s quest for gold through social media and a possible documentary or one-hour television docu-drama. Part of the message of this project is the focus of “possibility” for those who are disabled. Instead of degeneration, think of regeneration, mobility and focusing on an individual’s independence, they say.

One in five Americans suffers from some sort of disability, and with the birth of C.O.R.E. centers, the healing and rehabilitation process for afflicted individuals will be accelerated.

With all these ventures underway, Baker’s still on a roll. Future plans include racing go-carts, skydiving, and scuba diving.

Clearly, when it comes to Baker’s life, anything IS possible.

For more information, contact: Aaron Baker, C.O.R.E. Inc., 818-424-2279, aaronbakers.com or corecenters.info.