Our Story – How it all began…
Two separate life-altering events, occurring about a decade apart from each other, destined two parents, Lana Eilat and Boaz Redansky, to unite for a common and valuable cause - to bring to Israel a ground-breaking neurological rehabilitation method called Activity-Based Therapy (ABT) to enable neurologically impaired individuals the opportunity to exceed their limits.
In 2004, Reut Redansky was 19 years old when she fell off a trampoline and broke her neck, leaving her fully paralyzed. At the time Reut was a combat instructor in the Israeli Defense Force and a professional surfer who instantly became paralyzed from her neck down.
In June 2016, Talia Eilat, an 18-year-old vibrant high school dancer and athlete, became paralyzed overnight from her waist down from a spontaneous bleed in her spinal cord, caused by a spinal cavernoma.
After years of in-and-outpatient hospitalization, in addition to numerous types of rehabilitation therapies at reputable public and private centers in Israel, little advancement and many secondary health problems caused by the treatments demoralized both Reut and Talia who each separately believed that given the opportunity, they had the potential to progress and achieve significant functional improvements.
Realizing that conventional Physical Therapy (PT) was not as efficient as it could have been, in 2011 Reut and her parents searched for newer approaches and therapies available for spinal cord injury (SCI) abroad and chose Centro Giusti in Florence, Italy as the optimal Activity Based Therapy (ABT) center for SCI recovery rehabilitation. Reut succeeded over the years of attending Centro Giusti for long periods of time, to gain substantial physical improvements and well as vital capabilities to experience a full life.
Similar to Reut, Talia and her parents set out in search of cutting-edge neurorehabilitation centers aboard realizing Centro Giusti offered the most promising recovery course. Over a period of one year, Talia and her mother spent an accumulative 6 months at Centro Giusti, during which time Talia made a phenomenal functional recovery in her THIRD-year post SCI surgery – contradicting the prognosis’ made by doctors and PT’s. Currently, Talia ambulates more than 90% of her time out of the wheelchair, walking with low-leg braces and two quad canes and has significantly recovered from various physical impairments and is continuing to advance.
Both Reut’s and Talia’s recovery process in Italy were possible but at significant price. To accompany them, Boaz, Reut’s father and Lana, Talia’s mother had to leave their spouses and children in Israel for long periods of time as well as abandon their careers. In addition, living in a foreign country without speaking the language presented many challenges that were not easily overcome- both financially and logistically. The long periods abroad interrupted both Reut’s and Talia’s ability to build a normal life in Israel as returning home each time required many practical adjustments and the reestablishment of routines regarding work, education, family and friends.
In light of the above, Lana understood that many people in Israel would highly benefit from the unique ABT rehabilitation method and yet, in Israel, no public or private center offered ABT intensive and personalized training programs to try to beat the odds. The option of travelling abroad for rehabilitation treatments is unattainable for the vast majority of the physically impaired population.
As a result, Lana concluded that an ABT rehabilitation center must be established in Israel for the neurologically impaired community. Lana invited Oran Grinboim, Talia’s private PT in Israel who arrived to Centro Giusti and witnessed first-hand Talia’s amazing recovery process and the ABT therapy method.
Lana found in Boaz a partner to her vision and together with Oran they are determined to make ABT accessible in Israel to offer the disabled population new recovery possibilities and elevate the overall standard of physical rehabilitation in Israel to levels equal to those in the USA, Europe and Australia.
The Activity Based Therapy Center (R.A.) foundation received Centro Giusti’s “blessing” to make it happen and signed a collaboration agreement to establish Move to Motion as the first certified ABT center in Israel, funded by the Activity Based Therapy Center foundation (R.A.).
We believe that by establishing Move to Motion under the Activity Based Therapy Center (R.A.) non-profit foundation, we are giving neurologically impaired people a real chance to reach their maximum functional potential, exceed their limits and transform their day-to-day lives. We hope you will become part of this essential mission by donating and making this a reality for many people.