Our Story

In 2012, a tragic gymnastics accident left Brandon Beack wheelchair-bound as a quadriplegic. Following 10 weeks of inpatient therapy, the Beack family struggled to find an outpatient facility that met all of Brandon’s rehabilitation needs, and private healthcare was simply too costly. They realised that outpatient facilities providing neurological rehabilitation that is financially accessible to the average South African are few and far between, and it was this dilemma that lead them to Shepherd Centre, an outpatient facility based in the USA that provides cutting-edge neurological rehabilitation and advanced medical care. The Beacks poured everything they had into getting Brandon to Shepherd Centre, and at the time, they had no idea just how important and foundational this trip would be.

During his time there, Brandon benefitted tremendously from the expertise of Shepherd Center’s medical professionals, and their array of rehabilitative technology and equipment helped him make remarkable improvements in his recovery. He returned to South Africa with a new mindset, determined to make the standard of medical care that he experienced available to those South Africans who need it the most – thus, Walking with Brandon was born.

Armed with the knowledge and skills of highly-trained medical professionals, and the aid of generous donors, the Beacks were able to procure some incredible pieces of rehabilitative technology – like the EKSO Bionics EksoGT exoskeleton – using the story of their son’s accident as a way to create hope for themselves and for the disabled community. The end result was WWB’s Therapy & Beyond Programme, a comprehensive approach to rehabilitation based on the latest research in neurology.

We believe that rehabilitation is a right, not a privilege, and that all physically disabled South Africans should have unobstructed access to high-quality outpatient rehabilitation, regardless of their income.

OUR FACILITIES

WWB is partnered with the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) in Newlands, where our facilities are located. SSISA’s Wellness & Fitness Centre is modern and sleek, with wrap-around windows facing the mountains, creating a truly picturesque setting. In addition to the latest in exercise technology and equipment, SSISA boasts a 25m indoor swimming pool and a 140m indoor tartan track, and all of their personal trainers are qualified biokineticists, ready to provide their expertise whenever needed. What exactly does a biokineticist do? To quote SSISA, they “…are qualified in assessing body posture, measuring body composition, blood pressure, glucose levels, lung function, heart rate, fitness, muscle strength, endurance, power and flexibility”, and they form the core of our rehabilitative staff at WWB.

Our facilities are situated on the ground floor of the premises, and they open up onto a huge blue training floor, which has become iconic as the “walking” space in our rehabilitation – it also happens to be the largest indoor space in the world used for an EksoGT, a cutting-edge rehabilitative exoskeleton, and the tether we use in conjunction with it is also the longest safety tether used by an EksoGT in the world. Our biokineticists incorporate the above into our Therapy & Beyond Programme to create a truly comprehensive and evidence-based treatment package, and patients are encouraged to make use of any of our facilities and equipment between their sessions.