- Laurei Brooks

"Having years of experience with multiple PT facilities in the Las Vegas area, for both myself and my husband, we have gained an in-depth knowledge of what ‘Real-Deal Rehab’ means. After my husband Peter completed his course of chemo and radiation, coupled with Parkinson symptoms, and peripheral neuropathy in both legs, he was rendered non-ambulatory. I had little hope that he would ever be able to stand up and walk on his walker again. After hearing about an “amazing PT guy” from my friend’s acquaintance, I contacted Tavin Fox, DPT and explained my husband’s dire situation. Tavin listened to my dreadful litany and sincerely understood our skepticism about “trying it again”. After clarifying Peter’s current disabilities, Tavin suggested “Let’s give it a shot”. We traveled to RTP, our new rehab wild card, using a wheelchair and slide board to transfer to/from car. Well, at Peter’s very first session with Tavin, he actually got him up standing on his walker and assisted him to take ten steps. I videoed this on my phone as tears streamed down my cheeks. This was nothing less than a miracle. That weekend, Peter’s slide board was moved to storage and the wheelchair is a rare occurrence. Peter’s latest walker walk without sitting was 170 ft, in only weeks. So why did Peter attain such unimaginable results from Day 1? (Believe me, I have given this quite a lot of analysis.) First off, Tavin’s mere presence is so nourishing. He’s by far the most knowledgeable, professional, calm PT we have ever worked with. He knows WHY Peter is experiencing certain symptoms and barriers. Tavin continually explains that it is not Peter’s ‘willing weakness’ that must be tackled. He then provides that needed ‘tweak’ or ‘next step’ to keep my husband advancing, physically and mentally. One of Tavin’s ‘unique approaches’ is that he gets my husband to do challenging physical things by connecting the mental aspect of the task at hand and Peter has no idea, except that he just achieved another goal. I watch in wonder! I am especially grateful to Tavin because he includes me in Peter’s therapy. He continues to educate me so that when Peter leaves RTP after his session, I become Little Tavin, which truly makes a big difference. Oh and did I mention, Tavin is just a really fun, nice guy? To close, I have shared Tavin with my husband’s best friend who has moderate dementia and is a high fall risk. I really didn’t know how it would go, but of course, Tavin immediately made our friend feel cared about, safe, and hopeful. He too is progressing. Bottomline, Tavin Gets It! We’re so very grateful ‘we gave it a shot’."