It took 534 days for my name to make it to the top of the waiting list for a therapy I believe could save my life. My name is Michael Baudhuin and on August 4th 2013 I made a mistake that I can’t take back. I’m lying on a familiar beach after being pulled from the water by my aunt and sister-in-law. Suddenly I’m being pinned to the sand and a familiar face enters my view. I cry because her face says it all and as she kneels down the sadness on her face makes me want to hold her hand. Tears stream down her cheeks as she tells me she’s already holding it. I can’t feel anything other than my heart beating in my ears. I slowly begin to realize that I must have broken my neck when I dove off the back of my father-in-law’s pontoon boat. I laid there for an hour and a half waiting for the paramedics to find the island where my accident happened. My friends and family all took turns gathering around me trying to ensure me I would be alright. All I could do was say “I’m sorry.” I had made that same dive a hundred times before that day and yet I have spent every day since then trying to make up for the one time I didn’t. I vowed to myself, to my wife and to my son that I would never stop trying to make this up to them. I promised them I would do whatever it takes to get back what we had. I said I would never give up on myself or them and it hasn’t been easy but I have kept my promises and intend to keep them. There is a beautiful woman in need of her husband and there is a wonderful boy in need of a dad. I won’t be able to be the husband or the dad I want to from this chair so long as I know there is a chance I wouldn’t have to.

 I have waited patiently for the call I received just a few days ago. When I told my wife Emily I could see the smile in her eyes and hear the hope in her voice for the first time in months. When I told my son he said, “Are you going to get all better now daddy?” I have waited 534 days for the opportunity to participate in locomotor therapy at Courage Kenny Institute in Golden Valley Minnesota. I participated in a similar therapy program at Craig Hospital in Colorado during the summer of 2014. My wife, my son and I lived in a hotel in Denver for almost 4 months in order for me to partake. It was costly in many ways however it showed me that with enough training I could likely walk again someday. Now I have the opportunity to participate in a similar program that is within driving distance from my Wisconsin home. We won’t have to uproot our family again or live out of hotel rooms again. I feel hope when I get to feel my feet hitting the treadmill or get to see my legs strong enough to move on their own.

Donations through this page will be used in order to cover program fees because this program is not covered by insurance. Funds will also be used to cover travel expenses for the 500 mile drive we will make twice weekly for at least three months. I can’t erase the mistake I made. All I can do is try to minimize the damage I did to my body and to those I love. I feel that this program can help me do just that.

Feel free to donate via this page or if you are local to us you can also donate to this cause at any Capital Credit Union location under the Michael Baudhuin Fund.


For more about Michael and his story please visit our Caring Bridge Site

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelbaudhuin

Click here to learn more about the ABLE Progam at Courage Kenny Golden Valley!

To view some videos of Michael's previous therapies click here !

 This is a photo of me, my wife Emily and my son Elwyn at Garden of the Gods in Colorado. Luckily on the weekends during my inpatient at Craig Hospital we were able to get out to be tourists. 


This photo was on top of the hospital's parking garage in Colorado. One of our favorite places to take a stroll too while in inpatient. Great views of the mountains.