Skip to main content

CureCast

The podcast feeding the movement to cure paralysis
Episode 110

Taking Charge After Discharge (Episode 110)

Guests: Arash Bayatmakou and Dale Hull

Today we are talking to Arash Bayatmakou and Dale Hull, the organizational heads of NorCal SCI and Neuroworx, respectively. NorCal SCI is a resource non-profit serving the SCI community of northern California. Neroworx is an outpatient rehabilitation center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  

The main focus of our discussion is the lack of access to outpatient rehabilitation after SCI and the creative collaboration these organizations have crafted to address it. We also chat about their upcoming symposium, which aims to find solutions to the rehab crisis.  

This conversation is a great example of how the SCI community can enact creative solutions to the problems that affect all of us with lived experience of this injury.

As always, please share your thoughts with us via email at curecast@u2fp.org. Thanks for listening! 
 

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Soundcloud

Bumper music: Dig a Hole by Freaque

Guest Bios

After suffering a traumatic cervical spinal cord injury in 2012, Arash Bayatmakou experienced first-hand the shortcomings of our healthcare system. Following discharge from the hospital, Arash was left with very few resources and support and realized how difficult adjustment to a life post-SCI would be. Despite the medical establishment telling him there was little hope for recovery, Arash decided to ignore the negative prognoses and pave his own path for recovery. 

Through his pursuit for open-minded practitioners and alternative rehabilitation methods, and by his relentless dedication to home exercise and lifestyle changes, Arash made significant improvements which lasted well beyond the first two years after his injury. Arash started sharing his story of perseverance, recovery, and challenging limits to audiences large and small, which led to his TEDx talk. In 2017, he published a memoir detailing his journey from a catastrophic injury to overcoming adversity and seemingly insurmountable odds.

As he spoke to numerous people in the SCI community, he realized that his frustrations and challenges with the healthcare system and the lack of treatment and support for SCI were all too common. This prompted him to commit himself to help this underserved community by collaborating with two Bay Area companies developing exo-skeleton robotic suits, establishing an annual standup comedy show that raises funds for people with SCIs, and — most significantly — by joining NorCal SCI, initially as a member of the Board of Directors.

Through his work at NorCal SCI, he has been able to engage with many people in the SCI community and connect them to the many programs and resources that NorCal SCI offers for support and assistance.

A Bay Area native, Arash credits his Northern California upbringing for his love of the outdoors, nature, food and cooking, activities he still cherishes as he continues to travel, explore and enjoy new experiences, even now as a father of two young children.

Arash joined the NorCal SCI Board of Directors in April of 2019 and was appointed Executive Director in May of 2023.

Connect with Arash Bayatmakou here:

Dr. Dale Hull is a 1985 graduate of the University of Utah School of Medicine. He completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology in 1989 at the University of Utah Medical Center subsequently joining a private practice group in the Salt Lake metropolitan area. 

His career and life changed in1999 when he experienced a C4-5 spinal cord injury initially resulting in neck-down paralysis. He spent the following two years participating in intense rehabilitation to optimize his functional ability. His residual paralysis prevented a return to medical practice and the entire experience kindled an interest in spinal cord injury rehabilitation and a desire to help others pursue their best outcome.

In 2004, he joined forces with his treating physical therapist, Jan Black, to cofound Neuroworx, an innovative, not-for-profit, outpatient rehabilitation facility. Dale serves as the executive director. He completed a Master of Public Administration degree in 2012.

Connect with Dale Hull here:

Related Symposium Presentation

Related Events

  •  
    NorCal SCI is partnering with Neuroworx & The Motion Project to host our first annual Virtual Symposium on improving outcomes and sharing solutions for outpatient rehabilitation & post hospital rehab/exercise therapy for people with Spinal Cord Injuries. Click for more information and registration details.
     

This Episode Sponsored By: