The Tedy’s Team Center of Excellence in Stroke Recovery at the MGH Institute of Health Professions brought approximately 75 stroke survivors, care partners, students, faculty, staff and community partners together for the fourth annual Waterfront Wellness Walk, held last Wednesday in partnership with the Coalition for Resilient and Inclusive Waterfront.

Held along Boston’s Harborwalk, the event offered participants an opportunity to connect, celebrate progress and enjoy the physical and mental benefits of being active in a welcoming community. This year’s walk drew the largest turnout in the event’s four-year history.

“The Waterfront Wellness Walk is a day about community and coming together. It creates a space where stroke survivors and care partners can connect with one another, and with the clinicians, researchers, students, and community partners who share a commitment to supporting life after stroke," said Dr. Kim Erler, director of the Tedy’s Team Center. "Seeing this community grow each year is incredibly meaningful."

Erler shared her feelings about the Walk while address the participants. 

“Today is about community, about being together, about celebrating our small and our big wins,” Erler said. “Most of all, though, we're especially grateful for our stroke survivors and care partners. Everything we do is because of your strength, your commitment, your dedication, and is grounded in your experience.”

The event reflects Tedy’s Team’s ongoing commitment to creating opportunities for stroke survivors and their care partners to access resources, learn, stay active and build meaningful connections beyond the clinical setting.

“We are trying to build something here that provides a supportive environment that really provides opportunities for you all, for resources for learning to help your recovery, but also ways that you can contribute and give back,” said Dr. Gwen Larsen, education and community outreach coordinator of the Tedy’s Team Center and founder of the Waterfront Wellness Walk while talking to the crowd. “Just by being here today, you’re really helping each other.”

For Lisa Sims, a stroke survivor who has attended all four Waterfront Wellness Walks, the event has become a particularly meaningful part of her recovery journey. She described the stroke community as feeling like a family — a place where people can share their experiences with others who understand what they are going through.

“This is my fourth time, and I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” said Sims. “It’s the one place besides my bedroom that I can feel comfortable and feel just like myself. I don’t have to act a certain way or anything like that. This is a safe place to talk, and it’s a real special place,” she said.

The walk also highlighted the importance of accessible community spaces. MGH Institute alumnus Ian Karby, DPT ’21, who is Senior Advisor to the Coalition for a Resilient and Inclusive Waterfront, encouraged participants to enjoy Boston’s waterfront while sharing their experiences of accessibility along the Harborwalk.

“A lot of what we do is highlight the blue spaces we have around us, and these are free and open to the public,” Karby said. “They can help us. So that’s why, from my perspective today, it’s get outside, enjoy these spaces with each other, with community.”

Before beginning the walk, participants took part in an adaptive seated warm-up led by Department of Physical Therapy faculty and students. Participants then walked along the waterfront, with options for a shorter route or an extended walk. Along the way, participants also learned about the Bridge of Joy sculpture and its history.

For the students, faculty and staff who help make Tedy’s Team programs possible, the event is another opportunity to put the Institute’s commitment to community-based, person-centered care into action.

Vladimir Drobotsky, whose father, Vasyl, participates in weekly therapy, said the impact extends beyond the therapy session itself.

“He loves it. It’s his favorite time of the week,” Drobotsky said. “If it’s therapy day, he has a big smile, positive attitude, and I love seeing him make progress.”

He also praised the students and faculty who work with his father.

“The team, the students, the faculty are phenomenal,” he said. “Their expertise, compassion, just out of this world. It gives him joy as a patient and me as a supporter to see how much he benefits.”