(upbeat music) - Will you consider this?

You're young and you wanna make a difference, and by golly, you're making a difference.

And this young man, Cody Birely, not spelled the way we spell Birely around here.

You know that already, right?

He is making a difference for a lot of people.

So, Cody Birely, tell me about yourself.

You're not from the Peoria area.

- No, I grew up from the Quad Cities, was born and raised up there, and then had gone to school in Northern Iowa, and then went back to the Quad Cities for PT school and have been in a few different places throughout before landing here.

- Okay.

Now, you are employed here.

You are a physical therapist, and what else do you do?

- Pretty much a PT full-time, volunteer throughout the community.

I've also started my own side hustle, just a community-based PT practice mobile clinic.

And then, I've started this nonprofit that we're gonna be talking about today.

- Okay, well, tell me about this mobile PT practice.

- It's really, it's just helping fill a gap, again, working with people that are trying to get back to that next level, whether that's figuring out how hiking looks like or figuring out a wellness routine in a gym.

Things that might not necessarily be covered by insurance coverage, but it's a way to still get the PT mindset into whatever those higher-level goals are, there.

- And to work on it, to give yourself the motivation and ability to do some things.

- Yeah.

- Wow.

So, how did you come up with that idea?

Just through physical therapy, you saw that people were, okay, they come in, they have their sessions, maybe they have 10 treatments or something, and then, bye-bye, and they forget.

- Yeah, and people have goals that they wanna get back to, and sometimes it's a, "Sorry, this is considered recreation or health and prevention."

And that's not always a covered charge, per se, from insurance.

But it's also, it allows me the flexibility, in some ways, to go where people wanna meet that goal.

So, we simulate a lot in the clinic.

I can go to Bicycle Safety Town.

But if people are really trying to get back to hiking so they can go hike in Utah, how cool would it be to be able to go to Detweiler, for example, and figure out, all right, from a balance standpoint, from a motor control standpoint, what do we need to practice?

From an equipment standpoint, what do you need to be successful and safe, still, after whatever neurologic injury that you had so you can go enjoy your time with your family and get back out there?

- [Christine] And be you.

- [Cody] And be you, 100%.

- Awesome.

I was talking just before we started recording, you have a lot of different initials after your name.

Tell me all of those.

- Yeah, yes.

(Christine laughing) I mean, the PT, DPT is just the physical therapist.

I have my doctorate degree, and then the NCS is our neurologic specialization.

So, when I got done at St. Ambrose, I went to Charlotte, North Carolina for a year and did a residency program and worked throughout the continuum of care.

I had a big level I trauma system down there and just, I got experience with some of the most complex neuro diagnoses and learned what that looked like throughout the continuum of care.

And I passed the board exam, so the letters are behind there.

But what it did for me was it gave me guided and mentorship that I necessarily wouldn't have gotten right outside of school.

It was very structured.

I got exposure to a multitude of diagnoses.

I met a lot of incredible people, patients, physicians, other PTs and OTs, speech therapists, and just, it gave me the toolkit to be able to think.

And I got to see a lot and participate in adaptive sports down there.

And again, just, I think helped set me up for my goals as a clinician, and that was just to be able to provide the best care that I can to people.

- So, you're only 29 years old?

- [Cody] Almost 30.

- Almost 30, okay, well, when's your birthday?

- [Cody] Two more months, November.

- (laughs) Okay.

But I mean, you've done a lot, and you look really fit, so you've been active your whole life.

And one of your goals is to make sure that everybody is up and moving around.

- As a PT, I mean, I preach exercise all the time.

We know how important it is to just be active, It helps prevent all those big, scary things, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, all of those things.

And it helps mentally, too.

When I'm stressed out, I know if I go for a run, it's gonna help me calm back down and get things lined up again so I can keep going.

And so, one, as a PT, I preach that.

But two, I've just, I've lived that and I know how important it is.

When people end up with a disability from a stroke, spinal cord injury, if they're born with it, isolation is a thing, right?

People tend to not know what the next step is and how to do that.

And what we're gonna talk about today with the nonprofit, that's a way to be able to help support people, maybe get people the equipment that they need so that they can get back out there and do it not just from a health and wellness standpoint, but mental health, community, all of those things that we look for in these activities and sports that we all do before that.

- Absolutely.

Give them some freedom.

All right, so let's talk about this.

This is your new baby and it is called Prairieland Adaptive.

Describe what that is for us.

- Prairieland Adaptive is a non-profit 501c3 organization whose goal is really to expand on the resources that we have here already and to fill some gaps in the adaptive sports, recreation, and fitness arena.

Many people, like we talked about, were active before their injury, or wanna get active, but don't necessarily know how to adapt.

And this is a way to bring programming to this area.

For example, if somebody has a spinal cord injury and they're a wheelchair user now, how do we get them involved in basketball?

We've got wheelchair basketball out there, right?

- Which still amazes me that that can be done.

- It's incredible.

I was just at a Paralympic sports medicine conference at the USOPC in Colorado Springs, and it's incredible to see these people, even at an elite level, accomplish, and just the work that they put in and how hard these sports are.

If you're ever interested- - It's hard enough when you have your two legs working.

- But yeah, I mean, the competition that people have.

But I mean, there's- - [Christine] Do they train for it, too?

- 100%.

I mean, there's organized leagues throughout the country.

We've got organizations in the Quad Cities.

Up in Chicago, there's GLASA, DASA, down in St. Louis, my coach and mentor up in Wisconsin at Dairyland Sports.

We've got The Bridge Adaptive in Cincinnati.

I mean, you name it, there are so many of these organizations around here that are doing this.

And I've been able to network with them and volunteer and connect with them.

So, a lot of experience over the last 10 years doing this.

So, coming to Peoria and being like, we have a unique opportunity here to establish a lot of this programming here and expand upon what already exists.

We have a sled hockey team.

HISRA has some great programming out of there with the wheelchair basketball team.

Again, it's just another opportunity for youth through adults to figure out, what do they jive with?

And then, basically, listen to the community and say, "Hey, what do you want and how do we support that?

How do we develop that?"

- And so, it's Adapt and Conquer.

That's your theme.

Is that your business model?

- The Adapt and Conquer is the name of the expo that we're kicking off this fall.

- [Christine] And that'll be September what?

- September 27th, it's a Saturday.

We partnered with Bradley's physical therapy program.

My friend actually runs the rec center up there, too, so we were planting the seed with him, and he's like, "Oh, this would be great to bring to campus."

It's pretty much a showcase for people to just come out and trial a variety of sports, recreation equipment.

- And it'll be at where, then?

- The recreation center, the Markin Family.

- Yeah, at Bradley.

- At Bradley.

- Okay.

- And just before that, PT program has their Hilltop Trot 5K, and we'll have some equipment there if people wanna race.

HISRA's bringing some equipment so that people can get in a cycle or racing chair and get out there and try the road race, too.

- So, you've seen this work in other places and you decided, "Okay, I'm here.

I was brought here for a reason."

Yes, yes, your employment, but also to expand our horizons here in Central Illinois.

- Yeah.

I landed here with the job.

I had at a clinical here a while back at Children's, and then, just with my specialization, had been in a couple different places.

A position with the adult neuro team opened up, and I've been there now for about two years.

And yeah, this is what gets me excited, getting people back to the things they wanna accomplish.

I can only do so much in the clinic, and there comes a point where that skilled intervention stops, and this is a way to keep that going.

I was at the Stroke Alliance.

They have their Refresh and Retreat Stroke Camp up in Princeton, among other places.

I volunteered last year, and this year, I was like, "Can I bring some recreation up and just, we can adapt it for the needs."

And so, we brought kayaking up.

- [Christine] Oh, great!

- It was the highlight of camp for a lot of people.

It was the first time they'd been in a kayak four or five, eight years since their stroke.

- Really?

- And to just have them light up and be like, "Oh my gosh, we can go buy a kayak and do this with our grandkids now," that's huge.

This has the opportunity to give life back to people.

- Yeah.

'cause a lot of times, injuries or strokes or whatever disabilities there are, it can really sink people into a really low mindset and depression.

So, this is helping them to avoid that.

- Yeah, and the grieving process is real.

I can't force anybody to be like, "Let's go do this."

You have to be ready.

Sometimes I nudge and be like, "There is life.

We just gotta figure out how to adapt it so that you can use what works, still."

And then we get the equipment and the support, and you get out there and go enjoy life.

It's short, right?

- So, how do you adapt a kayak for someone who has a partially disabled body because of a stroke, so things aren't working the way they used to work.

So, how do you do that?

- They make kayak paddles that you can paddle with one hand- - [Christine] For balance, okay.

- There's outriggers that help stabilize the kayak.

We have different kinds of kayaks that can provide more trunk support.

There's different seating components where you can provide the necessary support that you need.

I don't have a lot of money right now, so I used my own kayak, and we found outriggers on Amazon for 50 bucks and basically MacGyver'd a kayak and then used Coban for grip assist for people that can't necessarily get- - 'Cause they don't have any strength?

- Full upper extremity use.

And we had the pool.

So, we got a bunch of people, slid the kayak in, helped stabilize, and made it work.

And that's how a lot of these nonprofits get off as grassroots.

We don't have thousands and thousands of dollars to buy all the fancy equipment right away.

But we have an idea and we figure out how to do it, and go from there.

And that's how all my friends got started, too.

- Awesome.

So, Prairieland Adaptive wants to have some fundraisers and things, too, so that you can help buy equipment for some of these patients who are struggling, or they might not have the ability to buy those things.

- Yeah, time, funding, and access are probably the three biggest barriers to access, and really, the resources.

All this equipment- (Christine sneezing) - Excuse me!

- Bless you.

- [Christine] Whew, I'm allergic to activity, I guess.

Go ahead.

- This equipment's expensive, so there's a lot of grants out there.

And I've learned, now, being in this industry for a long time, now, there are a lot of grants out there that people can apply for that they don't necessarily know.

So, part of us is being able to bring that information forward to our people so that they can start applying for those.

And then, being able to get money to buy equipment that we can have as an organization that people can utilize and test out before they spend all that money, getting the equipment that they might want.

- So, you are going to do the grant writing.

How many people are in Prairieland Adaptive right now?

Just you, or do you have a couple extra?

You're co-founder.

- I am the founder.

Two of my friends believed in it and are on the board with me helping us get started.

We're gonna be in the process of developing a working board to really help fill the gaps of where we need to go, as far as development goes, and bringing in that skillset.

A couple months ago, I established an advisory committee and I have people throughout all of Central Illinois.

I mean the Quad Cities, Bloomington, Normal, down to Springfield, some people with disabilities, some people without, younger, older, to really capture the community and try to help have them represent what we're doing here.

I don't want this to be the Cody Show.

I don't need this to be a Cody Show.

I want this to be community-run and driven.

I want this to be what our community needs.

So, our advisory committee's been helpful with that.

They've been able to connect me with people and spread information and give feedback.

And we also developed a community needs assessment survey.

- [Christine] Okay, so, what does that consist of?

- It's a 30, 35-question survey, which seems intense, but it should only take five minutes or less.

But it captures basic demographics, where you live, what's your disability.

- [Christine] And how do you distribute it?

- Right now, it's on our website.

It's open access on our website.

And then, at our expo this fall, it's gonna be in the event booklet so that people can fill it out, because a lot of grants wanna know, who are you serving?

Do you have tactile evidence of who you're serving?

I've been pulling from the Census Bureau 'cause that's all I have access to.

- [Christine] Right now, yeah.

- But to have this survey gives me an idea of what programming people even want, what their interests are.

Because that's gonna help guide us in the next steps after this expo of, okay, where are we gonna spend our time and focus?

What are we gonna develop that can impact the most people in the quickest amount of time?

And then, see where things go from there.

- So, how many people are you expecting at this expo at Bradley?

- [Cody] I have no clue.

(laughs) - Okay!

- Our goal, at least- - You need to plan for these things, you know!

- No, yeah, yeah!

My goal was 150, and that was including caregivers, family, students, professors, fitness trainers, other clinicians, and the participants that have a disability.

So, I'm hoping for 150 to 200 people.

And then, we have our community resource fair where we're bringing in businesses, nonprofits, support groups, what have you, that- - [Christine] And when is that?

- That's part of the expo on the 27th, yeah.

- [Christine] Oh, that's part of it, okay.

- So, we'll have the activities fair, have a variety of activities for people to try, different equipment.

And then, the community resource fair of just places in this community that serve it, provide services to the disability community, just so it's like a one-stop shop.

You get to come try some stuff, get some resources, meet other people that you haven't ever met before, - See what's available.

- See what's available.

And it might not be fully comprehensive, but it's at least something to get started.

And we hope it continues to expand over time.

- So, you have already reached out to some of these organizations, and they have also heard about you.

So, it's all a word of mouth, that getting the word out?

- Right now, yeah.

Social media is not my expertise, so I'm hoping somebody will be able to help with social media down the road, 'cause I am not an expert with that.

But it has been truly word of mouth and building off of the network that I've established over the last few years.

Our flyers have gone out through Facebook and it has circulated Central Illinois already.

It has been so exciting to see how quick the word has spread and how much support there is.

And people just commenting, "Oh, my gosh, we've been wanting this for ourselves or for our child for years, and this is such a unique experience."

- So, you are covering it for all ages.

What's the youngest that you can do?

- I mean, at the age that anybody can participate, so somewhere around five up to- - Where they can understand instructions and that.

- Yeah, and I've even encouraged parents, if their child isn't able to participate yet but will likely end up participating when they get a little bit older, to just come and check it out, because you never know who you're going to meet, the resources that are in town.

Again, I'm always learning about a new place that is doing something different, and just to get an idea of what's out there.

A lot of people don't always know what opportunities exist.

They might not exist here yet, but they're out there.

We just have to figure out, okay, how do we get the money, the equipment, the time, the resources, and then establish it?

- Man, have you always been this way?

(laughs) Like, ideas and boom, boom, boom, boom, boom?

- Yeah, I mean, I'm a dreamer.

This is just who I am.

And I have people that help reality check me and reign me in so that we can focus on something and streamline it.

But yeah, I'm always trying to think outside the box and figure out what's missing and how do we bring it.

And if it's something that can truly help somebody, great, let's get it here and let's do it.

- And this is not just one person.

This is to help a lot of different people, of all walks of life.

- Yeah, I mean, I've been doing this in some way, shape or form, for 10 years, whether it was a volunteer, a camp counselor, what have you.

And now being on the program development side of it, it's, again, the same path I've been doing for 10 years, and now I have a place that I can help bring it, which excites me.

- Yeah, really!

Was it difficult for you to get the 501c3?

- The hard part was just learning all the hoops.

I've had people in my life that are journeys and that could help guide things, and people that have done this before that helped provided mentorship and coaching.

I've had other organizations that have done this that I've been able to bounce ideas off of.

So, it's been helpful, but I have learned a lot.

I'm not a business major.

I was neuroscience and then physical therapy.

(Christine laughing) - [Christine] A big difference.

- Business development, nonprofit development was not necessarily my forte- - Not your thing.

(laughs) - My cup of tea, but it's been great to learn about, and I've developed a respect for the process and how all of these nonprofits that have been well established, the work and the grind that it takes to get them off the ground and the community that it takes to get behind it.

I've learned a lot.

- I guess.

I learned about it from Kelly Eckert, who's a pickleballer.

So, you're also looking into, is there a way for people who are in a wheelchair to participate in pickleball?

- Yeah!

The goal is to eventually have a variety of recreation activities.

We have a lot of able-bodied groups in this area.

We have mountain biking groups, cycling groups, triathlon groups, pickleball groups.

You name it, there is a recreation or sport group out there.

- [Christine] Again, able-bodied.

- Able bodied, right.

So, part of my goal with this nonprofit is to, one, be able to provide sports recreation groups within the disability community, but then merge those groups with the able-bodied so that if my friend that has a T10 spinal cord injury wants to get out and go play pickleball in the courts, he knows of different groups in town.

People are aware of adaptations or minor rule changes that we might have to make.

I think in pickleball and on the para side, I think it's two bounces that you get instead of just one.

I don't know all of the rules with each sport yet.

I'm still learning all of that.

- Okay.

- But to be able to have that, 100%.

- Because maybe they were pickleballers before all this happened.

- Yeah, and to just, again, not just bring our disability community together, but to bring the whole community together so that if somebody wants to go play pickleball with their friend that might be able-bodied, but they need to use a sports chair, so be it.

They can still get out there and go play.

- [Christine] Okay.

- Same thing with triathlon.

A para triathlon has a division for para athletes.

Whether you're an amputee, visually impaired, need to use a racing chair, what have you, or hand cycle, how cool would it be to get in with our triathlon folks here and have somebody out there on the course someday that just needs considerations for transitionary equipment?

- Right.

- How cool.

- Well, so you also work with Easterseals, I would imagine, with some of the Easterseals kids, right?

Or do you?

- I'm on the adult side.

I work with OSF, so I have friends and colleagues at Easterseals.

And eventually, people graduate from Easterseals, so I might see 'em as adults.

- Afterwards, okay.

Well, and you've heard of the Penguin Project, where they have able-bodied with disabled.

So, it's almost the same theory.

- Right, well, even on the Special Olympics side, we have unified sports programming now in high schools.

So, yeah, this whole idea of inclusion is, we are in a movement right now and it is so exciting to see it come together in all facets of the disability community.

- And that you were placed here where there is a need, and all of a sudden, your dreamer took over and is is helping out and getting this going, getting it off the ground.

- Yeah, and if you just listen, if you take a step back and just listen, you can hear what the needs are.

The whole reason I started my own business was because I heard the need.

I saw what was going on, and like- - [Christine] Give me an example.

- People come in all the time after their six-month discharge for a tuneup and just checking in, and they're like, "What have you been up to the last six months?"

"Nothing, I don't know where to go.

I don't know how to do this.

I don't have anybody to help me."

And it's like, "All right."

Or again, some of my guys and gals with spinal cord, it's like, "Did you get involved in," "Well, we don't know where to go, like, what's out there."

So, again, as a PT, I'm like, "We gotta get you guys going- - Gotta do something, right?

- "Because you need to move, you need to stay healthy, you need to stay fit because you don't wanna develop a secondary condition because of inactivity and sedentary life.

- Because of your inability, right.

Yeah, yeah.

And plus, then, again, you combine the sedentary life with the depression that sets in because it's, "I used to be able to do this, and now look at me, I'm sitting in front of a television with a remote control."

Right?

- Yeah.

- I mean, nothing bad about television.

Here we are on television.

(Cody laughing) But we don't wanna change the channel yet.

Okay, so, what happens next?

You have this September 27th, and then you still need to, you're gonna get a lot of information out to the people who are there, but we gotta get information out to everybody who says, "Oh, well, I think I can help with that."

You want more volunteers, too.

- Oh, volunteers.

Volunteers are gonna be huge.

People that have specialty skills in nonprofit development that would wanna help mentor.

We're gonna be always looking for ways to support the organization from a financial standpoint so that we can, one, sustain ourselves long-term, And then, two, get the equipment that we need to be able to do the programming that we want.

I mean, that's the reality, is we need equipment and we need the tools to be able to adapt things.

As far as next steps, I have an idea, a bunch of ideas of where I'd like to go from an adapted fitness class.

So, working with local gyms to see if we can host monthly classes.

I'm triathlon, that's my love, and I've been working with a group out of Chicago for the last year and a half and figuring out, how can we bring a para triathlon to this area would be great, because you can adapt it across so many levels of function, which is incredible.

And then, we get to pull in our people with visual impairment, which is, again, a population that needs to be able to exercise and can participate in these things.

We just have to figure out, how do we train guides?

How do we set up equipment so that they can be successful and safe?

So, it's gonna be program development, community advocacy, building partnerships with local able-bodied groups and other groups in the community that serve individuals with disability, and really, trying to build a sustainable organization for the long haul, 'cause I wanna see this here for the rest of my life.

- Awesome, so, that means you wanna stay here the rest of your life?

- [Cody] I am staying in Central Illinois.

- All right, all right, that's good.

And you've seen that it can be done in other places, like Cincinnati and St. Louis and Chicago.

- Yeah, a lot of them are bigger metropolitan areas.

In Charlotte, they had a phenomenal program.

Charlotte's probably a million-plus metropolitan area.

It's huge.

Probably bigger than that, I don't know.

It can be done here.

It was done in the Quad Cities.

Bob Juarez started Quad Cities Adaptive Sports up there.

Phenomenal organization.

Up in Madison, my friend and buddy Jacob Grabowski started that.

I think we have unique considerations in Central Illinois because we're a little bit more spread out.

I know we have a 400,000 metropolitan area in the Tri-County, but we still have Bloomington, Normal, Champaign, Lincoln, Springfield- - We have 17 counties just for our station.

- Galesburg, Western Illinois.

So, we have to be strategic about, yes, our main hub is in Peoria.

People aren't necessarily gonna have to commute to Chicago and St. Louis, like they're doing right now.

- But you have your outreach.

- But how do we establish a strong core?

But then, I mean, do we develop clubs or chapters and communities and community hubs, like Bloomington, Normal, Springfield?

I don't know what that looks like yet.

I think that's gonna be dependent upon this community needs survey.

- [Christine] You have a lot of thinking ahead.

- I know, which is good.

- (laughs) Yes, it is.

Well, I'd like to thank you.

Where can people find you online?

- Our website, it's prairielandadaptive.org.

We have an Instagram page just @PrairielandAdaptive.

There's a Facebook page out there now with our one event.

So, like I said, if there's a social media person, come find me.

- It's growing.

- And then, we have a presence on LinkedIn, too, just for professionals.

- Perfect.

- We'll start there.

- Well, thank you, thanks for bringing some more health and wellness back to Central Illinois as well.

- Absolutely, it was my pleasure.

Thanks for having me.

- All the best of luck to you.

- Thank you.

- And I hope you enjoyed it.

He is pretty amazing for a young guy.

- Thanks.

- Thanks for joining us, and in the meantime, 'till we see you next time, be well.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues)