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Mark Kirk Climbs Willis Tower For Stroke Fundraiser, Pushes Rehab Legislation Bills

Senator Climbs One Of Nation's Tallest Buildings For Charity
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Almost two years after suffering a debilitating stroke, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk returned to the steps of one of the world's tallest buildings to raise money for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago -- and to push his new stroke recovery legislation.

Sunday, the 54-year-old Republican beat his 2012 climb to ascend 41 stories of the Willis Tower.

Kirk was among some 3,000 participants for this year's SkyRise Chicago event and was joined by stroke survivors and their families, including his 11-year-old pen pal, Jackson Cunningham.

"This was a little bit more difficult the last time," Kirk told ABC Chicago. "I had a physical therapist helping me, this was all on my own."

At a press conference before his climb, Kirk also pushed three bills he introduced earlier this year aimed at expanding access to the quality of rehabilitation care he says helped him recover enough to do the climb.

“About 900,000 Americans a year will suffer from stroke, and about a third of them will not return to work,” he said according to the Sun-Times. “For those 300,000 people, I don’t want to throw them away. I don’t want them to feel like they’ve been thrown away, and I think this stroke agenda will help us return many, many more Americans to work.”

The senator, who still sometimes uses a wheelchair, told the Associate Press "If I can do it, then anybody can do it."

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Before You Go

Mark Kirk In Recovery From Stroke
(01 of09)
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In this series of three photos taken from video released Tuesday, May 8, 2012 by Sen. Mark Kirk's office, Kirk performs various walking exercises at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago following a stroke he suffered in January 2012. In the video, Kirk gives his first public remarks since suffering the stroke. On May 3, Senator Kirk was released from the RIC and moved home with his family. (AP Photo/Courtesy Sen. Mark Kirk's office) (credit:AP)
(02 of09)
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This image taken from video and provided by Sen. Mark Kirk's office shows Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. going through a walking exercise at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago following a stroke he suffered in January 2012. In the video, Kirk gives his first public remarks since suffering the stroke. On May 3, Kirk was released from the RIC and moved home with his family. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Sen. Mark Kirk's office) (credit:AP)
(03 of09)
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This image taken from video and provided by Sen. Mark Kirk's office shows Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. going through a walking exercise at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago following a stroke he suffered in January 2012. In the video, Kirk gives his first public remarks since suffering the stroke. On May 3, Kirk was released from the RIC and moved home with his family. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Sen. Mark Kirk's office) (credit:AP)
(04 of09)
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This image taken from video and provided by Sen. Mark Kirk's office shows Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. making his first remarks since suffering a stroke in January 2012 on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. Kirk says he can't wait to get back to work and is walking again. On May 3, Kirk was released from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and moved home with his family. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Sen. Mark Kirk's office) (credit:AP)
(05 of09)
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FILE - In this April 19, 2012 file photo provided by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., talks with staff members at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, in the first public image of Kirk since he suffered a stroke in January 2012. On Thursday, May 3, 2012, Kirk's office released a statement saying the 52-year-old senator has been released from the rehabilitation center and recovered to the point where he can move home with his family. (AP Photo/Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, File) (credit:AP)
(06 of09)
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Dr. Richard Fessler, a neurosurgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital updates the media on U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk's condition since suffering a stroke over the weekend, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, in Chicago. Fessler says the Illinois Republican has some facial paralysis and speaks with a slight slur, but is answering questions and is very aware of his surroundings. The doctor says Kirk appears eager to get back to work and has asked for his Blackberry. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) (credit:AP)
(07 of09)
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FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 photo, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. leaves a Republican caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington. When a stroke hits at 52, like what happened to Sen. Kirk, the reaction is an astonished, "But he's so young." The reality is that strokes can happen at any age, even to children - and they're on the rise among the young and middle-aged. The vast majority of strokes do occur in older adults. But up to a quarter of them strike people younger than 65, says Dr. Ralph Sacco, a University of Miami neurologist and past president of the American Heart Association. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (credit:AP)
(08 of09)
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Dr. Richard Fessler, a neurosurgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital who performed surgery on U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. after he suffered a stroke, arrives to answer questions about the Senator's conditions at a news conference, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, in Chicago. Kirk, 52, checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital over the weekend before being transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where tests showed he had suffered a stroke. Kirk's office said he had a tear in the carotid artery on the right side of his neck. Carotid arteries carry blood to the brain; carotid tears are a common cause of strokes, which can involve blood clots traveling to the brain and causing bleeding there. The surgery was performed Sunday night. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) (credit:AP)
(09 of09)
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In this Nov. 1, 2010 photo, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., looks to a crowd of supporters during a campaign rally in Wheaton, Ill. A spokesperson for Sen. Mark Kirk says the Illinois Republican has suffered a stroke and has undergone surgery early Monday, Jan. 23 2012 to relieve swelling around his brain. The 51-year-old Kirk checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital in Illinois. He was later transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where tests showed that he had suffered a stroke. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) (credit:AP)
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