Gary Hickey's story - KVOA News 4
Feb. 17, 2026 — Gary Hickey, a well-known Tucson chef, is learning to walk again after being suddenly paralyzed. Hickey was working in his restaurant kitchen when he realized something was wrong.
“By the time I left Charro Steak downtown and got to Banner, I couldn't walk and couldn't get out of my car,” Hickey told KVOA News 4. “Within an hour, I was completely paralyzed from the chest down.”
After multiple MRIs, Hickey learned he had suffered a thoracic spinal cord stroke, which happens when a blood clot or bleeding interrupts blood flow in the spinal cord. For the past month, Hickey has required intensive rehabilitation therapy at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Northwest Tucson.
“Gary is the highlight of my day,” said Luis Cruz, physical therapist at the hospital. “I make it a point that he is on my schedule. I make it a point that I'm working with him. I know if I ask him to do something, there are no questions asked. He teaches me something every day.”
In Hickey's hospital room at Encompass Health Northwest Tucson, he has a goal written where he can see it every day: to walk again.
“I'm pushing every day, and don't tell me the odds,” Hickey said. “I'm going to be out of here soon.”