By Ramon Syyap

The most basic elements of being a stand-up comedian are, quite obviously, standing up and telling jokes. After suffering a stroke, Rob Hills wondered if he would ever be able to do either again.

For Hills, the recuperation process began at Providence Healthcare’s Stroke and Neuro Rehabilitation Program. He worked tirelessly with therapists towards small but significant goals, like standing up from his wheelchair and regaining strength on the left side of his body.

Facing the very real prospect that he would never again be able to walk, Hills was motivated by the belief that he might someday return to the stage.

“My first goal was to climb steps,” he explains. “The majority of comedy clubs in Toronto are on the second floor.”

After months of rehabilitation, Hills’s goal was slowly becoming a reality. By then, his therapy included short distance walking exercises and visits to Variety Village, a sports and life skills facility partnered with Providence, where he could hone the skills he had started to develop with his therapists. Stints on a stationary bicycle soon evolved into laps around a walking track and as his stamina increased, he traded the wheelchair for an assistive cane.

Hills attributes much of his success to his care team and their constant encouragement.

“They made me the person I am today. They gave me a sense of confidence, which isn’t easy when you wake up one day and find that half your body is locked away.”

Almost a year after his stroke, Hills rejoined his improv troupe and returned to the stage at The Social Capital, a second-floor establishment in east Toronto.

“It was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life and it was the most normal I’ve felt in years,” he says of ascending two flights of stairs at the venue.

Born with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that limits his heart from pumping blood effectively, Hills’s health has been and may always be an uncertainty. What remains constant is his resilience and love of humour. So it’s no surprise that looking back on one of his most challenging moments, he can still make light of it.

“I’ve got a lot of life left in me,” he remarks. “I can either sit here and be glum or try to get my act together.”