Sam Nichols shares personal impact of West Texas Rehab Center ahead of annual telethon

BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Through the years, the West Texas Rehab Center has transformed countless lives across the region thanks to the annual telethon. Even our own KTAB Chief Meteorologist Sam Nichols can attest to the impact the center has had on his life.

“I’ve always been involved with the rehab center, and I just love everything about it. My sister had polio when she was young, and I saw how important a therapist was, how important a protocol was,” Nichols shared.

After retiring from 33 years of coaching women’s basketball, Sam Nichols discovered that there was no cartilage left in his right knee.

“Too many trips up and down the basketball court, I guess, after 33 years, but my right knee was going bone on bone. There was no more cartilage,” Nichols explained. “My doctor said, ‘Hey, you can go home and just sit and be an old man if you want to, or we can do this.'”

What really stood out to Nichols was that the West Texas Rehab Center isn’t just a place where you walk in, get treatment, and leave. It’s a place where special relationships are built over time, ensuring you can reach—and maintain—your peak performance.

“It’s not like a cattle auction where there are 30 people in a room, and the therapist goes from one to one to one that just works the room. They are with you every time you come. They’re familiar with your history and where you were last time you were here. This is state-of-the-art equipment and state-of-the-art therapists, and there’s not a better facility, no matter what kind of check you can write for the treatment,” Nichols said.

He added that the treatment he received from many therapists has been the best, all of whom have hearts full of compassion. Sam explained that there’s a science to what they do, but there’s also an art to it—one that makes all the difference in the healing process.

“The art is when the heart gets involved because a lot of these patients are isolated at home, depending on how much treatment they need, and they need to talk to their therapist, and they need to interact with them, and they need that human touch,” Nichols shared.

He says that those who have never been to the West Texas Rehab Center don’t know what they’re missing: a compassionate community of medical professionals dedicated to your well-being and recovery.

“It’s nearly moving to tears at times to watch in the waiting area how compassionate, merciful, gracious, and Christ-like the therapists are as they work with patients here,” Nichols expressed. “There’s going to be some days you hit the wall. There’s going to be some days you’re not at your best. We need somebody to push us. My goal is 100% and nothing less.”

Don’t miss the 55th West Texas Rehab Center Telethon and Auction, live at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 25, on KTAB and BigCountryHomepage! Tune in to support a great cause.