At just 4 years old, William “Scott” Baggett woke up paralyzed. Diagnosed with polio, he spent six months at Tampa General Hospital.
Now 71, the Trinity resident is fighting a new battle that stems from the illness he experienced as a child. Over the past couple of decades, post-polio syndrome has slowly robbed Baggett of his strength and mobility. The neurological condition can affect polio survivors decades after their initial illness and can lead to muscle weakness, fatigue, and decreased function.
Despite the toll the disease has taken, one thing has never wavered — Baggett’s commitment to giving back. From 2004 to 2019, Scott and his wife visited kids in local hospitals with their therapy dogs — logging over 6,000 volunteer hours.
“To me, this was a journey of a lifetime visiting kids all throughout Tampa Bay,” he said.
Baggett, after all, knew what it was like to be hospitalized at a young age. Many of the children he visited with his therapy dogs faced frightening diagnoses including cancer.
In 2010, he worked with the state attorney’s office, volunteering to provide pet therapy support to child victims on 25 sexual abuse cases. The following year, he also participated in a study on the impact of therapy dogs on outcomes for pediatric cancer patients. His volunteer efforts have also included participating in American Teach-In activities, domestic violence support programs and other special needs initiatives.
But as his own disease progressed, Baggett has found it increasingly difficult to do what he has loved — helping people, especially kids. As his muscles have weakened, independence has become more challenging. Simply getting to local hospitals is difficult without the right vehicle that can support his motorized wheelchair.
That’s why a national nonprofit organization is stepping up to help Baggett get the assistance he needs to help restore his ability to give back to children in the community. The organization, Help Hope Live, assists individuals with community-based fundraising to cover the cost of verified uninsured medical expenses.
In Baggett’s case, he is raising money to cover the cost of purchasing a reliable mobility van to replace his current vehicle so that he can resume his volunteer work with children and therapy dogs.
“Only the people in the world of disability understand this,” he said. “You can buy a new van today for $42,000 to $45,000, but that same van with the modifications for a person with disabilities is $95,000. They’re also more expensive to work on if they need a mechanic. Give me an even playing field and I’m able to do what everyone else can do.”
A retiree of Verizon, Baggett has faced adversity his whole life. He left Tampa General Hospital as a child with extensive muscle atrophy on his right side, along with an S-shaped spine, requiring the help of his mother to learn to walk again. During his senior year of high school, Baggett says his father committed suicide. He turned to golf to help cope with the loss, even though he was told he couldn’t play sports.
For more than two decades, Baggett hit several hundred golf balls every day, but had to stop when his PPS began to progress in his 40s. He had been involved in dog training for several years, and entered several dog competitions. Eventually he combined his love for canines with his desire to give back to train life-changing therapy dogs and provide support to children receiving treatment in Tampa Bay hospitals. Now he needs some help so he can continue that mission.
“All my life, I’ve been the one to help others,” he said. “I never expected to be in this position.”
How to help
The nonprofit organization Help Hope Live is raising funds to help purchase a custom van for Trinity resident William “Scott” Baggett. All donations are tax-deductible, according to the organization. For more information, go to helphopelive.org/campaign/21012.