CHICAGO – Good luck and experimental therapy may have helped U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk recover more extensively than he would have with standard care after he suffered a stroke in January.

The 52-year-old is making excellent progress, according to medical experts not involved in his care, who watched a video released this week by the Illinois Republican’s office in which Kirk is seen climbing stairs and walking on a treadmill with a therapist’s help.

Kirk credits lead researcher and physical therapist T. George Hornby at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, whose work may change standard therapy for stroke patients. During Kirk’s nine weeks participating in Hornby’s research, he walked nearly 15 miles and climbed 145 flights of stairs.