Prosthetic Center of Excellence News

"The Harder the Goal, the Greater the Glory"

2012-01-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

It's the beginning of January, and for runners it means one thing: time for the kickoff to train for the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.

If you're thinking it's too cold or you can't go the distance, the guest speaker for the marathon kick-off party Wednesday night is a living example that there are no excuses.

For Sarah Reinertsen, it's never too cold or too windy or too late.

Not having a leg? That's no excuse for her, either.

"I'm on the course, I think often times people see me come by, see my prosthetic leg, and there's this sort of flash and glimmer and it's like, 'Wow, if she's out there suffering on that thing, I'm going to make it today, too.'"

She explains, "I lost my leg when I was seven years old. I had tissue disease as a child so they amputated above the knee when I was just a kid."

For the first eleven years of her life, Reinertsen didn't run because she thought she couldn't.

Then she met a woman running with a prosthetic leg, and her world changed.

"That really changed for me, having a role model and opening up the possibility," she said.

She went from learning to walk with a wooden foot to running with a carbon fiber leg designed to replicate the fastest animal on land.

"The engineer, designer was looking at videos of the cheetah and looked at the kickback of the hind leg, and that was his inspiration to make a better prosthetic running foot for a human."

It unleashed her inner runner.

At 13, she broke the 100-meter world record for female above-the-knee amputees.

She ran the Great Wall Marathon in China.

And in 2005, she became the first woman with a prosthetic leg to finish the Ironman World Championships. It took her 15 hours to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112, and run another 26.2.

"The harder the goal, the greater the glory," Reinertsen says. "Certainly the feeling of crossing the finish line was a feeling I'll never get back -- unless I do it again."

Those accomplishments now make her a role model for others.

"One of the things that I love is that every weekend in almost every state in this country, you can sign up for a race, you can be a weekend warrior, you can feel like a kid again, get out there and get active."

Violinist Sophia Hummell keeps a steady hand

2012-01-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Make a list of the requirements for playing the violin, and the first few items are pretty obvious. Love of music, a good ear, dedication - check, check, check.

What about two good arms? Now that's where you want to be careful about jumping to conclusions.

Sophia Hummell confounds any glib assumptions about what is and isn't possible on the musical front. The spirited 18-year-old San Francisco native was born without a full right arm, but she's been playing the violin since the fourth grade.

She makes it look easy, too. The key is a specially designed prosthetic - what Hummell calls her "violin arm" - that attaches to the short stub of her arm with a suction device, while a mechanical grip on the other end is attached to the bow.

The result is an apparatus that has allowed Hummell to keep pace with her fiddling peers. She plays in string quartets and in the chamber orchestra of the Villa Sinfonia Foundation, a nonprofit run by violinists Lynn and Roy Oakley. With the orchestra, she's performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and played the national anthem for a Giants game, and just last month she was the soloist in one movement of a Vivaldi concerto at the orchestra's annual concert.

To spend any time with Hummell is to encounter a young woman who seems to simply breeze past whatever obstacles life may throw her way. Though she has a variety of prosthetic arms for different activities, she says she feels most at home without any of them - using one hand, along with the occasional teeth and toes, to negotiate the world.
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Double amputee battles triathlon and wins silver

2011-12-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

By Ian Williams, NBC News Correspondent

BEIJING – The first time I met Andre Kajlich he was dodging Beijing traffic – in a racing wheelchair.

"Oh yeah, it was good out there," he told me, a huge smile on his face. "You should have seen the look I got from the bus driver."

Kajlich had traveled from his Seattle home to the Chinese capital to take part in the world championship of one of the world's most demanding sports – the paratriathlon. And taking his wheelchair for a spin on the highway was just one of his ways of tuning up.

Kajlich is a double amputee. When he lost his legs in a subway accident eight years ago, doctors doubted he would ever walk again – even with prosthetics. But he was determined to prove them wrong.

"No matter what, I was going to do everything I could do," he said. And entering the grueling world of the triathlon is just his latest challenge, winning a place in the Beijing contest after just one year in the sport.

"It gives you perspective on what you are capable of, really of what everybody's capable of," he told me. "You can choose what you want to do, and once you make up your mind you are going to get there no matter what it takes."

Inspiring others
It's an inspirational message he's been taking to other young American amputees. He and his sister Bianca, an actress, are counselors at the annual Paddy Rosebach youth camp, a summer gathering for 10- to 17-year-old amputees, which was held this year in Clarksville, Ohio.

"I try to get them to look at their goals and to focus on those and to make up their minds, make the same choices I did, that you are going to get there no matter what, and try to put the other stuff aside."

And he told me that he in turn had found the young amputees a huge inspiration as he prepared for Beijing.

The triathlon took place around (and in) the Ming Tombs Reservoir at the foot of the mountains that rise to the north of Beijing. It had been the triathlon venue during the 2008 Olympics.

For more of the story Click here

TEDxOrangeCoast - Amy Purdy - Living Beyond Limits

2011-11-29T16:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a patient of ours Amy Purdy, who speaks on using life boundries as a springboard to enhancing life for yourself and others. That limitations are only limited by your imagination. Watch and gain inspiration from someone who lives, breathes and leads by example.

Bernabe Duran

Our World: 'Pushed to the brink of what our bodies can be pushed to'

2011-11-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

Photo by TRISTAN SPINSKI // Buy this photo

It's a chilly Friday night in Bonita Springs. The bleachers overflow with fans as the stadium lights kick on and eleven softball players jog into right field to warm up. These men have been through hell. They've braved bombs and bullets and shrapnel and rockets and fire. And now they are on a mission: to show that life goes on after war. Outfielder Daniel "Doc" Jacobs, pictured above, 26, flops onto his back to stretch. Jacobs, a U.S. Marine who lives in San Diego, lost his left leg below the knee after being struck by an Improved Explosive Device (IED) during a routine patrol in the Sunni Triangle in Iraq in February of 2006.

It’s a chilly Friday night in Bonita Springs. The bleachers overflow with fans as the stadium lights kick on and eleven softball players jog into right field to warm up. These men have been through hell. They’ve braved bombs and bullets and shrapnel and rockets and fire. And now they are on a mission: to show that life goes on after war.

Outfielder Daniel “Doc” Jacobs, pictured above, 26, flops onto his back to stretch. Jacobs, a U.S. Marine who lives in San Diego, lost his left leg below the knee after being struck by an Improved Explosive Device (IED) during a routine patrol in the Sunni Triangle in Iraq in February of 2006.

After two years in rehab, Jacobs has returned to full duty. Part of his job includes traveling around the country with the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team, a collection of U.S. Army and Marine Corps veterans who have lost limbs post 9/11 while serving their country. The team averages two games a month against police departments and fire departments across the United States. On this night they play the Bonita Springs Fire Department.

Every member of the team has a story. Second baseman Tim Horton, 27, of San Antonio, served two years and eight months with the U.S. Marine Corps, with a full year of that service spent in the hospital after and IED struck his humvee, spraying his body with shrapnel, breaking his wrist, both elbows and taking his left leg below the knee. Horton said after 50 surgeries, he’s stopped counting. What he and his teammates can count on is his athletic ability, which he demonstrated by back-pedaling into center field and a diving catch to end the first inning.

Head Coach David Van Sleet also works for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, specializing in prosthetics. Van Sleet says he put the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team together last spring after marveling at the scope of athletic talent returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe injuries.

“After they were injured, they didn’t know if they were going to live,” Van Sleet said. “They didn’t know if they were going to walk again. They didn’t know if they were going to play sports again.”

After much brainstorming, Van Sleet put a national call out to VA hospitals, military bases and other organizations that might point him towards the best veteran amputee athletic talent in the country. Hundreds answered the call. Twenty made the cut.

One of the chosen few was Sgt. Randall Rugg, a 34-year-old native of Monroe, La. who now plays catcher. Rugg served with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1999 to January of 2004. His unit was ambushed on March 22, 2003 in Iraq. Rugg survived five rocket-propelled grenades hitting his vehicle. Like so many of his teammates, he lost his left leg below the knee.

Rugg says his transition to civilian life was difficult. There was no camaraderie. The two jobs he landed upon returning were fraught with office backstabbing. It was every man for himself, Rugg said. So when a representative from his VA called him, asking if he would be interested in playing softball with fellow amputees, Rugg jumped.

“Hell yeah. I’ll be there,” Rugg said.

“It’s therapeutic,” Rugg says. “It’s like being with family. It’s like going home to see mom and dad for the holidays and being around people that love and accept you. It’s the same thing with this.”

“We’ve been pushed to the brink of what our bodies can be pushed to,” he said. “Sometimes my leg - it’s sweaty. It hurts. But the job’s not done. I push it to the end.”

The Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team is a nonprofit organization that depends on charitable donations to continue their outreach and advocacy across the United States. If you are interested in learning more or donating to the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team, visit their website: www.woundedwarrioramputeesoftballteam.org, or call: (703) 549-2288.

Teen's goal: Eliminate phantom pain in amputees

2011-11-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

Thursday - 11/10/2011, 1:50pm ET

Katherine Bomkamp is seen with her invention, which is designed to eliminate phantom pain felt by amputees (Photo Courtesy of Intel )Darci Marchese, wtop.com

WASHINGTON -- Katherine Bomkamp was struck by what she saw the first time she visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center with her father, a member of the U.S. Air Force.

"Sitting in waiting rooms were all these very young amputees returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. That really got to me. They were 18,19 years old, young kids," she says.

The Waldorf teen, 16 at the time, says she talked to the men and women who had lost their limbs at war about phantom pain -- the pain an amputee feels in the limb that's no longer there. The pain, she says, is "caused by the brain that automatically sends signals to a limb to move. The signals get caught in the severed nerve endings, causing pain."

About the same time as her visits to the hospital, Bomkamp's tenth grade science teacher encouraged the North Point High School students to complete a project that could have an impact.

Bomkamp decided to study phantom pain, hoping to find a way to prevent it without the use of drugs. Over time, she invented a holistic prosthetic device she now calls the "pain free socket," a device that uses heat to force the brain to focus on high temperatures produced through thermal-bio feedback, rather than send signals to the nonexistent limb.

The invention won her several awards at local and national science fairs. But she didn't stop there.

Now a 19-year-old sophomore at West Virginia University, Bomkamp is working to have her device commercialized. She's received one patent for the "pain free socket" and says a major prosthetic company has expressed interest in it. She's even created her own company.

She credits the university for helping her develop the device and to raise funding for it.

"Before I came to WVU, this was a project. But now it's become a viable product that could go on the market," she says.

"It's come a long way from when I was 16."

Bomkamp is excited to give back to wounded warriors. She says the device will be tested on amputees and she hopes it will be on the market in just a couple of years.

Because of her accomplishments, she becomes the first West Virginia University student to be inducted into the National Museum of Education's National Gallery for America's Young Inventors. And last week, she was named one of Glamour Magazine's "21 Amazing Young Women." The distinction was given to young women across the country for changing the world through service and innovation.

Finding her stride

2011-11-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

Josh Radtke | The State News
Kinesiology senior McKayla Hanson waits for her brother Jacob, 13, to bring up the other handcycle into the driveway after the two finished an afternoon ride. Due to her high amputation, Hanson rides the special type of bike during the running and bicycle portions of the triathlon. She travels to California this week to compete in a half Ironman Triathlon, a stepping stone to the Paralympic games, where she is determined to one day be a competitor.

After her right leg was amputated at age 7, McKayla Hanson gave up on rollerblading, biking and her chances at a normal life.

In elementary school, Hanson, who is now a kinesiology senior at MSU, purposely broke her prosthetic leg to get out of wearing it to class.

Years later, Hanson is walking, biking and rock-climbing.

She’s been training for months to participate in the 2011 San Diego Triathlon Challenge on Sunday and today, she’s leaving for California.

“I hate the fact that most people I see that are physically disabled are either overweight or obese,” Hanson said. “Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you should eat McDonald’s every day or sit on your butt because your back or leg hurts — you can’t let that get to you.”

“It’s huge for somebody that’s injured,” Long said. “It’s not only getting out; it’s realizing that you can do active activities.”

A step behind
Hanson’s parents put her into foster care along with her sister to give them a chance at a better life.

When Hanson was living with her first foster care family, she began feeling pain in her right leg.

She cried from the pain, but her foster parents told her it was growing pains. A tumor was visible on her leg.

In the Hanson house, where she went next in foster care, that kind of neglect didn’t last.

Her new foster parents, who later adopted her, told her she had a rare form of bone cancer — rhabdomyosarcoma.

From the hip socket and pelvic bone down, Hanson’s right leg had to be amputated.

“I was more happy than scared because of the pain I felt,” Hanson said.

Doctors said she’d never walk again, but her family pushed her to overcome her disability.

“She didn’t have a disability when she was here; she was one of the kids,” McKayla’s mother, Elisa Hanson said. “When it was her time to clean, (she cleaned).”

McKayla Hanson’s mother was by her side the first time she rode a bicycle after cancer claimed her right leg, and now as she’s training for the triathlon this weekend.

“They said, ‘You can either lay in bed and feel sorry for yourself … or you can get up and do something,’” McKayla Hanson said.

“My physical disability has never stopped me since they told me that.”

Leaps and bounds
Although her right leg was gone, McKayla Hanson had the heart of an athlete growing up.

She began swimming in middle school, then began rock climbing and handcycling.

Her athletic career was jump-started when she got a new prosthetic leg from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, an organization that helps raise money for disabled athletes.

“We think it’s something that helps make someone’s life whole and more meaningful,” said Travis Ricks, programs coordinator and athlete relations at the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

“We want them to not feel like there’s something missing in their life.”

With a new leg and ambitions to participate in triathlons, McKayla Hanson began working with a coach on the handcycle — an arm-operated bicycle.

Ray Bailey, a member of the Tri-County Bicycle Association. never taught someone with a disability before and never used a handcycle.

It’s been a learning experience for both of them, but since they started working together, she’s gone from about 9 mph to about 14 mph average on her handcycle — enough to be competition at the triathlon next Sunday, Bailey said.

“I’ve pushed her a little bit, only to the point I can see it on her face,” he said.

McKayla Hanson also rides with the Tri-County Bicycle Association and the Fusion Cycling Team.
To members, it’s more than a way to exercise.

“If we see people are struggling in the cycling community, we kind of like to help,” Bailey said.

Long, who also leads the Fusion Cycling Team, met McKayla Hanson at a race about a year ago.

Getting to know her and other disabled athletes provides support and hope for him.

“You’re learning from someone that’s gone through the same road as you,” Long said.

“You can talk to a lot of people, friends and family, that haven’t gone through a disability, but they can’t really understand unless they’ve gone through it.”

At MSU, McKayla’s studying to become a physical therapist — to give back to the disabled community, as she was helped by others.

“I really would like to work with the disabled community in any way that I can,” she said.

“Whether it be to incorporate more physical fitness for them, start my own organization or anything along those lines, but I really want to work … for those who are physically challenged.”

McKayla Hanson’s training won’t be over when she finishes the triathlon in San Diego.

After that, her training for the 2014 Paralympics begins.

“She’ll take something competitive, not necessarily just a marathon, but get ready for the triathlon and take it to the extreme limit,” Long said.

“She’s a true athlete.”

Biotech start-up builds artful artificial limbs

2011-11-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Bespoke Innovations has gone out on a limb by building a new business around a bold idea – that prosthetic legs can communicate a message of personal style more than disability.

In a packed lecture hall at Stanford last week, Scott Summit, Bespoke’s chief technology officer and a Stanford engineering lecturer, told those of us in the audience about his start-up company’s vision — to bring humanity and self-esteem back to people who have suffered traumatic limb loss.

Using a 3D scanner, technicians create a digital image of an amputee’s surviving limb and create a mirror image of that morphology using parametric computer modeling. They feed this data into a laser-powered 3D printer that fabricates a custom superstructure, which can then be adorned with fashion-oriented materials like wood, metal, cloth, and leather. “We can create a personalized limb in 30 hours for about $4,000,” Summit told us.

Both utilitarian and beautiful, the Bespoke staff works with people to customize the designs and materials to reflect individual personality and tastes. Some are finished with ballistic nylon or polished nickel. One was covered in quilted leather, like a Chanel handbag. For a military veteran with a love of tribal tattoos, the team scanned a favorite tattoo design from one leg and fabricated the fairing using that theme. A competitive soccer player who lost his leg to cancer chose an aircraft-like honeycomb design that allowed him to play soccer again.

Summit, who works alongside co-founder Kenneth Trauner, MD, a Bay Area orthopedic surgeon, hinted that his interdisciplinary team of designers, engineers, physicians, and entrepreneurs has other innovations under wraps that will push the boundaries of human prosthetics and be “the coolest things you’ve ever seen.”

A video of the lecture is available on Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner website.

The Lone Marine holds salute to Rolling Thunder vets for over 3 hours

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON – In a city dedicated to monumental sacrifices, there’s one that stands strong and never surrenders.

“It just gives me chills,” says Jennifer Phillips of Virginia Beach. “I can’t believe he’s out there.”

Retired Marine Staff Sgt Tim Chambers holds his salute for over 3 hours

Retired Marine Staff Sergeant Tim Chambers has stood at this post since 2002.”It’s an extremely long time to hold a salute that long,” says Air Force Master Sergeant Russ Ware of Columbia, MD. “Takes a lot determination and a lot of discipline. This guy does it every year.”

With a stiff spine and straight shoulders, this lone marine stands at attention as the Rolling Thunder rumbles by…for more than three hours.

“They zoom by me and I’m getting an eyeball at them,” says Chambers. “I’m trying to give every one of them that ‘Welcome home’ they didn’t get.”
Chamber says it started as a spontaneous ‘Thank you’ nine years ago but has now become his moral obligation.

Retired Marine Major Larry Carmon was one of thousands who came to watch Chambers. “I did 28 years in the Corps,” Carmon says. “I was a drill instructor. I’m totally impressed with this young man. Totally impressed.”

Carmon says holding a salute this long is nearly impossible for a healthy Marine. It’s unthinkable for a wounded warrior.

“He has a broken wrist? God Bless him.”

Only the slightest of a tremble gave Chambers away. A broken wrist that should have been in a cast was instead held high in a salute.

“I knew something was wrong!” Ware says. “He started to waver a little bit today. That’s dedication! That’s service before self.”

But as one hour bled into the next, the temperatures started to soar.

“If you actually watch him right now, he’s in distress,” says Dave Macedonia. The veteran says he started ferrying water and aspirin to Chambers when it became apparent the solider was in pain. “You know, veterans help each other,” Macedonia says. “If he falls down out there, we’re going to help him.”

But Diane Hoge says she knows her son would never let that happen. “He was always very determined,” Hoge says. “Everything he does, he puts 150% into it.”

She says her son got it from his grandmother Anne DeSanis. Every year, the 81 year-old quietly stands on the sidelines and refuses to sit down until her grandson finishes what he started.

“It’s real emotional,” she says. “Real emotional.”

The Lone Marine has now become a bit of a celebrity. People flock to this corner just to get a picture with of him. But rather than let it go to his head, Chamber says he hopes others will follow his example.

“I’m doing this because America needs to see this,” he says. “I want them to emulate it any which way they can across the country.”

Because, for Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers, when it comes to remembering the men who serve, you never give up. You never surrender.

Rolling Thunder is an annual motorcycle rally that is held in Washington, DC during the Memorial Day weekend to call for the government’s recognition and protection of Prisoners of War (POWs) and those Missing in Action (MIAs). About 400,000 veterans will roar across Washington, DC on their motorcycles as a tribute to American war heroes.

Virtual Reality May Help Treat Phantom Limb Pain

2011-10-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

October 11, 2011 (Hamburg, Germany) — In the future, amputees might merely repeatedly watch a virtual version of their lost limb in motion to be rid of their phantom limb pain.

Researchers believe that virtual reality, which uses sensory illusions in real time, can reverse the remodeling processes within the brain that occur in most patients who lose a limb. The idea is to get the brain to believe that the limb is still there, so the pain-inducing conversion processes do not occur.

Institute for Applied Computer Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

The virtual approach has several advantages over the standard mirror box approach because it uses artificially modified movements instead of merely normal mirrored ones, said Martin Diers, PhD, from the Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany

Dr. Diers' virtual reality study was among several presented here at Pain in Europe VII: 7th Congress of the European Federation of IASP Chapters (EFIC) that suggest it may be possible to prevent or even reverse the postamputation maladaptive cortical reorganization that causes phantom limb pain.

Mirror Box

Research has already shown that using mirrors to give patients the optical impression that their missing limb is still present can reduce phantom limb pain, and that brain activation differs between amputees with and without pain. Dr. Diers' group conducted a longitudinal study comparing brain changes before and after a classical mirror box treatment in patients with phantom pain to better understand the mechanisms of mirror treatment.

To determine whether the virtual mirror box is comparable to the mirror box in terms of brain activation, the researchers conducted a pilot study. They put 20 healthy volunteers inside a magnetic resonance imaging scanner with their left arm hidden, and fitted them with head-mounted 3-dimensional goggles. The virtual reality process transfers images of movements from 1 hand (the right hand) onto the other (hidden or amputated) hand. The viewer sees his or her body with both hands moving, but is actually moving only the right hand.

During these movements, researchers measured brain activity. They found activation in the primary sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the actual movement. In addition, they found activation in the primary sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the virtual movement.

During a second experiment, the volunteers moved their right hand in front of a mirror and could see their mirrored right hand as their left hand.

"In both of these conditions, you have movements of the right hand, but you are seeing movement of both hands," said Dr. Diers. "The difference is that one is a mirrored image and one is in virtual reality."

With the virtual reality technique, there was significantly more activation in the primary somatosensory cortex contralateral to the actual movement. "So, both conditions are quite similar in terms of brain activation, but the virtual reality mirror box has some advantages during the training from which patients could benefit," said Dr. Diers.

Additional Advantage

It also has other, technical advantages. The mirrored limb always moves opposite to the intact limb, which is unnatural, especially for the leg. The position of the arm inside a magnetic resonance imaging scanner is also unnatural, and even uncomfortable. Instead of using only responses from the opposite remaining limb, virtual reality can include the residual limb by capturing motion data directly from a patient's stump.

Dr. Diers estimated that it would take 15 minutes a day for 4 weeks to "trick" the brain into thinking the limb still exists, and for the phantom pain to subside. His research indicates that the pain is reduced for at least 2 months.

In the future, virtual reality applications will likely be used instead of the classical mirror box, but it will take some time for them to reach clinical practice, partly because of the expense, said Dr. Diers.

Up to 80% of amputees experience some phantom limb pain. Factors that influence whether a patient experiences this pain include age (those who lose a limb younger than about 7 years do not normally feel this pain), the degree of preoperative pain (less pain before the amputation normally leads to less phantom pain), and genetics. The use of a myoelectric prostheses or sensory discrimination training at the stump can also improve phantom pain.

This research is part of the European Research Council–founded PHANTOMMIND project. A second funded project that uses magnetic resonance imaging carried out by Dr. Diers and others, and presented at the meeting, showed that patients could learn to regulate their brain response.

This study included 10 healthy control patients who completed 24 neurofeedback sessions on 4 consecutive days. Their objective was to regulate activation in the posterior insula and anterior cingulated cortex either up or down in response to painful electrical stimulation.

"This method seems promising not only for phantom pain patients, but also for chronic back pain or generalized pain syndromes," Professor Herta Flor, PhD, from the Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Heidelberg, commented in a press release. "With these possibilities for targeted control of the body's own pain perception mechanisms, a whole new world opens up that could soon free us, in many areas, from dependence on analgesic medications, with all their diverse side effects and risk of complications."

Another approach being studied is the rubber hand illusion paradigm that involves replacing the missing hand with a realistic artificial limb and stroking the real and replica limb simultaneously, while the patient focuses on the rubber hand. After some seconds, most patients experience the rubber hand as his or her own hand.

Ketamine Effect?

Yet another potential treatment discussed at the pain meeting was the administration of ketamine pre- and postoperatively. Researchers at the Pain Clinic, University Hospital, Martin, Slovak Republic, carried out a blind, prospective, placebo-controlled study that included 31 patients with diabetes who were to undergo lower limb amputation.

After receiving anesthesia, 25 patients got a 0.5 mg/kg bolus of intravenous ketamine. After surgery, these participants received a 48-hour postoperative intravenous infusion of either 0.1 mg/kg/hour or 0.05 mg/kg/hour of ketamine; those who did not receive ketamine got magnesium.

Three months postsurgery, the incidence of phantom pain was 66.6% in the group who did not receive ketamine compared with 0% in the group receiving the higher postsurgery ketamine dose (P = .02) and 15.4% in the lower postsurgery ketamine dose group (P = .07).

The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Pain in Europe VII: 7th Congress of the European Federation of IASP Chapters (EFIC): Abstracts S268, S270, and S424. Presented September 24, 2011.

'Crying ain't gonna grow anything back': Extraordinary bravery of Marine who lost three limbs in blast... and then walked down the aisle

2011-10-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 7:36 AM on 11th October 2011

Comments (22) Add to My Stories Share Tyler Southern, 22, is perpetually positive.

'I'm chronically happy,' he said. 'It's kinda hard to get me off the happy horse.'

Mr Southern's optimism continues in spite of the massive injuries he received while serving as a lance corporal Marine in Afghanistan.

A triple: That's the way Tyler Southern refers to triple amputees like himself, after he lost both his legs and right arm from an IED explosion
Both of his legs and his right arm were blown off by an improvised explosive device, making Mr Southern a triple amputee.

'I didn't feel that me crying about it would help the situation at all and I know it won't. Crying ain't gonna grow anything back,' he said in an interview with The Huffington Post.

Training: Mr Southern is in physical rehabilitation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland
He is still undergoing physical rehabilitation, and works out much of the day, though his injuries are not the only focus of his life.

In July, he married Ashley Statti, a friend from high school and the wedding was filmed by a local Jacksonville, Florida television station.

Mr Southern's injuries are not putting a stop to his military career either.

He plans to work in the public affairs office of the Marines, and will not be quitting any time soon.

'I plan on doing 16 more years,' Mr Southern said in an interview with The Huffington Post.

'I told my dad I'd do 20, I'm not going to let something like this stop me.'

For the next 18 months, however, much of his time will be spent at Walter Reed for his physical therapy. With the prosthetic legs and arm that doctors have given him, he needs to exercise his other muscles and build up strength in his torso.

'I've got the world at my prosthetic feet,' Mr Southern said.

click here to see rest of story and video

Oscar Pistorius: The bullet in the chamber

2011-10-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- He's "the fastest man on no legs," or -- as his sponsor's high-profile advertising campaign put it -- "the bullet in the chamber."

He is Oscar Pistorius, the "Blade Runner" who is changing the world's perception of what is acceptable on an athletics track.

Born without a fibula bone in each leg, the South African is the first double amputee to run at the world championships, and next year he will be the first to race at the Olympics.

"I think next year's going to be quite a big year, as far as demand on my performances," the 24-year-old told CNN.

"I feel that the condition I'm in and the knowledge I've gained probably will definitely help me in achieving those times in the first half of next season. So I know next year is going to be a big year."

Pistorius qualified for the 400 meters with a time of 45.07 seconds in Italy in July, which is less than two seconds slower than Michael Johnson's 1999 world record and would have given him fifth place in the final of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Pistorius on Championship experience Pistorius buoyant after Daegu breakthrough

He did not compete at the main event in China. Despite eventually reversing the decision by athletics' ruling body to ban the carbon-fiber prosthetic blades he uses, the Johannesburg native was unable to meet the qualifying mark.

South Africa's 'Blade Runner' He did, however, run at the Beijing Paralympics that year, becoming the first athlete to win gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m.

The International Association of Athletics Federations had at first decreed, after a series of tests, that the blades gave Pistorius an unfair advantage.

He overturned that at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and maintains that he will be competing on a level playing field in London next year.

"If the legs did provide such an advantage that some of the people are claiming they did, then there would be a lot more amputees using the exact same prosthetic legs I have, running the exact same times I have -- and that's not the case," Pistorius said.

click here to read more

How to Exercise Sound Leg in Amputation

2011-09-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Overview
Exercise and keeping your body active is important even if you have endured the amputation of a limb. Amputations of a part of the leg or foot may be necessary due to peripheral vascular disease and diabetes, which hinders blood flow to the lower limbs, causing part of the tissue to die or become necrotic. Other reasons for an amputation include an accident or injury that severely damages the leg. You will require physiotherapy after your surgery to learn how to exercise the affected leg and become mobile again with the help of a prosthetic limb or wheelchair. Even if you cannot walk, it is important to exercise your sound leg to maintain healthy circulation and prevent blood clots. Your doctor will advise how soon after surgery you can begin an exercises. Once you have been given the go-ahead, try these exercises.

Range of Motion
Step 1
Lie flat on your back on an exercise mat with your arms at your sides. Keep your hands palms down on the mat for support. Use a pillow to support your amputated leg if that is more comfortable.

Step 2
Slowly lift your unaffected leg off the mat as high as possible. Keep your amputated limb motionless. Hold your leg in the air for a count of three to five, while keeping your toes pointing straight ahead and stretching your leg as much as possible.

Step 3
Move your leg in a circular motion in the air. Bring your leg back down on the mat and relax. Raise your leg again and move it from side to side five to 10 times.

Step 4
Return to the starting position and rest before repeating the entire exercise, completing 10 to 12 repetitions. This exercise helps to relieve leg cramping that may occur from sitting or being in a wheelchair for long periods of time. It also improves circulation and leg flexibility.

Muscle Tone
Step 1
Sit up straight in your wheelchair or a sturdy chair. Loop the elastic exercise band around your toe and grip the handles tightly in each hand.

Step 2
Raise your leg so that it is extended straight out in front of you. Bend your leg at the knee to bring it as close to you as possible. Pull back on the exercise band handles by bending your elbows and bringing your hands close to your chest. You may need to lean back slightly.

Step 3
Remain in this position and extend your leg out straight again. The resistance from the exercise band should make this difficult and work out the muscles in your leg. Hold this position for a count of three to five. Relax, lower your leg and continue the exercise 10 to 15 times.

Balance
Step 1
Stand up straight and hold the back of a heavy chair or a table with both hands for support. If you wear a prosthetic leg, remove it so that the weight of your body rests on your sound leg.

Step 2
Let go of the table or chair and spread your arms out to balance the weight of your body on your leg. Maintain this position for a count of 10 or more.

Step 3
Hold the table or chair again and relax before doing the exercise five to 10 more times. You can also hold a broomstick straight in front of you in both hands to help you balance.

Individuals who are wheelchair-bound due to a broken leg or ankle can also do these exercises. Have someone stand behind you, if you are afraid of standing on one foot. It is important to wear a supportive athletic shoe on your sound foot to prevent injury or strain to the ankle and knee.

Ask your physiotherapist to show you how to correctly perform each exercise to avoid injuring yourself. Ensure that the elastic exercise band is correctly held in place around your foot to make sure it doesn't recoil against you. Have someone assist you with exercises to help prevent falls and injury. If you experience pain in your amputated leg or anywhere else in your body while exercising, consult your physiotherapist before continuing.
References
"Senior Step"; Keep Moving: Exercises for People with Lower-extremity Amputations; Melissa Wolff-Burke, Ed.D., P.T., and Elizabeth Cole, P.T.; 2004
Sportsinjuryclinic.net: Resistance Band Exercises
National Center on Physical Activity and Disability; Epidemiology and Pathophysiology of Amputation; Ken Pitetti, Ph.D.

About this Author
Noreen Kassem is a hospital doctor and a medical writer. Her articles have been featured in "Women's Health," "Nutrition News," "Check Up" and "Alive Magazine." Kassem also covers travel, books, fitness, nutrition, cooking and green living.

Photo Credit: Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images
Article reviewed by John Hagemann | Last updated on: 09/05/11

New 'bionic' leg gives amputees a natural gait

2011-08-19T09:50:00.001-07:00

Shark bite victim becomes pioneer to serve amputees

2011-08-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

Craig Hutto’s leg was mangled by a 6-foot-long bull shark with a stubborn streak.

Not long before the attack, he’d heard about a Louisiana girl who died from a shark attack just 100 miles away from Cape San Blas, Fla., where Hutto, then 16, and his family were vacationing. But he just wanted to go fishing, so he was standing in murky water when he felt the first bump, then the agonizing bite. The shark seemed impervious as Hutto’s brother pounded away at its nose with a rod and reel.

Hours later, Hutto lay in a Panama City hospital bed, pleading that his mangled right leg be saved. No leg meant no varsity basketball. No spring baseball. No independence.

But doctors ultimately ruled in favor of life over his lifeless limb, amputating five inches above the knee.

Six years later, Hutto’s life is different from the one he planned. But he feels closer to his family. He’s a few months shy of his bachelor’s degree in nursing from Middle Tennessee State University — a path he never would have taken without that shark’s intervention. And he’s serving as test pilot for a robotic leg being developed at Vanderbilt University, his effort to make life better for the nation’s rising number of amputees.

“I was planning on doing computer science when I went to college,” he said. “Then this happened to me, and I realized these people saved my life and I have to do something to pay them back.”

As a lab assistant at Vanderbilt, Hutto, now 23, works with professor of mechanical engineering Michael Goldfarb and his team of researchers. The leg he’s testing is the first of its kind. It makes it easier for Hutto to walk up slopes and stairs because a computer chip activates an electronic calf muscle.

The leg also makes it easier for Hutto to stay standing because it responds to sudden shifts in motion the way non-mechanized prostheses don’t.

“When it goes on the market, I can tell myself I experienced the falls and mishaps to get it where it is today,” he said.

The robotic leg weighs about 9 pounds and features programmable software that responds to Hutto’s movement. It can tell when he’s trying to sit or stand, or when he needs extra help to walk up stairs. He has been testing the leg for four years, weighs in on the leg’s functionality and gives researchers feedback on any issues that may arise.

Hutto also reviews other studies and literature about prostheses for the team.
Continue story click here

Elephant With Prosthetic Foot In Cambodia (VIDEO)

2011-08-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

From Wildlife Alliance:

PHNOM TAMAO - In 2007, orphaned baby elephant Chhouk was found wandering alone in the forests of Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia. Badly emaciated and separated from his mother, this endangered Asian elephant had lost his left front foot due to injuries sustained from a poacher’s snare. The infection and severity of the illness represented certain death for a young elephant alone in the forest.

The Cambodian government requested the assistance of Wildlife Alliance and wildlife rescue and care director Nick Marx, who made the arduous journey and stayed alongside Chhouk for more than a week while his immediate injuries were tended to. When Chhouk had been stabilized, the injured elephant was transported by truck to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center in a difficult and treacherous 26-hour journey. [Text continues below video.]

Chhouk was severely malnourished, his stump was badly infected, and nearly 5 inches of infected tissue and bone had to be removed. After his immediate survival was secure, his long-term care was the next concern. Without a foot, he was suffering severe balance issues, and the strain on his hips and back would make his lifelong welfare unlikely. With funding assistance from SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, and technical support from the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics, Chhouk was fitted with his first prosthetic foot in 2009. Because of his injuries, Chhouk will never be a candidate for release into the forest, but he is immensely beloved both inside Cambodia, and as a global ambassador for Cambodia’s threatened Asian elephant populations. Featured on television in Australia, the U.S., and Britain, he is an eloquent messenger to the world about the need to save Asia’s wildlife and forests.

Elephants are rough on hardware, and each year until he matures, Chhouk will need a replacement foot. As he continues to grow into his adolescence, he requires new prostheses to fit his growing frame and replace those lost to wear and tear. This month, Wildlife Alliance and the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics fitted Chhouk with his fourth prosthesis.

You can visit Chhouk at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Refuge Center, an hour outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia to meet him and learn more about his inspiring story. If Cambodia is too far away, check out this video of the inspirational elephant, taking his new foot out for a walk in the forest and a swim in his lake.

Visit www.wildlifealliance.org to learn more.

2012 Olympic Games: Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius sets sights on 400m world ...

2011-07-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

by Mike Walters, Daily Mirror 21/07/2011

SEND him victorious, Oscar Pistorius, quicker than a London bus, the fastest man on no legs.

Pistorius, the double amputee 400 metres sensation nicknamed Blade Runner, stormed through the gateway to London 2012 by smashing his personal best in Italy on Tuesday.

After clocking 45.07secs in Lignano, Italy – shaving more than half a second off his previous record – Pistorius dipped inside the qualifying time for both next month’s world championships in South Korea and the Olympics.

Now the 24-year-old South African is in line to become the first sprinter to compete for both Olympic and Paralympic gold and Pistorius tweeted: “Can’t sleep I’m so happy. I have a dumb smile that’s permanent. Feels kind of surreal to have qualification time in the bag for next year’s Olympics.”

Until his record lap, Pistorius ranked only fourth among South Africa’s 400m contenders, but his time in Lignano would have been enough for fifth place in Beijing three years ago and fourth at the world championships in Berlin in 2009.

On his last visit to London, the Blade Runner dropped in on the 2012 stadium and settled into the blocks as an aspiring Olympian, now he has genuine hopes of an unprecedented Olympic and Paralympic double.

Pistorius, who runs on carbon fibre blades costing £15,000, is world record holder over 100, 200 and 400 metres in Paralympic events.

Three years ago he won a case against the International Amateur Athletics Federation, who tried to ban him from able-bodied competition, claiming his artificial limbs gave him an unfair advantage.

Pistorius produced scientific evidence showing he was running at a disadvantage because he had no calf muscles and a lesser supply of oxygenated blood.

Now his dream of becoming the fastest man over 400m is hurtling into view and he told Mirror Sport: “I can’t wait to come back and compete in London. My goal is to be the fastest man on the planet, and I would love to set a new world record at London 2012.

“The British people love their sport and I know they will generate a fantastic atmosphere for the athletes.

“If they ever found evidence I was gaining an unfair advantage, I would stop running. I would not want to compete at the top level if I knew the cards were stacked in my favour.

“But it would be something special for me to race in the Olympic 400m next year. That’s extremely important for me.”

Pistorius is blessed with a sense of humour which often distinguishes amputees from the able-bodied.

He said: “I’m not disabled – I just don’t have any legs. I had both limbs amputated below the knee as a baby because I was born without a fibula due to a congenital condition.

“My situation is never going to change, so the best way to handle my condition is with humour, and I learned to do that at an early stage.

“When I was at boarding school, my mates used to play jokes on me. I would wake up in the dormitory every morning and the first thing I had to do was to look for my legs!

“Those experiences soon teach you the value of humility, and I have tried to carry that attitude on to the track.

“I wish I had started racing in Paralympic competition sooner than I did because it taught me the importance of doing your best, not winning at all costs.”

Oscar Pistorius is a BT ambassador. He will be sharing his London 2012 experience through the BT Storytellers campaign at www.bt.com/storytellers

'Can't' not in amputee's vocabulary

2011-07-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Palm Desert High grad Scout Bassett to compete in New York triathlon
For athlete Scout Bassett, an amputee almost since birth, getting to play sports has been as much a challenge as the sports themselves, with coaches and teammates telling her she could never be a serious competitor.

Rather than defeat her, those challenges made her stronger and more determined to prove her disability didn't define her.
“I was always welcome to practice with the team, but not compete and it was very difficult growing up,” Bassett said.
The 22-year-old Palm Desert High School graduate is among more than 3,000 athletes who will be competing in the Nautica New York City Triathlon on Aug. 7 in New York.
This is Bassett's fifth trip to the triathlon. She races in the severe leg impairment category.

Competitors swim just under a mile in Hudson Bay, bike 24.85 miles on the Henry Hudson Parkway and run 6.2 miles in Central Park.
In preparation for this year, Bassett has been working with a full-time personal trainer and triathlon coach.

“I'm really excited more than in past years because I really dedicated myself this year,” Bassett said.

Bassett was just under a year old when she lost her right leg in a fire. Shortly after, she was left on the doorstep of a government orphanage in Nanjing, China. She remained at the orphanage until she was 7.

“We are not certain of the circumstances surrounding the incident — where, when, how, why, etc. I arrived at the Nanjing Orphanage at the age of 1 with severe burns on both legs, but the fire only took my right leg from above the knee down,” she said.

Consistently passed over by couples preferring to adopt children with full physical abilities, she began to wonder if she would ever leave the orphanage.
Then in 1994, Joe and Susi Bassett, a young couple from Michigan, visited the orphanage to pick up a 16-month-old child they had adopted through Bethany Christian Services Adoption Agency.

Touring the orphanage, the then 6-year-old girl caught Susi Bassett's eyes.
The older children were seated around a table having a snack, the Bassetts recall in a short biography of Scout on YouTube. Susi Bassett looked to her right and “a little girl looked up at me and I said, ‘Oh, my god, she needs me. I've just got to have her,'” she recalled.

(Page 2 of 2)
At the same time, a young boy who sang to them as they walked into the room caught Joe Bassett's attention. Ten months later, after the paperwork was completed, they returned to China to bring both children home.

“I didn't know she was missing a leg because she was sitting at the table and I said, ‘That's just all the more reason she needs me,'” Susi Bassett said.
Fairy tale lifeLife since has been amazing, Scout Bassett said, though not without challenges brought on by what many saw as a disability.
She arrived in the U.S. and saw kids playing in youth soccer and softball and wanted to join them.

“I saw it as something that transcends language and other barriers,” she said.
But there were other barriers placed in front of her due to her missing leg.
“It wasn't until my experience with sports that I realized my disability would be a hindrance,” she said.

It was late in high school when that started to change. But along the way, she had started to question her abilities, she said.

“I was starting to believe what they were saying, that I never would be good enough to compete and that I belonged on the sidelines,” Bassett said.
“I credit my parents for teaching me not to feel self-pity and not treating me differently from their other two kids who are able-bodied,” she said.
Bassett also didn't want to give the coaches and players the satisfaction of feeling they had beaten her down. So rather than quitting, she found her determination and continued to prove herself.

Revisiting the pastAfter the Nautica triathlon, Bassett will compete in the ITU World Triathlon Championships, which will take her back to China for the first time since she was adopted, nearly 15 years ago.

“It will be an emotional trip for sure,” she said.
She said she plans to visit the orphanage where she hopes her story will help encourage and inspire other young girls there not to give up hope.
“As an orphan, I never thought I would leave or thought if I did I would be living on the streets.

“So living here and competing in triathlons is something I could never ever have dreamt about,” she said.
Her parents live in Palm Desert along with her brother and sister. They moved to the desert in 2006. Bassett attended Palm Desert High her senior year and was on the golf team.

She expects to graduate from UCLA after the fall quarter with a degree in anthropology.

“I really think that everything in my life happened because of incredible support of family, coaches, mentors and advisers.
“This has definitely been a team effort. All success in my life I share with all who have been a part of this journey,” she said.

Post-op gymnast is leg-cellent

2011-07-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

The incredible footage shows the 21-year-old perform circular spins and back flips while wearing a prosthetic leg.

Plucky Adam, from Minnesota, then removes the leg to practise landing on one leg while performing somersaults.

Adam lost his leg after suffering lymphangiosarcoma, a rare cancer of lymphatic vessels, and he made the hit video to inspire others with disabilities.

He said: "I was hoping to show my friends and family what I was able to do again, but I also hoped that other amputees would enjoy it. I've been inspired by videos of other amputees on YouTube, such as Sarah Reinertsen."

click here for more of the story

A day of pushing limits for wheelchair users

2011-06-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

By Esmeralda Bermudez, Los Angeles Times
June 26, 2011

The once-avid motorcycle rider is not one to shy from adventure. But to dive 4 feet down a steep concrete embankment — in a wheelchair, while paralyzed from the waist down?

"Yeah," Molo said, gripping his wheels a few feet from the edge. "I'm gonna have to take a moment to think this one over."

A skateboarding park on Venice Beach transformed into a training ground Saturday morning as several dozen paraplegics and quadriplegics learned to drop, roll and dive on curved walls as tall as school buses. They did so all while sitting in their own wheelchairs.

The event was held by Life Rolls On, a group born out of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to help people with spinal cord injuries stay active. They teach surfing and this year, for the second time, skateboarding.

Participants, some as young as 6, showed up strapped to wheelchairs with legs that don't work or barely do. They're survivors of car crashes, shootings and surgeries gone wrong. Some were born with spinal defects.

Molo, 36, was struck by an SUV as he rode his motorcycle to work one day five years ago. The driver was on her cellphone. She made a left turn on a red light and plowed head-on into the computer repair technician.

For almost two years, Molo stayed in his house, too depressed to go out. He watched television, played computer games. Mostly, he slept. Then he found Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, which encourages wheelchair sports.

Three buddies from the center egged him on until he finally let go and took on the embankment — in one smooth, perfect swoop.

"Oh, yeah," he said proudly.

click here for more of the story

Amputees get back up and running

2011-06-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Nashville becomes arena for new amputee basketball league
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Written by
Claudia Pinto | The Tennessean Filed Under
Life
Life Features

When Daryl Farler lost both of his legs, he doubted that he’d be able to walk again. Five years later, he’s running around playing basketball.

Farler was 25 when a dog scratched his left eye and he developed a serious strep infection. The medication he needed to stay alive restricted blood flow to his extremities and he lost both legs below the knee and several fingers.

He was in shock and initially clueless about his options, and the fear of being helpless fueled his depression.

“There’s a lot of depression,” says Farler, who is now 30 and lives in Murfreesboro. “I lived for 25 years with feet.”

What Farler learned is that advances in prosthetic technology have made it easier for amputees to be as active as anyone. He runs. He hunts. And now he has joined the new United Amputee Basketball League — a stand-up, three-on-three, basketball league for people who have lost a leg. He will be playing for a team that’s sponsored by Amputee Associates, a Nashville company that made his artificial limbs.

Click here for more of the story

Amputees find power in paddling

2011-06-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

Written by
Kathryn Bursch
St. Petersburg, Florida - For Roy Howe, blue skies and blue water are a perfect way to avoid the blues.

"It's peaceful, it's relaxing, it's enjoyable," he says while paddling across the waters of Boca Ciega Bay.

Wednesday afternoon was actually Howe's first time in a kayak and most of the other people gliding near him are in the very same boat. They're members of an activity group called "A Step Ahead" and it aims to get people trying new things.

Besides an adventuresome spirit, group members also have another thing in common; they're all missing a limb... or two.

"There are other support groups out there, but we're more than a support group, we're an action group," says founder Jamie Kay Weil.

Weil is a former nurse who now works in the field of prosthetics. She says that in many cases amputees can actually be more active than before, because now the source of their infections and pain is gone.

Last month the group went sailing and next month it's swimming with the manatees. And while there's no peer pressure, it helps when everyone takes the plunge.

"If he can get in, I can get in," says Barbara Schickedanz, while waiting her turn to plunk down in a kayak.

Howe says a group like this can be life changing. "It gets you out of bed; it gets you out of the wheelchair."

Any amputee (even before surgery) can join the group and it has members of all ages. And most of the activities are free, because businesses help out. On Wednesday, Canoe Country Outfitters provided all the kayaks.

On this outing, so far so good; the only person to get wet was the instructor who tipped on purpose. So even with all the water around, you get the feeling that nothing can dampen this group's spirits. One woman gliding by exclaims, "I love it!"

For more information on A Step Ahead for Amputees call 727-564-8456 or click here.

Amputee schoolgirl meets 'blade runner' athlete who inspired her to compete in the next Paralympics

2011-06-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:55 PM on 30th May 2011

An amputee who was encouraged by a Paralympic star to fulfil her dreams of running again finally got to meet her hero.
Danielle Bradshaw, 12, who had her damaged leg amputated last year set her sights on competing at the Rio Games in 2016 after hearing about Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius.

The schoolgirl met the 24-year-old South African athlete nicknamed the 'blade runner' and shared her experiences at a stadium in Manchester.

Danielle, from Newton in Hyde, was born with a dislocated knee and hips and chose to have her useless right leg amputated last year.

The Astley Sports College pupil had wanted to meet Oscar for three years and was granted her wish by organisers of the BT Paralympic World Cup at Sportcity in Manchester.
But she had a shock when Oscar, who has a double amputation, revealed that her story has also helped spur him on.

Oscar, who was born with a congenital foot defect that led to him having both legs amputated, said: 'Danielle's story is incredibly moving - it's been great to meet her.

'She is a real inspiration to me and can fulfil all her dreams.

'She just has to keep training and believing and she will get there.'

Click here for more of the story

Lacey Henderson running all the way to London

2011-05-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Cancer survivor and amputee Lacey Henderson has a berth on the U.S. Paralympic team for the London Games in 2012. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post )
Often, someone who doesn't know Lacey Henderson will spot the prosthesis replacing much of her right leg and blurt: "What happened to your leg?"

"I had cancer," Henderson routinely answers.

"Oh, that's horrible! I'm so sorry."

Henderson smiles and responds, "I'm not. I get great parking."

Three weeks short of her 22nd birthday, Henderson is on the verge of graduating from the University of Denver, where she majored in Spanish and minored in French and international health. Shortly after finishing four years on the Pioneers' cheerleading squad, she searched for a new athletic challenge this spring and last weekend locked up a berth on the U.S. team for the 2012 Paralympics in London.

The Denver native and graduate of Regis Jesuit High School needed to crack 20 seconds in the 100 meters in an official timing format to qualify for the U.S. team in the women's "T42" Paralympic classification, for athletes with single-leg amputations above the knee. She did so at the state high school track and field meet in Lakewood last weekend.

At Jeffco Stadium on Friday, she ran in the Paralympic exhibition 100 meters, but clipped her "racing" prosthetic with that of the boy in the next lane. After falling, Lacey got up and finished. The next day, she tried again in the Special Olympics 100 at the same meet. Her time was 19.98 seconds — two one-hundredths under what she needed.

It was symbolic. When she gets knocked down, she gets back up.

"I don't really have time for the cancer to come back at this point, so I'm feeling pretty confident," she said at DU's Driscoll Student Center. "It really wouldn't work with my schedule."

"Tired of being sick"

When Lacey was in the fourth grade, the diagnoses were that she had baker's cysts or, simply, "growing pains." Doctors then detected a tumor in her right knee. It was a soft-tissue synovial sarcoma, rare and found mostly in adult men. The survival rate is considered low, but it's so rare there isn't a huge sample. The most famous victim was actor Robert Urich, who died at age 55 in 2002.

Chemotherapy made Lacey violently ill and didn't seem to be working on the sarcoma. As doctors discussed the options with her and her parents — Linda and T.J., a longtime area high school track coach — the major one was amputation.

"I just wanted to be a normal person again and go back to school and I was tired of being sick," Lacey said. "So I said, 'Take it, I don't want it.' "

The amputation came in the spring of 1999. She also had a spot on her lung, but the chemotherapy zapped that.

"May 19 was my 12-year anniversary of being cancer free — and one-legged," she said. "I've been lucky. It has brought so many amazing things into my life, it has given me so many opportunities and so many gifts."

In early 2003, though, she was the target of harassment in her eighth-grade year at Hill Middle School. Some of it was vile or threatening online postings. Some of it was direct taunting about her prosthetic.

"It started off as people pretty sure just being uncomfortable with the leg," she said. "Towards the end, it was girls that just didn't like me."

In biology class, several girls placed remains of dissected frogs in her backpack.

Her parents moved her to Dora Moore School. The next year, she uneasily started at the girls division of Regis Jesuit, but discovered she loved it. "It was like going to camp for four years and you become close to your classmates," she said.

She was a cheerleader at Regis Jesuit, then at DU, doing all the athletic and acrobatic stunts. "I would have to watch for a while to see how people did (new routines)," she said, "and then I'd say, 'OK, this leg of mine might make me take a little bit longer, but I'm going to figure out how to do this if it kills me.' "

Denver attorney Julie Warren was DU's cheerleading coach during Lacey's stint on the squad. She admitted she wondered before Lacey's tryout about her physical capability and safety. "Then, probably within 10 minutes, I knew it was a nonissue," Warren said. "She had been so physically active during her youth and high school years, and prepared herself to do these physically challenging moves, she fit right in. That inspiration happened from Day One of meeting her.

"It was never a question of her not being able to do something the other girls did. That was incredibly impressive and a credit to her mental power and tenacity."

Click here for more of the story.

Man who lost leg embarks on 700-mile bike ride

2011-05-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Written by
Steve Kemme

GREEN TWP. - A year ago, Scott Lane lay in a hospital bed, trying to cope with the loss of the lower half of his left leg in a traffic accident.

Saturday, he embarks on a 700-mile bike ride to raise money to send amputee children to a summer camp in Warren County.

The ride represents the culmination of a journey for Lane that can't be measured in miles.

He conceived of the idea for the 700-mile bike ride before he ever climbed onto an exercise bike at the Clippard YMCA branch in Green Township, as part of his recovery.

"The first day I got on the exercise bike, I could only ride two miles," said Lane, 41, of Green Township. "I thought, 'Is this going to be more than I can handle?' The second day, I rode it five miles. After that, I never had a doubt. I knew I could do it."

Lane and seven others will leave Saturday morning from Camp Joy in Clarksville in Warren County, the site of the camp for youths who have lost limbs, and arrive in Kansas City, Mo., a few days before the start of the Amputee Coalition of America's 2011 National Conference on June 7. The organization is a nonprofit group based in Knoxville, Tenn.

The annual Paddy Rossbach Youth Camp at Camp Joy, has hosted more than 500 children from 42 states and three foreign countries. It includes such activities as swimming, fishing and canoeing, dancing, archery, basketball, wall-climbing and arts and crafts.

Lane and three other bicyclists in his travel group have prosthetic legs. A van carrying their suitcases and other necessities will accompany them.

So far, the group has raised $20,000 in donations and believe they can reach $30,000 by the end of their 700-mile bike ride.

"Hopefully, we'll get a lot of media attention along the way," Lane said. "We're trying to raise awareness of the needs of amputees as well as raise money."

All donations not used for the bike ride's expenses will go to the Paddy Ross Summer Camp. Tax-deductible donations can be made by going to the website, www.amputee-coalition.org/ready. Non-tax-deductible donations can be made to the "I'm Ready Ride" fund at any US Bank branch.

Lane said it's important for children who have lost limbs to meet others facing the same challenges.

"The camp can lighten their burden and give the kids an opportunity to be around other people like them," he said. "Sometimes, it's hard enough just being a kid, much less being a kid with an amputation."

Lane lives with his wife, Nicole, and their son and two daughters from his previous marriage.

On May 6 of last year, Lane was riding his motorcycle when a car driven by a 24-year-old mother of three went left of center on Old Colerain Road in Colerain Township and struck him. Toxicology reports indicated that the woman had illegal drugs in her system.

Although the accident cost him the lower part of his left leg, Lane asked the judge not to send the woman to prison because he didn't want her children to be without their mother. She received five years' probation and was ordered to enter a drug-rehabilitation program.

Lane, a plumber, has been unable to return to work.

"There's no way I can stand on that leg for eight hours or carry a water heater down the steps with a dolly," he said. "Cycling doesn't bother it because it doesn't put that much pressure on it."

Initially, learning to walk with a prosthetic leg was more difficult than Lane thought it would be.

"The first week, I was like a baby trying to walk," he said. "It was a struggle."

Lane has come a long way from those initial steps on his prosthetic leg. The months and months of hard work have paid off.

Camp Joy is a fitting name for the starting point of his 700-mile bike ride to Kansas City.

Young athlete overcomes physical challenges

2011-05-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Posted: 05/17/2011
Last Updated: 17 hours and 4 minutes ago

By: Jason Pugh
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - It's usually the parent that tries to inspire and motivate their children, but every now and then it's the other way around.

11-year-old Mikey Stolzenberg isn't the best player on his lacrosse team, however everyone would agree, he's the most courageous.

Three years ago, Mikey suffered from a rare immune disease that nearly took his life. During his seven week battle, doctors had to amputate both of his hands, and both feet.

"Now that he's growing every six months, he needs to get new sockets," says Mikey's dad, Keith Stolzenberg. "He doesn't wear arm prosthetics because they are too heavy and frankly the technology is not as good as what he can do with his arms as it is. He writes, he eats, he does just about everything."

This past weekend, the Pockets and Sockets Lacrosse Tournament took place to benefit the Mikey Stolzenberg trust, which will allow Mikey's family to purchase superior prosthetics so he can continue to participate in physical activities.

"His smile, his happiness, he doesn't let anything stop him," says event organizer Jennifer Bolger.

"This is great, I really liked it," says Mikey. "I thanked everybody for coming and I even get to play in my own tournament."

He even gave fans another reason to cheer. He scored a goal.

"I had a couple of misses, wasn't sure what to do, but then I got the hang of it and I scored," Mikey said.

Carol Forshaw's fight to get new right leg

2011-05-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

Comments (4)Recommend (8) HER leg was ripped off during a horrific motorcycle accident.

But three years later Carol Forshaw is battling to buy herself a prosthetic replacement after claiming the NHS hasn’t provided her with an appropriate one.

The 35-year-old lost her right leg when she was involved in a car crash in Northumberland.

And she has spent the last three years fighting to get a properly-fitted prosthetic limb that will allow her to get on with her life.

Carol, of Stakeford, Northumberland, says the NHS have been unable to help her and she has decided to try and raise £26,000 to privately buy a leg.

She said: “If somebody told me that I would still be trying to get a prosthetic limb three years after my accident I wouldn’t have believed them.

“It’s just really frustrating. I work and I want to continue working but it’s really difficult when you don’t have a leg that fits properly.

“You have to carry kit around with you all the time and I have had a number of broken bones because the limbs don’t fit correctly.

“Because of the ill fitting leg I fell over. I’m a really determined character and all I want is to live a normal life and get my life back on track. The NHS are really under staffed and it’s difficult for amputees to make any progress.”

Carol’s life was changed forever when she lost control of her bike on a hillside in July 2008.

Careering into the path of an oncoming car, she was unable to get out the way quickly enough to stop the vehicle slicing through her leg, removing all the skin and tissue down to the bone.

She was left fighting for life on the roadside at Cragside, near Rothbury, as the blood drained from her body.

Had it not been for a crew from the Great North Air Ambulance, which flew her to Newcastle General Hospital in time for a life-saving total blood transfusion, she believes she would not have survived.

But now Carol needs to raise £26,000 for a private prosthetic limb. She has already managed to raise £13,000 through savings and fundraisers in hope to get on with her life.

A spokesperson for The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust said: “Miss Forshaw is seen regularly at our Disablement Services Centre. We have not previously been made aware of these concerns and our team would be more than happy to discuss these with her, at her next attendance at the centre.”

Carol said: “When I lost my leg I remember thinking life was all about glamour and looking good. But now all I want is to get from A to B.

“I have already managed to raise half of the money through saving and various fundraisers.

“My colleagues and friends are now trying their best to help me raise the rest of the cash.”

A team of 11 friends of will now cycle from Whitehaven to Sunderland between May 20 and May 22 to help Carol reach her target.

Anyone wishing to help can email Carol at carolforshaw@hotmail.com

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Veterans Compete For Gold At Warrior Games

2011-05-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Nicholas Gibbons, a single amputee with the British Royal Marines team, takes off from the blocks during practice Feb. 21 in Camp Pendleton, Calif., for the inaugural Marine Corps Trials. Fifty athletes were chosen as members of the All-Marine team for the Warrior Games.

Michael Goulding/AP Nicholas Gibbons, a single amputee with the British Royal Marines team, takes off from the blocks during practice Feb. 21 in Camp Pendleton, Calif., for the inaugural Marine Corps Trials. Fifty athletes were chosen as members of the All-Marine team for the Warrior Games.
text size A A A May 17, 2011 The U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs is hosting 220 servicemen and women who are wounded, injured or ill this week for the second annual Warrior Games.

"We have the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, the Coast Guard and Special Operations Command all participating," says Charlie Huebner, chief of paralympics for the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Huebner says a primary goal of the games is to encourage people with disabilities to be physically active.

Some of the athletes are soldiers you've heard a lot about — injured by a roadside bomb or another combat-related injury. Others are accident victims or suffering from an illness.

Participants compete in seven sports: archery, cycling, basketball, shooting, swimming, track and field, and sitting volleyball. They are chosen proportionately from the various service branches.

In sitting volleyball, the net is low so that it touches the ground. And the players don't use wheelchairs, like in basketball — they sit on the floor and propel themselves however they can.

"Everybody's got different injuries," says Savage Margraf, 24, with the Marine Corps sitting volleyball team. "Some of the guys are double amputees, some are single amputees below the waist.

This is actually a sport where having legs is a disadvantage because they get in the way.

- Savage Margraf, a member of the Marine Corps sitting volleyball team
"This is actually a sport where having legs is a disadvantage because they get in the way," Margraf says. She is one of the few team members who still has both arms and legs.

Margraf suffers from traumatic brain injury (TBI). She says doctors attribute her TBI to two bad falls she took while serving in Iraq. One was from a watch tower on the Syrian border.

"I was helping get a 50-[caliber] barrel down — it's a machine gun," Margraf explains. "We had to change out the barrels because there was a sand storm. As I was coming down the stair, the second stair from the top broke and I fell."

Now Margraf says she has trouble with her vision. She was medically retired from the military in 2008 at 21 years old. Many of those participating in the Warrior Games are young.

Teammate Jese Schag, 21, had his right leg amputated after a motorcycle accident in 2009. He played sitting volleyball in the first Warrior Games last year.

"It's all about speed, and you've got to have good hands," Schag says. "You've got to be able to react — put your hands on the floor and then bring them up to get the ball."

Margraf says the competition is fun, but she's really here for inspiration.

"We have a swimmer who is a double amputee and blind," Margraf says. "How can you not come to this and leave with some sort of motivation and know that there are people that are way worse than you and they are trying?"

The Defense Department and the U.S. Olympic Committee organize the Warrior Games. Opening ceremonies were Monday. The sitting volleyball finals will wrap up the competition Saturday.

A double amputee who scaled summit of Everest

2011-05-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Dibeyendu Ganguly, May 6, 2011, 12.57am ISTTags:Mark Inglis|ICICI Bank Ltd.

Four o'clock in the afternoon on a hot summer's day and I'm to meet Mark Inglis — wine maker, motivational speaker, author, first double amputee to climb Mount Everest — at the Café Coffee Day on Bandra's Carter Road sea face. I arrive early, optimistic of finding a table in the air conditioned interior, but that's not to be. When Mark arrives ten minutes later, with his agent in tow, I'm seated all hot and bothered outside, under a garden umbrella, fanning myself with a menu.

One of the advantages of coming early is that I'm positioned with maximum umbrella coverage, while the two New Zealanders have the sun on their faces. "It's so hot," I say by way of a conversation starter, adding "but an adventurer like you is probably used to it." "I'm more used to the cold actually," says Inglis, with a grin.

For those who don't know the story, Inglis was trapped in a cave for eleven days while attempting to climb Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak. He was eventually rescued, but both his legs were so badly frostbitten that they had to be amputated below the knee. Twenty years later, at the age of 43, Inglis returned to Mount Cook and conquered the summit. The climb was documented in a film titled No Mean Feat: The Mark Inglis Story. Four years later, he went on to climb Mount Everest, and this time the dramatic and somewhat controversial (more on that later) event was captured in a documentary titled Everest: Beyond The Limit.

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A neuro-engineer’s call to arms

2011-05-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

Our prosthetics aren’t quite as good as Luke Skywalker’s — but they’re getting there [Image Credit AdamSelwood]

By Katie Palmer | Posted April 22, 2011
Posted in: Physical Science

Attached at the hip, your body and you do everything together, silently communicating with only the slightest misunderstandings. You and your body make tacit agreements to type on a keyboard, jerk away from a hot stove or reach toward a light switch in the dark, and recognition of your teamwork comes only as an afterthought. It’s likely the closest relationship you’ll ever have.
But sometimes that relationship goes sour. Like a two-timing boyfriend, your body can be supremely deceitful. Things fall apart: With loss of limb, paths of communication get shut down, and what was once a strong partnership can turn into a daily battle against pain from an imaginary appendage. Healthy bodies can deceive too. The “rubber hand illusion,” in which your hand, hidden behind a screen, and a visible rubber hand are stroked simultaneously, convinces able-bodied people that an inanimate hunk of rubber belongs to them. When a hammer aims to strike the rubber appendage, subjects recoil as if their own fingers were in danger.

We usually think about our physical identity in terms of where our body starts and ends, says Shaun Gallagher, a cognitive scientist at the University of Central Florida and author of the book How the Body Shapes the Mind. “But it turns out that it’s very fragile, that sense of identity, and you can do all sorts of interesting things with it.”

One of those interesting things is happening at Northwestern University, where advances in prosthetic limbs have demonstrated the enormous flexibility of the connection between brain and body — and how that flexibility can be manipulated to create the next generation of motorized prosthetics. Their thought-controlled prosthetics challenge the conventional sense of “me,” asking where the boundaries of human embodiment truly lie. Are we simply flesh and bone, or are we what we interact with?

In February, Northwestern’s Todd Kuiken described a process called targeted reinnervation at a symposium for the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science conference. Kuiken, the director of the Neural Engineering Center for Artificial Limbs at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, pioneered the process, which allows amputees to control their prosthetic arms with amazing dexterity. You can watch videos of Kuiken’s patients moving heavy hammers and picking up crackers without leaving a crumbly mess. What’s more, the patients achieve this mastery of their artificial arms merely by thinking about moving them.

To accomplish this feat, a doctor first severs the nerves leading to the patient’s chest muscles, or another nearby muscle set. Then, the nerves that previously led to the patient’s arm — the ones that now are truncated at the arm’s stump — are redirected and attached to the chest muscles. These nerves are still capable of sending signals. When a patient thinks about bending his elbow, the nerves to those muscles still fire, but instead of finding themselves at a dead end, they wind up in the chest, stimulating electrodes implanted above their pruned ends. The electrodes control the movement of the motorized prosthesis strapped to the patient’s torso, and the artificial elbow bends.

While this is a remarkable advance in itself, it still leaves amputees unable to feel what they touch; targeted reinnervation patients have to watch their prosthetic arm carefully in order to make sure that it’s actually grasping an object. That may be about to change, though.

Recently, Kuiken’s team has found that sensory nerves for the arm (in addition to the original motor nerves) can be redirected to skin elsewhere on the body. A rig can be devised in which touch sensors on the prosthetic arm send signals to a motorized device that crawls across the reinnervated skin. The device pokes the appropriate sensory nerves with a plunger, allowing the patient to feel what he — or the prosthetic arm — is touching. And just like in the rubber hand illusion, that sense of touch can trick amputees into embodying the external limb.

This development points toward prostheses that are ever more like natural, biological limbs. Depending on your generation’s brand of fantasy, it’s now reasonable to imagine amputees walking around with prosthetic hands like Luke Skywalker or Peter Pettigrew. But there are still several steps to be taken before these fictions become a reality, before amputees can truly become one with their artificial limbs.

One of the remaining barriers to total integration of prosthetic limbs is the seemingly simple ability to know our bodies, a phenomenon known as proprioception. “Right now, amputees have to depend entirely on their vision to know where their limb is,” says neuroscientist Paul Marasco, one of Todd Kuiken’s collaborators at Northwestern. “Vision is not really a sense that’s set up for that.”

Proprioception is an innate sense — of the angle of a quizzically cocked head, the speed of fluttering jazz hands, or the bend of our knees climbing stairs in the dark. Experts separate our proprioceptive sense into two categories: the kinesthetic (the motion of our bodies) and the positional (the location of our body parts). It’s one of the most profoundly under appreciated aspects of our consciousness. And it is precisely because we take proprioception for granted that it is so difficult to untangle.

“Proprioception is really not so well understood — how it’s operating, what it’s doing,” says Marasco. His current research is teasing apart how our sense of limb position and movement is organized in our brains, starting with mapping those neural connections in mice.

It’s difficult to segment proprioception into its component neural parts when the position and motion of our bodies seem so fluid. Somehow, our brains compile information about the length of a muscle, the stretching of skin or the angle of a joint and translate it into a comprehensive sense of being.

That difficulty is compounded by the sheer number of positions that our body can assume. There are 27 points of articulation in an arm, notes Amy Blank, a PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University who has done experiments to determine just how essential proprioception is to the functioning of a prosthetic limb. Understanding feedback on the position and movement of all those points will be an extremely challenging task. “In some ways I feel fortunate that I’m not working on the biology side as much,” said Blank, whose research focuses on robotics.

As a better biological understanding of proprioception emerges, researchers hope to develop prosthetic limbs that can stimulate nerves to restore a sense of position and movement — and thereby become increasingly united with the wearer’s self image. And if amputees can call a prosthesis part of their bodies, what’s limiting the rest of us to our heads, shoulders, knees and toes? Weirdly, the cars that we drive or the computers that we use could be as much a part of our bodies as these prostheses soon will be.

Our bodies will certainly be able to adapt to proprioceptive prosthetics, says Marasco, who is continually astounded by patients’ accommodation of the new limbs. “But our ability to build a machine that can do all the things that our hand can do is a different story,” he says. The next generation of prostheses will be limited not by our bodies’ nearly infinite plasticity, but by our engineering capabilities.

Enhanced Warrior Physical Training changes minds, lives

2011-04-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Wounded soldiers discover abilities through alternative fitness program
A Fort Campbell program designed to help soldiers recovering from combat-related injuries is changing warriors' perspective on physical training and a number of other things in the process.

The Enhanced Warrior Physical Training program at Fort Campbell is part of a directive from Washington, D.C., requiring all wounded warrior units in the Army to have some form of adaptive sports or fitness program. Many of these wounded warriors can no longer perform the Army's typical physical training, but they still must log one hour of physical exercise, a physical therapy or a recreational activity five days a week.

The EWPT program allows recovering soldiers to exercise regularly in a manner that best suits their needs. For warriors who are getting out of the Army with a medical discharge, the program aims to get them involved in suitable activities as they make the transition out of the Army and encourages them to continue their participation in those activities once they've left.

At the Fort Campbell Warrior Transition Battalion, soldiers are prescribed an individual physical fitness and adaptive therapy plan based on their medical situation. They work with occupational therapists, clinicians and doctors on setting goals, what they want to do and how they can get there.
Impact of injury

Sgt. 1st Class Landon Ranker, who oversees the coordination and resourcing of the EWPT program, knows first-hand what many of the wounded warriors are going through. He suffered a traumatic brain injury that made it impossible for him to perform his usual job. At the time, there were no well-established fitness programs for wounded warriors. Realizing this, Ranker and occupational therapist Lauren Geddis agreed to bring their individual ideas together and create a comprehensive adaptive plan to help these soldiers.

"As a warrior, I wanted to start doing something to help with my rehab and therapy and stuff," Ranker said.
Ranker said his injuries took much of his confidence and happiness away — for a while at least.

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Terry Fox's legacy: ‘Gracious and able to endure’

2011-04-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

TwitterLinkedInEmail.Ben Kaplan, National Post · Apr. 12, 2011 | Last Updated: Apr. 12, 2011 7:41 PM ET

Runners of every stripe need to overcome obstacles and fight their way through a certain amount of pain. That’s notable if you’re a first-time runner, commendable if you’re training for your first marathon, impressive if you’re an Olympic athlete. But if you’re Terry Fox, well, there just isn’t an adjective in the Canadian vocabulary to describe it.

“You can be an Olympic athlete and be a horrible person — I’ve met plenty of Olympians who’ve won medals and are awful,” silver medallist Adam Kreek says from St. John’s, where he recently joined eight other Olympic and Paralympic athletes to commemorate the 31st anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. “Terry was not only a hero because he ran across the country, but he’s the consummate Canadian — humble, gracious and able to endure.”

Fox, who dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean back on April 6, 1980, ran 5,373 kilometres, or a marathon a day for 143 often rainy days. It was the furthest, by far, that he had ever run. Before losing the leg to cancer, Fox only ran to keep fit for rugby, soccer and basketball. But when a malignant tumour left him an amputee, he ran his first long-distance race in Prince George, B.C. It was 1979, and he finished dead last in the 17-mile race. And then he had an idea.

“He came home that day and told the family that he wouldn’t be running the Vancouver Marathon. He was going to run across Canada instead,” says Fred Fox, Terry’s older brother, who oversees The Terry Fox Foundation, a cancer research charity that has raised more than $500-million. “He was just an average kid, no different from anyone else, and he had to work his damnedest to get every inch of mileage he achieved.”

In today’s running world — where one in every 33 Canadians owns running shoes — there are clinics to help get you started and specialized chips to place in the soles of your sneakers to keep track of your distance, calories burned and your times. But as we move toward race season, kicking off this Sunday in Montreal, we should remember that running also requires hard work, spirit and dedication. And that’s why even the most casual weekend warriors still find inspiration in Terry Fox and his incredible run.

“You have to use your willpower to complete all your runs,” says Sidney Moss, 79, a five-day-a-week runner in Montreal, still running after triple bypass surgery and an aneurysm of the aorta. “Running is never easy, but when you need inspiration, look at Terry’s feat.”

The event yesterday in St. John’s brought out droves of people in the cold and rain. Those who were there say the conversations weren’t about split times or sneakers and that nobody was complaining about how much they train.

Instead, it was a celebration of character, one that has as much to do with life as it does with running.

“I’m a pretty loud guy, pretty outgoing, but this morning I wanted to take everything in,” says Greg Westlake, a Paralympic athlete who had both of his feet amputated at 10 months old. “There’s a million athletes and a million celebrities, but no other Terry. He taught everyone not to quit.”

bkaplan@nationalpost.com

Defining an Olympian: How a leg amputee is testing the rules of sport

2011-04-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

Is it fair that Richard Whitehead cannot compete in the Paralympic marathon, despite being one of the world's best paralympic runners?
Imagine Usain Bolt going for gold in the marathon at the Olympic Games 2012. It would never happen, of course, as the Jamaican sprint world record holder has repeatedly said even 400m is too far to run for his liking. But what if there was a world-class athlete who loved competing in the sprints as much as the marathon?

There is. On Sunday the extraordinary Richard Whitehead, a double leg amputee and already a 200m world champion in the T42 category, will run the London Marathon.

With a personal best of 2hr 42min 52sec, the 34-year-old has convinced most that he is a world-class paralympic athlete at both distances despite having only begun running marathons in 2004. Now coached by the British Olympian Liz Yelling, who is also competing in the marathon this weekend, Whitehead has serious designs on double success at London 2012. But the authorities have other ideas.

There is only one marathon event in the Paralympics and it is for T46 – arm amputees – only. Despite there being a clear disadvantage in competing against athletes who have both lower limbs, Whitehead – whose 2:42:52 time is inside the top 10 world rankings for T46 athletes – is desperate to have his chance against them.

The Nottingham-born athlete mounted a legal challenge against the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) world championships ruling at the court of arbitration for sport – and lost – but he is determined to run in 2012.

Despite being sympathetic to Whitehead's plea, the IPC has bigger concerns to address. The pressure is on to make the 2012 Paralympics as attractive to the public and sponsors as possible. One huge element in that task is making paralympic sport – riddled with complicated sounding disability classifications – easier to understand. There are a whopping 200 different medal events in the track and field paralympic world championships – a figure that the governing body wants to reduce for 2012, and the IPC argues that combining classifications would further complicate things for the public.

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Blue Star brightens the way

2011-04-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

By Reid Armstrong
rarmstrong@skyhidailynews.com
Grand County, CO Colorado

When she was 11 years old, Emily Garcia discovered she had a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Today, at 19, she is the face of the Blue Star Foundation.

Started by the Grand County Blues Society, Blue Star, based in Winter Park, has grown into a nationwide program dedicated to connecting young cancer patients to the guitars of their dreams.

Garcia, who lives in south of Houston, Texas, received her Blue Star guitar after one of many surgeries.

"I wasn't able to go to cheerleading as much ... The guitar really helped me cope, kept me distracted."

Her first sheets of music were Taylor Swift songs.

"It really does give you a creative outlet stress reliever. You can take it out on the guitar. It's really special whenever you are giving it to somebody who really needs it at the time they are going through," she said.

An unexplained limp
In 2002, doctors discovered a tumor in Garcia's right leg when she started limping for no apparent reason. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer). She underwent intensive high dosage chemotherapy for seven months and then had surgery to amputate her right leg just above the knee, followed by another six months of chemo. She finished treatment in November 2003.

Two months later, she went on a ski trip for amputees and fell, fracturing her femur. She skied around for the rest of the weekend in a sit ski before realizing that her leg was broken.

She spent the next three months in a body cast and then began rehab, learning to walk on her prothesis that spring. She fell again in September, fracturing her leg again. Doctors started her on weekly IV treatments to strengthen her bones after the cancer treatment had further weakened her bones.

In February 2004, Garcia relapsed. Doctors found a tumor in her left lung. She underwent surgery in May and began chemotherapy again. This time her kidneys shut down and she spent several weeks in the hospital undergoing painful treatments to restart her kidneys.

In September 2004, she returned to school for the first time since her diagnoses and became a cheerleader for her school. Things were great, for a while. But, in January 2005, the tumor reappeared in her lung, taking over almost the entire organ. Garcia started treatment again. That summer, she was on radiation treatment for seven weeks.

She returned to school in the fall, cheerleading between treatments. It wasn't until the fall of 2007 that the tumors had shrunk enough to do surgery. The surgery involved removing five ribs and a large portion of her lung.

Afterwards, she continued treatments and rehab so that she could cheer again.

She finished treatment in May 2008. Pain returned, but this time it wasn't clear why. Doctors looked for months before discovering a tumor in her intestines in September. She had the tumor and a portion of her intestines removed in December, and began yet another round of chemo in January 2009.

She got through those tough times by playing her guitar, drawing and writing in her journal.

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Pair primed for action

2011-04-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

IAN BUTTERWORTH | April 13th, 2011

TWO disabled Territory athletes will make history when they compete in a range of field events at the Arafura Games in Darwin next month.

Katherine resident Curtis Devereux, 16, and Liam Hunter, 23, from Darwin are both leg amputees and are set to become the first Territory athletes with disabilities to compete in field events at the Arafura Games.

Devereux will compete in javelin and shot-put while Hunter will go one better, and has settled on javelin, shot-put and discus.

Both are eager to indulge in their new activity and are working hard to gain throwing skills necessary to participate at the Games.

Hunter, who lost his left leg above the knee in a motorcycle accident four years ago, likes to spend his spare time fishing and hunting and keeps active playing wheelchair basketball, but is enthusiastic about the change of sporting direction.

"I've been playing wheelchair basketball for about four years and have been to the Sports Institute in Canberra a few times. I still love the game, but an opportunity arose to do something different and I jumped at it.

"I had a new prosthetic fitted last week and hopefully the mechanics will make movement smoother and allow for more flexibility.

"I'm going into athletics with an open mind and if I make finals, or win a medal, so much the better. As a disabled person I reckon you should try as many different activities as possible.

U.S. troops in Afghanistan suffer more catastrophic injuries

2011-04-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

Study shows 2010 saw at least 171 troops suffer battlefield injuries resulting in amputations; 65 of them lost two limbs or more.
Marine 1st Lt. James Byler, 25, of Long Island, New York, was leading a patrol in Afghanistan late last year when an explosion severed his legs and snapped off the ends of several fingers. He is undergoing physical therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times / December 22, 2010)

By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times

6:11 p.m. CDT, April 6, 2011
la-fg-afghanistan-wounds-20110407
Reporting from Landstuhl, Germany, and Helmand— Grim combat statistics that one military doctor called "unbelievable" show U.S. troops in Afghanistan suffered an unprecedented number of catastrophic injuries last year, including a tripling of amputations of more than one limb.

A study by doctors at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where most wounded troops are sent before returning to the U.S., confirmed their fears: The battlefield has become increasingly brutal.

In 2009, 75 service members brought to Landstuhl had limbs amputated. Of those, 21 had lost more than one limb.

But in 2010, 171, 11% of all the casualties brought to Landstuhl, had undergone amputations, a much higher proportion than in past wars. Of the 171, 65 had lost more than one limb.

Injuries to the genital area were also on the increase. In 2009, 52 casualties were brought to Landstuhl with battlefield injuries to their genitals or urinary tract. In 2010, that number was 142.

Dr. John Holcomb, a retired Army colonel with extensive combat-medicine experience, said he and other doctors involved in the study were shocked by the findings, which he labeled as "unbelievable."

"Everybody was taken aback by the frequency of these injuries: the double amputations, the injuries to the penis and testicles," said Holcomb, now a medical professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. "Nothing like this has been seen before."

Military brass say the increase in catastrophic injuries can be attributed to the Taliban's use of improvised explosive devices, the roadside bombs that account for the majority of U.S. and NATO deaths and injuries. Last year was also the deadliest year for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, with 499 killed, according to the Defense Department.

Troops are increasingly vulnerable to injuries from such makeshift bombs as they mount foot patrols in an effort to win support from Afghan villagers, a key strategy in the counterinsurgency campaign.

An armored Humvee provides a measure of protection from a blast. A so-called mine-resistant vehicle provides more. But when a soldier or Marine steps on a roadside bomb, there is considerably less protection from flying shrapnel or super-heated air. Also, rocks, dirt and other debris embedded in a blast wound can cause immediate and devastating infections.

The hospital at Landstuhl is the busiest it has been since the battle in the Iraqi city of Fallouja in late 2004, officials said. Both the number and severity of wounds have increased, said Air Force Lt. Col. Raymond Fang, a surgeon and trauma medical director at Landstuhl.

The average patient stays about three days at Landstuhl before being airlifted to the U.S. for further care. "All we're doing is clearing up the destruction done by the injury," Fang said.

In Afghanistan, some officers believe the insurgents have increased both the explosive power of their improvised bombs and their ability to place them for maximum carnage.

Some of the explosives are placed on fences and other aboveground locations so that the blast strikes directly at the legs of passing Marines, soldiers or medical corpsmen who accompany combat troops.

"It's a weapon of terror designed to inflict the most grievous wounds," said Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, formerly the top Marine in Afghanistan.

The increase in catastrophic wounds has taken an emotional toll on the medical personnel at Landstuhl, said Navy Cmdr. Joseph Sheldon, one of nine chaplains at the U.S. military hospital.

Sheldon and the other chaplains are also present when patients awake to learn of the extent of their battlefield injuries. He remembers sitting with a wounded Marine on Christmas Eve.

"There was a lot of silence and a lot of tears, for both of us," Sheldon said. "Everybody wants their life to be the way it was, but it's not. Coming to grips with that is hard."

After the Landstuhl study was first reported in the Washington Post, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) asked Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, for an explanation of the increase in amputations and what the military was doing to protect front-line personnel.

The Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, has been particularly hard hit, with 24 Marines killed and more than 175 wounded while deployed in the Sangin district of Helmand province.

More than a dozen Marines from the battalion have lost two or more limbs. One of them is 1st Lt. James Byler, 25, of Long Island, New York, who was leading a patrol in early October when an explosion severed his legs and snapped off the ends of several fingers.

Byler's patrol was walking slowly, carefully, in what is called "ranger style," with each man following in the footsteps of the man in front of him.

"Everyone had gone over that spot," said Byler, now recuperating in the U.S. "I was just the one who stepped on it when it exploded.

"It wasn't a big one, but it was enough to blow my legs off."

tony.perry@latimes.com

Volunteers help make life easier for 19-year-old Texas amputee

2011-04-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

by Steve Stoler / WFAA WFAA Posted on April 2, 2011 at 7:53 AM

GARLAND — Whitney Mitchell, a 19-year-old Berkner High School graduate whose arms and legs were amputated, will have a much easier time getting around her new home thanks to some of her kind and caring neighbors. Mitchell finally came home last week after spending months in the hospital and rehab. The amputations became necessary when Whitney suffered septic shock from an infection, stopping the flow of blood into her arms and legs. A viewer of KENS 5's sister station, WFAA News 8, was so touched by her plight and positive attitude, he rallied his troops to help. Mitchell's long-awaited return home suddenly turned into horror last Friday. A portable ramp suddenly tilted downward, spilling her out of the wheelchair and onto the ground. “My heart went up in my throat. It was just scary," said Patricia Kirven, Mitchell's mother. When Ed Seghers saw our story, he was moved by Mitchell's spirit. But one thing he heard made him feel he could help. Whitney’s mother explained that without wheelchair ramps, Whitney cannot go into her backyard. Seghers is a member of a volunteer group at the First United Methodist Church in Garland. They call themselves “God's Old Geezers.” The Geezers build wheelchair ramps. When they heard about Mitchell's struggles, they couldn't wait to help. “There’s not a much better feeling internally than to help people in need. And when you do that, you get a warm feeling inside," Seghers said. So on Friday, they sawed, leveled and sanded, building two ramps. Mitchell tried out her new ramp ever so carefully. She was very nervous after last week's fall. The Geezers call Mitchell an example of courage, faith and persistence; someone who serves as an inspiration to everyone. “It’s a good reminder that when we really get down in the dumps with our own troubles, we need to look around," said Clay Womack, the church pastor. Seghers said Mitchell's difficult challenges puts life in perspective for others. “When you have a little pain or ache and you see someone like Whitney, that pain or ache goes away immediately," he said.

Bionics

2011-03-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

bi-on-ics
Etymology: from bi (as in “life”) + onics (as in “electronics”); the study of mechanical systems that function like living organisms or parts of living organisms
By Josh Fischman
Photograph by Mark Thiessen

Amanda Kitts is mobbed by four- and five-year-olds as she enters the classroom at the Kiddie Kottage Learning Center near Knoxville, Tennessee. "Hey kids, how're my babies today?" she says, patting shoulders and ruffling hair. Slender and energetic, she has operated this day-care center and two others for almost 20 years. She crouches down to talk to a small girl, putting her hands on her knees.

"The robot arm!" several kids cry.

"You remember this, huh?" says Kitts, holding out her left arm. She turns her hand palm up. There is a soft whirring sound. If you weren't paying close attention, you'd miss it. She bends her elbow, accompanied by more whirring.

Continue....

Athlete, cancer survivor takes it one step at a time

2011-03-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

By Bill Lohmann
Published: March 27, 2011
» 0 Comments | Post a Comment
Late on a cool, gray afternoon, Robin Pugh Yoder ducked into an office, changed into a T-shirt and shorts, and headed for a little exercise — in a hospital parking lot.

She walked steadily yet cautiously, conscious not only of moving cars but also speed bumps, potholes and a persistent breeze that could, if she lost her balance, blow her over.

You notice things like that when you're 49 and learning to walk again.

"This whole process is slow and tedious and hard," said Yoder, who lost her right leg to cancer last August and is taking baby steps, literally, as she grows accustomed to a prosthetic leg. "Not just on a physical level, but mentally.

"My life has changed forever."

Some things, however, never change.

Yoder, an accomplished athlete, has regularly competed in the Monument Avenue 10K, and this year will be no different, other than she will be walking, not running. Her goal Saturday is not to finish in a specific time, but simply to finish, even if she has to use crutches.

This time last year, she was preparing for the 10K, the first race of the season, by running three days a week and swimming, lifting weights or exercising on elliptical machines three other days. Today, she's walking in parking lots and in her neighborhood, sweating through strenuous rehab sessions, and building her proficiency and endurance with an artificial leg. She prefers not to compare last year with today.

"I try not to think about that because … if I think about where I was a year ago it gets depressing and frustrating," she said. "But if I think about where I was in August, I'm really proud of myself.

"That's life before, and now there's my new life. My new life is just trying to live in my old world with my new body, and realizing I can still do the same things, but I'm going to have to learn to do them in a slightly different way."

Yoder, who lives in Chesterfield County and works as an oncology social worker at CJW Medical Center helping others through difficult periods in their lives, has a long history of athletic achievement and overcoming obstacles.

She was a high school basketball star headed to college on an athletic scholarship when she was diagnosed with bone cancer in her right leg. Doctors saved the leg, but her college basketball career was over. After graduating from East Carolina University, she served two years in the Peace Corps.

Through the years, Yoder competed in triathlons and was training for one last summer in honor of a friend, Lanie Evans, who was battling brain cancer, when she noticed an odd heaviness in her right leg. Soon after, she was diagnosed with cancer again — she believes it was caused by the radiation treatment from her first bout with cancer — but this time, circumstances made amputation the prudent course of action.

A month after surgery, she was walking on a prosthetic leg. A month after that, she was swimming. Soon, she was sitting on a bicycle.

She went full-bore into rehabilitation even while she was going through the grieving process that is normal when a limb is lost. She still dreams of her missing leg.

But patience is not something that comes easily to someone as driven, direct and goal-oriented as Yoder. Not long after she began walking on her artificial leg, a therapist casually mentioned shopping malls are good places to practice walking.

The therapist never suggested she go soon or alone, which is precisely what Yoder did. After creeping along the storefronts, hanging on to the walls and doorways, an overwhelmed Yoder managed to get to a bench, where she called a friend who offered to come pick her up.

After reading an online description of how she might run with a prosthetic leg, she decided it would be a good idea to practice, alone, in a narrow hallway in her home so that if she lost her balance, she could fall against one wall or another.

Unafraid to challenge herself, she has fallen numerous times in therapy and at home. She once strained her shoulder muscles catching herself awkwardly, so she has been in physical therapy for that, too.

Physical therapist David Lawrence, who sometimes has to push hard to get patients with new artificial legs to take the next step, has to encourage Yoder to slow down.

"With Robin, one of the challenges has been, how do you keep her motivated and working while at the same point holding back the reins so she doesn't hurt herself?" said Lawrence, founder of Lawrence Rehabilitation Specialists and The Gait Center. "I just try to keep her a little grounded."

Yoder's plan to walk the Monument Avenue 10K, a distance of more than 6 miles, less than eight months removed from amputation is "a little bit lofty," Lawrence said, but for Yoder, it's realistic.

"This is her coming-out party," he said.

And it will be a party. Yoder will be accompanied by a small army of more than 100 supporters sporting royal blue T-shirts emblazoned with the images of high-kicking dancers and the phrase, "Because We Can-Can, Robin Can-Can."

"She is stubborn and will dig in and do whatever it takes to meet her goal," said Amber Williams, a friend who has trained with Yoder for triathlons and will be among the blue-shirted supporters. "She's just the most honest, thoughtful, insightful person I've ever had the pleasure of spending time with.

"She's been a complete inspiration for me."

Everyone sees the determined Yoder, a woman with the seemingly relentless spirit who expects to run and ride a bicycle. What they don't necessarily see are the almost imperceptible strides she makes from one grueling therapy session to the next. They don't see her struggles with a poor-fitting socket of her artificial leg — what's left of her right leg above the knee has been shrinking since surgery — that complicate the already challenging walking process in which, as she put it, you're trying to make your hip think it's an ankle.

They can't see Yoder grieving for her friend Lanie, who died a few weeks ago and was her inspiration as she recovered from her own surgery. They don't see her fretting over her next set of scans, which are scheduled every few months, to make sure the cancer that was in her leg hasn't spread.

It's impossible for people to know just how many mornings Yoder would rather pull the covers over her head and pretend this didn't happen.

But she won't do that because of the people who encourage and inspire her — family, friends, co-workers and patients, physicians and therapists — and because as an athlete she knows only she can put in the work to make things better.

As daylight faded, she finished her long loop around the parking lot of the Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital, where she is co-founder and director of The Hawthorne Cancer Resource Center, past the garden for patients she started by digging in the dirt, past other hospital workers heading home for the day (she still had an evening support group of breast cancer survivors to lead). Many offered good wishes and encouragement.

"What everyone wants is for me to have a good ending, and it's going to be, I think," she said. "But people have to be patient and let me get there."

But patience is in the mind of the beholder. Yoder is already looking beyond the Monument Avenue 10K. She has been invited to participate in a mini-triathlon — running, biking and swimming — in Maryland in August. She can't help herself. She's making plans.

"I might can do it by then," she said. "It gives me a goal."

Giant steps forward for brave Bianca

2011-03-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

TAYISSA BARONE, The West Australian
March 28, 2011, 3:00 am
Wendie Fowler was more than happy to follow her daughter Bianca across the finish line at yesterday's Centre for Cerebral Palsy 1km Walk Wheel Run.

That's because the seven-year-old's triumphant finish at the event on the Burswood foreshore marked the longest distance she has travelled in one go in her revolutionary prosthetic Cheetah legs.

The state-of-the-art $23,000 legs were funded by the Centre for Cerebral Palsy and were on full display at the annual event which saw 28 of the charity's champions participate.

Bianca is now faced with her biggest challenge, learning how to run.

The centre has not been able to find anyone in Australia to provide the specialised coaching needed to train her to use her legs to their full potential.

She currently relies on Skype sessions with fellow amputees in the US for advice.

Bianca was left with cerebral palsy and a range of heart, leg and bowel complications after her premature birth at 26 weeks. Both of her legs were amputated below the knee when she was three years old.

Mrs Fowler said Bianca's confidence had grown but there was still a long way to go. "Her confidence in her walking has come up quite a bit," she said.

Tortoise Loses Leg, Learns to Walk With a Wheel

2011-03-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

By Stephen Messenger, Porto Alegre, Brazil on 03.16.11

Tortoises are among the oldest species on the planet, remaining virtually unchanged for millions of years -- but sometimes they too need a replacement part every now and then. When a severely injured red-footed tortoise was discovered recently in Uberaba, Brazil, it seemed to be on the verge of death. A team of surgeon from the local veterinary hospital succeeded in saving the animal's life, but injuries forced to amputate one of its front legs. Just when it looked certain that the tortoise would never walk again, one of the vets had an ingenious idea -- to reinvent the wheel, tortoise style.

One of the surgeon responsible for saving the tortoise, wildlife expert Cláudio Yudi of the Veterinary Hospital of Uberaba, suspects that the animal injured its foot on an electric fence. By the time the tortoise was discovered, an infection had overtaken its leg to the point that the appendage could not be salvaged -- leaving the team with no choice but to amputate it.

Yudi told Brazilian media that he then devised a plan to help the tortoise walk again. Using a bit of plastic resin, he secured a common furniture caster to the underside of its shell where the leg had been, returning to the tortoise some semblance of its former locomotion.

Amazingly, the tortoise is said to be recovering well and has even learned to walk with its replacement wheel. Unfortunately, the limitations of the improvised prosthetic leg on rough terrain mean the animal cannot survive in the wild.

Red-footed tortoises are native to the forests of South America where they face a variety of threats from human interaction. They are a prime target for hunters looking to ship them throughout the continent to be made into pets or eaten as a food source. But perhaps more pressingly, the encroachment of development within their habitats means a higher likelihood the tortoises will be injured or killed by industrial equipment and infrastructure -- in this case, an electrified fences.

Their close genetic cousins, South American yellow-footed tortoises, have already been driven to near extinction from similar threats in their habitat, earning them the designation as an endangered species. It may be only a matter of time until red-footed tortoises are granted similar protections.

Granted, persistence and stubborn determination have long been counted among the tortoise's chief strengths, but sometimes they too need a helping hand along the way to ensure their preservation -- regardless of the form that hand may take.

One of the surgeon responsible for saving the tortoise, wildlife expert Cláudio Yudi of the Veterinary Hospital of Uberaba, suspects that the animal injured its foot on an electric fence. By the time the tortoise was discovered, an infection had overtaken its leg to the point that the appendage could not be salvaged -- leaving the team with no choice but to amputate it.

Yudi told Brazilian media that he then devised a plan to help the tortoise walk again. Using a bit of plastic resin, he secured a common furniture caster to the underside of its shell where the leg had been, returning to the tortoise some semblance of its former locomotion.

Amazingly, the tortoise is said to be recovering well and has even learned to walk with its replacement wheel. Unfortunately, the limitations of the improvised prosthetic leg on rough terrain mean the animal cannot survive in the wild.

Red-footed tortoises are native to the forests of South America where they face a variety of threats from human interaction. They are a prime target for hunters looking to ship them throughout the continent to be made into pets or eaten as a food source. But perhaps more pressingly, the encroachment of development within their habitats means a higher likelihood the tortoises will be injured or killed by industrial equipment and infrastructure -- in this case, an electrified fences.

Their close genetic cousins, South American yellow-footed tortoises, have already been driven to near extinction from similar threats in their habitat, earning them the designation as an endangered species. It may be only a matter of time until red-footed tortoises are granted similar protections.

Granted, persistence and stubborn determination have long been counted among the tortoise's chief strengths, but sometimes they too need a helping hand along the way to ensure their preservation -- regardless of the form that hand may take.

‘Gimps on Ice’

2011-03-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

by Luke Mehall
Reaching new heights at the annual climbing rendezvous

The Ouray Ice Park provided the backdrop for a recent rendezvous of rebirth. The 4th annual “Gimps on Ice” festival brought amputee and disabled ice climbers together for a weekend of renewal beginning March 5.

For Mike Reddy, “Gimps on Ice” felt like a homecoming to the San Juan Mountains, where his life was forever changed two years ago. Reddy was one of 38 participants in the event, organized by Paradox Sports, a nonprofit out of Boulder that provides opportunities and adaptive equipment to people with disabilities. Reddy, now a PhD student at Yale University, took a 150-foot fall while climbing Mount Sneffels in 2009. He was rescued by his climbing partner, a nearby party and the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team. The fall left him with a spinal cord injury, a fractured right ankle and a diagnosis that he would never climb again.

“It was an experience that changed my life forever,” Reddy said. “I was left feeling truly broken, defeated and lost.”

Even with his injuries, Reddy felt the overwhelming desire to return to climbing so he connected with Paradox Sports. He received visits, first from co-founder and wounded veteran DJ Skelton, and then from Malcolm Daly, an amputee climber and executive director of the organization. Flying in from Colorado, Daly took Reddy climbing for the first time since his accident in a Connecticut climbing gym.

“Malcolm is a really special guy,” Reddy said. “Paradox Sports is an organization that really reached out to help me.”

The weekend of March 5-6 was the second time Reddy had climbed ice. “I don’t climb as eloquently or as hard as I used to, but that doesn’t matter, it is the feeling that I’m after,” he said.

Alongside Reddy, on the ice walls that Ouray is famous for, were other disabled climbers: one missing an arm; others missing a foot; some without both feet. A look up to the wall revealed climbers using artificial feet with crampons made for ice climbing. Nearby, Daly had a bucket of crampons labeled, “Daly Bucket of Feet.”

Although the event has doubled in size since last year’s event, the ice climbing site was well managed by the Paradox Sports crew. Some climbers aren’t able to hike in themselves, and Chad Butrick, director of operations for Paradox, carried a couple participants in on his back to a point where they could be lowered into the canyon by a carefully rigged rope system.

Heidi Duce, a 20-year-old climber who grew up in Ouray, climbs with a prosthetic for her right foot. A below-the-knee amputee, she was born with a congenital defect that resulted in her not having a fibula, foot or ankle bones.

Growing up next to the Ouray Ice Park, Duce always wanted to climb the icefalls and even had a family friend, Chris Folsom, who would have taken her climbing. The problem was her parents wouldn’t let her go.

“Chris would tell my parents that he would take me ice climbing,” Duce said. “But, they never relayed the message to me. When I turned 18, I finally got to go and was immediately hooked.”

Chad Jukes, left, helps Kate Sawford tackle her first lead in the Ouray Ice Park. /Photo by Claudia Lopez
“Chris would tell my parents that he would take me ice climbing,” Duce said. “But, they never relayed the message to me. When I turned 18, I finally got to go and was immediately hooked.”

Folsom, and his wife, Deb, are passionate supporters of the community and have their own organization called Amped Outdoors, with a similar mission as Paradox. A man of many trades, Chris even makes special crampons that Duce and others use.

Duce now attends Mesa State College in Grand Junction, where she studies adaptive physical education. She enjoys helping others climb as much as she enjoys it herself, and her favorite thing about the Gimps on Ice weekend is being around other amputee climbers.

“Ice climbing opened the doors to what is now my passion in life,” Duce noted. “The outdoors are very important to me, and I hope to work in the field of recreation therapy once I graduate college.”

Duce received the illustrious “Got Stump” award two years ago, a storied T-shirt that is awarded by Paradox every year at the Ouray Ice Festival to a disabled climber who embodies the spirit of the organization. The shirts are also sold as a fund-raiser for the park and have raised more than $50,000 thus far. Duce’s award, which is worn at various climbing endeavors, comes with one important rule: it can’t be washed.

“Yes, it smells,” she joked.

Pete Davis, a 31-year-old amputee climber from Ridgway, received the “Got Stump” award this year. Another congenital amputee, whose right arm was formed only to his elbow at birth, Davis, lived in Durango for 10 years and is a Fort Lewis College graduate with 20 years of climbing experience. He now works as an ice farmer at the park, maintaining the drip systems that create the waterfalls.

Davis has always felt a need to reach out to other amputees, and enjoys the sense of community that Gimps on Ice and other Paradox events bring. “This is a celebration of ability, whatever ability you have,” Davis said. “It’s about getting people from our community together. Not often as an amputee do you get to hang and climb with people that are similar to you.”

Gimps on Ice enjoys an abundance of support from the Ouray community. Restaurants, coffee shops and breweries host the group. One establishment, Mouse’s Chocolates and Coffee, catered to the group by opening two hours early. A special batch of coffee, called “Gimps on Ice Blend,” was created by Kristopher’s Culinaire and a “One Arm, One Leg IPA” was brewed up by the Ourayle House Brewery.

Claudia López, a photographer from Boulder, makes the annual trek to Gimps on Ice. She said it is her favorite event of the year. “It centers me and sets the mood for the rest of the year,” López said. “It is important for me to be here.”

López also noted that every year there is a “rock star,” an individual who wins over the hearts of the entire group. This year, it was Austin Bushnell.

Austin lives in Buena Vista and has an undiagnosed medical condition. He requires assistance walking, and has many mental and physical issues. Still, his father, Robert, tries to expose him to as much as he can. He’s climbed an artificial wall once before, and has even hiked a 13,000 foot mountain near Buena Vista. His brother Nathan was there climbing and supporting, as well as a family friend, Tom Moody.

Hanging off an adjacent rope, Folsom was by Austin’s side the entire way as he inched up the frozen wall. Austin’s balance issues were evident, and the basic motion of kicking the crampons into the ice and swinging the ice tools were difficult. Folsom improvised every move to cater to Austin’s needs, at one point even swinging his own tools into the ice so that Austin could stand on them for an inch of progress. Austin completed one climb and made a heroic attempt at another, with cheers from the crowd for both efforts.

His father was inspired and impressed by the event. “My pride to see Austin have this experience is hard to explain, you have to live it,” he said. “The people of Paradox Sports express the most genuine interest in helping everyone succeed, with an overwhelming openness and friendliness. This event was full of people who are truly living.”

Gretchen Wegrich, Stoked & Broke: Hollywood highlights Hamilton's tragic story

2011-03-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Posted: 03/13/2011 01:30:15 AM PST

Click photo to enlarge«1»Bethany Hamilton and Alana Blanchard are two of the hardest ripping young female professional surfers to hit the water, surf magazines, and now, theaters near you.

"Soul Surfer," a Hollywood movie based on Hamilton's life, will debut in mainstream theaters April 8, sharing the inspiring story of Hamilton's return to competitive surfing after a shark attack left the young surfer girl from Kauai without an arm.

The real Hamilton and Blanchard play themselves in the water as the movie's surfing stunt doubles, which means the film has potential to showcase the talent of these two real life professional surfers.

Hamilton and Blanchard's friendship is central to the story portrayed in "Soul Surfer." In the film, Hamilton is played by AnnaSophia Robb, the blonde pixie-like girl from Bridge To Terabithia, and Blanchard is played by Lorraine Nicholson, Jack Nicholson's daughter. The film's cast is rounded out with Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and Carrie Underwood.

As a Hollywood film about young, female surfers in Hawaii, "Soul Surfer" will undoubtedly draw comparison to "Blue Crush," which also featured professional surfers doubling for actors in relatively unrealistic surf scenes. While "Blue Crush" was about girl power, "Soul Surfer" is the story of an athlete's personal journey of overcoming the loss of her arm with inner strength, courage and faith as she follows her dream of becoming a professional surfer.

Hamilton definitely deserves the bravest

female surfer award.

In 2003, when she was 13 and considered one of the up-and-coming young surfers in Kauai, Hamilton had her left arm chomped off by a 14-foot tiger shark while surfing Tunnels with best friend Blanchard and Blanchard's father. Less than a month after loosing 60 percent of her blood and undergoing three surgeries, Hamilton paddled back out into the ocean, caught a wave and stood up. Her miraculous, courageous return to the sea was only the beginning of a successful competitive career.

Set apart from many of her peers, Hamilton is unquestionably a power surfer, excelling in barrels and big surf. Besides Blanchard, Hamilton is the only other female surfer on the Rip Curl pro international surf team. Though she has fallen short of qualifying for the Women's World Championship Tour, Hamilton competes in Women's star and qualifying events and has participated in Women's World Tour contests as a wildcard entry.

Hamilton is a focused competitor and will undoubtedly earn her place on the Women's World Tour before long.

Blanchard -- as any male or female surfer who hasn't been stranded on a remote coral atoll for the past few years will undoubtedly tell you -- is the hottest female surfer.

Blanchard has recently dominated the image of women's professional surfing, stealing the spotlight away from surfing and turning it toward the smallness of her bikini bottoms. Her message? Female professional surfers can be sexy and surf better than you.

It's hard to argue after Blanchard won the Women's Pipe Master's twice, once in 2005 and again in 2007, then ripped her way to the Women's World Tour. Blanchard finished 13th in the world in 2009 and re-qualified for the Women's World Tour for this year. She also recently released her signature bikini line through surf sponsor Rip Curl.

Blanchard is the premier face of Rip Curl, dominating the company's ad campaigns with sultry come-hither looks, the popular sandy swimsuit modeling shot and revealing bottom turns.

In the water and out, both girls represent femininity and athleticism, but they do it in ways that are dramatically different.

Hamilton has chosen not to use a prosthetic and speaks publicly about loving who you are and the importance of inner beauty. She takes her job as a role model seriously, finding time to graciously respond to the many Facebook comments she receives from adoring little girls.

Now at age 20, she successfully manages her professional surf career and position as the face of the many charities she supports, including the Friends of Bethany Foundation, which supports shark attack survivors and traumatic amputees.

Bethany's faith has been central to her life and she has publicly spoken and published books about her Christian faith as a source of inspiration. For Hamilton, the answer to the question "Why me?" lies in her faith, and in the opportunity for her to use her story to inspire others to overcome challenges and find inspiration and inner strength as they pursued their dreams.

Don't go see "Soul Surfer" expecting authenticity -- or 90 minutes of Blanchard surfing in an itty bitty, teeny weenie bikini. But do go see this movie with a young girl or athlete, to be inspired, or to imagine what if? What if it was you who had to ask, as Hamilton did, "Why me?"

How would you answer?

West Deptford man among amputees to receive new prosthetic

2011-03-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

Published: Thursday, March 10, 2011, 10:01 AM Updated: Thursday, March 10, 2011, 10:17 AM
By Bob Shryock/Gloucester County Times

View full sizeLou Namm, a Vietnam veteran who lost both legs in 1969 when he stepped on a booby-trapped land mine, is the world’s first veteran, and one of 10 amputees overall, to receive the new prosthetic “Power Knee,” the only motor-powered device designed to function as an integrated extension of its user.

It’s also the first such knee prosthesis approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I tested it all last summer relative to how it affects the heart,” says Namm, 63, a West Deptford resident who has been a counseling psychologist at the VA Medical Center in Germantown for 37 years. “It has its own motor that works the leg and is triggered by pressure. It’s robotic, and quite a knee.

“Being a double amputee (right transfemoral and left transtibial) certainly has had its challenges, but the progression in technology over the past 40 years has brought my life back. I plan to use it permanently just getting up and down.”

Eddystone, Pa.-based Prosthetic Innovations, LLC, a pacesetter in progressive care for upper and lower extremity prosthetic clients, is one of five facilities in the U.S. certified for Power Knee, which is manufactured by Ossur.

“The new Power Knee provides the strength and safety which every above-knee amputee deserves,” says Timothy Rayer, a partner of Prosthetic Innovations. “We’re thrilled to be one of only a handful of prosthetic practices in the country certified for Ossur’s entire line of bionic technology prostheses.”

View full sizePhotos courtesy of Prosthetic InnovationsTop, Timothy Rayer, a partner of Prosthetic Innovations, LLC (in scrubs) is pictured with Lou Namm. Rayer is adjusting the new prosthetic 'Power Knee,' the only motor-powered device designed to function as an integrated extension of its user. Above, Michael Rayer, also a partner of Prosthetic Innovations, discusses the prosthetic knee with Namm. Below, Rayer assists Namm as he tries out the new knee.
It’s not surprising that Namm is a trailblazer for Power Knee. In 2007, he earned certification from the United States Golf Teachers Federation (USGTF) as a teaching professional, giving him license to teach the frustrating game to golfers without physical handicaps. He already had been certified to instruct other amputee golfers in the First Swing Program.

“Learning to play golf has been a challenge,” says Namm, who will not able to use the Power Knee when he plays because it’s still being tested for more challenging uses. “But in life there should always be challenges. People have asked why an amputee would take up golf, then become an instructor, and I’ve responded, ‘Why not?’ Helping others is a great way to live your life.

“It makes me feel good, helping other amputees who may feel they can’t do anything. It’s gratifying to see them succeed when they’ve had a tendency to hold back.”

Introduced to the game in 1989 when he and a supervisor were hitting a plastic ball, Namm’s golf game is “much better,” he says. He’s been scoring in the mid-80s, meaning that he plays much better than the average golfer, and has set a goal of breaking 80 this year. He hopes to begin teaching golf more and devote more time to teaching and playing when he retires from his full-time job in a few years.

An all-around athlete at Camden’s Woodrow Wilson High School, Sgt. Namm was assigned to the 82nd Airborne on May 8, 1969 when he stepped on a mine, losing his left leg immediately. Despite efforts to save his right leg, he lost that one, too.

View full size“Doctors in the states weren’t convinced I’d make it, but I got through surgery and started to put my life together,” Namm says.

He entered college, earning undergraduate and masters degrees from Long Island University and then taking a job with VA. Today, he counsels disabled veterans and their families, noting “it’s been a good way of giving something back.”

Patients learn to walk again with help from technology

2011-03-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

By Tammie Smith
Published: March 09, 2011

Anthony Monroe had one question for the physical therapist at Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Center helping him relearn to walk after having a stroke in September.

"If I fall, who's going to catch me?" he recalled asking.

He didn't think the therapist, whom he towered over, could catch him.

The therapist told him not to worry.

Still Monroe, 55, who lives in Church Hill, said he felt a lot better when his walking therapy integrated a new piece of equipment called ZeroG that supported most of his weight while he took steps. Wearing a harness suspended from a ceiling-mounted track that folded like an accordion as he moved forward, he said he felt new confidence.

"The machine catches you when you buckle," Monroe said.

A hand-held control lets the physical therapist change the level of support provided by the device so that patients bear more of their own weight over time.

The ZeroG is one of the new pieces of high-tech rehabilitation equipment in the new iWalk Recovery Center at Sheltering Arms' location on the Memorial Regional Medical Center campus in Hanover County.

Sheltering Arms spent $1.2 million on the center, which it is touting as a collection of some of the most advanced walking recovery equipment in the region and the United States.

"iWalk is state-of-the-art care for people who need help learning to walk again," said Matt Wilks,a physical therapist and director of inpatient therapy services at Sheltering Arms.

"It really brings to bear the best technology and expert-trained clinicians to apply the latest principles and scientific research."

Stroke patients and people with neuromuscular diseases, with spinal injuries and with brain injury are among those prescribed therapy with the devices.

Sheltering Arms patient Anita Crean, 53, is improving, her husband, John Crean, said. Crean observed his wife last week as she used the Lokomat Pro, a robotic walking trainer.

"It's not clear exactly specifically what the diagnosis was," Crean said of the illness that struck his wife last year.

"But it's a demyelinating condition where you get lesions on your spine, and it's akin to [multiple sclerosis], but an aggressive form of MS. It came on all of a sudden in August to the point where she was intubated on a ventilator and had to go to Atlanta because there's nowhere in Virginia that takes patients for rehab on ventilators."

She was at the Shepherd Center rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta for three months and has been at Sheltering Arms since January.

Research has examined what works best to help patients re-learn to walk.

About 4 million stroke survivors, for instance, experience problems with walking, according to federal experts.

One of the largest studies to date on stroke survivors, which enrolled more than 400 people, seemed to downplay technology. The study, which released results in February, suggested that intensive physical therapy at home worked equally well as therapy with use of a body-weight supported treadmill device followed by walking practice.

The study was a "big deal in rehabilitation," Wilks said.

"They were looking at one specific intervention, applying it to a broad group of patients, but still only looking at patients who had a stroke," Wilks said.

"We were actually aware of the trial as we were planning our walking program. The fact is … technology is only as good as it is useful. It is only going to be useful if you use the right intervention on the right patient at the right time and not take a one-size-fits-all approach."

The study also showed improvements can continue after six months, previously considered a cutoff point.

Soldier who lost his legs introduces prosthetic bill in MN House

2011-03-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

Written by
Scott Seroka
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- State Representative John Kriesel has introduced House File No. 847, a measure he hopes will help other people who have lost limbs.

"It's fair, it's not asking for a heck of a lot, but it's (about) helping people get back to life," he said. Kriesel, you may recall, lost his legs after a roadside blast while serving in Iraq.

A group of amputees rallied in the rotunda at the state capitol. "This is about access and providing at least a baseline level care," Kevin Hines, President of the MN Society of Orthotists, Prosthetists, and Pedorthists said.

Hines says the bill asks for legislation basically guaranteeing that anyone who loses a limb is given coverage comparable to state or federal medical plans. He says some plans cap coverage at $2,500 or restrict patients to one limb for a lifetime.

Lisa Bodine, Manger of Health and Transportation Police for the MN Chamber of Commerce says in the state, all health plans and insurers currently cover prostheses. The chamber hopes a cost-benefit analysis on the file will be required.

"The cost of state-mandated benefits, beyond the essential benefits set, will result in additional financial costs for any individual that purchases care through a state health insurance exchange," Bodine writes.

Perhaps the star of the rally at the rotunda was 5th grader Nick Nelson, who made the difficult decision to sacrifice his legs a few years ago; He suffers from popliteal pterygium. Webbing on the back of his legs prevented him from straightening them.

"I think this bill is very important," he told the crowd from his wheelchair.

Nick's mother Greta says the medical coverage he gets now is adequate, but she worries about the future.

"As he grows, he's going to need more and more legs and at some point he's going to be a young man going off his parent's insurance plan."

Rep. Kriesel hopes his bill will make its way into a committee soon. The Minnesota senate is also considering a comparable measure. Hines says 19 states have adopted similar legislation while another 15 are debating it right now.

Bodine says Minnesota consistently falls within the top five states requiring the most coverage mandates to providers.

Heroes having a ball in Vail

2011-03-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Vail Veterans Program welcomes wounded vets to town
Randy Wyrick
rwyrick@vaildaily.com
Vail, CO Colorado

VAIL, Colorado — They don't struggle, they adapt and overcome.

More than two dozen wounded Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans are in town for the Vail Veterans Program.

They're easy to spot; they're aglow and terminally alive, because they almost weren't.

They have all sorts of things in common. For example, most of this week's crew were hit in the last year. Also, they have a healthy sense of irony. Most smiled as they filled out a bunch of “what-happens-if-I-get-hurt” forms. These people have been blown to hell and are fighting their way back.

“While it looks like just a nice ski vacation, it's much more,” said Harvey Naranjo, an occupational therapist with Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “It gives them a pretty clear picture about how they'll have to adapt for the rest of their lives.”

The physical injuries are fresh. The mental and emotional issues are just settling in for some.

“How do you get through airport security? Do you check your prosthetics or carry them with you?” said Naranjo, the sports program coordinator at Walter Reed's Department of Orthotics and Rehab. “I believe that mental health is 90 percent of the recovery process.”

Tales of tragedy and triumph
Twenty-eight veterans, 28 stories of tragedy and triumph.

Fred Simpson, 31, was 499 yards from the Pakistan border when his unit was ambushed from four directions. Their attackers were hiding just inches into Pakistan, raining down all manner of destruction on Simpson's unit.

Nick Binnington, 33, is a former ski racer and competed for the British Army. He was a tactical air coordinator when his unit was sent in to clear an area in Afghanistan.

The Taliban was prepared and they walked into what the military euphemistically calls a “complex ambush.” A rocket propelled grenade went off over his head.

He smiles when he recalls that his commanding officer made sure he was OK — or as OK as a man could be who just had a bunch of shrapnel imbedded in his spine during an ambush — but was asking whether Binnington would be able to ski. He can.

He was headed up to Vail Mountain Wednesday morning. He's headed back to Afghanistan soon because, he says, he needs to.

“Walter Reed can fix you physically, but you have to get back on the bike. For me, I need to go back to Afghanistan,” Binnington said.

Simpson and Binnington got to Vail the same way most of these people did; they knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy, and started asking around.

“It's sheer networking,” Simpson said.

“There is only one Vail Veterans Program,” said Naranjo, who coordinated this week's trip. “There are many sports programs, but this is one of the standouts. Lots of people want to be part of it and there's a waiting list. Everybody wants to be my friend.”

Driven to keep on
Cheryl Jensen helped launch the program eight years ago and has seen hundreds of wounded veterans roll through. She says she never gets over what war does to the human body.

“When I started this eight years ago, participation spiked two or three years in, like we thought it would,” she said. “I thought it was get better, but when I got the list for this group, the injuries and age were worse than they ever have been. And the numbers are increasing because of the type of conflict it is.”

Where most mere mortals would see despair, Jensen sees more and more people who need this program.

“I can't believe it's still happening, and it rejuvenated the drive to organize these programs,” she said.

The number of wounded warriors and their injuries are increasing.

“Vets are returning with multiple limb losses and secondary medical issues,” Naranjo said. “The Vail Veterans Program improves their physical abilities, of course, but also their social skills and self-esteem.”

They are all adapting and overcoming.

Binnington will go back to skiing and Afghanistan. He'll serve as an ambassador for the Wounded Warriors program. Simpson and others are moving on to whatever is next in their lives. Tyler Anderson launched a jiu jujitsu program.

“Opportunities like the Vail Veterans Program broadens their horizons. It gets them out to the mountains,” Binnington said, looking around the room where two dozen wounded vets were gearing up for a ski day. “All this leaves them with altered horizons, but horizons nonetheless.”

Kyle Maynard Splits Dis From Able

2011-03-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

By TRANG HO, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 03/02/2011 02:07 PM ET

Kyle Maynard has no feet, no hands and, to him, no limitations.

Born with a condition called congenital amputation, he has limbs that end at the knees and elbows.

Despite his physical anomalies, his parents never let him believe he was disabled. As a devout Protestant with an unabated can-do attitude, Maynard made himself into a nationally recognized wrestler, best-selling author, fashion model, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and documentary film star.

Maynard's condition stunned his parents, Scott and Anita, when he was born on March 24, 1986.

He tried wearing prosthetic limbs when he was little, but found they just caused more trouble.

Scott and Anita always expected as much from him as with their three daughters. They taught him to eat with a special spoon and use a zipper puller to close his pants and dress himself.

He eats with a knife and fork, bathes and gets dressed without anyone's help. He drives a Dodge Durango with raised pedals and his wheelchair in the trunk.

The Doer
Maynard’s Keys•Despite having no hands or feet, he’s a nationally recognized athlete, a best-selling author, fashion model, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and star of a documentary film.

•“You can know your limits, but never stop trying to break them.”
He types 50 to 60 words a minute, uses a cell phone and works out several times a week. Weighing 145 pounds, he can bench-press more than 400 pounds.

The past three years he's lived on the top floor of a three-story house with two other bachelors in Suwanee, Ga., north of Atlanta.

The house has no special equipment other than a bathroom stool so he can reach the counter. To reach kitchen cabinets, he hoists himself onto the counter as though he were doing a pull-up.

"It ruins the illusions that I go through a lot of challenges, because I don't," Maynard told IBD. "I don't think about not having arms and legs every day. It doesn't really register. I am not impaired in any way."

In middle school, Maynard played football as defensive lineman. In high school, he took after his dad and hit the wrestling mat.

The start was inauspicious. The teen lost 35 matches in a row but bounced back with a vengeance, winning 36 matches as a senior. From there he earned national recognition, including ESPN's Espy Award for best athlete with a disability, the President's Award from the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with the Medal of Courage, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the secretary of health and human services in 2008 for being a role model and motivational speaker.

Video: 'Hi, I'm Jarem. I built my own leg. I make the impossible possible

2011-03-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

I am Jarem Fry. I am the founder and president of SymBiotechs USA, a prosthetics design and manufacturing company. I am a cancer survivor and an AKA (Above Knee Amputee).
I design and manufacture products that allow for snowboarding, wake boarding, skiing, rock climbing, and other activities that were previously considered impossible for AK amputees. The hardest part about cancer for me was the loss of "normal." That ability to do things that were already an important part of life to me. The ability to live a normal life again is my cure to the worst parts of cancer. I like to think it's just as important to the patients who tell us we've given them their lives back as well. These patients include other cancer survivors, soldiers injured in the line of duty, extreme athletes who have suffered amputation, and others around the world.

Physical therapy can heal your aches and pains

2011-03-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

by Natalie Rivers
azfamily.com
Posted on February 28, 2011 at 12:29 PM

Updated yesterday at 12:34 PM

PHOENIX - Chronic aches and pains can lead to further complications if not treated early. We all get very busy ignoring those little aches and pains.

360 Physical Therapy and Aquatic Centers encourages people to listen to the shoulder pain that might be waking you up at night.

Without early intervention it is only going to get worse.

Most often people don't seek a physical therapist right after a back injury, but seeing someone right after could be a way to prevent further pain.

Putting off seeking care could lead to more damage that could lead to a tear which would need surgery.

Physical therapy is covered by most insurance plans. You can see a physical therapist for less than a personal trainer at a gym.

360 Physical Therapy has a therapist-only philosophy, meaning one therapist is going to be with you throughout your treatment period.

The first step in getting treatment is calling and asking about the process, who you are going to be with and for how long. As a patient you don't want to be handed off to technicians who might not understand your pain needs.

They have seven locations throughout the Phoenix-metro, with 33 therapists to treat patients.

360 Physical Therapy believes you get more out of your time and your money from start to finish, by seeing one physical therapist each time you have an appointment.

The therapist gets to know you and understand your pain, which could help you get better faster.

At 360 Physical Therapy water therapy is one type of exercise they employ. There are different types of exercises used to heal the pain problem and be appropriate for the age of a patient.

The first step in seeking therapy is to make an appointment. The first meeting is 75 minutes. Some insurances require a doctor's order, but 360 Physical Therapy can help you with all of that.

Don't put it off any more, e-mail askapt@360ptaz.com to inquire about treatment.

Support - not pity - needed

2011-02-28T09:43:00.000-08:00

Double amputee Tony Christiansen is happy to offer support to quake victims. Photo / John Borren / File. Earthquake victims who have lost limbs from being cut from the rubble don't need pity, a double amputee says.

Tauranga City councillor Tony Christiansen lost his legs in a train shunting accident when he was nine.

Stories to emerge from Christchurch include a 52-year-old man whose legs were amputated with the tools available, a knife from a fold-out Leatherman multi-tool and a hacksaw, in order to save his life.

Mr Christiansen, who is travelling to America this week, said he would be happy to offer his support to amputees in Christchurch.

"If that opportunity comes up, I would be there in a flash because life's been very good to me.

"It's all I want to do in life is make difference.

"They don't need pity, they need strong people around them."

The double amputee said the adult victims of the Christchurch quake who had lost legs and arms had it worse than he did.

"I was pretty young, but I think for anybody later in life to have something like that happen is far more traumatic," Mr Christiansen said. "Being 9, I had only had a fairly [short] part of my life, and so carrying on the rest of it the way I am has been reasonably easy for me."

Mr Christiansen said people who had lost limbs in the earthquake would be traumatised.

"A lot of them probably wouldn't even know, even now, that they have lost their limb because they would be in an induced coma to help the body cope with the shock of what's happened.

"When reality hits, it's going to be probably one of the hardest things to ever imagine what it's like."

He said he could not say he knew how they felt, as everybody reacted differently.

"We all deal with things in different ways.

Some of us are more resilient to having changes and challenges in our lives."

Mr Christiansen, a motivational speaker, believed his attitude had got him through.

His achievements include climbing Africa's highest mountain, speeding 292km/h along Utah Bonneville Salt Flats in a Chevrolet V8 roadster, obtaining a pilot's licence, becoming a qualified lifeguard and writing two books.

His next goal is to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in downhill slalom skiing.

"I know it's a tough thing to say but you have got to look at it [amputation] as an opportunity rather than a challenge," Mr Christiansen said.

"At the end of the day, your life's going to change in the blink of an eye.

"It's what you do about it that's going to make the difference."

USF researchers study amputee golfers to improve prosthetics

2011-02-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

TAMPA — The hills and slopes of a Florida golf course may not look daunting to most, but to someone playing with a prosthetic leg, approaching the greens can seem a mighty trek.

"That's one of the biggest challenges they face," says Mike Rieth, a licensed prosthetist at St. Petersburg Limb and Brace. "It can be quite difficult walking up and down the little hills."

Still, he said, golf is the top sport among his clients, since it doesn't involve the pounding movements of other sports.

Now researchers at the University of South Florida want to help amputees get more out of the game. Scientists at the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences invited a group of amputee golfers to Tampa Palms Country Club on Wednesday to find out if there was enough interest to pursue additional research in the field.

The answer was a clear yes.

Golfers received coaching from pros and tips from prosthetics researchers to improve their game and make better use of their prostheses.

Researchers from USF's School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation watched golf swings and listened in on conversations to learn of new challenges to study.

Rudy Salas, a Marine veteran who lost a leg below the knee when he stepped on a mine in Vietnam in 1967, has been playing golf for about three years. Salas, 64, is president of the Amputee Veterans of America Support Team at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, and brought several buddies to the course Wednesday.

"The real benefit is that we get the prosthetic people paying attention to how we play the game," he said. That knowledge, he hopes, will lead to better prosthetic devices for all amputees.

USF's is among the leading centers for prosthetic research in the country, not only conducting research, but also fitting patients with prosthetic devices. Jason Highsmith, a physical therapist and researcher, says the center studies new devices and what's on the market to make sure that what works in the lab works in real life. The goal is "to come up with the best device for all activities of daily living and recreation," he said.

Highsmith's colleague Jason Kahle said it was useful, for instance, to learn that some above-the-knee amputees had a hard time locking their artificial knees so they can transfer their body weight while swinging a golf club.

"What if I could change a computer program for a microprocessor knee so the knee would lock only while playing golf? That would be something worth researching," Kahle said.

"We're always gathering ideas for the next venture. What do we need to look at next?"

James Bond, 53, of St. Augustine, was riding a motorcycle when he was hit by a drunken driver in 1987 and lost a leg above the knee. He has been golfing for four years.

His prosthesis swivels in the ankle, giving him good range of motion. But like many amputees, he hesitates to really test the limits of the device.

The USF experts, he said, "will get us to use the prosthesis to its full potential.''

Irene Maher can be reached at imaher@sptimes.com.

New robotic foot could change lives of amputees

2011-02-17T08:55:00.000-08:00

Christi Myers
More: Bio, Facebook, News Team
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have left many young soldiers and marines with injured limbs that had to be amputated. For years, government researchers worked to develop a better prosthetic foot. And it's paid off.

One of the first people in the country to get the new robotic foot is a special forces veteran in Houston.

Randy Tipton is an amputee who is limited by his prosthetic left foot. Now, he is one of only a dozen people in the US to get a robotic foot that is programmed with a cell phone!

The Powerfoot BiOM is a bionic foot & leg that replaces the Achilles tendon and calf muscle.

"The other one feels like I'm dragging it along. This one is actually pushing me along, so it works just like my other foot. It's excellent," Tipton said.

This is a robotic foot that for all practical purposes can almost "think." And the funding over a four-year period was by the departments of defense and veterans affairs.

Initially for veterans or those with combat injuries, it will soon be available for everyone. It's sophisticated, but also user-friendly

In minutes, Tipton was programming it himself.

"This foot happens to be a quantum leap from all other feet. It is significantly, significantly different," Dr. Mark Beveniste, a prosthetist with the DeBakey VA, said.

Tipton, who did four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Special Forces, lost his foot back home, when a distracted driver hit his motorcycle. Now he is training to become a prosthetist and help others.

"I understand the challenges probably better than anybody other than other amputees," Tipton said.

Stairs are no longer a problem; he tested it on a hill outside, easily walking up and down it.

"Very cool, it's gonna help a lot of people," Tipton said.

The DeBakey VA Hospital is the fourth place to have the robotic foot, besides Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and two other military hospitals. But the company plans to make it available to civilians beginning in April.

From tragedy, transformation

2011-02-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

By Sarah Linn | slinn@thetribunenews.com

Pismo Beach author Wendelin Van Draanen's latest tale - of a young track store who loses her leg - explores the inspirational world of amputee athletes

Reading “The Running Dream,” the latest book by Pismo Beach author Wendelin Van Draanen, had a profound effect on 15-year-old Mandy Birkolz.

“When my daughter read the book, she started identifying with me in a new way,” said Mandy’s father, Greg Birkholz, who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 2000. “I had shared (my experiences) with my daughter, but for her to read it in the book and for her to look through it as the eyes of (the main character)… it suddenly made sense.”

“The Running Dream”By Wendelin Van Draanen, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $17

Wendelin Van Draanen will sign copies of “The Running Dream” on Saturday, Feb. 19, at Barnes & Noble, 894 Marsh St. in San Luis Obispo. The free book signing starts at 2 p.m.

“The Running Dream” offers an in-depth look at the world of amputee athletes, delving into one runner’s physical and emotional recovery from a life-shattering accident.

The book, published in January by Knopf Books for Young Readers, has already won accolades from former Mission Prep track star Jordan Hasay and “E.R.” actor Anthony Edwards.

“Once I started reading ‘The Running Dream,’ I could not put it down,” said Hasay, now a sophomore studying physiology at the University of Oregon. “Wendelin … really was able to capture the passion and love for the sport that myself and all runners share.”

With its serious subject matter and gritty details, “The Running Dream” is a departure of sorts for Van Draanen, the award-winning author of the Sammy Keyes mysteries, the Shredderman books and other young adult novels. She’s also written a handful of stand-alone titles, including “Confessions of a Serial Kisser” and “Flipped,” which was recently made into a movie.

“I battled with myself about writing this book,” said Van Draanen, who worked on “The Running Dream” for about three years. “There was so much about the subject matter that I had no knowledge base for.”

Nonetheless, she said, “Jessica just kind of took root in my brain.”

Jessica Carlisle, the 16-year-old protagonist of “The Running Dream,” loses her right leg below the knee in a tragic bus accident. The teenage track star initially gives up hope of ever running again, but her steadfast friends and loving family help her get back on her feet.

According to Van Draanen, the seed for “The Running Dream” was planted when she and husband Mark Parsons ran the New York City Marathon in November 2007.

As they reached the 12-mile mark, the pair came upon a sighted runner tethered to his blind friend.

“I can’t even make it across my room with my eyes closed,” Van Draanen said. “How do you make it 26.5 miles on a crowded race (route) with hundreds of other people?”

A sprinter during her time at Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, she typically heads out for a run four days a week, covering five or six miles in a stretch. Over the course of five marathons, she’s encountered “very inspirational people” at every mobility level – including those who use prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs.

“Here you’ve got two legs and it’s the toughest thing you’ve done,” Van Draanen said. “You realize that your tough is nothing like their tough.” In order to accurately capture the amputee experience, Van Draanen sought help from the likes of Arroyo Grande prosthetics expert John D. Hollingsead, Santa Maria track coach Greg Sarkisian, and Dana Cummings, executive director of the Association of Amputee Surfers in San Luis Obispo. She even followed AmpSurf co-founder Greg Birkholz through the process of getting a new leg.

“Every appointment I had for the making of that leg, from when the socket was fitted to the final prosthetic, she was there,” said Birkholz, who works as a substitute teacher in Santa Margarita. “It gave a new appreciation for an author like Wendelin who really does her homework first. If she didn’t have it right, she wanted it right.”

As the executive director of the World Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization with operations in Ghana, India and Nigeria, Birkholz has helped fellow amputees walk again.

Getting a prosthetic limb “changes their life dramatically,” Birkholz said. “They become independent.”

Although Americans’ attitude toward amputees has improved, due in part to increasing numbers of soldiers returning home with damaged or missing limbs, Birkholz said he and his peers still face a certain stigma.

“It’s so easy to overlook people who are different than we are. It’s so much easier not to interface or engage,” Van Draanen said. “Part of writing this story for me was breaking down the fear and realizing that behind the disability there’s a person.”

That point is driven home in “The Running Dream” by Jessica’s friendship with Rosa Brazzi, an intelligent young woman with cerebral palsy. (The character was inspired in part by Pismo Beach pilot and activist Adele Schneidereit, who has cerebral palsy, Van Draanen said.)

As Jessica tells a news anchor, the goal is “to have people see her instead of her condition. That’s all anybody with a disability wants.”

Ultimately, “The Running Dream” is a story about hope and the indomitable human spirit, Van Draanen said.

“The message of making it through your darkest hour and finding there is life after that is something that everybody can relate to,” she said.

20,000 people expected at Walk to Cure Diabetes Feb. 26

2011-02-10T13:46:00.000-08:00

Posted by Doug Stone

Last update: February 9, 2011 - 9:04 PM

It’s less than a month until our favorite walk of the year: The Walk to Cure Diabetes at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Mall of America, sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

When we first started going to the walk years ago, one of our kids was in a stroller and the other wasn’t here yet. They are now 15 and nearly 13 and they’ve become big organizers, bringing their friends along, designing t-shirts and helping to raise money.

Our children, Sadie and Evie, love the excitement of the 20,000 walkers, the bands, jugglers and all the activity. But they also participate because their mother and my wife, Ann, was diagnosed with Type I (insulin dependent) diabetes in 1984, just as she was finishing graduate school. Despite the many complications of diabetes, she was able to travel first to China to get Sadie and then to Vietnam to get Evie to make our family. The girls have never known her without serious health issues resulting from diabetes including heart problems, neuropathy or lack of feeling in her legs, a deteriorating ankle and kidney failure, to name a few.

In 2001 she had a kidney transplant (generously donated by a loving older sister) and a few weeks later a pancreas transplant (donated anonymously by someone who had died). Miraculously, she now has normal kidney function and her pancreas produces insulin so she no longer needs to take four shots a day. The transplants stabilized her condition, but she continues to suffer from many complications and takes two dozen pills a day.

Ann can still walk on her own, but for big outings she needs to use a wheelchair. This year for the first time she will use her new electric scooter, which gives her the mobility and independence to zoom around the mall with the rest of the walkers. The kids are very proud of the scooter and their mom’s driving.

Participating in the walk is our way to show solidarity and common bond with the millions of people who suffer from diabetes and its ravaging long-term complications. As many as three million people, many of them children, have Type 1 diabetes in which the pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Another 20 million, mostly adults but an increasing number of children, have Type 2, a metabolic disorder in which a person’s body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively.

The disease is a major contributor to kidney failure, heart attacks, nerve damage, strokes and blindness and it’s estimated that diabetes accounts for more than $170 billion in health care costs annually.

The organizers of the walk this year hope to raise more than $2 million for critical research, much of it done at the University of Minnesota.

We know what diabetes has done to our family. When we see the hundreds of young kids at the walk who suffer from this disease, we can only imagine what their families face in the years ahead. That is why the walk is so important. It is about taking a concrete step towards curing this dreaded affliction through research. And, just as important, it is about providing hope for those kids and their families, hope that some day they won’t have to take four shots a day, or check their blood sugars constantly, or suffer insulin reactions or face the prospect of losing their kidney function or their eyesight. Hope that some day they can live lives just like their friends who joined them on the walk.

Given all that, we never mind prodding and cajoling our friends and families to contribute or participate. It’s a great cause.

If you want to support the walk or participate or learn more, go to: www.walk.jdrf.org

Amputee's Inspirational Journey to Run Again

2011-02-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

By Kyla Igoe
Bio | Email

February 4, 2011

Updated Feb 4, 2011 at 6:21 PM EST

show:6pm

Kenmore, NY (WKBW) - West Seneca native Kevin Degnan has always had a passion for running. In college he was a competitive athlete for Canisius College's track team and ran about 60-80 miles a week. In 1986 though, Degnan was hit by a car while jogging and the accident left his left leg severely injured. After many surgeries, years of rehabilitation, and infections Degnan and his doctor decided to amputate his leg. He underwent surgery in September of 2010.

"Right from the start, I looked at things moving forward, take like as it is, and make it better," said Degnan.

Following his surgery, Degnan was determined to run again and in November, just months after his surgery he did just that. Now, Degnan can run for miles and thanks his recovery to AthletiCare at Kenmore Mercy Hospital and Tonawanda Limb & Brace who fitted him for his prosthesic. He also thanks his family, friends, children for their support and now wants to help others recover.

"If I can help someone else by doing what I love to do, that's a great thing," added Degnan. "Why should we say the sky is the limit when there is no limit? That's how I feel, there are no limits."

Degnan's goal now is to participate in the Shoes for the Shelter 5K Run in April.

2011-02-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

The FDA announced a priority review program for devices designed to speed technological innovation.

The agency's Innovation Pathway program, which echoes the National Institutes of Health's drug development initiative announced last month, will feature as its pilot candidate a brain-controlled prosthetic arm that would allow amputees “almost lifelike movement,” including a thumb.

The arm was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to treat battlefield injuries. It uses a microchip implanted on the surface of the brain to translate neural activity into movement. It fits the parameters of the Innovation Pathway program, which calls for “truly pioneering technologies with the potential of revolutionizing patient care.”

Experimental devices included in the program, to be run through the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, would receive a proposed roadmap and timeline for device development, clinical assessment and regulatory review, and would be assigned a case manager. Key scientific issues could be identified earlier in the process, the agency said, and candidates could qualify for flexible clinical trial protocols. Premarket reviews of products in the Pathway would take no more than 150 days – nearly half the time it currently takes the agency to conduct normal reviews.

The agency will seek public input before further implementing the Pathway program, which would also:

Establish a voluntary, third-party certification program for US medical device test centers aimed at promoting rapid improvements to technologies in the development and clinical testing phases;
Create a publicly-available core curriculum for device development and testing to train the next generation of innovators
Use more device experience and data collected outside the US

CDRH also plans to engage in “formal horizon scanning,” monitoring medical literature and scientific funding to determine where technology is heading.

It's the latest indication of the Obama administration's concern that the US is losing its edge in medical technology. In remarks announcing the program, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said she hoped the program would serve as a “catalyst for innovation.”

CDRH will host a public meeting on the Innovation Pathway initiative March 15 at its White Oak, MD campus.

Jim Abbott: When what's right in front comes from what's been left behind

2010-07-27T10:34:00.001-07:00

"Some of you may know that my career statistics weren't that great. There were some incredible highlights and some agonizing low lights. The truth is, I won't go to the hall of fame. But if a career can be measured by special moments, lessons learned, and a connection with people then I would stack mine up with oneness. Maybe there is an obligation to share. To try and learn from the experiences life puts us through." - Jim Abbott

Jim Abbott was born on September 19, 1967 in Flint, Michigan without a right hand. This didn’t stop him from always doing his best. He worked hard and overcame every obstacle in his path. From playing in the Olympics to playing in in major league baseball, Jim Abbott never gave up. Through hard work and perseverance, he was able to live just like everyone else and do what many people never get the opportunity to do.
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Early Life
Jim Abbott started his sports career in high school. He was a pitcher on his school’s baseball team and a quarterback on the school’s football team. In order to play baseball, Jim would balance the glove on his right arm. He would then pitch with his left hand. As part of his follow-through, Jim would slide the glove onto his left arm, enabling him to field any balls that came back. This method would be used by Jim Abbott throughout his career. After high school, Jim was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. Instead of taking this offer, he decided to go to the University of Michigan on a full baseball scholarship. From there he would go on to be a fabulous pitcher with a record of 26-8.
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Amateur Years
After three years at the University of Michigan, Jim Abbott joined the USA baseball team. In 1987, he became the first American pitcher to beat the Cuban team in Cuba. As a result, the United States team got a silver medal at the Pan-American Games. The following year, Jim Abbott was able to go to the 1988 Olympics as an amateur baseball player. Jim pitched a complete, game seven against Japan with a final score of 5-3. By winning this game, Jim Abbott led the USA Team to earn their first gold medal in Olympic Baseball history. Jim Abbott was quite the amateur baseball player.
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MLB Years
Following the 1999 Olympics, Jim Abbott signed with the California Angels. Abbott continued to play baseball for ten years. Over the course of the years Jim was a teammate with the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers. Jim achieved many accomplishments as a major league pitcher. In 1993, for example, he pitched a no-hitter at Yankee Stadium while wearing pinstripes. This was the first time any pitcher had pitched a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium for the last ten years. In another game, Jim Abbott had a thirteen strike-out game! He accomplished much as a major league pitcher.
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Conclusion
Jim Abbott is currently a motivational speaker. He encourages people to do their best and perservere despite hardships and disabilites. Looking back at Jim’s past, it is obvious that he needed perseverance and dedication to make it into the major league. Jim beat the odds and became an inspiration baseball player. Jim Abbott can teach everyone a lesson. Despite differences and challenges, anything is possible. Never give up on your dream because it can come true, just as Jim Abbott’s did.
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Alex Zanardi Unstoppable

2010-07-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi, (born October 23, 1966), is an Italian ex-Formula One driver who is better known for his dominance of CART series during the late 1990s. More recently he has attracted widespread praise for his racing comeback in the aftermath of a crash which resulted in him losing both legs.

Alex Zanardi was born in Bologna. His sister was a promising swimmer until her death in an automobile collision.

Zanardi began racing karts aged 13. In 1988, he joined the Italian Formula 3 series, becoming a championship contender by 1990. In 1991, he moved up to the Formula 3000 series with the Il Barone Rampante team, who were themselves newcomers to the series. Winning on his F3000 debut, he went on to score two more wins that season, en route to second in the championship.
Formula One part one
By the end of 1991 he had also been blooded in Formula One: two starts for Jordan his reward for a strong F3000 campaign.

For 1992 Zanardi had to be content with guest drives for Minardi, replacing the injured Christian Fittipaldi. In the off-season, he tested for Benetton, but contracted with Lotus for 1993. Zanardi compared reasonably to teammate Johnny Herbert and was important in fine-tuning the team's active suspension system, scoring his first ever F1 point at the Brazilian Grand Prix. However, his season ended prematurely after he suffered a terrible crash during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Still injured, Zanardi missed the beginning of the 1994 season, but he returned in the Spanish Grand Prix, replacing Pedro Lamy, who had been hurt in a testing crash. However, that year's Lotus was highly unreliable, and Zanardi failed to score a single point or qualify higher than 13th. When Lotus' F1 effort collapsed at the end of the year, Zanardi spent a brief time in sports cars in 1995, his Formula One career seemingly over.
Champ Car
In 1996, Zanardi made the switch to CART, having won a seat at Chip Ganassi Racing. The team's race engineer Mo Nunn advised Chip against signing him, as he believed Italian drivers were too prone to mistakes. Tellingly, Mo later signed Alex for his own team.

He rapidly became one of the series' most popular drivers. He took pole for his second race, although his first win didn't come until mid-season. In total he won three races in his rookie season, finishing second in the championship behind team-mate Jimmy Vasser (who did not win after round 5 of the season) and being named Champcar rookie of the year. He would win the championship for Ganassi in both 1997 and 1998, bringing home twelve victories.

A win came at Laguna Seca for the final race of the 1996 season, where he conducted a highly risky overtaking move at the Corkscrew corner (known to many racing fans as 'The Pass', on race leader Bryan Herta, having fought his way through the field. After winning a race, Zanardi was fond of spinning his car around in tight circles, leaving circular donut-shaped patterns of tyre rubber on the track; this would eventually become a popular means of celebrating race wins all across America.
Formula One part 2

Zanardi's CART success caught the eye of Sir Frank Williams, who inked him to a three-year contract in 1999. In pre-season testing, he was fast; however, everything went downhill from there. Plagued by numerous reliability issues, Zanardi also made a series of crucial errors, his F1 return in Australia a prime example. He was consistently outpaced by team-mate Ralf Schumacher and rumours spread that he would not last long at Williams. A late season up-turn in speed seemed to signal a breakthrough. At both Spa and Monza he looked competitive, but problems cost him a good result. At Monza he had qualified an impressive fourth and briefly held second, but brake difficulties curtailed his pace and he dropped to seventh. The season ended with Zanardi failing to maintain his Monza form; he was dropped for 2000. Jenson Button replaced him.

Prosthetic Center of Excellence dons new legs for Donny the Wonderdog

2010-07-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Donny the Chihuahua is almost like any other dog. Almost. He’s got two eyes, two ears and two legs.

Born to a backyard breeder, Donny’s hind legs are that of a normal dog, but his front legs are little more than stumps. It’s a condition rehabilitation therapist Maria Shinas has been working overtime to improve.

“We’re just walking him, trying to get better gait,” said Shinas.

Shinas is just one in a team of veterinary volunteers working with Donny through extensive therapy.

“At the shelter we wanted him to be more mobile and have a better quality of life,” NSPCA volunteer Jean McCusker explains

That quality is being realized with the help of therapy tools like an underwater treadmill that strengthens Donny’s trunk, and exercises to increase his range of motion. But perhaps the most unusual tools are the new legs that are in the works for him.

Kevin Bidwell normally makes custom prosthetics for human amputees.

“I own a lot of animals, or have animals as pets, but I've never built legs for one,” said Bidwell.

He says having a canine for a client has been rewarding, but it has its challenges.

“Donny tries to eat these as you can see, which is another problem I've never run into in the past; my patients previously never tried to eat their prosthetics.” said Bidwell.

Having lost one of his own legs in a motorcycle accident 20 years ago, Bidwell felt a special bond with Donny.

“I thought I was going to be disabled and I never felt disabled after I got my prosthesis,” said Bidwell.

It’s a feeling Donny will likely never understand, and that's just the way those that love him want it to be.

Web story by Courtney Holmes

2010-06-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

When a California Fire Department hired Glenn Malmskog little did they realize they would be making history. According to State Fire Marshal records, Mr. Malmskog is the first amputee full duty City Firefighter in the history of California. A member of the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators as well as the Screen Actors Guild, Mr. Malmskog strongly believes in civic duty and personal responsibility. He first gained experience in Texas as a Firefighter/Paramedic in the early 80s. He continued working in public service as a Deputy Sheriff /Paramedic until 1990 when he started his stunt career. Working exclusively in film and television for 8 years, he became SAG eligible in 1996 and joined the Guild in 1999. Just prior to joining SAG Mr. Malmskog injured his knee while working on a film in West Texas, and although after surgery he recovered fully from his initial injury, a painful degenerative bone disease related to the 18 months of relative immobility had infected his ankle resulting in his leg being amputated in March of 2000. Mr. Malmskog is looking forward to continuing his career as a Professional Stuntman while he attends California Fire and EMT school. He hopes he will serve as an inspiration to other disabled persons around the world to reach out and achieve their dreams.

COMEBACK: A movie-set accident cost William Glenn Malmskog his lower leg but didn't stunt his career.

BY RICHARD BROOKS
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

RUNNING SPRINGS--Surgeons cut off William Glenn Malmskog's lower right leg last year, but the veteran stuntman returned to work -- and recently became a volunteer firefighter.

"I could have said my career's over . . . and cried myself to sleep every night," said the 40-year-old divorced father of three. "Instead, I chose to fight. And I hope my struggle and my fight can serve as an inspiration to other lower-limb amputees."

Malmskog began training this month with 17-member Arrowbear Lake Fire Department, just east of Running Springs. Spokesmen for the state Fire Marshal's Office and California Professional Fire Fighters said there are few, if any, other amputee firefighters in the state.

"I think he's going to be an asset to our department," said Chief Seth Burt. "He teaches karate, he's a stuntman and he worked for law enforcement and fire previously. He seems to be able to follow direction very well. And because he has prior experience, he's already ahead of the game."

From lawman to stuntman

In the early 1980s, Malmskog was a volunteer firefighter in the Fort Worth-area community of Colleyville, Texas. During the late '80s, he became a deputy sheriff in the same region, assigned to jail duties.

"My ex didn't like me being with the sheriff's department," he said. "I was real intense. I tried to save the marriage and left the department."

He gravitated to stunt work, starting with amateur Wild West gunfight troupes and graduating to television work, including "Walker, Texas Ranger." Today, his credits include a variety of TV shows and eight films, including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

His leg problems began in December 1996 while he and another stuntman were running together in a scene for a Chinese kung-fu Western.

"He (accidentally) clipped me and swept my leg out from under me," Malmskog said. "I came down on my knees and just exploded my right knee."

A grim choice

Despite knee surgery, Malmskog never fully recovered. Then he fell down a flight of stairs in 1999 outside his apartment in Texas. Again he had surgery, but more problems developed.

"The bone began to degrade," he said.

His doctor gave him a choice: Fuse the ankle and live with the pain, or lose the leg. Fearful that amputation would ruin his career, Malmskog sought the advice of a stuntman who had lost a leg.

"He told me not to be afraid of it," Malmskog said. "They had really high-tech legs that would be able to return most of my function. And by losing a leg, I wouldn't completely lose my opportunity to work as a stuntman.

"In other words, (stunt) coordinators weren't going to be afraid to hire me just because I was an amputee."

Doctors sawed off his leg below the knee in March 2000. Last August, he received his first artificial leg. And last November, he began working on the soon-to-be-released film "Omega Code 2."

Asked if he could run in that film, Malmskog immediately said, "Sure."

"I had no clue whether I would be able to run," he said. "But I wasn't about to make the (stunt) coordinator look bad and say, `No, I'm disabled.' "

So he ran.

Back to firefighting

He has been working intermittently ever since. Among his stunts: high falls, crashing a motorcycle into a forklift and being set ablaze.

In April, Malmskog moved to the San Bernardino Mountains and applied to be a firefighter. Most full-time departments would have rejected him, Malmskog said.

"While anything can happen . . . the current physical aptitude requirements for paid firefighters are challenging for any person, and it would be an extraordinarily difficult challenge to overcome for anybody who is missing an extremity," said Carroll Willis of the California Professional Fire Fighters. "Obviously, volunteers are not subject to the same . . . standards."

The Arrowbear department's doctor certified that Malmskog is physically capable of meeting the job description for firefighters. Chief Burt decided to give him a chance.

"So far, he's done everything fine," said training officer Paul Miller.

Malmskog said he's thankful to Burt for the chance to prove himself. And he has a blunt comeback for skeptics.

"Try to keep up with me. I'm out here hiking and running these mountain roads, almost on a daily basis," he said. "I don't ask anybody to make concessions for me being an amputee. I do everything required of me or any other firefighter."

And if he can do it, he wants other amputees to know they can regain their lives, too.

"If you're 65 and have lost your leg to diabetes, don't curl up and say my life is over," Malmskog said. "Play golf. Play with the grandkids."

It's a message that he believes is just as important for non-disabled people.

"Day to day, we hold on to the illusion we're going to have perfect health," said Malmskog. "Anyone, at any time, can become disabled, whether it's the 14-year-old boy who is diagnosed with bone cancer, or the 40-year-old businessman or woman who is crossing Wilshire and gets hit by a car. The human body is very fragile."

Richard Brooks can be reached at rbrooks@pe.com or at (909) 890-4452.

2010-06-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

The son of a Welsh army officer, Tom Whittaker worked as a rig diver in the North Atlantic and as a night club bouncer in Gibraltar. In 1976 he arrived in the U.S. having worked passage delivering a 65 foot yacht across the Atlantic.

Pursuing his vision of becoming a world class mountaineer, he quickly established himself, taking on climbs like a winter ascent of the North Face of the Matterhorn, Mt. McKinley, and the nose of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley.

Then on Thanksgiving Day of 1979, Tom Whittaker’s life as he knew it came to an end.

Shortly after completing a Master of Arts degree at Idaho State University in Pocatello, an out of control vehicle swerved into his lane striking his VW bus head on.

With two shattered legs and one severed foot, Whittaker refused pain medication in order to talk with the surgeon. His tenacity paid off. The original prognosis to amputate both legs was delayed.

Instead he emerged from surgery with two severely damaged knees - including the removal of his right kneecap - and the amputation of his right foot.

Having led a life of extreme adventure and outdoor pursuits, including a stint as an Outward Bound instructor, Tom was now faced with the seemingly impossible task of reinventing himself.

Tom painfully and slowly put his life back together. He earned another Masters degree and founded the Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group (C.W. HOG). By harnessing the power of civic responsibility and volunteerism, he put the devastating lessons he learned to work for others. In the process Tom found a home and in 1986 became an American citizen.

Married with two young daughters, Whittaker spends his time between Granville Associates, his motivational speaking and corporate training business, and his WIND HORSE LEGACY, a charitable trust benefitting disabled people worldwide.

Aimee Mullins--With The Right Legs You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down

2010-05-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Aimee Mullins(born 1976 in Allentown,Pennsylvania) is an American athlete, actress, and fashion model best known for her extraordinary collegiate-level athletic accomplishments, despite a disability that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs.She was born with fibular hemimelia (missing fibula bones) and had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was just one year old. While attending Georgetown University she competed against able-bodied athletes in NCAA Division I track and field events and set Paralympic records in 1996 in Atlanta in the 100-meter dash and the long jump. She says she will have realised one of her ambitions when people describe her as "Aimee Mullins, the model", rather than "Aimee Mullins, the disabled model".

Aimee's most recent film project is the upcoming Into the Woods, scheduled for theatrical release in 2010.
Her film debut was a starring role in the highly-acclaimed film by contemporary artist Matthew Barney, Cremaster 3, first presented in the US at the Guggenheim Museum in 2003. Cremaster 3 is "an astonishing work of creativity," and was lauded by The Guardian as "the first truly great piece of cinema to be made in a fine art context since Dali and Bunuel filmed Un Chien Andalou in 1929. It is one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-garde cinema."

Aimee first received worldwide media attention as an athlete. Born without fibulae in both legs, Aimee's medical prognosis was bleak; she would never walk and indeed would spend the rest of her life using a wheelchair. In an attempt for an outside chance at independent mobility, doctors amputated both her legs below the knee on her first birthday. The decision paid off. By age two, she had learned to walk on prosthetic legs, and spent her childhood doing the usual athletic activities of her peers: swimming, biking, softball, soccer, and skiing, always alongside "able-bodied" kids.

After graduating high school with honors, Aimee was one of three students in the US chosen for a full academic scholarship from the Department of Defense, and at age 17 became the youngest person to hold a top-secret security clearance at the Pentagon. She worked there as an intelligence analyst during her summer breaks.

It was at this time that she rediscovered her love of competitive sports. While a dean's list student at the prestigious School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, she set her sights on making the US Team for the 1996 Atlanta Games. She enlisted the expertise of Frank Gagliano, one of the country's most respected track coaches. Through this partnership, she became the first woman with a "disability" to compete in the NCAA, doing so on Georgetown's nationally-ranked Division I track team. Outfitted with woven carbon-fiber prostheses that were modeled after the hind legs of a cheetah, she went on to set World Records in the 100 meter, the 200 meter, and the long jump, sparking a frenzy over the radical design of her prototype sprinting legs.

After a profile in Life magazine showcased her in the starting blocks at Atlanta, the world took notice. Aimee soon landed a 10-page feature in the inaugural issue of Sports Illustrated for Women, which led to her accepting numerous invitations to speak at international design conferences. Being introduced to this discourse relating to aesthetic principles, she became interested in issues relating to body image and how fashion advertising impacted standard notions of femininity and beauty. In 1999, Aimee made her runway debut in London at the invitation of one of the world's most celebrated fashion designers, Alexander McQueen. Walking alongside the supermodels of the world, Aimee's groundbreaking, triumphant turn captured the attention of the fashion media, propelling her onto the magazine covers of ID and Dazed and Confused. After making her mark in the fashion magazine standards of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, W, Glamour, and Elle, she was also named as one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World."

An influential voice in today's culture, she has been named as one of Esquire's "Women We Love," one of Jane magazine's "10 Gutsiest Women," one of Sports Illustrated's "Coolest Girls in Sport," and was celebrated as the "Hottest Muse" in Rolling Stone's annual Hot List.

In addition to her professional career, Aimee serves on numerous boards and spends much of her time assisting various non-profit organizations, most notably the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF). Aimee served for years as Vice-President for J.O.B., the nation's oldest non-profit employment service for persons with disabilities, founded in 1947 by Eleanor Roosevelt, Orin Lehman, and others. After serving as a Trustee for the WSF, founded by Billie Jean King, she was elected as the foundation's President, a position she stewarded from 2007 to 2009.

Already at a young age, Aimee's impact on modern society and her influence on future generations is undeniable. Her likeness has been immortalized in exhibits at institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the NCAA Hall of Fame, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Modern, the Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the Women's Museum, where she is honored for her contribution to sport among the "Greatest American Women of the 20th Century." She resides in New York City.

Heather Mills-- Amputation inspires not despairs

2010-05-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

In 1993 Heather Mills, a successful model, was involved in a road accident with a police motorcycle. Her injuries included crushed ribs, punctured lung, multiple fractures of the pelvis and the loss of her left leg below the knee.

Heather, also a successful businesswoman, had already had an extraordinary life story, and it has resulted in her being awarded many outstanding accolades and awards. Former PM John Major presented her with the Gold Award for Outstanding Achievement; The Times presented her with their Human Achievement Award and the British Chamber of Commerce not only named her Outstanding Young Person of the Year but also named an award after her - the Heather Mills Award. For her charity work in 1996 she received a nomination for the Nobel Prize.

Heather had an unusual and traumatic upbringing - her Mother left when she was nine and Heather was left to look after her siblings and Father. By the time she entered her teens she was his full time PA, organising his social events, designing and publicising his various business endeavours. He ended up in prison and Heather left home.

Her first job was at a croissant shop. The Manager specifically said she could eat as much as she liked, she ate 25 in one day and was promptly sacked. She bought the rights to and later sold two American products. First was the ,Stick on Bra, and then came ,Frozen Yoghurts,. She later sold the rights on for a substantial profit.

Heather turned to modeling after winning The Mirror's, Dreamgirl, contest and did this for several years. Due to the unreliable income she set up her most successful business venture, ExSell Management UK and later sold the company for an offer that was too good to refuse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slnw4KPqlEc

1990 she went to Yugoslavia for a holiday and moved there permanently. She witnessed the outbreak of Civil War. After which she helped set up a refugee crisis centre travelling from Slovenia to Bosnia-Herzegovina negotiating with military and government agencies for hospitalisation, housing and re-sheltering in the local communities. For two years she commuted between Slovenia and England keeping up her modelling career to earn money to help the refugees. She established the Heather Mills Trust to raise money for the young disabled victims of the war.

After her accident, she instigated a nation-wide appeal for the donation of unwanted prostheses and employed the services of the inmates at Brixton Prison to dismantle the limbs and make them ready for transport. October 1994, just a year after her accident, the first convoy of artificial limbs and medical equipment left for Zagreb. Over 22,000 amputees and victims of landmine explosions have been helped since that convoy. After this, she wrote her autobiography ,Out on a Limb, which landed straight onto The Times best seller list, the proceeds going to the Trust.

Heather's voice is heard in the media and also the political sphere - in Westminster and the UN she is well respected for her stance on landmines. In addition to the above she has managed to run a half-marathon (in Newcastle), as well as her media, modelling and charity work. She also hopes to work in politics at some point in the future.

It is heard to believe that someone so young has achieved so much and is continuing to do so. Heather herself sees her accident as happening for a reason, and as well as her charitable achievements, she has brought a motivational tale of remarkable inspiration and hope to many people through her personal appearances and public speaking.

2010-04-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ian Gregson was born to John and Barbara Gregson in St Helens, Lancashire, England on September 2nd, 1962. For his first fifteen years Ian lead a perfectly normal life for a working-class English school kid. Growing up in the seventies, he enjoyed music, football and the things that teenagers got up to back then. Ian excelled at running, he won his school cross-country championship and competed at the Lancashire Junior Track and Field championships in 1978.

However on May 17th, 1978 during his school lunch hour, Ian was involved in a terrible accident that resulted in the loss of his right leg above the knee. Undaunted by this physical setback Ian continued his involvement in track and field by taking up shot put and weight training. In September 1981 in an effort to escape Thatcher-ism Ian emigrated to Canada with his parents and brother.

On landing in Burnaby, British Columbia, the Gregson's found themselves in the middle of economic downturn. Unable to secure permanent employment, Ian gained national media attention in the fall of 1982 after completing the first ever Terry Fox Run in Port Coquitlam. Shortly thereafter, Ian began to focus on competing in disability sport events and in 1983 became Canada's top amputee athlete. In 1984 and 1988 Ian represented Canada at the Paralympics, in 1986 after receiving a 4th place at the World Championships in Sweden he became the first athlete with a disability in Canada to receive a post secondary athletic scholarship. In 1987 Ian received the Chevron Canada Award for Burnaby Post Secondary Sports. More

Whilst competing for Canada Ian returned to post-secondary education at VCC Langara and then later to receive his BA in Communications from Simon Fraser University. Ian was the first person in his family to recieve a degree.

After his years in academia, Ian moved on to work in the real world with Canada's largest communications company Rogers. After, three years and the realisation the Charles Dicken's method of management was alive and well in the 1990's, Ian formed his own company GB Communications. With this company Ian began freelance writing, web design and desktop publishing. It was in this period Ian wrote for numerous magazines ranging from regular columns in Canada's leading disability magazines to a controversial article on disability and sex in Larry Flynt's Hustler. As a result Ian gained a reputation as a writer who was not afraid to tackle uncomfortable issues. Ian's book Irresistible Force - A History of Disability Sport in Canada was published in 1998. The book took a serious look at the highs and lows of the Canadian disability sport movement over the last fifty years.

At this point Ian put his company on the back burner and he began work for one of Vancouver's more reputable ISP's, Axion Internet. In 2000 Ian returned to his Alma Mater at SFU to work for the Office of Research Services. In 2008 Ian left the confines of SFU to start a new career.

POLITICS

Ian's first introduction to politics came by a chance meeting with Svend Robinson on vacation in Mexico in 1988. Ian volunteered on Svend's campaign in 1992 and 1996, in fact Ian and his family were featured in Svend's advertising in the 96 election. However, in 1996 the provincial NDP cut back Pharmacare coverage [which pays for prosthetic legs] by 10%. Dismayed by this cutback to healthcare, Ian wrote to then Minister Responsible Joy MacPhail and in her terse reply Ian questioned his loyalty to the NDP overall. The NDP's performance from 96 onward solidified Ian's resolve in finding an alternate political voice.

Following the federal election of 2000 Ian attended the inaugural meeting of the Vancouver Hastings Green Party Constituency Association, at that first meeting he met the leader of the party Adriane Carr.

In 2001 Ian was selected as the Green Party of BC candidate for Vancouver Hastings and received 14.8% of the popular vote. Ian has since contributed his talents to various elections including municipal and federal and numerous by-elections. Ian was also a volunteer with the Citizens Initiative for Electoral Reform which included 4000 other volunteers who signed up 98,000 British Columbians in support of electoral reform. Ian recieved almost 9% of the vote in the 2005 BC election. In 2008 Ian ran for the WLP in the Vancouver Civic election and received over 10,000 votes.

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Volunteer Work and Community Service
Practically since setting foot off the plane that brought him to Canada Ian has been volunteer for one good cause after another.
In 1982 Ian and another amputee formed the BC chapter of the Canadian Amputee Sports Association, an organisation Ian was a major part of until 1996.

Also in 1982 Ian joined the student radio station at Simon Fraser University, he served as DJ, Program Director, Station Manager and just about every other position until leaving to work at Rogers in 1990.

In 1992 Ian became the first person with a disability to chair the BC Sport and Fitness Council for the disabled [now BC Disability Sports]. This organisation is the umbrella group that organises the BC Disability Games in cooperation with a host community.

In 1996 Ian became a board member with the BC Coalition of People with disabilities, an advocate group for BC's disability population. In 1998 Ian joined the Gordie Howe disabled athletes Fund, it was here that Ian received his major inspiration for writing his book "Irresistible Force".

In 2001 Ian became a board member of the Simon Fraser University Alumni Association. In 2002 Ian volunteered his time at the monthly SFU Open Mic night which plays host to the young talented performers of Burnaby and Vancouver.

In 2003 Ian played a significant role in the NO vote for the 2010 Olympics. Ian was interviewed by local and national media as the only athlete that was voicing concerns over the 2010 Games. Today Ian is manager of the web site 2010watch.com the only real watchdog of the Vancouver Olympics.

Jessica Cox: Disabling Her Disability

2010-03-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

The doctors don’t exactly know why Jessica was born without arms. Sonograms and other prenatal tests did not reveal this rare congenital condition. However, from infancy her feet became her hands. Like all children, she went through the various stages of development. She learned to feed herself and write with her feet. Throughout childhood, she participated in many activities including swimming, gymnastics, and tap dancing. Jessica started tae kwon-do when she was ten, earning her first black belt at fourteen in the International Tae Kwon-Do Federation. She rejoined American Tae Kwon-Do Association in college and earned a second black belt.

When first learning to drive, Jessica was encouraged to use special modifications. Even after her car was modified, she decided to remove them and drive without. She holds an unrestricted driver’s license.

As an undergraduate at the University of Arizona, Jessica attended classes taking notes with her feet. At 25 words per minute, Jessica was able to type out her papers with a regular computer keyboard on the floor.

Jessica’s greatest challenges are not the ordinary daily tasks required for her to live independently. Putting in contact lenses, washing and brushing her hair, and fixing breakfast in the morning are all tasks that come second-nature to her as they would to anyone else. Her greatest triumph in life stands far above any physical feat. It is her unrepentant regard for herself a whole person, her high degree of self-acceptance that gives her the freedom and power to insist that society accept her, too, just as she is. She has even obtained her pilots certificte and enjoys flying very much

With one foot manning the controls and the other delicately guiding the steering column, Cox, 25, soared to achieve a Sport Pilot certificate. Her certificate qualifies her to fly a light-sport aircraft to altitudes of 10,000 feet.

Paralympian categories help realize dreams

2010-03-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

Vancouver - Olympic organizers who categorize athletes by gender and sometimes weight have it easy compared to their Paralympic counterparts.

At the Paralympics, medal competitors are grouped using a complex classification system that even the International Paralympic Committee's medical director admits is "a work in progress.''

Paralympic athletes are divided into six impairment groups to ensure - like Olympic competition - winning is determined by skill, fitness and mental focus.

The impairment groups are classified as amputation, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, spinal injury, intellectual disability, and "les autres,'' or "the others.''

The differing classifications allow Winter Paralympics sports like alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and biathlon to have separate sitting, standing, and visually-impaired gold medallists.

"Classification takes the ability of an athlete, considering his impairment and the limitations that go with the impairment, as the basis of grouping athletes into classes, into groups that have a certain degree of homogeneity,'' said Dr. Peter Van de Vliet, IPC medical and scientific director.

"That allows (athletes) to at least start on an equal basis so that the one athlete that excels in athletic performance is the gold medal winner.''

Amputee athletes have at least one major joint or part of an extremity missing and are classified on whether the impairment is an upper or lower limb. The location of the amputation - whether it's above or below the knee, for example - is also a factor.

Athletes who have cerebral palsy are organized based on the severity of their condition and the muscle groups it involves.

Those with spinal injuries are classified depending on where in the spine the injury occurred. Athletes with spina bifida, a birth defect in the spine, are included in the group.

Intellectually-disabled athletes won't compete in Vancouver but Van de Vliet said Paralympic officials have agreed they'll take part in four events in London in 2012.

"Les autres'' refers to athletes who have impairments that don't fit into the aforementioned categories.

It's up to teams of classifiers to assess each athlete's functional ability. That athlete can be tested numerous times throughout their career if their condition improves or worsens.

For alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and biathlon, athletes who compete in the standing class can have double arm or leg amputation, single arm or leg amputation, or equivalent impairments.

For the sitting class, athletes can have paraplegia or double leg amputation, while those hoping to compete in the visually-impaired events can have either no functional vision, three to five per cent vision, or no more than 10 per cent vision.

A mathematical formula is used to balance out the playing field in these events. An athlete's finish time is calculated with a formula that factors in the severity of the impairment.

As a result, the fastest time might not necessarily win the gold medal.

"I consider classification as a work in progress,'' Van de Vliet said.

The key, he said, is setting such guidelines well in advance of the Games so athletes aren't struck with last-minute surprises and can focus on their performance.

While some sports are only open to those with the same impairment, other sports, such as sledge hockey, allow athletes from different disability groups to compete together.

In some Summer Paralympics team sports, such as wheelchair basketball, athletes are given a score of one, two or three and the team is required to have a certain point requirement on the floor at all times.

That is not the case for Winter Paralympics team sports like sledge hockey and wheelchair curling.

Terrie Moore, co-chair of the Canadian Paralympic Committee's classification task force, said while the process remains complex, it's also as good as it's ever been.

"I think that classification is the cornerstone to Paralympic sport,'' she said. "It's what allows athletes with a variety of different impairments to participate in sports that they love and to excel.''

Moore said athletes who have neurological impairments can be among the most difficult to assess, while amputees tend to be the easiest.

She said the IPC has made tremendous strides in sport science, allowing far more athletes to live their Paralympic dreams than ever before.

"It's come a long way,'' she said.

"It was very simplistic before and actually excluded a lot of people with a variety of impairments.''

Yes, God, I Can! By Bonnie St. John Deane

2010-03-08T10:16:00.001-08:00

During my growing-up years, I lived my life in a mental landscape that I created for myself. In my imagination, I was a strong and graceful runner. I was beautiful and popular, and I could be anything that I wanted to be.

In reality, I had been born with a stunted right leg. My left leg was fully developed and continued to grow, but my right leg was extremely underdeveloped and short. I was unable to walk normally until I was six years old-after I had had surgeries to stiffen my knee so that it wouldn't bend and to remove my right foot so that I could be fitted with an artificial leg.

Living in my imaginary world, I was able to control my thoughts and feelings while I was awake, but during the nights in the hospital, I would scream out in my sleep. A nurse would come to wake me from the nightmares so I could go back to sleep.

Much later in life, I understood what had caused the nightmares. It was only after my stepfather died when I was eighteen that I allowed myself to remember he had molested me. Feeling so much emotional pain and trauma during my early years, I had stuffed the memories of abuse into the darkest corners of my mind.

Escaping the Pain

I escaped the pain through reading and through living in my imagination. I read books at night after everybody else was asleep. I shut myself in the bathroom, turned on the light, and read on the floor. I read in the car and on the playground while other kids jumped rope and played kickball.

Then when I was eight years old, my mother gave me a brochure. On the cover was a silhouette of an amputee skier with this headline: "If I can do this, I can do anything!" I put the brochure away in a box where I kept a lock of my dog's hair and a rock from the Grand Canyon. I didn't realize it then, but the amputee pictured on the cover was showing me what I would someday be able to do.

In junior high school, I didn't feel popular or attractive. I wasn't good in sports, and I was always the last person picked when teams were chosen. The prayer chapel in the Episcopal school I attended became my sanctuary.

I was around fifteen when a friend invited me to go skiing with her and her family. She was kind and upbeat, never questioning that her one-legged friend could ski. This friend changed my life.

Living in the Real World

Resolving to step out of the mental landscape I was creating with my imagination, I began to live in the real world. I wanted to ski! When I first started, I lacked balance and strength, so I leaned over my heavy outrigger-style ski poles. I tried to race using regular poles, but I kept falling. Finally, I threw aside my ski poles, went to the "bunny," or beginners', hill, and learned how to ski with nothing in my hands.

Learning how to ski with just one ski and no poles, I gained a tremendous amount of strength and balance. Then I was able to ski with poles, planting them in the snow so that I could pop up into the air and twist. This was a very exhilarating, free way to ski. In competition, I had to use outriggers, but I learned that they were not a crutch; they were an incredible tool that helped me go all the way to the Olympics and win.

The joy and passion I felt while training for the Olympics helped me discover my spiritual strengths too. At times, I had felt as if I was using prayer as a crutch. Then as I began to reach out more and more to God, I understood that while prayer is an incredible tool that had helped me heal, I had some work of my own to do. Just as I had had to learn to work with the outriggers instead of leaning on them, I had to learn to work with divine power instead of leaning on God.

Releasing the Past to God

I have a wonderful husband now and a precious daughter, but when she turned four-the same age I was when I was molested-many painful memories came back to haunt me. There were times when I felt so down that all I could do was sit and cry. The love I felt from knowing the presence of God is the only thing that pulled me back up.

I could have let those destructive memories and the emotions ruin my family and me, but I began to release them. I went to God in prayer, and God strengthened me so that I could heal.

I am making progress in my recovery, but I still have a way to go. The memories I have experienced in the last couple of years have been more difficult than anything else I have ever had to face. Through turning to God, I am strong enough not only to face those memories but also to overcome them. And I know that because I can do that, I can do anything.

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At sixteen, Bonnie St. John Deane was a young girl with one leg and big dreams. Within five years, she became an Olympic skiing medalist, a Harvard honors graduate, and a Rhodes scholar. Bonnie has worked on Wall Street, in Europe, and in Asia, and she has been an award-winning sales representative for IBM. A writer, speaker, and president of SJD&Co., she also serves as a national spokesperson for Disabled Sports USA. Bonnie has been featured by NBC Nightly News as one of the five most inspiring women in the nation. She currently resides in San Diego with her daughter and husband.

The amazing crew of 14 ex-servicemen making history as the first all-amputee sailing crew

2010-02-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

EXCLUSIVE by Sarah Arnold 21/02/2010

They have stared death in the face, been shot at, blown up by bombs and suffered terrible injuries in conflicts around the world.

They have all lost limbs but none of them have lost their fighting spirit.

Now the 14 ex-servicemen with just 15 legs between them are making history as the first all-amputee sailing crew to compete in one of the worlds most prestigious yacht races.

Last night the band of brothers were making final preparations in Antigua for the RORC Caribbean 600, an epic voyage that will push them to the limit. The crew range in age from 27 to 72 and hold ranks from private to colonel, but share an extraordinary bond which they describe as a fellowship of shared experience.

The gruelling challenge, which will take up to four days over 605 nautical miles, looping round the Caribbean, starts at 10am tomorrow.

To add to the pressure the boat, which has no special modifications to make it easier for them to control, had an eleventh-hour change of skipper after amputee Colin Rouse broke his remaining leg skiing and had to drop out. He lost his left leg eight years ago when a gas leak on a yacht caused an explosion.

Colin, 52, a former RAF engineer from Torquay, Devon, said: The guys who make up this extraordinary crew are heroes. This is an immense challenge for able-bodied people, let alone with the challenges these guys face every day.

"They have incredible grit and determination. They have fought for their country and now they are fighting for their future. The aim is to help them realise their potential.

Paul Burns, 48, from Nottingham, will now skipper the 65ft yacht called The Spirit of Juno, but nicknamed the allotment by the crew because they will have to dig deep to reach the finish line.

Paul, a former corporal in the Parachute Regiment, had his left leg amputated below the knee, lost part of his right foot and suffered horrific burns in the Warrenpoint Massacre, when 18 soldiers died in an IRA bomb attack near the border of the Irish Republic.

Paul said: It was August 27, 1979, at around 4.30pm and I was just 18. We were in a convoy going down to the border and there was a 500lb bomb by the side of the road. There was a huge blast and of the eight of us in our vehicle only two survived.

Then 25 minutes later there was a secondary device and that caught the rest of the guys who had been there to support and tend to us. Twelve more died and it was the biggest loss of life since the last war.

I lay where the blast had thrown me, burning and my body smashed. My left leg was amputated four days later. I spent two years in hospital and rehab.

Following his recovery Paul was posted to the Joint Services Parachute Centre to train as a rigger, maintaining and packing parachutes.

He has also done nearly 1,000 jumps, even parachuting with the Red Devils, before taking up sailing in 1985, with the British Limbless Ex-Servicemens Association, going on to join an all-disabled crew for a round-the-world race.

He said: I really have lived these last 30 years. I have tried to inspire all around me and show the IRA they could not break me.

Paul, who owns a three-legged dog he calls Tripod, added: This will be the biggest sailing challenge of my life, skippering a boat and crew twice as big as anything I have done before in one of the top races in the world.

Many of the crew have suffered horrific injuries, but we see this as no barrier to them competing.

Ultimately they will cope better with day-to-day life because through this, they will face problems and find a way round them. But we are not just inspiring our own. We are inspiring all those around us.

COLIN HAMILTON

Colin Hamilton, 33, is a sergeant in the 3rd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland The Black Watch.The dad-of-two, who has served for 16 years, had an above-the-knee right leg amputation after trying to save a colleague who was electrocuted in 2001. He said: I returned to Iraq in 2004 and Im due in Afghanistan next year.

JASE EVANS

Dad-of-three Jase Evans, 37, from Norwich, was a sergeant vehicle mechanic in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He lost his right leg below the knee after a car crash in 2001. He said: The camaraderie gives you a boost. I recently went diving in Egypt and we took a chap who was blind. It was a privilege to be part of that.

LEE MENDAY

Lee Menday, 50, from Holbrook, Suffolk, was a training instructor in the Royal Navy. He had a below-the-knee amputation of his left leg in 2005 due to sporting injuries dating back to 1983 when he was in the Falklands. I now have a sea leg, he said. As a teacher I want to be a good role model and these guys are helping me do it.

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MATT GOODWIN

Father-of-three Matt Goodwin, 43, from Wolverhampton, served with the Royal Marines HQ and Signals Squadron

until he lost his right leg below the knee after falling from a building during an anti-terrorist training exercise in 1986.

He said: The injury made me lose my confidence. Now Im taking back control of my life.

NIGEL SMITH

Nigel Smith, 50, was a mechanic in the Royal Navy. His right leg was amputated in 1977 after he was hit by a drunk driver. He said: I learned to sail with Blesma, which opened the door to me circumnavigating the globe on an all-disabled boat. Our motto was Crossing the latitudes to change attitudes.

I cant think of anywhere better.

PAUL HAGAN

Granddad Paul Hagan, 48, from Leicester, was a petty officer in the Merchant Navy for 10 years. He had his left leg amputated in 1998. He said: I have fought my demons. Its knowing, my God, here I am, no use of my legs, but scudding through the waves purely by our own physical strength. We are living proof we are not beyond rehabilitation.

PHIL AUCOTT

Dad-of-two Phil Aucott, 40, from Nottingham, was a corporal in the Royal Corps of Transport. His left leg was amputated above the knee after a motorbike accident in 1994. He said: It took a long time to get my head around. But I went on to coach able-bodied athletes, have played county cricket and gone rock climbing.

STEVE GILL

Steve Gill, 40, known as Big Daddy, from Leics, was a private with the 2nd Battalion the Royal Anglians. He lost both legs and his right eye in 1989, when an IRA bomb went off inside a beer barrel in Belfast. Steve said: If my children can see me doing what Im doing with half a body, I want them to think, Imagine what I could achieve.

TOM HIGGINS

Tom Higgins, 61, a father-of-three from Macclesfield served in the Army for four and a half years until his right leg was amputated above the knee in 1971 after an accident. Tom said: Ive become quite an experienced sailor with Blesma. It gives me a sense of freedom and competing against able-bodied crews is as good as it gets.

WAYNE H HARROD

Wayne H Harrod, 40, from Melksham, Wilts, is a colour sergeant with 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment. He lost his left leg below the knee in 2004 after a training accident. He said: Losing my leg was just a glitch. Its the fifth time Ive sailed with these guys. We laugh that when we get on board theres plenty of leg room!

JOHN REEVES

John Reeves, 49, from Guildford, Surrey, served in the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment.He lost the sight in his right eye while setting up a booby trap with a faulty detonator in training in 1983. He said: There is a unique bond and there is a feeling of unity in making sure our injuries dont conquer or overwhelm us.

JOHNATHAN JONO LEE

Johnathan Jono Lee, 27, from Newark, Notts, is a lance corporal in the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.He lost his right leg below the knee in Helmand province in 2007 after his Snatch Land Rover was blown up. He said: Ive been back to work for 12 months now and want to return to Afghanistan.

Paul Burns

The boats captain, Paul Burns, 48, from Nottingham, was a corporal in the Paras but lost his left leg in an IRA bombing. He took up sailing after nearly a thousand parachute jumps. He said: Parachuting, you have a piece of fabric to soar through the clouds. With a yacht the fabric helps you soar through the water so it was a natural progression.

Col HENRY HUGH-SMITH

The oldest crew member and Blesmas national chairman is Colonel Henry Hugh-Smith, 72, ex-commanding officer of the Blues and Royals and the Duke of Edinburghs former equerry. He lost his right arm after being shot in Northern Ireland. He said: It is a privilege to lead these men from serious injury to something they never realised they could do.

sarah.arnold@sundaymirror.co.uk

Amputee boy who is a little Billy Elliot

2010-02-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

By Aidan Mcgurran 8/05/2009

Four-year-old boy takes up ballet after losing limbs through meningitis
Harvey Phillips, who lost both his legs and one arm after suffering from meningitis, has defied the odds to take up ballet lessons.

Published: 2:26PM BST 07 May 2009

The ballet classes have improved Harvey's posture and are also helping him walk on his new prosthetic limbs Photo: MASONS
Harvey, from Louth, Lincolnshire, had his lower legs, right arm and fingers on his left hand amputated in 2005 when he was just nine months-old.

His mother Lisa Phillips, 34, feared he would never be able to run around with friends or enjoy music and dance.

But Harvey proved her wrong after watching his older sister Kayla, five, at her local ballet class.

He was so determined to take part that he took to the dance floor without the aid of traditional prosthetic limbs.

Now he is able to run, jump and twirl using custom-made plastic caps to protect his legs.

The ballet classes have improved his posture and are also helping him walk on his new prosthetic limbs.

Mrs Phillips said Harvey has never been happier.

"He wants to try everything. He doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'no'," she said.

"He's in his element when he's being active and dancing. He's totally comfortable in his own body.

"And if he can't do things the way his friends do it, he'll find his own way of doing things. 'I'll do it my way,' he tells me.

"I'm so proud of him. I always knew he'd have to fight hard all his life but I'm happy in the knowledge that he's ready for that fight."

When he was three years-old doctors made a permanent incision across the palm of his left hand so he could hold his crayons, pens, toys and his spoon.

He was later enrolled in a mainstream school, where he has excelled – especially with his handwriting.

Harvey became so independent that he began going to weekly ballet classes last November, where he takes part with other able-bodied children his age.

He now dances on 'stump caps' rather than his full-sized prosthetic legs, which he says gets in the way.

Harvey's dance teacher, Nicky Wright, of Studio 2000, in Louth, said Harvey was coping well with her lessons.

"We were all a little bit apprehensive when he first started and we've been very careful about how we were describing things," she said.

"We knew it would be a challenge but I think we've found ways to overcome these things by exaggerating the use of the head.

"I think he's coping nicely. He smiles continuously so he must be OK with everything."

Harvey will always need a one-to-one helper at school, but Lisa said he is becoming more independent every day.

"The name Harvey means battleworthy, and that's exactly what his is," she added.

Haiti amputees face dire quest for prosthetics

2010-02-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

JoNel Aleccia
Health writer

Prosthetics groups promise help in a land where disability can mean death

Jon Warren
Doctors at Good Samaritan Hospital in Jimani, Dominican Republic, had to amputate 4-year-old Schneily Similien’s lower leg because of injuries suffered in the Haiti earthquake. His father, Ducarmel Similien, says he will do whatever it takes to get a prosthetic leg for his boy.

Haiti struggles to recover
The island is devastated by a deadly earthquake and dozens of aftershocks.
more photos

How to help

List of charities, organizations
Click here for a list of links to relief organizations and discuss ways you can help those in need in Haiti.
By JoNel Aleccia
Health writer
msnbc.com
updated 5:30 a.m. PT, Thurs., Jan. 28, 2010

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By the time 4-year-old Schneily Similien’s parents got him to a doctor, it was too late to save his left leg.

The Haitian boy was hurt in the Jan. 12 magnitude-7 earthquake that killed at least 200,000 people and injured at least that many more. As the ground shook his family’s Port-au-Prince home, pieces of concrete ceiling came down on Schneily and his mother, Darline Similien, a 37-year-old kindergarten teacher. One large chunk crushed the child’s leg.

But after five days of searching in vain for medical care, the family had to travel to Good Samaritan Hospital in Jimani, about 45 miles away in the Dominican Republic. There, doctors had to choose between preserving the boy’s limb — or saving his life.

“I would rather have my son with one leg than to not have my son at all,” Schneily’s father, Ducarmel Similien, a 40-year-old carpenter, said through an interpreter for World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization who relayed the story to msnbc.com. World Vision workers have been providing basic supplies to quake victims and volunteering in medical clinics at the Haitian border.

Jon Warren
“I would rather have my son with one leg than to not have my son at all,” said Ducarmel Similien. He and Scott McGough, a volunteer physical therapist from Dallas, steady 4-year-old Schneily Similien’s as he learns to walk on crutches.
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Schneily is among growing numbers of earthquake amputees created by the disaster. Estimates of amputations have varied dramatically — from a few thousand to more than 110,000, according to agency reports. There's no reliable count amid the chaos so far, but even the most conservative disaster workers say more than 75 people a day have lost limbs since the quake, either because of initial injuries or because of secondary infections and gangrene.

“This is already an unusually high number of amputations even for this kind of an earthquake,” said Wendy Batson, executive director of Handicap International, an aid group with global experience helping amputees and other disabled people. Her organization expects to see as many as 4,000 amputees when final counts are done.

In past quakes of similar magnitude, amputees have numbered in the hundreds, not in the thousands, Batson said. But the carnage in Port-au-Prince has been worse, partly because the quake was centered near the city of 2 million, partly because of erratic building construction standards, and partly because so many health and aid agencies were destroyed by the tremors.

Largest-ever loss of limbs?
The rising toll has triggered a call to action for prosthetics manufacturers and suppliers and amputee advocates in the U.S., who say the incident may represent the largest-ever loss of limbs in a single natural disaster.

“We’ve seen many amputees, but nowhere near the magnitude of this,” said Ivan R. Sabel, chairman of Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, the largest supplier in the U.S. “These folks are going to need ongoing care.”

Already, aid groups are raising money, collecting donations of used prosthetics and making plans to send teams of doctors, limb fitters and physical therapists to Haiti.

Last weekend, more than 300 cars loaded with wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and artificial limbs lined up in a parking lot at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., where organizers for the agency Physicians for Peace collected the mobility devices to be refurbished and sent to Haiti, said Ron Sconyers, the group’s president and chief executive.

“A gentleman came by and had tears in his eyes,” recalled Sconyers. “He said, ‘My wife died last month; this is her wheelchair. I know it will help someone have a better life.’”

On the ground in Port-au-Prince, Healing Hands for Haiti, a non-governmental organization with a decade of experience in the country, may be forced to rapidly double or triple its capacity to provide help for a disabled population that numbered 800,000 even before the quake.

“We’re going as fast as our feet can carry us,” said Eric Doubt, the agency’s executive director.

Helping Haiti amputees
Some groups aiding quake victims:
Handicap International: Co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for work with land mine victims, the agency conducts 250 programs in 60 countries. The group has been working in Haiti since 2008.
Amputee Coalition of America: Provides resources and education for amputees in the U.S. and around the world.
Healing Hands for Haiti: Aid agency has worked for more than a decade providing help for 800,000 disabled Haitians.
Physicians for Peace: Provides medical education and training in developing countries, including Haiti.
Prosthetic Center of Excellence in Las Vegas, Nevada is accepting used braces, bracing, orthotics, as well as prosthetics and will ship to a clearing house in Haiti.
American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association: National trade association of manufacturers and suppliers of braces and artificial limbs.
Prosthetics Outreach Foundation: Helps amputees in the developing world gain mobility.
Legs for All: LeTourneau University program that helps clinics in developing countries produce inexpensive, durable prosthetics locally.
Limbs for Life Foundation: Helping re-establish prosthetic supply and distribution for Haiti in the Dominican Republic.

Healing first, then prosthetics
It’s still too early for earthquake victims to receive artificial limbs, said Pat Chelf, a board member for the Amputee Coalition of America, an education and advocacy group. Under the best circumstances, amputation injuries take a month or more to heal, and the conditions in Haiti are anything but the best.

Some patients had limbs sheared by the force of collapsed buildings or falling debris. Others had to sacrifice arms and legs when rescuers couldn’t free them any other way. Others lost fractured limbs because infection set in before they could be properly repaired.

In some cases, emergency operations were performed with chainsaws, with none of the usual thought about preserving nerves, flesh and function.

“There’s no way that these people had their surgical intervention optimized,” Chelf said.

From initial fittings and supply of prosthetics to ongoing adjustments, repairs and replacements, the demand for artificial limbs will be intense, expensive — and long-lasting, said Chelf.

Each device could cost between $4,000 and $6,000 per amputee, Chelf estimated. In the U.S., a new amputee can expect a minimum of four fittings a year to make sure the device is comfortable and works properly. In addition, several physical therapy sessions are necessary to help patients learn to adjust the way they walk and other body movements to use the new limbs.

“You have to be taught to use the device,” Chelf said. “You don’t just put it on and go.”

Some groups plan to make it easier and cheaper for amputees in Haiti and other developing countries to get limbs by setting up small shops where prosthetics can be made locally instead of being sent from abroad.

“For us, the issue is, when we walk away from this, it’s a long-lasting effect,” said Roger Gonzalez, executive director of Legs for All, a prosthetics development project at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.

An engineering professor, Gonzalez has created a durable, easy-to-make artificial leg that is fashioned of hard plastic and can be repaired with nuts and bolts from a hardware store. It costs about $15 to make, compared to about $2,000 for the cheapest leg in the U.S., and it can withstand the rugged geography and the dirt, heat and humidity of a place like Haiti.

“You have to have a knee that’s pretty robust,” says Gonzalez, who already operates programs in Sierra Leone, Bangladesh and Senegal.

Disabled can become pariahs
Making prosthetics cheap, repairable and widely available will be the only way to prevent Haitian amputees from becoming additional casualties of the killer quake. In a country where life is harsh at best, the disabled are often regarded as economic burdens and social pariahs, said Eric Doubt of Healing Hands for Haiti.

“The disabled and handicapped are pretty much neglected and abandoned,” he said.

That’s a view echoed by Schneily Similien’s father, who is just starting to contemplate his son’s future.

“There is a stigma with losing a limb; people tend not to take into account the needs of disabled people and it changes your life,” Ducarmel Similien told World Vision. “They don’t consider you a whole person.”

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Disaster do-gooders can actually hinder help
Read more news from Haiti

Acquiring replacement limbs may well be a matter of survival for children like Schneily as well as adults who lost arms or legs in the earthquake’s aftermath. Doctors in Jimani have told Schneily’s parents it could take up to three months to acquire a prosthetic leg for the boy. The parents say they’ll do whatever it takes to get one.

“I don’t want to think about the difficulties he might face right now,” the child’s father said. “He will have to work hard, but it’s already done. We just have to accept it and move on.”

© 2010 msnbc.com

2010-01-27T14:50:00.000-08:00

By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Friday, August 21, 2009 at 3:36 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, August 21, 2009 at 3:36 p.m.

There was a point a few days after Lucky the turtle had his front legs chewed to bloody stumps when his owner was ready to let him “go home.”

Beyond the violent assault, he'd lost a lot of blood and was now bandaged and shot up with pain medications and antibiotics.

Sally Pyne, 60, thought maybe her Lucky had endured enough.

But after finding a resourceful veterinarian with lots of reptile experience, and inspired by the feisty turtle's own vigor, Pyne, an in-home care provider, decided the pet deserved a second chance, even if it meant a $900 bill.

Lucky is now back home and living it up, thanks to four plastic discs of the sort usually applied to chair and table legs affixed to his breast plate with double-sided tape.

The sliders, stacked two high, raise his shell to its proper level and allow him to scoot wherever he wants, powered by his back legs.

“I was ready to let little Lucky go home, but Lucky, he was not ready to give up. His eyes were open, and he was shoving himself around on his two back legs. He was not going to quit.”

North Bay Veterinary Clinic surgeon Robert Jereb said the turtle “was not showing that he was dying.” He amputated what was left of Lucky's front legs then conceived of the chair slider fix.

Box turtles normally live several decades, and this one remained vivacious despite his injuries, Jereb said.

“It wasn't a death sentence to be missing his front legs because he was so active using his hind legs and his mouth,” he said.

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Lucky has lived with Pyne and her roommate, Robert Campbell, in their Petaluma home for about three years along with a menagerie that includes a female box turtle named Lovey, six cats and three snakes.

Until the July 31 attack, the turtle companions enjoyed a natural summer habitat enclosed by an 8-inch wire mesh fence filled with succulents, trees and a spineless berry bush, and measuring about 12-by-16-feet. They had a pond, a “hot box,” brick houses and plenty of places to bury themselves in the dirt.

Pyne thinks, however, leaving food out for a cat that had recently adopted the household brought a raccoon prowling, one she'd seen around the yard before Lucky's injury.

She doesn't know for sure, but believes the raccoon is to blame for injurying Lucky, which was found one Saturday afternoon bloodied under a rose bush.

A key question is why Lucky — whose species is named for its ability to enclose itself entirely within its shell — was vulnerable to the attack in the first place, Pyne and Jereb said.

Lovey had no sign of injury. Lucky, Jereb said, may have some kind of shell deformity that prevented him from boxing up. It's also possible he was overweight and unable to withdraw entirely into his shell.

Pyne was referred to Jereb, who has worked on an assortment of animals over the years, including numerous turtles and tortoises whose shells are sometimes repaired with fiberglass, acrylic, Bondo, epoxies and other inorganic substances.

His approach to Lucky's problem was inspired in part by a tortoise about whom he'd read that had a front leg replaced by a halved billiard ball glued to its front shell.

For Lucky, Jereb was thinking more along the lines of PVC pipe but was browsing for materials at a hardware store when he stumbled on the quarter-sized sliders or gliders he ultimately used.

The discs may later be glued on, though so far the tape seems to be working. If Lucky sluffs off shell surface, the discs may need periodic replacement.

When he's healthier, he also will likely require more surgery to trim back some leg bone that's poking into the skin from his shoulder socket.

For the time being, he's getting antibiotic injections every three days.

Pyne says the turtle gets around so well, “I think he thinks he's walking. I don't think he realizes he doesn't have the use of his arms,” she said.

He is somewhat slower than he was, however, and Lovey — at least for the moment — seems to be enjoying one key change in her companion's behavior after years of amorous conduct that's kept her on the run.

“Now Lucky doesn't chase her around and try to make babies any more,” Pyne said.

Turbo charged: Disabled Stillwater Area High School student named to World Cup Power Soccer Championship squad

2010-01-20T10:19:00.001-08:00

By Mary Jellison - Special to the Gazette
Published: Monday, January 18, 2010 12:57 PM CST
When the National Power Soccer Association announced the roster of its 2009 Team USA members, Pete Winslow's excitement meter blew a gasket. "I made the cut!" exclaimed the 15-year-old athlete.

His goal now? To defend the United States' hard-fought title, World Cup Team Champions, when the next international competition takes place in 2011. The last World Cup Power Soccer Championship was held in 2007 in Tokyo, Japan.

A lofty goal for one so young?

"Hardly," said Pete's dad, Herb Winslow, only a single word and quiet cadence needed to reveal a father's pride in his son. "Pete brings a lot of talent, drive and team spirit to whatever he does."

Drive has always been a part of the Winslow family, residents of Woodbury.

Before Herb and his wife Carolyn adopted Pete as an infant, "We visited Courage Center to research the options available to individuals and families dealing with disabilities. Until Pete came into our lives, we'd had no experience in this area. With its vast network of resources and knowledgeable professionals, Courage Center gave us the confidence to know we could navigate these new waters," Herb said.

Pete had been born without legs, a right arm that ends below the elbow, and a left arm that ends in a hand with three fingers. Today, he uses his powerful left arm, his impressive upper body strength, a wickedly maneuverable power wheelchair and personal drive, marshalling all of his attributes to test as many life experiences as he possibly can and to excel at the ones he chooses.

"Courage Center has been giving me options my entire life," Pete said with a smile. "I started at 5 or 6 in the swimming program, then later added weight training in the fitness program, and have participated in, let's see, basketball, Frisbee, baseball, football, track and field and now, because I've been driving a power chair since second grade, power soccer."

"And Pete plays the trombone in the top jazz band at Stillwater High School," his dad slipped in.

"It's sort of tough not to," jokes Pete. "I come from a musical family. My dad plays for the Minnesota Orchestra, and four of my five brothers and sisters all played instruments. I found I could play the trombone using a prosthetic arm, and it works fine."

Pete also credits his siblings for instilling his passion for sports. "They all play, so I do, too."

Pete only discovered power soccer three years ago, so he readily admits he still has a lot to learn.

"But learning is where the fun is, isn't it?" he said. "I'd tell anyone who is thinking about power soccer or any other sport, go slow. Come watch it first. Then, if you want, you can suit up in the gear and give it a try. Go slow, yes; but go! Give it a try."

Jazz band practice three times a week after school, personal practice at home, power soccer practices, week-long soccer camps at Camp Courage in the summer, and travel to soccer competitions around the country (he's been to Arizona, Indiana and Georgia) make Pete one busy guy. But he still takes time to keep up with friends.

"Pete's participation in sports, particularly power soccer, through Courage Center has enabled him to develop personal relationships here at home and all across the country," Herb said of his son. "These guys are on Facebook all the time, and, when they meet for an event, say, in Atlanta, they all know what's happening in each other's lives up to the minute. They care, and they're connected."

Added Pete: "Athletes with disabilities share a special bond. We understand each other and the challenges we deal with. We can say to each other - and to others, too - 'Just try.' Don't get me wrong: I have terrific friends at school, too. But there are some experiences you have to share to understand. That shared bond is pretty amazing."

The whole process - connecting with Courage Center, participating in its programs, discovering power soccer and making the Team USA roster - "has been amazing," said Herb.

"Carolyn and I have watched Pete grow and mature in many ways, from taking responsibility to schedule his time, to developing team and leadership skills. Something like this prepares Pete for more than international competition; it helps prepare him for life," he said.

Courage Center has been named a Paralympics Site for a number of sports. To learn more about Courage Center and its many programs and services, among them a vast array of Sports and Recreation programs, call 763-588-0811 or visit www.CourageCenter.org.

Children with Diabetes, You Are My True Inspiration

2010-01-11T11:04:00.000-08:00

Jay Hewitt
Mar 4, 2009

I was diagnosed with type 1 relatively late in life, at age 24. People sometimes remark to me, with genuine kindness, that it must have been harder on me. Perhaps they think I recall what it was like to be a "normal" child and young adult, to do and eat what I wanted without insulin, checking blood sugar, or worrying about highs and lows or long-term complications. I appreciate their sincerity, but I always correct them. Diabetes is not harder for me. It is hard on everyone. Whether you were diagnosed as a child or an adult, it complicates your life and the lives of your family.

Nevertheless, children with diabetes and your families, you are my true inspiration. I meet and speak to thousands of you every year through my racing and motivational speaking around the U.S. You inspire me much more than I could ever inspire you. Trying to understand the changing world as a six-year-old child is hard enough. But having to check your blood sugar, inject insulin, and understand nutrition and exercise, when none of the other kids in school knows or cares what a carbohydrate is-Now that is impressive! You are a role model for other kids. They may never admit it, but they look up to you. It is impressive that you keep going, keep playing, and keep taking care of all the things you must, things that they never have to think about.

I have a two-year-old daughter. If she hurts, I hurt, and I will do anything to prevent it. Just keeping up with the normal child items, diapers, clothes, bottles, and food is a challenge. But parents who must approach their child multiple times a day with a syringe or make sure that an insulin pump stays on, who keep up with the meters and strips, who bring extra supplies and nutrition even for that quick errand, and who wonder in the middle of the night if their child is going low or high-they have to handle a whole other level of parenting.

Parents, you inspire me.

I am a big fan of diabetes camps. Each summer I am honored to spend time at Camp Joslin for boys (www.joslin.org), and the neighboring Camp Clara Barton for girls (www.bartoncenter.org) in Massachusetts. What fantastic places for a child with diabetes. Kids can be kids, play sports and activities, eat, learn, and make friends with other kids with diabetes, all under the 24-hour watchful eyes of doctors, nurses, and counselors from the world-renowned Joslin Diabetes Center and other medical centers in Boston. These kids get to feel that they finally fit in. They gain confidence that they can play sports, do anything, even be an Ironman triathlete, because they see others with diabetes doing it by controlling their diabetes in the right way. I've seen the nervous faces of parents dropping their child off, and their amazed faces when they pick them up days later. "This is not the same child," they say.

Each year at Camp Joslin I host a real swim-run biathlon, sponsored last year by the makers of the Omnipod insulin pump. Last year a six-year-old camper named Josh participated, a boy who had never imagined that he could swim, or run, or do anything like that. He was nervous. But on race day I watched him swim a quarter mile right next to me, then run a mile and cross the finish line to the cheers and roar of the crowd and his fellow campers. His life, and my life, was changed that day.

Another fantastic organization is Children with Diabetes (CWD) (www.childrenwithdiabetes.com), an online community for organizing events and sharing information and support for kids with diabetes and their parents. Each year, the makers of OneTouch glucose meters sponsor my appearance at CWD's Friends for Life conference. Last year 3,000 parents, kids with diabetes, and their brothers and sisters met in Orlando to make friends, attend theme parks, hear great speakers and doctors, and learn about the latest diabetes products and best practices. It is a great deal and wonderful atmosphere for kids to be kids and the whole family to relax, have fun, learn, and be inspired. I'll be there again this year from July 7th to 12th at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, and I would love to see you there.

Racing the Ironman with diabetes can be hard, and some days in a long workout or race I start to wonder if I can keep going. But I think about the kids with diabetes who may be watching me, and their parents who do so much to take care of them, and I am inspired. Thank you, kids and parents, for inspiring me. You are my heroes.

2010-01-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

Richard "Dick" Nickle strives to enjoy retirement fully — swimming laps, kayaking, biking or traveling with his wife, Barbara.

"I want to live life to the fullest," the former Cumberland Valley High School principal said. His next sentence catches some off guard: "And I want to inspire other amputees to do the same."

Unless he’s wearing shorts that show off his prosthetic leg or swimming, which finds his "leg" waiting poolside, it’s not apparent that Nickle is an amputee. Neither his gait nor his attitude calls attention to his disability.

"There is life after amputation. Especially with advances in prosthetics, you can live a productive life," said Nickle, 68, whose prosthetic leg has a vacuum system that pumps air out for comfort and better fit. "There was a time when amputees just went home and that was it, life was done. Not anymore."

About 1.7 million people in the United States are living without a limb, according to the National Limb Loss Information Center. The majority of new amputations occur due to complications of the vascular system, especially from diabetes.

Nickle lost his leg in 2000 when a drunken driver coming home from a Super Bowl party hit him as he was clearing snow around his mailbox. He underwent a 10-hour surgery at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center that left him with 300 stitches in his head, a metal rod in his right leg and a left leg that ended halfway between his knee and ankle. It took him nearly a year to recover.

Both despair and hope stand out in his mind from that time.

"I was overwhelmed and not sure what was going to happen," the South Middleton Township resident said. "I had always been a person who had some type of control over what I was doing, and here I was, quite helpless."

But he also remembers a man at his bedside who danced a jig and then took off a prosthetic leg and held it up for Nickle to see. At the time, Nickle thought he must be hallucinating from medication.

"The whole thing seemed surreal, but it sent me a message that there was still life after amputation; it gave me hope," Nickle said. A year later, at a meeting of the Amputee Support Team of Central Pennsylvania, Nickle met Mark Leonard, the man who had indeed danced a jig to inspire him to live.

"That implanted in my mind the idea of going out and visiting other amputees. Having support is critical to a person’s recovery," said Nickle, who credits his wife’s encouragement with helping him adjust to life as an amputee. The two are trained peer visitors with the Amputee Coalition of America, even making visits to other states.

"We’re pretty adaptable. We just didn’t let it bother us that much," said Barbara Nickle.

"There are lots of ups and downs, but it does get easier. Losing a leg does not mean that somebody is any less of a person," said Jake Schrom, 21, a Penn State University student from South Middleton Township. His right leg was amputated above the knee last year after a work-related traffic accident.

Schrom, who has a prosthetic leg, said having a goal to work toward makes recovery easier. "Mine was to get back to normal as soon as possible so that I wouldn’t make it hard on my family and girlfriend," he said. "My next goal was to finish my education and get back to work and maybe one day make the Paralympics."

Schrom, who is a Paralympic powerlifter and competes at international events, went back to work as a landscape contractor for his family’s business last spring. "Some tasks were much tougher and needed to be done slightly slower or differently, but I was working nonetheless," said Schrom, who leads the Nittany Valley Amputee Support Group.

Peter Calcagno lost his arm, just below the elbow, to a malignant tumor 62 years ago. Now 80, the Camp Hill resident said it’s surprising how much a person can adapt to doing things with just one arm — like tying a shoe or riding a bike — if the spirit is there to try.

Calcagno doesn’t wear a prosthetic arm because he didn’t find it to be very comfortable or functional. Although he says his lack of an arm cost him job offers initially, he became a successful engineer and eventually owned a business. He married and had two children.

"You have to be motivated to not let it get you down," he said.

Without downplaying the months of therapy it took to heal and the adjustments he’s had to make in his daily routine, Nickle stresses that he can do just about everything he did before he lost his leg.

"It could get the best of you if you let it, but I don’t have time to be bitter," he said. "There’s too much living left to do."

SUPPORT FOR AMPUTEES

ABOUT THE TEAM: The Amputee Support Team of Central Pennsylvania is dedicated to education, peer support and resource sharing. It meets locally every other month and has chapters in Scranton, State College and Lancaster.

WHAT THEY DO: Peer visitors meet with new and fellow amputees to encourage them and help them make decisions on rehabilitation, physical therapy and prosthetics.

INFORMATION: Contact group president Dick Nickle at 258-6849. Or visit www.amputeesupportteam.com.

Andrew Bateson: An 'Up and Running' Miracle

2009-12-23T08:24:00.000-08:00

By Renelle Richardson

Andrew Bateson is an active 14-year-old. He’s a whiz on the ice and on his bike.

“[For] my dirt bike, I have a Honda,” says Andrew. “I like that because it flies. It goes really fast! I just like hitting the jumps and being in the air.

“Some people treat me differently, and I really don’t like that. If I’m playing a sport they’ll be like, ‘You can sit down whenever you want.’ I want them to be hard on me like the regular kids so when I get older I’ll learn to push myself.”

Andrew lost both of his legs when he was six years old. His parents, Scott and Rebecca, remember just how they felt when they learned that their son would have to endure a double amputation.

“What had I done that God made this happen,” asks Scott. “I guess that was my reaction at first. I must have done something wrong, and this is His way of punishing me because this would be the ultimate way to punish a parent.”

On July 3, 1997, Andrew complained he was hot and tired. The next morning, his parents noticed tiny scratch-like marks on his chest. Rebecca recalls, “The scratches became blotches, and then the blotches moved up and down his chest. They were all on his legs. I was literally watching him turn purple in front of our eyes.”

Bruises developed under Andrew’s skin and began to spread. Scott and Rebecca rushed him to Rhode Island hospital.

Dr. James Linakis was first on the scene in the pediatric emergency room.
“I knew exactly what it was,” says Dr. Linakis. “I’ve seen children die within a matter of hours of the time of presentation.”

Andrew had bacterial meningitis, an infection of the blood and the lining that surrounds the brain. It’s still a mystery just how he contracted the often fatal illness.

“When I heard the word bacterial meningitis, my first feeling was of helplessness,” says Rebecca. “As a mother, your reaction is to want to protect your child. As time went on I realized that this was beyond any miracle lips I had. There was no way I could kiss these boo-boos away.”

Doctors and nurses worked round-the-clock to keep Andrew alive…

“You pray that he lives,” says Scott. “That was really the main prayer that I had at the time. 'Please let my son live. Don’t take him away. He’s too young.'”

Andrew lied in a coma for 23 days. Bacteria set off a toxic reaction in his body, and he went in to kidney failure.

Then doctors realized that no blood was circulating in his legs. They presented Scott and Rebecca with only one option: both legs would have to be amputated.

“Here’s my son at six years old going to be in a wheelchair,” says Scott. “He’s going to be watching his friends play. All I could see was my son sitting there in a wheelchair being unhappy. At that point, I was without a plan.”

Family, friends and neighbors took turns praying for Andrew, but to doctors, the situation looked grim.

Dr. Linakis says, “I’ve never seen a child who had that degree of a rash -- with that kind of progression -- survive this disease.”

“I put everything I had into prayer that God was going to help Andrew,” says Scott.

Their church held a prayer and healing service just for Andrew, and on the day of his amputation surgery, Andrew’s lead surgeon gave his parent the news they had been waiting for! Andrew, though still in a coma, would definitely survive!

The young athlete awoke to the realization that he had lost both of his legs.
As Andrew regained his strength, he endured countless hours of physical therapy. Then came the big day. After more than three months in hospital, Andrew went home!

But the homecoming was bittersweet as the six-year-old adjusted to life without legs.

Fast forward eight years. Andrew’s back enjoying the sports he loves! He took a break to show us just how his legs work.

“The first thing that I do in the morning is I get my silicones, which is a rubber type material,” says Andrew. “When I apply it to my leg it sticks on to it. Then there is a pin at the bottom of my leg. I take the leg -- there is a hole at the bottom -- and I have to line the pin with the hole. Then when you hear that (click) noise that means it’s in.”

Scott says, “He just amazes me with some of the things that he goes out and does. He doesn’t think about his legs getting in the way. If he had a problem, he seems to work around it, and he finds a way to do it.”

“What I’ve learned from God is that you can put your faith in Him 100 percent, and He will give you back 100 percent,” Rebecca says. “He was just as unhappy and sad over what happened with Andrew as we were. But He has come forth and given us strength to be the family we are today.”

Since his time in the hospital, Andrew has received a lot of community support. In fact, when local journalist Mark Patinkin picked up on Andrew’s story, he thought he would just write a column about the family’s ordeal. However, when he learned of the Bateson’s tremendous faith and reliance on prayer, he decided instead to write a book – Up and Running.

“When I say I wove faith through this book, it wasn’t just to chronicle faith as a source of comfort to the family,” says Mark. “What struck me -- and still strikes me to this day -- is how faith seemed to play a tangible role even in the medical outcome. I’m not even sure how to fully explain it. I’m a secular journalist. But I will sit here and tell you there was evidence that God’s hand somehow touched this situation.”

Yoga for the Lower Limb Amputee: Breathing Exercises

2009-12-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

The increasingly popular practice of yoga offers something for everyone; if you’re an amputee, it can be especially helpful for reducing stress, becoming comfortable in your body, decreasing back pain (often associated with wearing a prosthetic), improving strength and flexibility, and enhancing mood and energy levels. This 5,000-year-old body of knowledge that originated in India includes physical poses, breathing techniques, and meditation. Ultimately, yoga—which means union—harmonizes our body, mind, and spirit.

The first of this two-part series offers two breathing exercises designed to help focus the mind, oxygenate the body, and release toxins. Proper breathing also cultivates energy and reduces stress and fatigue. The second article will introduce a series of yoga poses designed to address the common concerns of lower limb amputees: improving balance, reducing stress, bringing awareness into the body, helping to alleviate back pain, and stretching and strengthening muscles.

When practicing yoga, treat your body with compassion, and never hold a pose if it becomes painful or even uncomfortable. If you meet and accept your body where it is at, you will gradually reap the full benefits of yoga—a calm and focused mind and strong and flexible body.

Certified yoga instructor and below-the-knee amputee Marsha Therese Metzger recommends practicing with your prosthetic on—her prosthesis, she says, becomes part of her when she puts it on each morning. Although you may choose to practice without your prosthetic, wearing it may help to hold and contain your limb.

Yogic Breathing Exercises
Yogic breathing exercises promote proper breathing to ensure an adequate oxygen supply to the entire body, including the organs, and especially to the brain. Proper breathing also helps the body rid itself of waste products and toxins.

Basic Yogic Breathing Exercises
All yoga is based on staying connected to your breath, and this basic exercise will help you “connect” with your most elemental physical being.

Three-Part Breath (above)
(Strengthens breathing muscles, calms the mind, and focuses attention on the present moment.)

Alternate Nostril Breathing (above)
This more-advanced breathing exercise integrates the right and left hemispheres of the brain, improves efficiency of breathing, reduces stress.

• Come to a comfortable seated position, Easy Pose or in a chair with your feet resting solidly on the floor, hip width apart.
• Tuck the index and third fingers of your right hand into the palm.
• Place your right thumb lightly on your right nostril; place your right index finger lightly on your left nostril.
• Block off the right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril.
• Block off the left nostril with your index finger and exhale through the right nostril.
• Inhale through the right nostril, block it off with the thumb, and exhale through the right nostril.
• Repeat sequence, inhaling through left, exhaling right, inhaling right, and exhaling left.
• Continue for five rounds, increasing as you feel comfortable up to 10 minutes.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

In light of The Thanksgiving Holiday this week, I wanted to post something a little different. Please feel free to post your own inspirational story as well. and since a picture is worth a thousand words, please share whatever the following pictures inspire you to share. Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for the daily opportunity to share my life with so many wonderful people through the internet!

Thanksgiving is the time to feel gratitude for all the good things in life. It is a time to acknowledge the good deeds of fellowmen and be thankful. Thanksgiving thoughts of people give us an insight as to what people feel about it.

Life can be very trying. When your child is hungry, your body wracked with pain, or you have no idea where you and your family will find a place to sleep, pay your rising bills, or make ends meet, it's hard to find something for which you can be thankful. So, for just a few minutes on Thanksgiving Day, step outside your situation and just "be". Find something, no matter how small, to be thankful for because in giving thanks, you will be lightening your load, even if for only a moment

People in Europe were living in squalid conditions, battling hunger and the aftermath of the plague, were being terrorized in the name of religion and came to America, the land of opportunity, in the hopes of building a new and better life. These immigrants, called Pilgrims, were welcomed by the inhabitants of America, the Indians, who were hospitable to the newcomers in every sense of the word. How is it then that the descendants of the Pilgrims managed to take over all the land in America and banish the Indians to hot, arid reservations in the middle of nowhere? Somehow, that has never felt right to me. Do the Indians celebrate Thanksgiving?

Who does not thank for little will not thank for much. (Estonian proverb)

Thanksgiving thoughts are the kind of thoughts that we should have all year long. For it is the folks with thankful hearts whose lives are filled with song. We should take time for kindness to those we hold most dear,and just extend a helping hand to others through the year. Let's set aside some quiet time and share it with a friend. For friendships brings a special joy and pleasure without end. So may the blessings of this day that I would ask for you, now fill you with Thanksgiving Peace that lasts the whole year through!

Heart of a Champion: The Story of Jean Driscoll

2009-11-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

Jean was born in Milwaukee, WI with spina bifida (an open spine). It affected her ability to walk and included other neurological complications as well. Although there were challenges during childhood, her determination to get the most out of life was always there. She began using a wheelchair at the age of 15 and after learning about wheelchair sports from a high school friend, she started pursuing athletic opportunities with fervor. The Milwaukee Public Schools Division of Recreation provided her first wheelchair sports experiences. After being recruited to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, world-renowned coaches developed her into one of the world’s most successful competitors.

During her career, Jean was the first eight time winner of the Boston Marathon. She set 5 new course records as well as 5 world best times and has held Boston’s fastest time in the women’s wheelchair division since 1990. It currently stands at 1 hour, 34 minutes and 22 seconds for the 26.2 mile distance. In addition to her success in Boston, Jean also won two Olympic medals, 12 Paralympic medals, and still holds the world record in the 10,000 meter (6.2 mile) track event that was set during the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Jean remains the only 12–time champion of the Lilac Bloomsday 12K Road Race held in Spokane, Washington and still owns the course record in her division from 1995.

Her successes have been celebrated by many. The University of Rhode Island and the Massachusetts School of Law awarded her Honorary Doctorate degrees in 1997 and 2002 respectively. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines provided Jean with one of its highest honors in 2003 when they named her the Godmother of their Voyager Class Series ship, Mariner of the Seas. She is also in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ “Hall of Champions.” and the Wheelchair Sports, USA Hall of Fame.

Jean retired from her successful racing career following the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia. For over 20 years, she has offered encouragement and motivation as a speaker to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Through a partnership that began in 2001 with Joni and Friends, Inc., Jean began working with people who have disabilities in Ghana, West Africa. Her alma mater, the University of Illinois, has caught the vision and is now supporting this work as well. In addition to motivational speaking, Jean works as the Associate Director of Development for the College of Applied Health Sciences at the U of I.

Additional story on Jean Driscoll & The Easter Seals

Jean Driscoll clearly remembers the first time she attended Easter Seals camp. It was the first time she didn’t feel different.

At home, Jean stood out among nondisabled friends and family. An 8-year-old with spina bifida, she used leg braces for mobility.

But at Easter Seals camp, Jean was surrounded by children with a variety of other disabilities -- many more challenging than her own. Suddenly she stood out not because of her disability, but because of her natural leadership abilities.

Counselors at Easter Seals Camp looked to Jean to assist and inspire other campers, which in turn boosted her confidence and self-esteem. For Jean, seeing herself as a leader was an important first step toward becoming a world-class athlete and an international advocate for people with disabilities.

Today, at age 36, Jean acknowledges, “I’ve done a lot in my life that most people only dream of.”

During her career as an elite wheelchair racer, Jean won the Boston Marathon eight times, the only person in the race’s 107-year history, in any division, to achieve that feat. She won two silver medals in Olympic exhibition events and 12 medals in the Paralympics, which are held two weeks after the Olympic Games in the same host city. Jean also holds several world records, and -- among her many honors and awards -- she was named one of the top 25 female athletes of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated for Women magazine.

Now retired from professional competition, Jean is focused on sharing her message about succeeding in all aspects of life. She also works to help others with disabilities benefit from the advantages sports can offer -- an endeavor that has taken Jean to the country of Ghana in West Africa, half a world away from Milwaukee, Wis., where she grew up and first learned to love athletics.

A Setback Followed by a Leap
Jean has spina bifida, a condition characterized by an incomplete closure of the spine at birth. Throughout most of her childhood, Jean was able to walk with leg braces.

A setback occurred during her freshman year in high school, when Jean dislocated her hip riding a bike. It was a serious injury that required five surgeries and a year in a full body cast.

Even after such measures, Jean’s hip became dislocated again. As a result, at age 15, Jean obtained her first wheelchair. Despite confidence gained at Easter Seals camp when she was younger, Jean became depressed. She saw a lifetime of limitations ahead of her.

A year later, Jean’s life took a leap forward when she reluctantly attended a wheelchair soccer practice. “It was real sport,” she recalls. “Wheelchairs were crashing into one another, and I loved the fact the coaches didn’t panic when players fell out of their chairs.”

From that point on, Jean couldn’t get enough of sports. She played soccer, ice hockey, tennis, and basketball and began to appreciate her wheelchair as a vital piece of equipment that enabled her to compete.

“It was like this whole world I’d been trying to get into suddenly opened up to me,” Jean says, “and, ironically, my wheelchair -- which I’d thought was so limiting -- was the key.”

From Recreation to Elite Athletic Competition
Jean’s athletic abilities eventually caught the attention of the University of Illinois, and she was recruited to play wheelchair basketball there. Seeing that Jean also excelled at track events, her college coach encouraged her to compete in marathons. Jean won her first national-level race in 1989 and from there began her professional sporting career.

Besides the rigors of training and the thrill of competing, Jean enjoyed another benefit of being involved in sports. Her attitudes about disability, as well as the attitudes of others, were profoundly affected. “I began to see my disability as a
characteristic, like my hair color,” she says. “My disability doesn’t define who I am.”

Sports can be a powerful vehicle for changing attitudes that limit people with disabilities, Jean found. “Our biggest limitations are the ones we place on ourselves, or that others place on us.”

Spreading the Message and Changing Lives
Today as a professional speaker and author, Jean addresses the topic of failure as much as success. She routinely speaks to corporations and organizations, and her book, Determined to Win, chronicles her story.

“What I try to help others understand is that failure is not the opposite of success, it is part of the process that leads to success,” Jean says. “For example, when you are sore after a workout, it’s because your muscles have developed tiny tears. Once repaired, the muscle is stronger than before. Likewise, after we experience failure, we are stronger, wiser and more prepared to take on life’s challenges.”