Patient Stories: New Day Foster Home

Strictly speaking, this is not a story about a Dankmeyer patient.  Rather, it is a story about Dankmeyer patients helping other patients - patients they do not even know.  How does this happen? Sometimes, patients will donate prostheses or orthoses back to Dankmeyer when they are no longer needed for some reason.  This is a story of some gently used pediatric orthoses which made their way from Dankmeyer to an orphanage in China.  This story is best told by Rachel Lins, a Physical Therapy student at the University of Delaware. Rachel contacted Mark Hopkins about possible donations, and so off the devices went to China.

In March of 2013 I had the opportunity to visit a foster home in a small village just outside of Beijing, China, called New Day Foster Home. Since then, I've been keeping an eye out for ways I can help them out or connect them to resources here in the states since I have access to various organizations through my education at the University of Delaware - I’m a student physical therapist.

Initially the foster home caught my attention because it is specifically open to orphans with medical disabilities and has a PT (and other medical personnel) on-site. They currently serve approximately 36 children (not including its two sister locations which add roughly 16 children to the total count) with their purpose being to procure life saving medical treatment for these little ones and provide all the love they possibly can to them until they find their "forever families." Their list of needs change, as children come and go, but they see such a vast variety of medical disabilities/conditions that they're pretty open to medical supplies. So far, concerning orthotics, they have mentioned they are able to adjust them to fit their needs. 

For more information about the New Day Foster Home you can visit their website: http://www.newdaycreations.com/foster/kids/kids_bj.htm.   For a list of supplies needed by the home, see http://newdaycreations.com/foster/help/needs.htm.

If you have any other questions or wish to put a contact name on your information, Karen Brennamen can be contacted at Karen@newdaycreations.com. She and her husband moved to China in 1995 to start developing New Day Creations (a manufacturing company) and New Day Foster Home.

Patient Stories: Mike Fritschner

I became a paraplegic following a surfing accident in the summer of 2006.  Like many people in my position, I was immediately told I was never going to walk again.  I knew that this could not be farther from the truth.  I decided then and there that I was going to do everything in my power to not only stand again, but to walk.

Over the next few years, I was lucky enough to attend therapy at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.  My family and I were overwhelmed with joy after each therapy session.  We had finally found a place that would push me every single day to recover as much function as possible.  

This pushing started by getting my own leg braces, "KAFO's" (Knee Ankle Foot Orthoses).  With these braces, your knees are locked in a straightened position at all times.  I was finally able to stand and "walk" under my own power.  Over a few years, I became more and more comfortable with these leg braces.  The more I worked with them, the stronger my muscles became and more function returned.  Over years of hard work, using these braces became easier and easier, to the point where my therapist thought I needed new braces to continue to approve.  I had never been so excited.

My therapist recommended "stance control" leg braces.  These braces are actually able to bend at the knee when you put weight on your toe, but then lock in to place when you put weight on your heel.  This simulates a much more natural walking motion.  This is when I first came in to contact with Heather, one of the many fantastic employees at Dankmeyer.  

Mike and his handcycle.

Instead of just shipping the braces to me and leaving me to my own devices, my practitioner, Heather O'Connor, insisted I go in to Dankmeyer's facility to make sure the braces functioned correctly.  As you can imagine, these braces were extremely difficult to use at first.  Going above and beyond as usual,  Heather recommended some different exercises I could do to continue to approve and use the braces to the best of my ability.  

Since I have had my braces, Heather periodically checks on me to make sure the braces are functioning properly.  As I use my braces more and more at physical therapy, I find myself growing stronger and able to move things I was not able to before.  This would not be possible without the wonderful people at Dankmeyer.  

With Heather and the rest of  Dankmeyer's help, there is no doubt in my mind I will continue to improve and achieve my goal of walking again.  

Since he wrote this story, Mike competed in the Baltimore Running Festival on October 18, 2014 in the Marathon (26.2 miles) Handcycle Division, where he placed 3rd.

Mike and his mom at the Baltimore Running Festival, October 18, 2014, where he won 3rd place in the Handcycle division.

Patient Stories: Diane Clark

“There are no limitations to what I can do!” a very confident Diane Clark states.  And she means it.  This 50 year old mother of 3 grown children and 8 grandchildren is very active in both her work and her home life.  Diane has been a Dankmeyer patient in our Cumberland office since 1993, when an accident resulted in a leg amputation.  There was a car crash on icy roads, and when she stepped out of the car, she was struck by another driver.  She says when she woke up and saw the faces of loved ones around her, she decided then to “be tough and not let it get me down.”  And she hasn’t let it get her down.

Originally from Oakland, MD, Diane lived in Mt. Storm, West Virginia where she attended high school.  After she met husband Frank, “the best thing that ever happened to me”, she moved to Cumberland. She worked for a while as a feeding assistant for Frostburg Nursing Rehab Center.  Eventually she changed positions to become an activities assistant there, where she has found her calling. “I love working with the elderly, lifting their spirits.”  She brings in entertainment for the residents, including Dankmeyer prosthetist Mark Treasure and his wife, to perform for the group.  She also dances with them, and literally clowns around.  See the gallery of pictures included for Diane in clown clothes!

In her time outside of work, Diane is involved in a number of activities.  She and her husband own a karaoke business. She goes to the gym three to four days a week where she jogs and works with a trainer on a variety of equipment.  Then there is the line dancing, where she scoots around the dance floor in her Harley boots, and she is a member of the Eagle Riders motorcycle social club.  There is the swimming and the zip line in Hawaii.  Yes, a zip line.  See the pictures below!

Yes, there is no disability for Diane, who says an artificial leg “doesn’t stop me from doing what I want to do.”  Whether that is dance, workout at the gym, ride the motorcycle, go to work or play with her grandchildren and pets, Diane is an inspiration to everyone she meets.

Patient Stories: Sumner Handy

I first learned of the tumor in my tibia in the fall of 2008. It was small then, not painful, and not likely to be cancer. Just a thing that’d apparently been with me for a while. My Ultimate Frisbee career was just starting to take off, so I decided I’d ask few questions and just play through.

But I really started to feel it the weekend of the Fourth of July in 2010. Playing in a 2,000-player Ultimate tournament outside Seattle, I noticed I needed some extra ibuprofen for my left leg on the morning of day three, and I sat myself down on the sideline. Even icing it in elevated, snow-capped Crater Lake on the way back through Oregon didn’t abate the swelling or the developing limp. There’d be no Kerri Strug miracle for me.

Throughout my ensuing treatment, I dreamt about running and getting back on the Ultimate field – the deep cuts, the throws, and especially the defensive plays. I had identified as an Ultimate player since high school, and maintained that self-perception throughout treatment. While it seemed counterintuitive, I ultimately realized that amputation would actually afford me more mobility than my alternative treatment option. That was a big mental step toward getting back on the field.

It’s hard to tell my story without mentioning the role my prosthetist played. When I met Mark Hopkins (of Dankmeyer) at my pre-op appointment, the path to playing again began to take shape. Mark was able to temper the anxiety I felt about what was to happen for me between the operating table and the Ultimate field. The whole team at Dankmeyer has reflected that attitude and support as I’ve worked with them over the last several years.

Whether it’s Ultimate, or chasing around a five year-old, or just walking from the train station to work – I’m happy to be able to do it. Whatever it is you want to do, tell the staff at Dankmeyer and trust them to help you get there.

Watch Sumner play some Ultimate Frisbee here:

Team Dankmeyer

What is a "Color Run” and how did Dankmeyer, Inc. get involved with this event?  
 
Well, a Color Run is a charitable 5K Walk/Run, where colored corn starch gets thrown on you as you make your way through the course– it's messy and colorful!  Our story starts back in the fall of 2013.  “Would the Dankmeyer group want join our family in the Color Run?”, asked Jody, mother of Tru - a 7 year old boy and right knee disarticulation amputee.  She took me a little by surprise.  Because, well, I don’t run!  I don’t like running.  And I’ve never participated in a race before - because I’ve never wanted to.  But the only answer to Jody's question that made sense to me was “Of course. That sounds great!”
 
Tru is one of my little inspirations.  And I was impressed by his and his family’s determination.  So we formed a team.  And he trained for this.  He would run in his neighborhood to his stop sign and back, gradually increasing his distance.  And his mom practiced throwing corn starch on him so he wouldn’t be afraid of it during the race.  While Tru was training, a few other Dankmeyer patients signed up– another young amputee named Eric and his family, and a brand new amputee Steve, who only had only gotten his first prosthesis less than 2 months before the event.  So on race day, I gathered with Tru, his parents and his sister, along with our other two other daring amputees, many of the Dankmeyer staff, and families.  Some of us ran, some of us walked, some of us did a little of both, and some waited at the finish to snag some great pictures.  But we were all there supporting one another in our individual goals and having a great time doing it.  And what inspired me the most, was after all of this, Tru asked to do it again!                                                

-Angie Swindell, CPO

Tru (center) accompanied by mom Jody (left) and his prosthetist Angie (right).

For more pictures click here...