Patient Stories: Carly Pays It Forward

We have a very special story to share about something coming from a child’s heart.

Carly is one of Dankmeyer’s pediatric prosthetic patients. Her prosthetist is Mary Reedy, CP. Carly was very kind to bring beautiful pink spring tulips into the Baltimore Washington office on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, to thank everyone at Dankmeyer for helping her. They were placed on the counter in the administration area so everyone at the office that day could see them. Pictures were shared with satellite office staff so they could enjoy them as well.

Carly’s thoughtfulness did not end there. She came bearing gifts - gifts for other children.

During the early days of Carly’s rehab, she received a book called Molly the Pony. The story is about a horse who had its leg amputated and then received a prosthesis. Carly gifted three of these books, each with inspiring homemade bookmarks, and packaged in its own gift bag. She has requested we provide the books to any children who may need a little inspiration.

We are very honored that Carly entrusted us to pass on this kindness. She hopes that a new recipient could take a photo to be shared with Carly during her next appointment!

Patient Stories: Video Stars Isiah, Megan and Peter

One of the things we love at Dankmeyer is the appointment when we are able to provide the finished prosthesis or orthosis for a patient that gets them back to improved or first time mobility! These appointments can be joyful celebrations with family and Dankmeyer team members celebrating this significant “step”! As part of this delivery appointment, the patient learns how to take the device on and off (don and doff), how to care for and clean the device, the importance of monitoring the skin for redness or irritation, and discussion of fit and function. A followup appointment is made so that any questions are adjustments can be made after that initial use.

Today we have three different videos to share that show some of these first steps. We are so excited that Isiah Brown, Peter McDevitt and Megan Norton agreed to share this occasion to show others their experience.

Mr. Isiah Brown’s delivery day was an appointment with his prosthetist Robb Brown, CPO, at our North Baltimore office.

In another delivery appointment, Megan Norton receives her orthoses. Her orthotist, Jeremy Halteman, CPO was joined by Resident Danny Weiser (our narrator) at our Baltimore Washington office for this appointment. In this video, we see Megan’s gait before she wears her new orthoses, and then after - so you can see the improvement.

Once more video to share this time. This is Peter McDevitt, also at our Baltimore Washington office, with his prosthetist Jeremy Halteman, CPO. Peter is a bilateral lower limb amputee and we see him both in the office, and in a video from home which he contributed.

Thank you to each of our contributors, Isiah, Megan and Peter, for sharing these very special events with everyone.

Patients contribute to "What is a Prosthesis?" video!

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This summer, Dankmeyer summer intern Cecelia Lamancusa undertook a project to work with some Dankmeyer patient volunteers to film a short video to express thoughts on the topic “What is a Prosthesis?”.

This video was conceived, written, filmed and edited in a very short period of time, as Cecelia’s summer program was only six weeks long. Using her iPad to do some filming herself, along with patient supplied video, and help from Cumberland office staff filming there, and iMovie on her Mac to edit, Cecelia was able to create a lovely piece of work to showcase several patients and the Dankmeyer philosophy that a prosthesis is more than a collection of hardware.

Our thanks go out to the patients who were able to respond on such short notice to contribute to thoughtful interviews in our offices, and to those who were willing but we were not able to coordinate with to meet the short deadline. Thanks to Danny Weiser, our Resident Prosthetist Orthotist, who did the voiceover; Dawn Miranda, Dankmeyer’s Prosthetist Assistant and a lower limb amputee herself; and Becca Frost, CPO and Heather Iman, Patient Services Representative in our Cumberland office who hosted and filmed several patients there.

Without further ado, please watch as Kenny Braitman, Sumner Handy, Joe Loibel and Dawn Miranda share their thoughts and observations around the concept “What is a Prosthesis?”

Patient Stories: John J Heffner

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My name is John Heffner, and I have a disease probably most of you have not heard of. It’s called RSDS - Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome/Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome. It’s a disease that takes control of your nervous system and your muscles, causing chronic pain seven days a week. It can go from mild to severe in an instant.

Back in 2002, I was in a work accident where 1500 lbs of steel came loose, pinning me down, doing a lot of damage to my body. One leg was twisted all around and the accident also injured my back. After many different surgeries and much therapy, I was so glad to get out of my wheelchair - even though I still suffer from relapses which put me back in there occasionally.

To be able to get around I have to wear KAFO (Knee Ankle Foot Orthosis) braces, which go from the top of both of my legs down to my toes. These have been made by Dankmeyer. I also use forearm crutches. I can’t stand for very long, nor can I sit long, but without the equipment that Dankmeyer makes for me every year I would be permanently stuck in a wheelchair. I appreciate the good products they make and quality of care that they provide.

I am working on a fundraiser for RSDS - it is the second annual Virtual Walk Event on June 26, 2021. My team is the “Jay Heffner” team, and you can join me by clicking on this link. - John Heffner


Mr. Heffner’s orthotist is Rebecca Frost, CPO, in our Cumberland area office. Becca has provided some close up images of KAFO examples. You can also see Mr. Heffner wearing his KAFOs in the photo he provided below. Becca explains that a KAFO supports muscle weakness affecting the knee, ankle, and foot. This would include knee buckling, joint laxity or muscle balance causing hyper extension, deformity, etc. Muscles affected would include everything BELOW the hip - the front and back of the thigh, the lower leg, and foot.

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Patient Stories: UPDATE: Dr. Andrew Rubin and Infinite Biomedical Technologies

Dr. Andrew Rubin has shared his story with us before. A patient of Mark Hopkins, CPO, Dr. Rubin is a writer and English professor who has had an amazing, almost unimaginable journey that eventually brought him to the research team at Infinite Biomedical Technologies (IBT). Dr. Rubin, Dankmeyer, and the IBT team have worked together in a collaborative effort to bring about some very positive outcomes in this story. Dr. Rubin is featured in a recent article on the I-Biomed website, which we would like to share here as well. Please click here to read “Andrew’s Story.”