Newsletters

JANUARY NEWSLETTER 

7 Resolutions for 2007

1.  Stay active - do  something physical every day
 
2.  Do something for  others - talk to new amputees
 
3.  Support your national organization - become a member of the Amputee Coalition of America.
 
4.  Set goals - work hard  to achieve them
 
5.  Stay educated - ask questions
 
6.  Don't be satisfied with second best
 
7.  Live Life Without Limitations!!!!

From Your Prosthetist-
Staying Active with Winter Sports

Skiing, snow boarding and ice skating are fun winter sports. At  A Step Ahead we can custom align your prosthesis so you can enjoy these activities  safely. In addition to alignment, we custom fabricate knee orthosis and stump  helmets. Knee braces are essential for below the knee amputees who ski. While skiing,  your knee will be subjected to side to side forces that will place excessive  strain on your knee joint. A custom brace can be fabricated to attach to your  prosthesis and will provide improved side to side stability reducing the risk  of injury to your knee.  If you are an  above the knee amputee, skiing without your prosthesis is common. To protect  your residual limb, A Step Ahead can custom fabricate stump helmets. A Stump  helmet is a device that will encompass and protect your residual limb if you  fall. They are designed to reduce the risk of bruising and possible fractures  of the bone in your residual limb. Although it is common for most above the  knee amputees to ski without a brace, there is a new prosthetic knee, the XT9  that is specifically designed for extreme sports and mimics the function of the  knee during these activities. You can find out more information about this knee at www.symbiotechusa.com.

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Michael Laforgia: 

Mike lives in Smithtown,   NY with his wife  Donna.  He has 3 children, Kaelyn, Michael Jr. and Jenna (13, 11 and  8 years old). Mike is a bilateral amputee, having lost his right leg below  the knee and the toes on his left foot.  His injuries were a result  of a life threatening battle with bacterial meningitis (meningococcal).
 Mike acquired meningococcal on 1/1/05.   Not expected to make it through the night, he remained in a coma for  7 days.  Once stable, doctors removed the toes on his left foot and most  of his right foot.  His right foot was originally "rebuilt"  using his back muscle.  He spent the next 5 months in the hospital doing  intensive physical therapy re-learning how to walk, progressing from wheel  chair to walker to crutches to cane to walking.     

Unhappy with the mobility of his new right foot, Mike made  the difficult decision to electively amputate his right leg below the  knee.  He received his new leg from A Step Ahead on 6/29/06.  Prior  to becoming ill, Mike was a runner and triathelte.  He completed 2 NYC  Marathons and the Florida  1/2 Ironman. Mike has just recently been outfitted with a running leg  for his right leg and a brand new partial foot prosthetic with a running foot.  Mike's goals for '07 include the Aspire 10K run  and the bike leg of the Challenged Athletes Foundation San Diego 1/2 Ironman.   He hopes to complete another NYC Marathon and 1/2 Ironman to complete his  incredible journey!  As a member of the National Meningitis Association,  Mike hopes that he can use these activities as a way to increase meningococcal  awareness.  He currently works for JP Morgan Chase.

Congratulations to Amy Winters who was named the 2006 female physically challenged triathelte of  the year by the USA  triathlon federation. Amy is well deserving of this prestigious award. Her  accomplishments in the triathlon competitions this year included first place in  the national championships at the New York City Triathlon, first place at the  world championships in Lausanne, Switzerland and outstanding performances at  the Pittsburgh and Chicago triathlons as well as placing first in her age group  against able bodied athletes at the West Virginia ½ Ironman.

For more information about Team A Step Ahead go  to:   http://www.astepaheadonline.com

Technology Corner

We continue to test and deliver the Proprio Foot and ankle  system to below knee amputee patients.Many of the patients have been providing  an overwhelmingly positive response to the Proprio and how it is improving  their gait and function on stairs, ramps and uneven terrain. In conjunction  with the Touro College physical therapy department, we will  start our research study in the beginning of the year, which will compare the Proprio  foot and ankle system to more traditional systems.

Rehab Corner

Phil Kreuter, PT owner of Mobility Physical Therapy,  is available to answer your questions, give you advice and help you with all of  your needs regarding exercise, gait training, rehabilitation, physical therapy  and sports. Phil has over 20 years of experience working with patients with all  levels of limb loss. He also has over 25 years of experience coaching and  training athletes with disabilities. In addition to providing physical therapy,  he coordinates the Team A Step Ahead program for over 75 athletes across the  country. In the coming months, Rehab Corner will feature articles and tips about  exercise, gait training and fitness. You can contact Phil at phil@astepaheadonline.com or call  516-681-3484.

The Amputee Coalition of America  (ACA) is proud to offer the results of a consumer survey completed by the Limb  Loss Research & Statistics Program (LLR&SP), a collaboration of the ACA  and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in its new  publication, People With Amputation Speak Out With the Amputee Coalition of  America.
       
The purpose of this multi-year  research project, funded by the National Center on Birth Defects and  Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), a division of the Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention (CDC), was to determine how well people with limb loss  were functioning in their everyday lives and what services they may need, but  are not getting.Survey questions asked of the 954  amputee participants looked at the overall health and well-being of people with  limb loss, the need for services such as medical care and rehabilitation, the  use of, and satisfaction with, prosthetic devices and related services and  environmental barriers and attitudes that impact overall well-being.

The main conclusions of this  research are:

• The majority of community-dwelling amputees are living independently.  Pain and depressed mood are the most common secondary conditions associated with limb loss.  Among the sample of amputees surveyed, the majority reported wearing a prosthesis daily.
• A significant number of amputees reported barriers to accessing physical and emotional healthcare during the past year.

To request your free, printed copy  of this 14-page report, contact the ACA at 888/AMP-KNOW (267-5669) or by  filling out an information request to the National Limb   Loss Information   Center online at ASK the  NLLIC.  Supply is limited, so request your printed copy today!  This report is also available as a free download from the ACA web site at: http://www.amputee-coalition.org/people-speak-out/.

Mobility Clinic