August Newsletter Vol. 8 Issue 8
Prosthetic Art of the Month
Art is an expression of the creator's inner-self. Art has no boundaries and is understood through all languages.
The prosthetic staff at A Step Ahead helped bring Laurie Zanderzuk’s personal flare to life on her custom-designed above elbow prosthesis. Special thanks are in order for Laurie’s Embroidery of Meadville, PA for assisting with the design of the prosthetic art. For more information on how our prosthetic staff can work with you to personalize your prosthesis, call us at 516-681-3484.
The Genium Prosthetic Knee – Now in Stock at A Step Ahead
A Step Ahead is taking appointments for individuals with above-knee limb loss to test drive the Genium Knee, the newest prosthetic knee from world-renowned prosthetics manufacturer Otto Bock. The Genium Knee closely mimics a natural gait, reducing the mental effort required of users when changing speeds. It offers many features including: negotiating stairs leg-over-leg, intuitively avoiding obstacles, walking backwards, five-day battery life on a single charge, and five additional user-controlled modes.
For more information on the Genium Knee and to set up an appointment to test drive the Genium, call our office at 516-681-3484. Pierre Lucien, a bilateral above knee amputee since 2008, came to A Step Ahead with the goal of improving his walking and eventually running and sprinting at a competitive level. Prior to his amputation, Pierre was highly athletic and played football and ran track in high school and college. With assistance from the Challenged Athletes Foundation, A Step Ahead has designed a pair of custom running prostheses for Pierre to begin training in sprinting.
The Power Knee from Ossur is the world’s first and only active prosthetic knee. The knee works as an integrated extension of the user, replacing true muscle activity to bend and straighten the knee so that it can:
• Provide power to help maintain walking speeds.
• Assist with the upward motion required for stairs and inclines.
• Learn and respond to unique patterns of gait for natural, efficient motion.
For more information on the Power Knee and to set up an appointment to test drive the Power Knee, call our office at 516-681-3484.
A Step Ahead’s You Tube Site
We are continuing to expand our video library with new videos added weekly featuring our patients, the latest prosthetic technology, and the many events that our patients participate in as well as local and national and media coverage involving A Step Ahead Prosthetics. Check out our YouTube page at:
http://www.youtube.com/astepaheadonline.
A Step Ahead’s New Blog
As part of our ongoing effort to provide our patients and other amputees with news and articles of interest online, A Step Ahead has started a new blog, www.prostheticsnews.com . This blog will feature exclusive stories on the latest prosthetics technology, news about A Step Ahead’s patients and events, photos, stories, and more. The blog will be updated often, so be sure to visit now and come back frequently!
Amy Palmiero-Winters Finishes Badwater Ultramarathon
In the early hours of the morning on July 13th, Amy Palmiero-Winters (Below Knee) became the first female amputee to finish the Badwater Ultramarathon. Often called the "World's Toughest Foot Race," Badwater is a 135-mile nonstop run from Death Valley, CA to Mt. Whitney, CA, with temperatures often rising to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. This was Amy's second time running Badwater; a 2010 attempt ended in injury as the bone in her leg broke through the skin inside her prosthesis. Frequently, runners who do not finish the Badwater Ultramarathon are not afforded another chance in favor of new runners wanting to attempt the race. Given a rare second opportunity in 2011, Amy made the most of it, finishing with a time of 41:26:42 despite the temperature of her prosthesis reaching 160 degrees.
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Amy Palmiero-Winters
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Amy and her crew Ciro Nunes, Meredith Terranova, Erik Schaffer, and Stacy Jessen
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Amy would like to thank her crew at the race: Ciro “Junior” Nunes, Meredith Terranova, Stacy Jessen and Erik Schaffer, C.P. Amy would also like to thank the following people for all of their support: her children Carson and Madelyn, Stacy, all of the technicians in the shop at A Step Ahead - John, Al and Dennis, Dr. Bob Otto, Dave Balsely Laurie’s Embroidery, PowerBar, Nike and Ossur.
Colin Gooley (Van Ness Turnoplasty) from Baldwinsville, NY went through two tryouts and was chosen as a ball boy at the United States Open Tennis Championships, which is held annually at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY at the end of the summer. Colin will work daily at the Open for its two-week duration. You can see Colin and an interview with him on this video from the tryouts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gwy45qumWs
Sam Cila (Below Elbow), along with three teammates, completed the Race Across America (RAAM) as Team Red White & Blue. RAAM is a 2989-mile race from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. Sam’s team completed the grueling, sleep-depriving race across the United States in seven days, fourteen hours, and twenty-eight minutes. Congratulations to Sam and his team!
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Sam Cila at the Race Across America
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Sam Cila (2nd from left) in Normandy, France
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Sam also participated in the first Ride to Recovery Normandy Challenge in Normandy, France. During the six-day, 240-mile ride, injured veterans from the US cycled through Normandy for a first-hand history lesson, which highlighted the landing sites, battlefields and museums of D-Day. The group was joined by five injured veterans from the French armed forces.
A Future Top Golfer
Four-year-old Gino “Tiger” Pascarella (Below Knee) has found a new passion in sports this summer: golf. After starting soccer last year, Gino is now hitting the greens and driving ranges on Long Island. In addition to his newfound love of golf, the Golf Channel has become one of his favorite TV channels. Good luck on the links from all of us at A Step Ahead, Gino!
A Current Top Golfer
Rita Timpanaro (Below Knee) earned first place Low Gross and first place Low Net in the Long Island EWGA Tournament, held at Spring Lake Golf Course on June 10. She will be representing the Long Island Chapter at the Semi-Final Championship to be held at Crystal Spring Golf Course in Hamburg, N.J. on Saturday, August 20, 2011.
Kati Rooney’s Four-Mile Open Water Swim
Kati Rooney (Below Knee) from Chicago, Ill participated in a four-mile open water swim in the Straits of Mackinac, which connect the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan and separate Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Despite poor conditions, Kati completed the four miles in three hours and four minutes. Kati swam with four other swimmers, each with a kayak escort and one powerboat to assist. On the day of the swim, there were rough waters, strong currents, and small craft advisories, but all four swimmers made it safely across.
Team A Step Ahead 2011 Schedule:
Adults & Juniors:
* NYC Triathlon - August 7
* Toughman & Toughkids Triathlon - September 10 & 11
* NYC Marathon - November 6
Amputees in The News
Oscar Pistorius, a bilateral below knee amputee from South Africa, became the second amputee athlete to ever qualify to compete at an able-bodied world championship in track and field. On the last possible day to qualify, he ran 45.07 seconds for the 400 meters, beating the qualifying standard of 45.25 for the championships to be held in South Korea. His time in the 400 also qualified him to be selected to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The first amputee athlete to qualify and compete in an able-bodied track championship was Team A Step Ahead member Amy Palmiero-Winters (below knee) in 2010 at the 24-hour world championships, which were held in Brieve, France. To read more about Oscar Pistorius, go to: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2017069/Oscar-Pistorius-Amazing-double-amputee-rewrites-Olympic-history.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Amputee Support Groups
The ASPIRE Support Group meetings are on the last Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at the Hospital for Special Surgery located at 535 East 70th Street, NY. For more information about the ASPIRE support group meetings, contact Charlie Steele at charlieatl@aol.com or (212) 877-7050.
New York-Presbyterian Hospital Amputee Education and Support Group
Every first Friday of the month 10:00AM - 12:00 PM. Milstein Hospital 8 Garden North Dayroom (8th floor rehab unit) Milstein Hospital Building 177 Fort Washington Ave. For more information, contact Jackee Callender at 212-305-8483.
The Long Island Amputee Support Group meets the first Saturday of each month at South Side Hospital, 301 East Main Street in Bayshore. Contact Jodi Adler at 631-968-3330.
Rusk Rehab Amputee Support Group (34th Street/1st avenue) meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:00 PM. For more information about the Rusk Rehab Support Group, contact Dr. Jeff Heckman at 631-873-6223 or by email at: jtheckman@yahoo.com
Amputee Mobility Clinics New York City
On Monday nights from 7-8 PM, David Balsley, P.T. directs the Amputee Mobility Clinic in the 3rd floor gymnasium at Recreation Center 54, 348 E. 54th St, between 1st and 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10022. On Wednesday evenings at 7 PM, Dave also works with amputees interested in outdoor mobility training in Central Park at 90th Street and 5th Ave. Please call Dave at 917-620-8107 if you plan to attend the Wednesday night outdoor clinic in Central Park.
