July Newsletter Vol. 5 Issue 7 Patients in the News  Suzanne Guacci's first independent film, Cycles, is an official selection of the Long Island International Film Expo. Cycles is a character-driven drama that takes place entirely in a laundromat over the course of one day. Characters come and go throughout the day, sharing time and then traveling on in anonymity allowing just a glimpse into their lives on a seemingly ordinary yet extraordinary day. Suzanne wrote/co-directed and co-produced this film. In addition to being selected to the Long Island Film Expo, Cycles was also an official selection of the Austin Women's Film Festival in May. For more information about this film and the showing of the film on Wednesday July 9 go to Suzanne's' website: http://aspirefilmproductions.com/aspire.swf or to the film expo website: http://lifilmexpo.org/sections/films08/film08_033.html  Kenny Bontz was featured in a full-page story in the New York Daily News sports section. The story focuses on Kenny's attempt to be the first golfer with a disability to qualify for the New Jersey State Amateur Golf Championship. Click here to read the article. Kelly Bruno participated in tryouts to be a ball person for the 2008 U.S. Tennis Open. If selected, Kelly will be the first person with a disability to serve as a ball person at the most prestigious tennis tournament in the United States. WNBC and CW11 featured stories on both Kelly and Scout Bassett who also participated in the tryouts: http://www.wnbc.com/news/16723767/detail.html http://cw11.trb.com/news/local/morningnews/ Scroll down to "Tamsen Takes on: US Open ball person Tryouts" in the CW Morning News box.
Team A Step Ahead Team A Step Ahead makes a Big Impact at the Achilles Track Club Hope & Possibility 5 Mile Race The adult and junior runners of Team A Step Ahead made a big impact at the annual Achilles Track Club Hope & Possibility 5 mile race. The event, held in New York's Central Park on June 22, is a 5 mile race that is open to able-bodied runners and athletes with disabilities. This year, Team A Step Ahead had 19 participants including 7 adult and 8 junior runners entered in a special relay and 5 adults who assisted the junior athletes.
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Junior Team A Step Ahead at the finish line. |
The relay started off with a fast pace by Robert Berger who handed the baton off to Julia Brietenbach, followed by Alexandra Capellini, James Lozano, Cate Hughes, Anthony Desano, Larry Mantilla, and Jake Lillis. The entire junior and adult Team A Step Ahead runners m et Jake so they could all cross the finish line together as a team. Larry Mantilla (18 months old), the youngest member of Junior Team A Step Ahead, was so excited at the end of the relay he crossed the finish line 3 more times to a resounding applause. The juniors were assisted by Corrina Caval, Craig Pratka, Kuni Pinner-Raouf, Tony Carissimo, and Amy Palmerio-Winters. The adult amputee runners that participated in the full 5 mile race are: Lauren Peters -- 50:29, Ben Simmons -- 51:31, Michael Laforgia -- 51:50, Shlomo Nimrodi -- 52:58, Peter Bremberg -- 58:38, Nick Androlia -- 1:08: 29 and Antoinette Dorazio -- 1:16:27.  Jake Lillis and Cate Hughes | 
Anthony Desano |  Larry Mantilla |  Robert Berger |  James Lozano |  Alexandra Cappelini | | |  Julia Brietenbach | |
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Kelly Bruno, Tommy Koehler, Sandy Dukat,
& Amy Palmiero-Winters with their
World Championship medals. |
Team A Step Ahead Triathletes Capture 4 Medals at the International Triathlon Union World Championships On Saturday, June 7, four Team A Step Ahead athletes braved the cool air and cold water in Vancouver, British Columbia to capture four medals at the I.T.U. World Triathlon Championships. Competing against one of the largest fields of physically challenged athletes at a triathlon world championships, Team A Step Ahead once again excelled. The I.T.U. world championships are an Olympic distance triathlon consisting of a 1500 meter swim, 40 kilometer bike ride, and a 10 kilometer run. In only her second major Olympic distance triathlon, Sandy Dukat took first place in the female above knee divison with a time of 2:57:50. Only two weeks after breaking the world record in the Ironman triathlon in Brazil and despite two flat tires, Amy Palmiero-Winters took first place in the female below the knee division with a time of 2:25:55. While working full time and studying to get in to medical school, Kelly Bruno posted one of her fastest times at the Olympic distance with a time of 2:33:48, taking second place in the female below-knee divison. In the midst of training for Ironman Lake Placid, Tommy Koehler captured 3rd place in one of the most highly competitive male below-knee divisions in a time of 2:18:32. The water and weather conditions were severe enough to force the race organizers to cancel the swim portion for most of the age group competition. Jesse Karamzin (BK) will be representing the United States at the Beijing Paralympic Games as part of the U.S. Paralympic Rowing four with coxswain crew. Jesse has been competing in rowing since 2003 while studying at Princeton University. He has represented the US at world championships. This is the first Paralympics that is recognizing rowing as a full medal sport. The 2008 Paralympic games take place from September 6-17. In preparation for his first Ironman triathlon in July, John Tartaglio tackled his first Olympic distance triathlon at the Pat Griskus Tri in Connecticut. John loves challenges, so he sought one of the hilliest courses to make his debut into the world of triathlons. John's finishing time for this very tough course was 3 hours and 37 minutes. Mike Laforgia competed in the Gold Coast Sprint Triathlon on Fathers Day June 15. Mike and his coach, Dr. Bob Otto, were very pleased with his finishing time at 1 hour and 40 minutes. Mike, along with Tommy Koehler who is training for Ironman Lake Placid on July 20, are being coached by Dr. Otto through a program with Long Island Tri Coach and the Runners Edge. On June 28-29 Amy Palmiero-Winters participated in the 2008 Real Deal Inclusive Sports Adventure Race in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. This was the first adventure race that included individuals with disabilities as part of each team. The event consisted of a 12 mile mountain bike, a 12 mile paddle and climb, camp overnight, 4 mile paddle and mandatory swim for two non climbing team members in class 2-3 rapids, a 7 mile paddle and a 12 mile hike to the finish line. Amy's Powerbar sponsored team of 5 athletes and adventure racers captured first place in this grueling test of skill, endurance, strength and team work. Amy was quoted in the Denver Post about her participation in this event : http://www.denverpost.com/ci_9748215.
 Colin Gooley, team captain of the Durgee Junior High School lacrosse team in Baldwinsville, N.Y. received the Sportsmanship of the Year award for 2007-08 at the annual school sports banquet.
Amputee Support Groups The next ASPIRE support group meeting will be held on Wednesday July 30 at 6:15 pm at the Hospital for Special Surgery located at 535 East 70th Street, NY. For more information about the ASPIRE support group 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 9-11 AM Hoyt Board Room Children's Hospital of New York
in Room 121, 3959 Broadway New York, NY 10032. (Enter on West 167th and Broadway at the glass Energy Court.) For further information and to RSVP, contact Annette Ward at 212-305-3964. The Long Island amputee support group meets the first Saturday of each month at South Side Hospital, 301 East Main Street in Bayshore. If you are interested in joining this group, contact Jodi Adler at 631-968-3330.
Mobility Clinic Join Dave Balsley, P.T. and Phil Kreuter, P.T. at the Jericho High School track on Long Island for their monthly mobility clinic at 10 am on Sunday July 26. They will provide instruction in gait training and running techniques as well as advanced mobility skills. Dave and Phil have extensive experience working with amputees of all ages and activity levels. Come work out with world class athletes and learn from experienced coaches and physical therapists. The setting is relaxed and enjoyable. There is no pressure; come learn and see what you can do to improve yourself or just to watch. For more information and directions to the mobility clinic, call the office at 516-681-3484.
Staff Addition to A Step Ahead Dan Klepner has joined A Step Ahead's staff to coordinate our information technology and website division. Dan has over 10 years of experience in IT support, network architecture, and web design. He received a BA from Hofstra University in 1999, by which time he had already been employed as a contractor by NCR. After graduating, Dan spent seven years working for Microsan Corporation, an industry leader in point of sales systems, finishing his tenure there as the company's senior programmer and director of special projects. Since then, he has been working privately as an IT consultant in a variety ofÿroles including designing and implementing small and medium sized networks, developing web sites for informational and eCommerce purposes, and database administration.
Research A Step Ahead Prosthetics & Adelphi University will be conducting a research study entitled: 'The Run Efficiency of Amputee Athletes with Prostheses'. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the energy cost of the Flex Run prosthetic foot and match the optimal prosthetic stiffness to the athlete at various run speeds. The research will be directed by Dr. Bob Otto, director of the Human Performance Laboratory of Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. The results of this research will help determine what category of running foot allows the athlete to run at the most efficient level. In addition the research will provide significant data on running efficiency of below the knee amputee runners.
On June 24, Louisiana became the 11th state to pass a prostethic parity law. The House Bill 318 was introduced in March. The bill was heard by the Insurance committee on April 9th. The committee amended the bill to include a financial cap of $50,000 per limb annually. The Federal Prosthetic Parity Act of 2008 was introduced on March 13, 2008. House Resolution 5615 requires a consistent and appropriate standard for prosthetic care. The bill was authored by Representative Robert Andrews (D-NJ), with Representatives George Miller (D-CA), Todd Platts (R-PA), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) signing on as original co-sponsors. Since the introduction of this bill the ACA held a very successful week of action where activists across the country organized events in support of the federal bill. Over 98 events were held in 89 different cities in 35 states. The ACA also held a lobby day on June 11th which was a tremendous success and nearly doubled our sponsorship again!
As a result of this as well as the continued activism of many ACA members, the number of co-sponsors over the past month has tripled. There are now 18 representatives sponsoring the Federal Prosthetic Parity Act of 2008. For more information on prosthetic parity legislation in your state, the federal legislation or information about other ACA programs and activities go to: http://www.amputee-coalition.org/ | 
