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Paul Martin Runs the Fifty-Six Mile Comrades Marathon

Paul Martin (Below Knee) ran the fifty-six mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa. As part of an eighteen-person running team sponsored by World Team, Paul and his teammates ran from Pietermaritzburg to Durban to raise money for children in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa. The Comrades Marathon is the oldest and largest ultramarathon in the world, with over 16,000 competitors this year.

To read more on Paul’s’ experience at Comrades Marathon and the World Vision mission go to:  

http://www.onemansleg.com/2010/06/07/the-comrades-experience/

http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/team-world-vision-comrades-marathon?Open&campaign=12380716

On June 27, Amy Palmiero-Winters (Below Knee) became the first amputee runner to complete the grueling Western States Ultramarathon. The Western States Endurance Run starts at the ski resort in Squaw Valley, CA and finishes 100.2 miles later in Auburn, CA. The race includes over 18,000 feet of ascent and almost 23,000 feet of descent as it winds through the steep and rough terrain of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California. Amy completed the race in 27 hours and 43 minutes.

At the finish line, race organizers asked Amy what her thoughts were on the race. She replied, “It was the hardest thing I have ever done.” Finishers under thirty hours received a bronze belt buckle that Amy is going to present to the family of Pat Griskus, the first amputee to complete an Ironman triathlon. Pat was killed in a car accident while training for a triathlon in 1987 before he could fulfill his dream of running the Western States 100. You can read more about Amy’s accomplishment at Western States at the following link: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/28/2853609/ny-woman-becomes-first-amputee.html

Danny Stein (Bilateral Below Knee) was the winner of the annual Eastern Amputee Golf Association Long Island Classic. Taking place on the Green course at Bethpage State Park, Danny, at 19, was the youngest player of the thirty-two competitors in the event and won with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden death playoff after scoring a 75 on the first 18 holes.

Danny Stein

On June 5, Cate Hughes (Below Knee) competed in her first equestrian competition at the Stony B Acres 4H show in Bernardston, MA.  Cate took first place in the candy race, 2nd place in equitation and 3rd place in the pleasure competition. Cate plans two other competitions this summer in July and August.

Cate Hughes

Jeff Glasbrenner (Below Knee) finished the second of eight Ironman competitions he has planned for this year. On June 27, he completed Ironman Cour d’Alene in Idaho in a time of 13 hours and 4 minutes. Next up for Jeff is Ironman Lake Placid in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York in July.

Nick Roumonada (Below Knee) returned to his hometown of Seattle to run the Seattle Rock & Roll Half-Marathon. With a time of 1:38:38, he was the 435th finisher out of 17,605 runners. Next up for Nick is his first triathlon in July at the Nautica New York City Triathlon.

Eleven Junior Team A Step Ahead athletes participated in the annual Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged at Mitchell Field and Nassau Community College. On June 4th & 5th, James Lozano (Bilateral Below Knee), Sofia Castillo (Above Knee), James Mauldin (Bilateral Below Knee), Victoria Cutrone-Foley (Above Knee), Julia Brietenbach (Above Knee), Jake Lillis (Bilateral Above Knee), Wil Kehler (Van Ness Turnoplasty), Anthony Desano (Above Knee), Tara Dunfee (Below Knee), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Above Knee), and Bryanna Copeland (Bilateral Above Knee) competed in track and field events, swimming and archery. 

The Junior Team before the first race.

On a warm, humid morning in New York, Team A Step Ahead gathered in Central Park for the annual Achilles Track Club Hope & Possibility race. With Prince Harry of England attending the race and Tanner Higgins getting a high five from the Prince, Team A Step Ahead and Junior Team A Step Ahead got a royal start to a great day.

Cate Hughes started the junior relay with the baton at 8 am, running with Mike LaForgia. Each of the juniors ran a leg of the race and carried the baton. The entire junior team met at 72nd Street on the West Side and, with Haley Tyrell carrying the baton, the whole team followed her to the finish line. Many spectators were brought to tears at the finish as the announcer stated how the team was demonstrating Hope and Possibility. All of the junior athletes gave their best effort making it an exciting day in New York.

Junior Team A Step Ahead at the Finish Line

Tara Dunfee (Below Knee), Jake Lillis (Bilateral Above Knee), Julia Brientenbach (Above Knee), Rachel Grusse (Bilateral Below Knee), Cate Hughes  (Below Knee), Anthony Desano (Above Knee), Wil Kehler (Van Ness Turnoplasty), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Above Knee), Larry Mantilla (Above Knee), Haley Tyrell (Hip Disarticulation), James Lozano (Bilateral Below Knee), Victoria Cutrone-Foley (Above Knee), Jamol Pilgrim (Above Knee)  and Tanner Higgins (Below Elbow) ran as a relay team to complete the 5 mile race.

Running the full five miles were James Mauldin (40:36) for second place in the bilateral division, Jack Ahrens (43:41) second place in the below knee division, and Tomek Starnawaski (46:30) first place in the above knee division. Adult team members Sam Cila (Below Elbow), Michael LaForgia (Below Knee/Partial Foot), and Nick Andriola (Below Knee) ran with and assisted the junior relay team. Many thanks go to Hemsley Hughes for coordinating the logistics of the event and Ben Mauldin for putting on an amazing team picnic to follow.

For the fourth straight year, thirteen-year-old Maggie Gaal (Below Knee) has raised money for the national nonprofit organization Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. Started in 2000 by Alexandra Scott, a cancer patient who passed away at the age of eight, the organization has raised over $30 million. Based on the idea of fighting childhood cancer one cup at a time, children and families raise money by selling lemonade. On May 30, Maggie raised over $6,000.

To read more about Maggie and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation go to:

http://www.alexslemonade.org/newsroom/heroes/maggie-gaal

and http://www.alexslemonade.org/about

I am Ariela Avni and this story starts about 10 years ago in a car accident that I have to carry its consequences for the rest of my life. In a second I lost my right leg above the knee. I was a very energetic and sportive person, and my passion was dancing.  Since then I was looking for ways to improve my capabilities and tried to continue doing what I love, but unfortunately for most of the things it just didn’t work out and in a lot of cases I had to give up. At a certain point, in order to keep my sanity, I have decided to forget my dreams of reaching exotic places in the world.

And then, exactly 2 years ago, in June 2008 I met the incredible A Step Ahead team, and since then my life has changed. I started to dream again, and moreover, I started to make my dreams come true.

I managed to travel and hike in places like the rural areas of China, or climbing steep hills in Norway to visit ancient wood churches.

Recently I planned to carry out my oldest and most ambitious dream. I carefully planned everything including visiting A Step Ahead prior to the trip, in order to make sure everything perfectly fits.
 
I took a flight from New York to Cusco, Peru. Cusco is 11,200 feet high (3,400 m), and is the main city when traveling to the Machu-Picchu in Peru!  On our arrival, we were advised to sit still for about 2 hours before moving anywhere and just drink Coca tea to let our body adjust to this altitude. After 2 hours, we could start walking very slowly while being attentive to our body and breath. So, after 2 hours we felt fine and started walking slowly toward the main plaza at Cusco, expecting to see the Carnival dancers as was promised. On my way to the plaza, walking in a beautiful alley, I stopped to take a picture of a beautiful front wall with beautiful wooden carved balconies. While adjusting my camera (which normally takes me time), a bus gets into the alley and stops just in front of me and blocks me from taking this “amazing” picture I planned. At that moment I felt somewhat disappointed, but at the same time I noticed a lady inside the bus waving strongly with her hand. The first thought (and obviously naïve) that crossed my mind was: “Oh, what a nice lady, she asks the driver to continue driving in order not to disturb me from taking a picture”, BUT – in a second look I realized what I just couldn’t believe – In that bus, at Cusco in Peru, at the very same moment – there was Maya Freund, another patient of A Step Ahead and my best friend from home! She stepped down the bus and we hugged each other speechless.

What one should realize is that Maya and I together stand firmly on 2 legs (BTW, Left and Right :)). Both Maya and I (Two amputee AK ladies in our 50’s), visited the Machu-Picchu, and the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean to hike in this amazing natural unique place on earth.

Bottom line: “Live life without limitation,” “Life is Good – Do what you Like, and Like what you Do.”    

From the Prosthetist: Spring & Summer

As summer approaches and the temperature increases, several issues may develop with the fit of your prosthesis. Sweating may be a concern. If you wear a below knee prosthesis, sweating can contribute to a loose fit with poor suspension. Throughout the course of the day you may have to take your prosthesis and silicone liner off and dry both the liner and your skin. If you don’t, you will be subjecting your limb to a wet and loose fit that may lead to skin breakdown and bone bruising. If drying off your limb does not help, there are antiperspirants that can be applied to your limb. 
If over-the counter antiperspirants don’t work, you should seek advice from a dermatologist regarding stronger prescription antiperspirants. If you wear an above knee prosthesis, we advise the same care if you use a silicone liner with a seal or lanyard. If your prosthesis is suspended by total suction, taking off your prosthesis, drying your limb, and applying a light coating of medicated powder would be a good first option. Another option would be to apply an antiperspirant.

Another concern in the warm summer weather is volume fluctuation. Your residual limb may increase in size due to the heat. If you wear a below the knee prosthesis, this issue can be resolved easily by reducing sock ply. For above the knee amputees, an adjustment to your socket may be necessary. The heat may pose difficulty for donning an above knee prosthesis. Staying in a well air-conditioned room for about 15- 20 minutes and then donning the prosthesis may make it easier. If you have more questions about how to manage the changes in temperature and how they affect your residual limb, call our office and speak to your prosthetist.

Now is the best time to consider making some changes and/or additions to your prosthesis. If you love the beach, the pool, or water sports, we can fabricate a customized waterproof prosthesis for you. If you have always had the desire to wear shorts and sandals in the summer, we can design and fabricate a custom silicone skin cover for you. Save your old prosthetics components, and we can use them to make a waterproof prosthesis for all your warm-weather activities. The Skin Tones System can even be designed to be used in the water as a fully waterproof prosthesis that can be submerged for swimming and other water sports. For more information about our Skin Tones System, visit our website and view our photo gallery or call to speak to one of our prosthetists.

Above Knee Swim Prosthesis with Custom Silicone Skin Cover

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 10:00-12:00 PM. Milstein Hospital 8 Garden North Dayroom (8th floor rehab unit) Milstein Hospital Building 177 Fort Washington Ave. For more information contact Sharon Clark at 212-305-3964.

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 .

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.  

For more information on amputee support groups around the country, go to http://www.amputee-coalition.org/npn_about.html

 

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) needs to clean up its act when it comes to airport security screenings for people with limb loss according to the Amputee Coalition of America. Results of a survey of 7,300 amputees released this week showed that travelers with limb loss have been subjected to inconsistent, unfair, abusive and often embarrassing screenings by TSA employees.

“We respect that TSA’s job is to protect our skies, but the lack of training and inconsistent practices in dealing with travelers with limb loss is unacceptable,” said Kendra Calhoun, president & CEO of the Amputee Coalition of America. “We are disappointed to learn about amputees who have been required to take off their arms and legs, expose their amputated limbs and give up equipment required for their prosthetic legs. We recognize there are many TSA employees who are doing outstanding jobs with amputee screenings, but clearly our survey data shows there is a lot of room for overall improvement by TSA.”

The Amputee Coalition of America survey found:
• TSA agents are often confused about how to manage screening prosthetic arms and legs.
• Amputees are often denied the ability to have their caregivers  accompany them into screening rooms.
• Amputees report being screened by TSA agents not of the same gender.
• 75 percent of respondents said they were unsatisfied with their most recent TSA experience.
• 50 percent said they were required to lift or raise their clothing during a procedure called “explosive trace sampling” with no explanation given by TSA personnel.
• More than half of the amputees who responded indicated TSA personnel exhibited a lack of training relative to disability populations – namely, amputees.

Respondents are 70 percent less likely to travel by commercial airline due to negative experiences with TSA personnel. (Each year, 21 million Americans with disabilities spend $13.6 billion on travel, according to research conducted by the Open Doors Organization.

Peggy, an amputee who lives in Gainesville, Virginia, echoes these survey results in her personal experience, where she was instructed to remove her prosthetic leg and liner, exposing her bare residual limb. Jeff, a medical doctor who lives in Denver, Colorado, also had an experience where TSA agents confiscated equipment he needs to put on his legs – he’s a bilateral amputee. Leslie, an attorney and lower-extremity amputee who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was required by TSA agents to stand on stacked plastic crates for multiple x-rays.

“Amputees have reported to us that there are different procedures at different airports and sometimes different procedures at the same airport, depending on when you fly,” said Calhoun. “We have gotten reports of more than 15 X-rays being taken for an amputee to get through the TSA screening. We want our skies to be safe, but there has to be a better way than the approach TSA is using. We need better training for TSA staff in dealing with disability populations.”