MAY NEWSLETTER 1. www.astepaheadonline.com ACHIEVES LIFTOFF
2. YNCA DRIVING PEOPLE UP THE WALL
3. ASPIRE SUPPORT GROUP KEEPING FEET ON THE GROUND
4. MAY RUNNING CLINIC DATE STILL PENDING
5. STUDY PARTICIPANTS NEEDED
6. JOIN THE TEAM
7. THE INSURANCE TASK FORCE IS HERE FOR YOU
8. LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER!
9. IMPORTANT A STEP AHEAD OFFICE DATE
10. GET PUBLISHED!
11. SHE’S BETTER THAN ELVIS! www.astepaheadonline.com ACHIEVES LIFTOFF Rising proudly into the smog-filled New York sky, astepaheadonline.com launched early in the morning on May 12, 2003, amidst breathless anticipation from the gathered onlookers, many of whom drove through the night to witness the historic event. Upon seeing the site soar into the web-stratosphere, Erik Schaffer, C.P., excitedly cried out, “Go baby, go!”, and then, wiping a tear from his eye, whispered, “it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” In a more serious vein, A Step Ahead’s website is designed to be an information portal both for our present clients, and the public at large. We will be expanding the site in the coming months, with the goal of always tailoring the site around your needs. So please send us your feedback about www.astepaheadonline.com . We want to know what you think! Bookmark the site, check it out, and give us your input! Special thanks to Renato Castilho (now of Semaphore Partners), the driving creative force behind the website, and Jimmy Quan (of arewehere.com), who did all the programming! YNCA Driving People Up The Wall The Young New York Club for Amputees, coming off its first all-female meeting last month, welcomes back with open arms amputees of both genders to participate in a “climbing meeting” at Outward Bound’s facility in Queens (29-46 Northern Blvd., Long Island City). Lauren Peters, founder of the YNCA, encourages everyone to come experience this unique challenge. To those who are afraid of either heights or simulated cliffs, Lauren still encourages you to come because you can do other things that are just as cool as amputee rock climbing. Like learning to tie climbing knots. Expert climber Lori Penesis (BK) will be among the luminaries explaining how to affix yourself to a vertical wall. However, she discourages anyone expert in the time-honored bar-game of “jumping in a Velcro suit onto a Velcro wall” from attending, noting that “the skill set of launching oneself while moderately impaired onto a synthetic surface differs slightly from the techniques employed by and taught at Outward Bound.” She also requests that people not wear their Spiderman costumes, as they tend to rip in unseemly places when reaching for the next toehold. Space for the climb is limited, so please contact Lauren at (718)-706-9900 ext. 128 to let her know that you’re coming! The ascent takes place on Monday, May 19, at 7:00 P.M. ASPIRE SUPPORT GROUP KEEPING FEET ON THE GROUND The ASPIRE Support Group, unlike the YNCA, will not be climbing any synthetic cliffs at its next meeting, which takes place on Wednesday, May 28, at The Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. Meeting organizer Charlie Steele has not ruled out however, Velcro wall jumping. He also remarks that Spiderman costumes are welcome. The guest speaker at the ASPIRE meeting will be Nick Sbordone, Special Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner to Policy, who will be giving an overview of the NYC taxi and limo business. Nick will focus on the Taxi and Livery Commission’s accessibility programs (larger taxis, etc.), among other things. MAY RUNNING CLINIC DATE STILL PENDING ASPIRE’s May running clinic has not been set yet due to scheduling conflicts at the Jericho High School track. We are attempting to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, and will notify you as soon as a date is set. STUDY PARTICIPANTS NEEDED New York Institute of Technology’s Department of Physical Therapy needs subjects for a study exploring whether factors that cause lower back pain in the general population also contribute to back pain in the amputee population. Subjects must be lower-extremity amputees who are at least 18 months post-operative and ambulatory with a prosthesis. Subjects who have a significant history of back and hip pain before their amputation are not suitable for the study. NYIT needs your help to complete the study! The amount of your time needed by NYIT is minimal. Please contact Karen Friel, P.T., M.H.S., at NYIT’s Department of Physical Therapy (516-686-7651, or dfriel@nyit.edu) to participate. Please step up and help out, as these kinds of studies help all of us, both as patients and as providers trying to help you! JOIN THE TEAM It’s nice to see Sarah Reinertsen slowly easing into her position as Program Manager for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Less than one week into her tenure there, she has sent us the following information, which is a remarkable opportunity for anyone interested: Girlteams Adventure Training Camp For Challenged Female Athletes Twenty-one women ranging in age from 16-60 who have confronted either amputation or blindness are invited to apply for a space in this very special edition of Girlteams to be held September 19-21, 2003. Each of these women will travel and participate at no cost to them. Each space in this camp will be paid for by corporate donations. In addition to the participants, Fees, and travel, these corporate sponsors will also contribute to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. The goal of Adventure Training Consultants, the sponsors, and CAF is to raise $80,000 for the CAF. Girlteams is a 3-day camp where women learn to rock climb, mountain bike, kayak, and navigate. The camp stresses integrity, teamwork, and commitment. Girlteams has provided a curriculum and venue for women to connect with the source of their own courage since 1998. To be considered for one of the 21 positions please write, in 300 words or less, your biography (including your physical challenge), your athletic experience (none required), and the reason you would like to attend. E-mail * info@adventuretrain.com
Snail mail * ATC
2461 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Fax * (310) 458-2811 www.adventuretrain.com THE INSURANCE TASK FORCE IS HERE FOR YOU Despite our repeated entreaties to you to speak to David McGill and Janet MacQueen before making any changes to your insurance, we continue to see clients who move from one health insurer to another without notifying us, often with disastrous consequences. A Step Ahead’s Insurance Task Force exists to help you negotiate the obstacles placed in front of you by the insurance companies ¬ obstacles so significant that we have several experts working full time just to address those issues. Don’t create hurdles of your own making by switching plans without first speaking to us! David McGill and Janet MacQueen are here to help you. Help them do that! David also begs you to comply with this request for another reason: he ages an extra 3 years for every client who switches insurance without first speaking to him. He is already 72 years old as a result, and will be on his deathbed before his kids reach kindergarten if the situation does not improve. LOVE THAT DIRTY WATER! The Amputee Coalition of America’s annual convention in Boston is quickly approaching! Taking place July 3-5, you can spend July 4th on the Banks of the Charles River, listening to the Boston Pops, and watching the fireworks go off overhead. Oh yes ¬ there’s also the convention itself, at which (1) A Step Ahead will be displaying its prosthetic services and Skin Tones system, (2) David McGill will be a panel member for an “Access to Care” seminar, and (3) Heather Mills McCartney will be giving the closing speech. Still not excited? Attend the cleverly-named “Boston Ampu-tea Party” at which a above-knee Elvis impersonator will regale you with both thin Elvis and fat-Elvis era hits. (Thank heavens the ACA was able to locate this guy ¬ if there’s something this country sorely needs, it’s more Elvis impersonators!) If none of this entices you, Erik promises to walk across the water of the Charles River at the end of the convention. So register today! (1-888-amp-know, or http://amputee-coalition.org/annual_meeting_about.html) For those of you who have no idea what the above headline has to do with Boston, please contact either David McGill or consult your Rock and Roll Almanac. IMPORTANT A STEP AHEAD OFFICE DATES & INFO Erik Schaffer will not be in the office Thursday, July 3rd, as A Step Ahead will be in Boston at the Amputee Coalition of America annual convention. Also, we are exploring the possibility of moving to a summer schedule beginning in June. The office would open for appointments beginning at 8:00 am Monday through Thursday, and at 7:30 A.M. on Friday. (Obviously, we would not schedule appointments as late in the afternoon as we do the rest of the year.) As many of you know, traffic on Long Island becomes even more oppressive than normal on summer afternoons, as many people begin commuting from summer homes on the East End of the Island. Our hope is that these new hours will permit clients to beat the traffic to our office both early in the morning and again in the afternoon. Please give us your feedback! Contact us and let us know what you think. GET PUBLISHED! A Step Ahead is exploring the possibility of publishing a short book that will aid parents of pediatric amputees. Specifically, we are interested in focusing on how parents cope with the decisions and emotions that confront them both before and after their young child’s amputation(s). We need your help! We are requesting submissions from parents who have stories to tell ¬ no matter how long or short ¬ so that we can identify some central themes, and then flesh out the content from there. Please do not hesitate to send us your thoughts either via e-mail or the not-quite-so-hip “stamp on an envelope” method. SHE’S BETTER While Elvis may be singing atTHAN ELVIS! the ACA convention in July, he can’t hold a candle to Theresa Sareo (HD), who will be performing at the C-Note on Tuesday, May 20, from 9-11 P.M. She will be joining the (we are told) “legendary” Cosmic Jug Band, performing original songs “in a Classic/Southern Rock Style.” (Why does this band name bring to mind ZZ-Top’s front men blowing into large jugs?) In any event, Theresa promises that if any Elvis impersonator shows up at the C-Note on Tuesday trying to upstage her, she will “take him out with a flying body block.” God bless you, Theresa!
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