paralyzed patients walk again in warm water

After nine grueling years of therapy, dashed hopes and incremental progress, Amber Mickel was able to use a walker -- a bit. But she couldn’t run and play with other kids, her grandmother, Sally Mickel, recalled. Amber was a robust infant until she was 3 months old. Then everything changed. Pneumococcal meningitis nearly took her life and left her deaf, suffering from cerebral palsy, and developmentally disabled.

Then in 2005, practically in the blink of an eye, everything changed again, thanks to Palo Alto’s Betty Wright Swim Center, the therapeutic aquatics center for people with disabilities at Middlefield and E. Charleston roads. Amber’s father put the little girl into her swimsuit and lowered her into the water. Sally turned her back on the pool for only a second. Then she heard Amber’s father yell,“Mom! She’s walking!”

Sally’s voice broke with emotion, recounting the story earlier this week. “She was running through the water -- all the way across the pool,” she said. Now 14, Amber can walk on land and can even run a bit. “It’s absolutely amazing. For years, we had to pack up all the gear -- the wheel chair and the walker -- we couldn’t just go ‘anyplace,’” Sally Mickel said. Amber’s Lourdes-like miracle has been repeated many times at Betty Wright, although perhaps not as spontaneously, clients said.

Persons with paralysis, heart, neurological and arthritic conditions, developmental disabilities or injuries from accidents go into the pool often unable to stand or walk. In the 93-degree water, working with dedicated hydrotherapists, they learn to stand, walk and swim. An evolution often takes place. Some clients learn to walk on land, without having to be buoyed by the water.
But the center, opened in 1969, is aging. A boiler that keeps the pool at its healing-level temperature is near to failing and the building’s ventilation system needs revamping, staff says. Solar panels will help cut energy costs in half -- crucial in these lean-budget times -- and the money saved will help fund scholarships for people who can’t afford the therapy fees. Funding will also help train additional hydrotherapists, said Renate Henry Olaisen, director of social enterprise for Abilities United, which runs the swim center.

Hydrotherapy client Ron Coté became paralyzed from the waist down in January 2005 due to a spinal condition that was initially undiagnosed. Surgery did not restore his mobility; he remained in intense pain from spasms that come with paralysis, he said. Hydrotherapy in the warm pool has brought relief from pain to Coté, a retired corporate attorney for Adobe Systems.
“The whole system locks up. It follows down from the torso to the toes. You feel like you’re going to break,” he said of the pain. The soothing water is crucial to people with spinal-cord injuries; because often they cannot regulate body temperature. Coté once developed hypothermia within 15 minutes of entering an 80-degree pool, he said.

Working with three of Betty Wright Center’s hydrotherapists -- Vladimir Choubabko, Morgan Pozzi and Kim Motzny -- he learned to touch his feet to the bottom of the pool and to use his muscles in limited ways: to contract, extend, work and relax. Coté has had a total of 10 surgeries. Each operation means months of recuperation and setbacks. Each time Coté has sought the water to regain his strength and transcend his pain. “It allows you to cope with things that would otherwise be so terrible and drain you,” he said. Coté now walks using a walker and he uses a cycling machine. In 2011, he hopes to walk without the walker, he said.
The future offers great promise, he said. “I’ll be happy if I can walk without holding onto things. We could travel again.”

Another client, Molly Hale, 61, faced a dire prognosis following a rollover car accident on U.S. Interstate 280 in 1995, in which she suffered a broken neck. Doctors said she would be permanently paralyzed below her shoulders. She is now walking and swimming. She initially shunned traditional therapies -- and some drugs could cause liver damage, she said. But Hale, a competitive swimmer in her youth, found hydrotherapy a natural fit.

In 2001 Hale could finally get her legs beneath her body and bear weight in the water and, later, on land. “It completely rocked my world -- just to be able to stand up in one spot and pull up my own pants was huge,” she said. Her arms now take long, powerful strokes through the water. And she can walk on land again, using people for balance, she said. “The water allows me to unfold and get my body completely open. There is a strong sense of welcome. The water says, ‘Ah -- you’re home.’ That’s what it feels like to me. I’m totally free,” she said.

Reprinted with permission from the Palo Alto Weekly. The full story, with photos, is available on http://www.PaloAltoOnline.com/news/show_story.php?id=19524

For information about Abilities United Aquatic Services contact 650-494-1480 or aquatics@AbilitiesUnited.org

Children thrive in individualized therapies

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Four-year-old Daimé, spots speech therapist Dawn Ferrer across the hall and squeals with delight as she runs into her arms. Dawn bends down to Daimé‘s and asks her about her morning. As they chat back and forth, they head off to the therapy room hand in hand.

The room is sunny and bright, full of colorful toys and special equipment designed to engage the child in the oral and physical exercises used to encourage speech and language.

Dawn lifts Daimé gently into a swing “box” that hangs from the ceiling and sits on the floor facing the young girl. An Ipad sits to the right of Dawn within arms reach. She gives Daimé a dog puppet and asks her what the dog says. Daimé moves her hand to move the dog’s mouth and says “bow-wow”. Dawn then clicks the Ipad screen to an image of a dog. She asks Daimé what the image is and the girl quickly says “dog”. They continue their exercises using a combination of the swing, puppets, and the Ipad as Dawn helps Daimé pronounce each word and rewards her with high fives and high praise.

Daime’s mother, Armanda, appears ecstatic as she watches her daughter. “Her progress is incredible, and it’s only been one month! What I love about Abilities United is they understand my child. No one judges her. She gets really good service here. Even though we can get therapy services for free, what we get here is better because of the sensory integration. I absolutely think the $120 per hour is worth every penny.”

The Therapy Clinic was the brain child of the Abilities United staff when they repeatedly heard from parents of children graduating from the Early Intervention program that their 3 year old children still needed individual physical, occupational and speech therapy. Since each parent and child had established relationships with the Early Intervention therapists, it made sense and was beneficial to the child to continue those relationships.

The Therapy Clinic is a private pay service and does not require a referral from a pediatrician or regional center. The clinic now serves 55 children from infancy to school age. For the children and parents from Early Intervention and Milestones Preschool, the clinic is a familiar and convenient option. For the children who are new to Abilities United, the Therapy Clinic offers a “one-stop-shop” of the various therapy modalities and provides immediate therapy with no wait list. For all clients, the fact that all the therapists are under one roof means that they collaborate and consult with each other so each treatment plan is cohesive and potential developmental delays can be immediately addressed. The skills the child learns in one therapy can be generalized to other therapy sessions. Dawn Ferrer explains; “If a therapist is concerned about the progress of their client or wonders how to more effectively work with their client, they can consult with other therapists about their approach and the results of that approach. They can advise each other on how to maximize their therapy time with the child. They share tips on how to communicate with the child to help them make more progress. ”

Armanda adds, “I feel the therapists are kind and helpful. They teach me how to work with her. They teach me about what is going on with her and what the problems are. They explain what they are doing and give me tips on what I can do with her at home.”

In addition to physical, occupational, and speech therapies; the Therapy Clinic also provides small group sessions including the "Jump Start Language" for children 18 months to 2.5 years old, speech articulation for 4 – 9 year olds, and social skills for children 4 years and older.

Dawn further states; “Our therapists have a great reputation in the community and parents want to continue their child’s therapy with their current therapists. But our goal is to get them (the child) to a place where they don’t need us.”

For more information on the Therapy Clinic contact 650-618-3353 or dawn@AbilitiesUnited.org

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