Petaluma caregiver Sally Pyne and her box turtle Lucky were to board a
plane for New York City Wednesday for an appearance on NBC's “Today”
show — part of a whirlwind of media coverage she's received since her
pet first ventured out on newfangled legs last month.
Lucky, his front extremities chewed off by what Pyne believes was a
raccoon, has been featured far and wide in newspapers and on the
Internet since a Rohnert Park veterinarian outfitted his shell with
furniture coasters that allow him to scoot around as if he's still a
four-legged critter.
More than 66,000 people have viewed a YouTube video showing him with female partner, Lovey, in their Petaluma home.
The
Los Angeles Times, Fox News, the British Broadcasting Corporation and
several British newspapers are among the many more traditional media
outlets in which Lucky and his owner have made news.
A British
reporter told Pyne, “They're mad for animal stories in England,” she
said by phone Wednesday while en route to the airport.
The pair
is slated for “Today” on Thursday morning, and will be joined by Al
Wolf of Sonoma County Reptile Rescue in Sebastopol, Pyne said.
It
was Wolf who gave Lucky to Pyne in the first place when the box
turtle's former owners could no longer keep him, so “this is perfect,”
she said Wednesday.
Lucky, housed in a small cat crate with food
and a warm blanket, will ride with them in the aircraft cabin, she
said. They're staying at the famed Essex hotel before their return
flight Thursday afternoon.
Pyne wasn't sure who will interview
her, but figures this news story is too “soft” for the likes of Matt
Lauer or even Meredith Vieira.
“It's really crazy,” Pyne said. “I never ever thought it would grow into this. I'm fine with it. It's just a little silly.”
Pyne
said her dream is not to go on television, but to somehow turn her five
minutes of fame into something positive for animals - say a non-profit
fund to help pet owners pay for emergency medical care when they can't
afford it.
Her idea is still unformed, but in the meantime she's
trying to raise donations to defray her own $900 bill for Lucky's care
— a daunting amount for someone on a home caregiver's pay.
She's set up a “Lucky Fund” at the Bank of Marin on Baywood Drive in Petaluma.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Amputee Coalition of America and the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association today announced that Senators Tom Harkin and Olympia J. Snowe and Representatives Robert E. Andrews, George Miller, and Lincoln Diaz-Balart are recipients of their joint organizations' 2009 Legislative Appreciation Awards.
The awards are being presented today at a mini-Hill Day event, with more than 40 amputees and advocates from around the country also visiting Capitol Hill to make specific recommendations to Congress for the inclusion of prosthetic arms and legs in the national healthcare reform legislation.
"For their commitment, dedication and service to ensuring quality healthcare for amputees and their effort to make certain that fair insurance coverage is available for prosthetic arms and legs, we are proud to present these awards as a token of our appreciation to these members of Congress," said Kendra Calhoun, Amputee Coalition president and CEO. Calhoun emphasized that healthcare for amputees needs fair consideration in any healthcare reform proposal. "Amputees are no longer a hidden part of our society, and they need to be heard in the healthcare debate. This is the message they will carry to Capitol Hill today."
The Amputee Coalition and other disability groups have heralded the inclusion in the healthcare reform bills of guaranteed issue and renewal of coverage in the individual and small group markets, the prohibition of pre-existing health condition exclusions, and the end of annual and lifetime insurance caps, with a limit on out-of-pocket spending. According to Calhoun, amputees also want a guarantee that they will have fair access to arms and legs.
In May, Rep. Robert E. Andrews introduced the "Prosthetic and Custom Orthotic Parity Act of 2009" (H.R. 2575), which would require employer-paid health plans to provide coverage for prosthetic and custom-fabricated orthotic devices on par with the coverage offered for other medical and surgical services. Sens. Harkin and Snowe co-sponsored a similar prosthetic parity bill in the Senate in 2008 and are working on introducing a new one this year. Reps. Miller and Diaz-Balart also signed onto the House bill as lead sponsors.
"At a time when healthcare costs are rising by about 7 percent annually, the financial hardship on those in need of prosthetic devices is devastating," said Rep. Andrews. "Yet, by expanding coverage for prosthetic devices so that it is on par with other types of essential care, not only will amputees receive necessary treatment and experience better quality of life, but the healthcare industry as a whole will save money. Since prosthetics often dramatically decrease secondary health problems for those in need, the benefits of this coverage far outweigh the costs in the long run."
Though 17 states have passed similar prosthetic parity laws, amputee advocates still say that there needs to be a national law.
"These state laws have helped many people," said Tom Fise, American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association executive director, "but they are not enough. Without a federal law, there will always be amputees who fall through the cracks."
The awards ceremony for House members will be held at 9 a.m. today in the Rayburn House Office Building (Room B-318). The ceremony for Senate members will be held at noon in the Capitol Visitor Center (Room SVC 214).
About the Amputee Coalition of America The Amputee Coalition is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is "to reach out to and empower people affected by limb loss to achieve their full potential through education, support and advocacy, and to promote limb loss prevention." The organization is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has an advocacy staff in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit the Amputee Coalition's prosthetic parity Web page at www.armsandlegsarenotaluxury.com or call 888/267-5669.
About the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) AOPA, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to helping orthotic and prosthetic businesses and professionals navigate the multitude of issues surrounding the delivery of quality patient care. This year, the association celebrates the 92nd anniversary of its founding in 1917, when the needs of returning veterans in the aftermath of World War I required a national organization to address the educational and research needs of the industry. For more information, visit the AOPA Web site at www.aopanet.org or call 571/431-0876.
SOURCE The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association
Companies
that make medical devices are concerned that they are going to have to
carry a heavy tax burden under a health care reform plan proposed by
Senator Max Baucus. Baucus is the Senate Finance Committee Chairman.
His plan would place fees on medical device manufacturers to help pay for health care reform.
Andy
Besser is the manager of a prosthetics and orthotics company in
Davenport. Many of the components used to make artificial arms and
legs would be taxed under the Baucus plan. Joints for knee braces and
prosthetic feet that the company orders from other manufacturers would
be included in that tax.
That added cost will be passed on to
his company and in turn to the consumer. He says as expenses go up, it
might be difficult for some medical device companies to keep people on
board as well as hire and expand businesses. Besser says it's going to
become just that much tougher.
LEDYARD, Conn. – A Massachusetts man who lost his leg in an accident at Foxwoods Resort Casino in 2006 received a $2.9 million award in what may be the largest personal injury claim ever negotiated in a tribal court.
Richard Murch, 69, of Tewksbury, Mass., and the Mashantucket Pequot
Gaming Enterprise agreed to settle the claim minutes before a trial was
to begin in Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court in early August.
MPGE is the business arm of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns Foxwoods Resort Casino in southeastern Connecticut. Tribal officials said it was their largest settlement.
New London attorney M. John Strafaci, who represented Murch, said it may be the largest settlement in any tribal court.
Strafaci said his client was happy with the settlement.
“Once the settlement was announced to Mr. Murch, once we told him we
had reached a number that would provide him and his family with future
security, he had a big smile on his face and his family said it was the
first time they’d seen him smile like that since the accident. It was
just a giant weight taken off his shoulders, knowing he could pay his
bills and the family could have some security,” Strafaci said.
WORCESTER, Mass. On September 16, leaders in research and
development of implantable limb neuroprosthetics will gather at
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to discuss the state of the field
and to advance collaborations that will push next-generation artificial
limbs and prosthetic devices closer to clinical application.
Organized by the Center for Neuroprosthetics in WPI's Bioengineering Institute (BEI), with grant support from the
John Adams
Innovation Institute, "Neuroprosthetics 2009: Today's Progress,
Tomorrow's Promise" is the only national conference this year focused
on the scientific and engineering problems that must be solved to
enable a new generation of artificial limbs that more closely replicate
the function of natural limbs.
"There is a great human need
for better, more functional prosthetic devices, especially for our
soldiers who have been severely injured in Iraq and Afghanistan," says
W. Grant McGimpsey, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and
director of the BEI, who organized the event. "We are very pleased to
sponsor and host this symposium, so that many of the best minds in this
field can come together, interact and discuss how to attack the very
complicated problems that need to be solved if we are to realize the
progress that so many people hope for and would benefit from."
More
than 150 scientists, engineers, clinicians and other professionals from
around the country who work in various facets of the prosthetics and
neuroprosthetics fields are expected to attend.
Plenary speakers include:
Lt. Colonel Paul Pasquina, M.D., chief of the Integrated
Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation and medical director of
the Amputee Program, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
Buddy Ratner, PhD, director of University of Washington
Engineered Biomaterials and professor of bioengineering and chemical
engineering at the university
Todd Kuiken, MD, PhD, director of the Neural Engineering
Center for Artificial Limbs, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago,
Northwestern University
John E. Olerud, MD, George Odland Professor and head of the Division of Dermatology, University of Washington
Kent N. Bachus, PhD, research associate professor and director
of the Harold K. Dunn Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, University of
Utah
James Peter Beck, MD, adjunct professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Bone and Joint Research Lab, University of Utah
Christopher Allan, MD, associate professor, Department of Orthopaedics
and Sports Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, University of
Washington School of Medicine
George Pins, PhD, associate professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
The
day-long symposium will be held in WPI's Campus Center in Worcester,
Mass. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The event is free, and the
morning and afternoon plenary sessions are open to the public.
Afternoon break-out sessions are by invitation only.
This
center in the Bioengineering Institute at Worcester Polytechnic
Institute is engaged in research aimed at developing technology that
will place prosthetic limbs and organs under the control of the nervous
system, enabling users to control these devices in the same way they do
their natural appendages and organs. For military personnel who have
lost limbs, neuroprosthetics will offer more rapid recovery and
rehabilitation. The center draws upon WPI faculty expertise in the life
sciences and biomedical, electrical, and mechanical engineering,
including such areas as electronic control systems, communications,
imaging, sensors, bio-compatibility, and biomaterials.
About the WPI Bioengineering Institute
The
WPI Bioengineering Institute (BEI) is a multidisciplinary R&D
organization utilizing academic, industry, and government partnerships
to develop innovative healthcare technologies. BEI focuses on several
major technologies, including sensing, bioprocessing, imaging,
nanotechnology, remote diagnostics and treatment, and water quality.
Seven multidisciplinary centers enable scientists, engineers, and
clinicians to address tough research challenges with flexibility and
imagination.
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Founded
in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI was one of the nation's first
engineering and technology universities. WPI's14 academic departments
offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in
science, engineering, technology, management, the social sciences, and
the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and PhD
degrees. WPI's world-class faculty work with students in a number of
cutting-edge research areas, leading to breakthroughs and innovations
in such fields as biotechnology, fuel cells, information security,
materials processing, and nanotechnology. Students also have the
opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations
around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective
Program. There are more than 20 WPI project centers throughout North
America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.
