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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
HHC’s annual Family
Fair coming soon
Special to the Journal
Join Houston Healthcare
for Family Fair 2007 Aug.
4th from 10 a.m. until 2
p.m. at the Galleria Mall in
Centerville.
More than 50 exhibit
booths will be on display
offering health screenings,
information, freebies and
tips on keeping families
healthy and active.
“Family Fair is truly an
event for the entire fam
ily. Our goal is to promote
health and wellness infor
mation, along with other
tips and ideas on successful
parenting and maintaining
a healthy family to families
and individuals while they
are in the mall for back
to-school shopping,” says
Mary Jane Kinnas, director
of marketing for Houston
Healthcare.
“This year Family Fair
will also include booths
sponsored by recreational
and special interest and
activity groups geared
High-tech prosthetic helps
ex-officer get around
By ADAM CRISP
Morris News Service
SAVANNAH - A strug
gle with a suspect ended
Randy Thran’s career with
the Savannah-Chatham
Metropolitan Police
Department three years ago
and eventually led to the
amputation of his injured
leg.
Thanks to a robotic knee,
however, the former officer
is getting a second chance at
walking normally.
He is the first in Savannah
and the second person in
Georgia to be outfitted with
a Power Knee, a computer
ized prosthesis.
On Thursday, he demon
strated the new leg after a
final clinical fitting.
He said it’s the first
replacement leg that feels
anything like the real thing.
Thran’s struggles start
ed back in 2001 during a
drug arrest when the officer
slammed his right knee into
gravel and tar pavement
multiple times as he fought
an unruly suspect.
“I was never any good after
that,” Thran said. “My last
day as an officer was a week
or so before St. Patrick’s
Day 2003.”
Multiple surgeries - includ
ing two knee replacements
- with painful recuperation
were difficult. He said he
suffered so much, he decided
to have his leg amputated
two years ago rather than
deal with the pain.
“I never regretted that
part,” Thran said. “I just
didn’t want to be on narcot
ics for the rest of my life.”
Thran was considered a
perfect candidate for a pilot
program to test the robot
ic legs. His orthologist,
Stephen Miller, said Thran
was a good match because at
44, he was still young, and
he led an active lifestyle.
“He’s doing great with the
new prosthetic,” Miller said.
“He’s much better off now
than he was before.”
Maimed armed forces vet
erans returning from the
war in Iraq also are being fit
ted with the Power Knee at
Walter Reed Army Medical
Center in Washington D.C.,
and at Brooke Army Medical
Center in San Antonio,
Texas, Miller said.
Thran used to get around
just fine with a more tra
ditional prothesis, but it
required him to throw his
hips in front of him to walk,
Miller said.
“It’s just really tiring,”
Miller said. “It wears on
you. The robotic leg allows
them to walk further with
out wearing out.”
The leg works by antici
pating movements, mirror
ing the good leg, he said.
It makes getting up from
chairs and walking up stairs
easier.
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towards promoting a physi
cally active family.”
For more information
about this year’s Family
The price reflects the
technology. Thran’s insur
ance will pay $95,000 for the
device. Fortunately, Thran’s
city of Savannah insurance
for his in-the-line-of-duty
injury will pay for most of
that.
“No prosthetic is cheap,
but this one is expensive
because it has such new
technology,” Miller said. “A
traditional prosthetic could
cost $40,000 to 60,000.”
Thran sa\d the leg is help
ing him return to a more
normal life.
He manages the evidence
room at the Tybee Police
Department part time, and
now he is able to have nor
mal mobility without feeling
exhausted at the end of the
day.
“It’s not really that well
known of a product,” Thran
said. “There are a lot of
young healthy guys, and
they feel like they are never
going to be able to do this
stuff again.
“There is a price on it. But
if there is any way of getting
it, I would tell them to go
ahead and get it.”
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* ML JLouston Healthcare’s Med-Stops offer care for
your family’s minor illnesses and injuries on a walk-in basis when
your regular doctor’s office is closed or when you don’t need the technical
services of the Emergency Room. The Med-Stops are staffed by Board
Certified Family Practice and Internal Medicine physicians working
with nurses and medical technicians. Lab and x-ray services are available
on-site.
♦ Houston Lake
Med-Stop
Hwy. 127 and Moody Road
988-1865
Open Mon - Sat
7 am - 6:30 pm
Fair or to reserve a booth
for a non-profit group or
organization, call Houston
Health Source at 923-9771.
There are ways to cope with shingles
Special to the Journal
To most adults, chicken
pox is a long-forgotten ill
ness of their childhood.
Unfortunately, it can return
with a vengeance during an
adult’s senior years devel
oping into a painful rash
called shingles.
“When a child contracts
the chicken pox virus, his
or her immune system does
not destroy it,” explains Dr.
Mobolaji Ogunsakin, FACR
infectious disease specialist
and member of the medical
staffs of Houston Medical
Center and Perry Hospital.
“Some of the virus may lie
dormant inside nerve cells
for years until it is reacti
vated in the older adult’s
body. This can happen
because of old age, illness,
medications or stress and
develop into herpes zoster,
or shingles.”
The primary symptom
of shingles is a localized,
painful, and blistery rash
that usually develops on the
chest, trunk or back on one
side of the body; however,
it can also appear on the
face, in the mouth or down
an arm or leg. Some people
Urgent Care...
" when you need it .
HEALTH
Take control, restore your freedom
Special to the Journal
Over 33 million people
in the United States suf
fer from having an overac
tive bladder. However, only
one quarter of those discuss
symptoms with their doc
tors. Many who take blad
der control medications find
that their problems have
not improved and must
deal with side effects such
as dry mouth, dry eyes or
constipation. The frustra
tion and embarrassment
caused by urinary control
problems can take a heavy
toll of one’s emotional well
being. Fortunately, Houston
Medical Center is the only
hospital in Central Georgia
offering an effective new
treatment.
The symptoms of bladder
control cause many women
and men to feel frustrated
and embarrassed. These
symptoms also cause anxi
ety about leaving home for
long periods,of time. This
sudden need to urinate too
quickly to reach a bathroom
is a type of urinary incon
tinence called urge incon
tinence that affects adults
of all ages. Stress incon
tinence, the most common
type of incontinence affect
♦ Pavilion
Med-Stop
N. Houston Road at Houston Mall
923-2843
Open Daily
8 am - 7:30 pm
notice a burning, tingling or
itching feeling even before
the rash forms. About one
in five adults will experi
ence shingles, primarily
those over the age of 50.
According to Ogunsakin,
early treatment is impor
tant to reduce the length
and severity of symptoms
associated with shingles.
“Shingles are painful
because the reactivated
virus travels along nerve
fibers that extend to the
skin,” he says.
“Typically, it is treated
with antiviral medica
tions that can reduce the
severity of the infection if
taken within three days of
developing the rash. Anti
inflammatory medications
may also be prescribed to
reduce swelling along with
prescription pain killers.”
Approximately 20 to 30
percent of adults who devel
op shingles go on to expe
rience severe neurological
pain called postherpetic
neuralgia, or PHN, that can
last for months, years, or
even the rest of a person’s
life.
Another 15 percent of
shingles patients develop
ing women, is caused by
conditions such as childbirth
or weight gain that stretch
the pelvic floor muscles. As
a result, the pressure pro
duced causes urine to leak
from the bladder.
According to Dr. Richard
Heaton, a board certified
gynecologist who special
izes in urogynecology and
a member of the medical
staff at Houston Medical
Center, incontinence symp
toms can be treated effec
tively. “Many people suffer
from these symptoms for
years before ever seeking
treatment, or they haven’t
experienced good results
from various medications.
Typically, medications are
effective with only about
25 to 30 percent of people
with bladder control prob
lems. Plus, there are a lot
of side effects to deal with.
With the various innovative
treatment options available,
we can treat this condition
effectively and without side
effects for most people,” he
explains.
The newest treatment
available for bladder con
trol and other incontinence
problems is called InterStim,
which uses a small implanted
a painful, blinding disease
called ophthalmic zoster —
or shingles in one or both
eyes.
While physicians have
been able to treat shingles
with antiviral medications,
they have been unable to
prevent it until now. In May
2006, the FDA approved
the first shingles vaccine
for people age 60 and older.
The vaccine contains a live
but weakened version of
the virus which allows the
body’s immune system the
chance to learn how to fight
the virus without the risk of
infection.
“Because shingles is a dis
ease that primarily affects
older adults, being vacci
nated would be highly rec
ommended for baby boom
ers nearing their sixties,”
comments Ogunsakin. “It
will protect a person for
at least four to five years
before they would require a
booster shot.”
Over half of all shingles
cases occur in people over
the age of 60, and the older
a person is, the higher their
risk of developing compli
cations from the disease.
Without vaccination, about
Hilary Kate Ellwood, MD
Board Certified, American
Academy of Family Medicine
Kimberley R. Ham, MD
Board Certified, American
Academy of Family Medicine
Cynthia M. Jones, MD
Board Certified, American
Board of Family Medicine
Gayatri Kamat, MD
Board Certified, American
Board of Internal Medicine
FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2007*
device similar to a pacemak
er to gently stimulate the
sacral nerves located near
the tailbone that control
bladder function. By gently
stimulating the nerves, the
therapy helps restore uri
nary control.
To determine if InterStim
therapy will be effective,
patients first have a com
plete evaluation by a phy
sician and then wear an
external stimulator that
sends mild pulses to target
ed nerves using a thin wire
for a few days. If the stimu
lation improves symptoms,
the small device is perma
nently implanted under the
skin as an outpatient sur
gery procedure.
“This device has helped
many patients who have
tried different medications
or other conventional treat
ments such as biofeedback
and catheterization without
success,” says Dr. Heaton,
who is the only physician in
the area offering this treat
ment. “Most of my patients
have experienced relief from
symptoms in only two or
three days. They are thrilled
to be able to enjoy life with
out the fear of embarrassing
accidents or leaks.”
20 percent of adults who
have had chickenpox will
eventually develop shin
gles.
The risk increases to 50
percent for those over the
age of 70. A major clinical
trial showed the vaccine is
more than 60 percent effec
tive in reducing shingles
symptoms, but most impor
tantly, it reduced painful
PHN by at least two-thirds.
Experts recommend adults
over the age of 60 be vacci
nated against shingles.
“If you were to get shin
gles, you would suffer a
great deal of pain, a high
risk of complications, and
lots of medical bills,” says
Ogunsakin. “Getting the
vaccine would be a good
preventive measure.”
Ogunsakin will present a
free program on the signs,
symptoms and treatment
for shingles as well as dis
cuss the new shingles vac
cine on Aug. 14 from 11:30
a.m. until 1 p.m. at the
Houston Health Pavilion in
the Houston Mall. Lunch
will be served and pre-regis
tration is required. Call 478-
923-9771 for more informa
tion and to pre-register.
Barbara A. Matthews, MD
Board Certified, American
Board of Family Medicine
Jodie Velie, MD
Board Eligible, American
Board of Family Practice
Ferial Walid, MD
Board Certified, American
Board of Family Medicine
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