JACKSON, Miss.—With a little help from a few guys who had a big win in Utah last winter, Methodist Rehabilitation Center has a new sled hockey team—the first of its kind in Mississippi and one of only a few in the nation.
Members of the 2002 gold medal-winning US Paralympic sled hockey team came to Jackson to put 20 physically challenged athletes from around the state through a clinic to learn the game.
JACKSON, Miss.—As a part of Think First, Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s statewide injury prevention program, physicians and staff at the Jackson hospital are encouraging parents to always think first about seatbelt safety, especially during National Baby Safety Month.
Dr. Rahul Vohra, medical director at Methodist Rehab, encourages parents to make sure children are properly secured in an appropriate child safety seat.
FLOWOOD, Miss.—On a day when Mississippians gather to celebrate the power of healing, Cory Hunter is happy to be alive and a believer in the cause.
The 19 year-old brain injury survivor from Petal will be on hand September 14 at Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s annual Reunion Race to visit the men and woman who helped him rebuild his life and to cheer on friends who will run, walk and roll over the 3.1 mile race course.
FLOWOOD, Miss.—Like a lot of Mississippians, Tom Burnley didn’t know much at all about hockey before a minor-league team started checking, icing and shooting in Jackson three years ago.
“Even then, I still never really followed the sport,” he said. “I was just interested.”
So when Burnley participates in a sled hockey clinic held this weekend by Methodist Rehabilitation Center, he’ll be in the unique position of playing in his first hockey practice without having ever actually watched a game in person.
BRANDON, Miss.–It all happened so fast for Cynthia Turner.
One morning, she woke up with a tingling feeling in her feet, she recalled. “I thought it was from moving furniture the day before, but it started getting worse, so I made an appointment for the next day with a neurologist.”
She didn’t make it that far.
By that evening, her body was stiffening and when she went to the refrigerator, she fell down. “I had to call my husband to help me,” she said. “I couldn’t move.”
BRANDON, Miss.—Al Page enjoys living too much to let his stroke slow him down. And it hurts him too much to see fellow stroke victims not living up to their potential.
Page, 63, often visits stroke patients at Methodist Rehabilitation Center where he was treated for a stroke. When he speaks to patients, he’s on a mission to dispel myths about disabilities and limitations.
MADISON, Miss.–Unlike many of the artists who have seen their work hang on the walls of the Methodist Rehabilitation Center art gallery, Rebecca Holmes was an artist before she became disabled.
From now until October, the Madison resident’s photography will be on display at the Jackson hospital in a special exhibit.
Holmes was a respected jewelry maker and found pleasure in a paintbrush and creating beautiful landscapes on canvas. But a serious bout with chronic fatigue syndrome changed all that.
JACKSON, Miss.—Think First, Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s statewide safety and injury prevention program, and hospital physicians are urging parents and children to think first about back-to-school safety.
“Planning a safe route to school, never talking to or accepting rides from strangers and knowing school bus safety rules can save a child’s life,” said Lauren Fairburn, director of Think First.
Fairburn says that riding the school bus is one of the safest forms of transportation and that most accidents occur while students are getting on and off the bus.
BRANDON, Miss.—Before the car accident that changed his life forever, Donald Vowell didn’t see what was so special about water skiing.
But now as a quadriplegic, the 29 year-old Ackerman resident can’t help smiling as he enjoys the thrill of zipping through the waves.
Vowell isn’t letting his injury change his plans. He’s still going to Mississippi State University this fall to pursue his master’s degree in business administration and he’s finding a new freedom through water skiing.
JACKSON, Miss.—As children begin to return to school, Methodist Rehabilitation Center is urging parents and educators to think first about playground safety.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 200,000 children will be injured this year in American playgrounds.
“Because many playgrounds are potentially unsafe, adults need to be more involved in playground supervision, ” said Dr. Rahul Vohra, medical director at Methodist Rehab. “All playgrounds need to be checked for hazards.”