Dog Days of Summer

Schools have opened their doors, Friday nights are filled with high school football and you can still almost hear the corn growing; without question, the dog days of summer are still upon us. While it may seem appropriate to slow things down a bit during these days of high temperatures and thick humidity, Clark and Associates has ramped things up, and we’re very excited to share a lot of important news and happenings in this month’s edition of our newsletter.

PATIENT SPOTLIGHT

Grace Rethamel – Speaking of ramping things up, our September Patient Spotlight is truly filled with energy and happiness. You don’t have to be around two year old Grace Rethamel long to get the sense that no challenge is going to slow her down.

Shortly after birth, Grace suffered a grade 3 billateral brain bleed which resulted in a post hemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Doctors informed the family that they should expect severe developmental delays, as well as the potential for a cerebral palsy diagnosis. At 22 months of age, Grace was not yet walking, as the tone in her lower extremities did not allow her knees and ankles to support her for natural ambulation. It was at this point that Grace was referred to Clark and Associates where Certified Orthotist Dean Sturch began working with her. With the combination of physical therapy, and a pair of custom foot and ankle orthotics (AFO’s), Grace has made tremendous progress over that past six months. Since January, she has gone from crawling, to ambulating in a straight line with her wheeled walker, to maneuvering around the entire house, to recently exploring new places like Target, which has become a personal favorite for Grace. Even more exciting is the fact that she was able to take five steps wearing her AFO’s with no support from her wheeled walker.

The entire Rethamel family is excited about the progress that Grace has made since working with Dean. Says mother Sara, “From the moment we first stepped in the doors at Clark & Associates, we knew we were in the right place. From the friendly receptionists, to meeting Dean for the first time, Grace was welcomed and tended to as if she was one of their own. Dean is nothing short of patient and is always willilng to answer our questions and address our concerns. Mobility matters, and Clark & Associates gave us that!”

C & A LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

While it seemed like an eternity from when the project first began, Clark & Associates officially launched their new website just over a month ago.  The process is much like building a house; there are literally hundreds of decisions to be made along the way.  While the process itself can be somewhat painstaking at times, we feel like our finished project is something that is both functional and visually appealing.

We encourage you to take some time and explore the new site as we are confident that you will find an abundance of interesting and useful information throughout this resource.  Please be sure to check out the Patient Success Stories section, as well as the video gallery, as both have proved popular since launch.  We plan to publish a monthly newsletter, so please make sure you check back regularly to catch-up on latest news at Clark & Associates.  If you have story or topic suggestions for our newsletter, please feel free to use the Contact Us tab or the email below to communicate your ideas.  We hope you enjoy the new site!

cremmert@clarkpo.com

CONSTRUCTION WINDING DOWN AT WATERLOO OFFICE

For the past six weeks, our Waterloo location has been receiving a major facelift to the interior of the building.  From construction of a new reception and intake area, to all new paint and floor coverings, we are in the midst of some exciting and necessary upgrades to our facility.  While the end of this construction project is in sight, we hope that you will continue to be understanding of the small number of inconveniences that typically accompany facility re-models.  We are confident that the changes to our Waterloo office will have a positive impact on the overall patient experience.  We look forward to providing you a tour of our completed project in next month’s newsletter.